City Post: Florence

It really doesn't seem like we spent three days here. Well, four. However many it was.

We stayed in two different hostels in Florence, because Jo and I forgot to finish a conversation we had in Barcelona about what we were going to do: spend an extra day longer in Naples or go a day early to Florence. We didn't realize it until we were standing outside the Vatican booking trains. So we decided to book one night at a hostel close to the train station where we could do laundry and relax before moving on the next day. It turned out to be a great idea, because there was a lovely Italian restaurant just next door that served some pretty amazing pasta, and the view from our hostel's rooftop was AMAZING (check out this post for more).

The next day, we changed hostels and went to the historic city center. We did a "renaissance walk" through the streets of old Florence with a Rick Steves audio tour in our ears. We started at the Duomo di Firenze, moved down to the Via dei Calzaiuoli, marveled at the statues in Loggia dei Lanzi, and took in the jewelry shops on the Ponte Vecchio. The walk took us about an hour and a half, and we both enjoyed taking a walking tour at our own pace. While we didn't go end the cathedral's baptistry, the doors telling the story of Jesus' life and death were quite a site to see, especially considering that Dante (the author of the Divine Comedy) was baptised just beyond them. We continued to explore the local neighborhoods until we wound up at the Porta Romana, one of the entry gates to Florence when it was a walled city. On our way back to the hostel to pick up our friend, we stopped for a drink and dessert while we planned out a missing week in our time in Europe.

Cambrey, our friend arrived late that night, so we got a bit of a late start the next day, but that was fine, because it allowed us to get some blog and photos uploading done. We took Cambrey to see some of the sites, including the Farmaceutica di anta Maria Novella, the oldest pharmacy in the world. Cambery saw it on Instagram, and it certainly lived up to expectations. Of course, it wasn't always a pharmacy, and they did a great job of maintaining and showcasing the building's history as a backdrop to the business. As free experiences go, we certainly could have done worse. Of course, Jack was checking out the history while Cambrey and Jo were sniffing the various perfumes. Afterwards, we went to View on Art, a rooftop bar overlooking the cathedral. Jack saw it on Instagram (yes, he admits that!), and we needed a break anyways, so a shaded overlook with cocktails seemed the perfect plan. Oh, and Cambrey and Jo totally hit up a wine window on the way back to the hostel.

Our last full day, we took a day trip to Pisa and went to a famous karaoke bar. Those go together, right? Pisa was about a 90 minute train ride from our hostel, but it was also halfway across the country (the short way), so you can guess which one we used to describe it. This was mostly a surprise for Jack's dad. There is a photo of his granddad outside the leaning tower during WWII, and we wanted a side-by-side. We played it up as out of the way so we couldn't make it, then surprised Jack's dad with the picture when he woke up. But there's more to Pisa than the leaning tower. The adjacent cathedral is beautiful inside, and free to enter if you just get a timeslot from the ticket office. For 5 Euro, you can walk the walls around the plaza for incredible views. If you have the time, the Air Force museum in Pisa is also free to visit (albeit with some odd hours). All in all, Pisa is fully worth a day (or two!) trip if you're in Florence.

We capped off our time in Florence by getting poured on at Piazze Michaelangelo when we tried to see the sunset. Instead, we retreated to Terrazze Michelangelo for dinner, drinks, and dessert. If you ever try to see the sunset in Florence, definitely grab your dinner here ahead of time! It's a short walk from Piazze Michaelangelo, and much less expensive than the restaurant overlooking the viewing point. Once it stopped raining, walked to Red Garter, a famous karaoke bar and steakhouse. It is much smaller than we expected, the the ambience was great. Packed with travelers drinking, singing karaoke nonstop for hours on end, and, naturally, pairing off with someone for some late night romance. We had a lot of fun at this bar. The drinks were decently priced, security kept a lid on the shenanigans, and everyone sang at the top of their lungs. We got in late (early?), so we slept in the next morning.

All in all, Florence was a nice change of pace from our time so far in Italy. We both commented how it felt much more relaxed and quiet compared to Rome and Naples. We had meals at a couple of places where English wasn't guaranteed but the food was excellent, learning the history behind what we were seeing was amazing, and checking out some Insta-famous spots wasn't too bad either.

Where We Stayed: Hostel 7 Santi

Jo's Favourite: The Cathedral ("Dome is home!")

Jack's Favourite: Overlooking the rooftops of Florence

Google Photo Album (Florence)

Google Photo Album (Pisa)