Italy trip - Florence

August 24, 2018

Hello, everybody,

Despite the hundreds of thousands of tourists, Florence is simply amazing.
I would not recommend to visit in August like I did, because August is probably the crowdiest month.

Anyhow, we got to Florence from Genova by train (around 3 hours). There is no direct connection - we had a stop in Pisa Centrale and from there, in less than 10 minutes ,we took the second train. All in all, we had quite a good experience with the trains in Italy. They have air conditioning, they are not very dirty and no shady people on board.

Accomodation:

We stayed in a lovely hotel (Astrid Hotel) near the train station and very close to the city center (10 minutes max on foot). I would stay there again, if I ever go back and for sure I will go back at a certain point :). Florence deserves a second and a third visit :)
The hotel is part of an old building and the rooms are huge, very tall and also the bathroom is very big.

What to do:

Well, plenty of walking on foot :)
You just need to go out and start walking - amazing lovely streets everywhere, amazing architecture and very many shops and boutiques.
The bridges are amazing, as you can see below.

And, as always, I am looking for the best spots for sunsets - for sure on the bridges is one of the best spots and, if you want to see Florence from above and see an amazing sunset, you need to climb to Piazzale Michelangelo - not the easiest path up there, but totally worth the view from there.

Ponte Vecchio

View from Piazzale Michelangelo

Sunset from Ponte Vecchio

Amazing Ponte Vecchio at blue hour

Golden hour on the bridge

What to eat:

Well, besides pizza and ice-cream, there are some specific things, like this lampredotto (typical florentine sandwich) below.

I haven't tried it, because of what's in it :) - stomach of a cow, cooked in some specific herbs.

My husband, who tried it :), says he would not eat it again.

You can find this type of dish at local vendors on the streets - the one we went to I heard is pretty well known - L'antico trippaio.

Another specific italian sandwich is Porchetta - this one I tried and it is really good. The base for it is pork meat.
I recommend the one with pesto and grana padano.
It is a caloric bomb of course :), but it is very tasty and then, if you walk to Piazzale Michelangelo, I guarantee that you will not put on any kilos :)
The place we took it from is called Antica Porchetteria Granieri (up and running since 1916).