Fabulous Firenze
With a train strike threatening our weekend, we started to picture simply staying here for some time to explore Rome, and become more acquainted with our surroundings, but… things turned out even better! Even with the strike, we made it out of the station and made our way up north in a little bit over an hour. Florence is truly inspiring. The streets make you want to go back in time to the Renaissance and play a part in the circle of ideas and artistic inspiration.
Popular sights to see are The Duomo, Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, David etc., although, if you are planning a girls weekend as we did, the fashion museums are a must! We visited the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum and went to the Costume Institute at Palazzo Pitti. I learned a lot about fashion history, and from a new perspective really looked at fashion as art. Whether you are looking at a beautiful dress from the 20s that has been completely hand beaded, or shoes designed by a man who had an individual artistic and personally customized perspective on each pair he designed, we were awestruck. The city alone will blow you away with it’s beauty. It is much cleaner and friendlier than Rome, and because it is smaller, we were able to absorb the culture and atmosphere over a weekend.
When we weren’t doing the typical sightseeing activities, we enjoyed just being girls in a city where shopping is abundant. Might have spent a little more than I was planning, but this is of course the place to do it. Leather! That’s all I have to say, go ahead and splurge on a wallet, shoes, or handbag. You will appreciate the quality and have it forever. If you are not planning on spending too much head to the market and bargain for a possibly lesser quality material than you would find in a store, but of course it’s still worth it. It was so fun to also be able to eat great food and escape the cafeteria to order everything until our hearts were content. We found a few more affordable restaurants in a travel book and enjoyed every bite. On Friday night we met some other Americans at our restaurant and ended up spending the rest of the evening getting to know people in different, more mature company. It was a great experience to hang out with people who find themselves in the same place as you, but they can teach you a bit about life from a more experienced adult perspective and we had a ton of fun, actually found ourselves trying to keep up with them! ha ha.
I will definitely have to return to this city one day with someone special. Florence is relaxing in a way. You can opt for a lovely meal and chill night with wine, or go out and get crazy. But to really get the most out of your experience, I suggest you save the partying for other cities and just in bask in the grace of this city.
Ciao!