In Florence..

Walking through the streets of Florence is like traveling back in time – the very cobblestones that Michaelangelo and the Medici walked on remain essentially the same here. So, when I say everything is old, in Florence it really means old.

Considered the cradle of the Italian Renaissance, Florence is truly one of the world’s most beautiful places.

We stayed at a small family-run Hotel Joli just a couple of blocks away from the Santa Maria Novella station (where the father is in charge of the hotel’s reception with his son helping out with the translating, and mom? She prepares the breakfast, naturally) Overall, the hotel was decent, nothing too fancy but most important of all, clean.

Well rested for the night, and a few toasts with two cappuccinos in the morning later, off we went for yet another picturesque day.

With gorgeous panoramic view of Florence, Piazzale Michealangelo is a great place to let the city unfurls before you. The bus ride there took roughly about 30 minutes (so we had plenty of time daydreaming about owning a property there after seeing so many beautiful houses on the journey up) and Piazzale Michealangelo is also the home of the two faux David statues which were satisfactory in our opinion, as we didn’t want to pay to see the original one at the Galleria dell’ Accademia. And there are literally hundreds of historic places, museums, and galleries that are fantastic in their own right in Florence. From the thronged halls of the Uffizi to such open air troves as Piazza del Signoria, this city will keep art lovers busy for days.

And, if art isn’t your thing just as it is not ours either? Florence is worth explored just for the architecture alone (or in our case for the pizza, pasta and gelato too).

Oh, and the shoes.. Being the home-based of Salvatore Ferragamo, shoes and leather are a big thing here and I must admit, there’s nothing quite like an Italian leather handmade shoe. So, while you’re better off walking around the city in flats, don’t let that stop you from bringing those gorgeous high-heeled shoes home!

Arrivederci, Florence!