When Justin and I stopped in Florence last May, we were only in the city for a few hours before our excursion left for Pisa. We didn't really get the full experience. So many people have told me how much they love Florence. I was excited to spend some more time in that city.
The drive through Tuscany was beautiful! Acres of vineyards, farms, and rolling olive groves spread as far as the eye could see. Tiny villages and towns built into the sides of mountains and down in valleys. I'm so glad we got to see that part of Italy as we drove.
Pulling into Florence was a lot different than Rome. We felt like we had space to breathe and it was so nice being in a smaller city. We were both pretty giddy for the next adventure.
The famous Florence Duomo. So beautiful. We walked around it, pausing to look at the amazing colors and architecture.
Stopped at Eduardo's to get our daily gelato fix.
It was a little chilly, so we popped into some stores to shop around. Lindt and Eataly!
I hadn't been to Eataly since we were in Chicago! A super cozy store with CUTE pasta. Yep, you heard me right. Cute, colored, tiny pasta that I wouldn't eat. Just put on my counter for display.
Our little, cozy buddy. Logan was amazing!! The stroller did pretty great too. Grateful the wheels and basket haven't broken yet going over all of that cobblestone.
After going inside a highly recommended restaurant, we realized we weren't the typical crowd that for that atmosphere. We left before Logan could pull off the white tablecloth and glasses off the fancy table and onto the red carpet.
This ristorante was more our style - and Logan's. Our waiter loved Logan. After he wrapped up our leftover pizza, he held out his arms, picked up Logan, and kissed him on the cheek. Ha!
This was also my favorite meal. The lasagna was incredible & I would go back in a heartbeat.
The wind died down the next day, and after a drizzly morning, the sun came out! We walked through Boboli Gardens and it was beautiful. It felt like we were the only ones there.
To get to the other side of the garden we trekked up this massive trail, tag-teaming the stroller. The view was better and better the more we climbed. The entire garden was so beautiful!
We were rewarded with this view when we reached the top. Such a pretty city. The weather and fall leaves made it feel like a calm, cozy day in the gardens.
Then it was back into the city to find some more good food & see Ponte Vecchio. An iconic bridge in Florence with dozens of jewelry stores. Here's a view as we finished walking across.
An outside view of the bridge.
My other favorite meal of the whole trip!! I think Instagram has made this shop famous because it was quite the line and operation to get these babies secured.
Classic Caprese Italian sandwich & one with ham, cream, and pistachio cream. YUMMY.
More strolling around. We FaceTimed Dad and showed him where we were. He served his mission in Portugal and said the narrow streets and sidewalks looked very similar.
One more of Ponte Vecchio. We passed a man's watercolor booth set up near the bridge with originals he had painted earlier that week. One of them is hanging up in our apartment now. <3
Our Google Maps took us through some windy roads and beautiful neighborhoods to get to Piazzale Michelangelo - the best view you can get in Florence!
Groves and groves of olive trees.
Beautiful Florence - the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio all in one picture.
Took a very unique route and narrow roads to get to our gelato place before heading back to our airbnb (Tessa's place).
Parking lot was full, but thankfully in Europe it's common to stop in the middle of the road and throw on your hazards. No one even bats an eye.
Another fun memory - On the way home we saw two missionaries walking down the road. At our stop light we yelled "Elders!" out the window. They didn't look up until we yelled "Anzianos!". We told them they were awesome and kept going. Amazing to see missionaries all over the world serving and gathering Israel.
