Florence - best airbnb apartment ever

We took the train from Cinque Terre to Florence. Easy ride -- we transferred about 15 minutes in, at the La Spezia train station and it was direct from there!

Following the directions to walk from the train station to our airbnb apartment, it was a nice 10-minute walk. Arriving, we found that we had booked, basically, the best apartment ever! It was lovely inside but the view and location were truly amazing. The apartment (here on airbnb) is next to the duomo (cathedral) in the center of the city and the place's terrace has an amazing view of the dome!

Seriously. This was our view from the apartment's terrace... and not zoomed in!

One more time... now a nighttime view:

I very much enjoyed our time in Florence. We went on a full day-trip the day after arriving and that was great. I'll post about that next. The tour was through Walkabout and it was great. I'm usually not a big fan of tours but I liked that this one was set up with structured time AND free time. Everything was really nicely done and the day was well-balanced. It was recommended to me by a friend here and I can see why. (Walkabout also does a tour to Cinque Terre from Florence!)

Back to Florence, though... we shopped in the market, enjoyed a great dinner at the same restaurant that my mom and I went to about 7 years ago with my dad and brothers, and enjoyed walking through the city. We really only had about half a day to enjoy the city since we chose to do the Tuscany tour on our full day.

The place we had dinner at is Trattoria dal Giorgio. It's a fixed price (I think about 13 or 14 euro each) and you are able to choose a drink, first course, second course, side, and dessert. We love the price and we love the food!

On our walk, we went along the river to the Ponte Vecchio

(ponte vecchio translates to old bridge)

In the Piazza della Signoria, is the Palazzo Vecchio

Florence's duomo from the front (the same building that we can see the side and main dome from the apartment we stayed at!)

al fresco painting on the outside of a building

Social time on the steps of the duomo

During my undergrad, I studied Italian for about a month in Florence. It was my first time abroad and my first time to Italy. A dream come true! I remember the moment that I first saw the duomo. My friend and I had gone for a walk at dusk and thought we were lost. We were attempting to find our way to school so that we would know how to get there the next morning for the first day of classes. We turned a corner... then turned around... and all of a sudden the duomo was towering (literally!) over us. In the darkening sky, it looked like cardboard and I thought it was fake. To this day, that is still one of the most surreal moments of my life. It took a few moments for me to realize it was real, it was a gigantic church, AND that we had found our school! (Our Italian language school was three doors down from the duomo. Incredible.)

Nonny in Florence... butterflies

Seeing a butterfly is a symbol for me that my Nonny (grandma) is there with me... whether really there with me or in spirit. My Nonny loved butterflies. I remember her numerous butterfly magnets on the fridge and some that were on the wall... in a hallway in her house and in the bathroom... all over. Especially being in Italy - where her family is from and where so much of our family culture is based - I feel Nonny with me often.

Another street art initiative around Florence are butterflies! What a way to brighten up a city. I love it.

I took only a couple photos of the butterflies - but there were many around the city.

One butterfly was on the ground... and I picked it up to keep and use as a bookmark!

street poster art - Florence

...More from the streets around Florence...

street graffiti - Florence

I think the girl below is saying: How dare you put graffiti on this gorgeous city's walls?!? 

I appreciate street art... but the graffiti is too bad to see (although some of the messages shown below are wonderful).

(Ti amo = I love you.)

the art of swimming - Florence

More of the street art in Florence... and some of my favorites! There are a number of L'arte sa nuotare (The art of swimming) characters. Another street art scavenger hunt! Wonderful. Beautiful. Creative.

There is even a Facebook page for L'arte sa nuotare! ...apparently it is in other cities as well... such as Barcelona - awesome!

street art scavenger hunt in Florence

Walking around Florence, I noticed a lot of street art... but not as much huge graffiti painting on buildings, but smaller pieces of art... many of which were themed throughout different parts of the city.

Below are a bunch of stickmen that I saw... with various mini messages:

creativity - Do Not Enter... Florence

I have seen this in some other cities too... but more so in Florence. Many of the Do Not Enter street signs have been added on to... in creative, fun ways:

Il Mercato Centrale - Florence

Kat wanted a leather bag from the market... so we headed to Il Mercato Centrale last Saturday afternoon. I love walking through a market! - even though it basically becomes the same goods over and over.

Kat had heard that the upstairs of the indoor portion of the (original) market had been redone with cafes and restaurants. Sounded nice... so went to check it out.

Um. Awesome!

I see what they were going for... and, I think, mission accomplished!

The upstairs of Il Mercato Centrale is gorgeous. The original structure of the market building is still there... with beautiful windows and high ceiling... and now there are really nice cafes, restaurants, a few shops, etc. upstairs.

We bought gelatos and enjoyed a chat at a table for a bit.

(PS - a friend of mine from school in Milan has mentioned a few times that he gets ricotta flavored gelato. I haven't been sold on this idea... but tried a same of ricotta and peach at this gelateria with Kat... and yes! I am not a believer. The ricotta is smooth, creamy, and delicious. ...not cheesey like I feared.)

...And a couple bonus photos from the day:

I studied here! - Florence

Through the Fisher Goes to Italy program the summer of 2004, I studied at an Italian language school just a few doors down from the Duomo! It was a great experience... and then when I went back to Florence 5 years later with my family... we went to the school and I introduced my parents to the director of the school. It was really nice to be able to show them where I had spent the bulk of my time while in Florence. ...Kat and I walked by the school's door last weekend as well...

I had never before noticed the gorgeous paintings on the building near the Duomo (facing the front... it's on the right). A man selling sunglasses had just told me that I looked like Shakira and my hair was "driving [him] crazy"... when I looked up and noticed this gorgeous building.

same-same... but different! - Florence

I love the two photos below. ...I specifically love them together.

As we often described things (...or described LIFE!) in Vietnam... they are "same-same ...but different!"

Haha!

There was a garbage truck emptying dumpsters... and it got in the way of my photo-ing of the Duomo's dome!

Here's a link to one of my favorite posts from Vietnam about same-same ...but different.   :P

on the streets ...of FLORENCE!

One major difference for me in Florence when compared to Milan... is how picturesque Florence is. Milan is more of a business city... lots of cement... less of the gorgeously detailed architecture. Just walking through the city is extremely enjoyable and is a great way to 'see the sights'. When I walk through Milan, I love the city and enjoy living in Milan!... but I feel like I walk more just to get from one destination to the next.

Florence is cute.   : )

Florence's PONTE VECCHIO

The Ponte Vecchio is a famous piece of Florence... as it is a medieval bridge with shops built hanging off its sides. This "Old Bridge" crosses the Arno River and the views are beautiful when crossing the river (whether by the Ponte Vecchio or other bridges)... as you can see the city's other bridges along the river and the picturesque buildings along either side.

Saturday in Florence began somewhat cloudy but warm... and turned into a beautiful blue-sky day by afternoon!

Walking across the Ponte Vecchio is a huge tourist attraction... the bridge gets crowded.

The photo below shows the crowd... along with a view of the top of the Duomo in the distance!

A view of the mountains in one direction: