Florence, Italy

How to describe a city like Florence. 


If I had all the money in the world and not a care about a career, I would grab my sunglasses and some paintbrushes and move to Florence. 


I've never been to a place so characterized by beauty and pleasure. Florence was just like a scene from a painting or the perfect movie set in Italy. It was clean and quiant. Every little street, building, cafe, and church was exactly perfect. I was only there for two days, but I could have stayed forever and been happy. 


After a fun-filled weekend of Carnival celebration, my friends and I flew into Florence late Tuesday night. This trip started out a little rough because two of my friends' bags didn't make it on the plane to Florence, and were stuck in Amsterdam, so Amber and Daniel had to go without their suitcases for two days. Aside from that inconvenience, they were troopers about it. We grabbed taxis from the airport and went straight to our hostel--we were pretty wiped out. I was expecting the hostel to be like most I have stayed at, but when we arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. The hostel turned out to be a little bungalow all to ourselves! It was conveniently located in the center of the city's most beautiful attractions! We were so excited. 


Those of us that had our bags dropped them off in the cute little apartment, and then we all went out to see the city by night. Of course, when I say see the city by night, what I really mean is: FIND GELATO. 


I could sit here and tell that my reason for seeing Italy was for the art and the music, or the culture and the beautiful architecture, but let's be real. I was really there for the food. 


Well, after our first night in Florence I got to answer one of my essential questions about life: Yes, gelato really IS better than regular ice cream! (Is it sad that this was such a life-changing discovery?)

The next morning, we woke up and went to find breakfast. We grabbed pastries and Italian espresso, of course--another one of those highlights of the trip. Then we took off to see what Florence really looked like. Like I said, we were located in the middle of the most beautiful part of Florence: by the Uffizi Gallery, the old bridge, Piazza Signoria, the famous Duomo Cathedral and the Academy Galleria with Michelangelo's David. It was perfect and the weather was sunny and in the 60s everyday, so walking around the beautiful city was such a treat. 


We spent most of the morning at the Florence street market, where you can buy all kinds of gifts- scarves, wallets, and authentic leather jackets and purses! It reminded me of Mexico, where you walk down the street filled with vendors and your self-esteem skyrockets. If there is one thing I learned in Italy it's that I apparently look IDENTICAL to Shakira (these hips don't lie)....

At the leather market!

Let me just say, I wasn't planning on buying anything when we went....I left with a few scarves and a jacket...but in my defense, I have NEVER owned a real leather jacket, and I got it for such a great price that I could justify it...atleast that's what I am telling my parents! 

After we left the market, we found the cutest Italian cafe for lunch. It was just like a scene from a movie: sitting outside under the red umbrellas, soaking up the nice weather, eating real Italian pizza and pastas, and listening to a street musician playing on an accordian nearby for loose change. It was a vacation from my European vacation. 


Then we went and found our second round of gelato, of course. This time I tried nutella and coffee....SO good. I love all the gelato shops because they are generally family-run and all homemade! Plus the shop owners were so sweet. (I'm a sucker for the Italian accent, I guess). 

View of the city from atop the Duomo!

After that, we went into the famous Duomo Cathedral, also known as the Santa Maria del Fiore, and it was absolutely breath-taking. I thought no cathedral could beat Notredame's majesty, but I was wrong. This cathedral started going up in 1296 and took several hundred years to finish. If you see it and go inside, you will understand why. It was unreal! My friends went up to the very top of the cathedral to look at the view of the city. Carissa and decided to save a little money and sit outside on the steps instead and soak up the sun. It was so nice to not have anything to do, or anywhere to be; to just sit and take it all in. It was such a blessing. Everytime I get a moment to myself like that I am so thankful that I am here. Europe is such a beautiful place to discover, and everywhere I go is a new adventure. 


That evening we had...you guessed it....more Italian food. Then we went back to our room and crashed after a long, successful day in Florence. 

Carissa and I at the Ponte Vecchio

The next day was a little less eventful, but just as fun. We went to our same breakfast cafe (we felt like regulars by this point, haha). Then we went to take a stroll by the world-famous Ponte Vecchio bridge. This bridge has been there for FOREVER and it is the most unique bridge you will ever see. It supposedly was first built by the Romans, and has been dated back to the year 996! It has been rebuilt since then, of course, but how cool is that? It was a great place to sit and relax and watch all the painters and kayakers. Plus there were couples in love everywhere. 

"Locks of Love" by the Ponte Vecchio

After we ate MORE gelato, we had lunch (yes, I know, out of order, but this is GELATO we are talking about), and walked to see what else we hadn't explored in the city. Of course we only put a dent in it by the time we had to leave, but I love EVERY part of Florence. I wish I could have stayed a week or two, but such is the life of a traveler, I guess! 


We tried to go to the Uffizi gallery after lunch, but after waiting in the line for an hour, I decided it wasn't worth only going for thirty minutes, since our train to Rome left that afternoon. 


We packed our things, left for the train station, got lost, eventually found the train station (hey, it can't all go smoothly), and then headed for Rome. 

It was the perfect Italian vacation, and will always be the perfect get-away if you are looking for beauty.