Italian Honeymoon: Part Three – Florence

We traveled from Castelrotto to Bolzano by bus and from there we took a train down to Florence (Firenze).

For us, Florence was a place that we needed to visit while we were in Italy, however, it’s a place we will most likey, never visit again.

This is the reason, it was crowded and there were tourists everywhere!!

I’d recommend getting reservations in advance to avoid huge lines and excessive wait times (you can purchase tickets and reserve a time online). Even with a reservation we still found ourselves waiting for quite some time.

::HOWEVER::

If you are into art, as the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence is a must. Florence is home to both the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Museum. The Accademia holds Michelangelo’s David sculpture, and the Uffizi has countless works of art by Rafael, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Giotto, etc… {basically all the ninja turtle artists}

Some of the more famous pieces are Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Springtime (La Primavera).

The whole time we were in Florence it felt like we were living in a piece of art.

The architecture was phenomenal!!

It was a photographers dream!

I couldn’t stop taking pictures.

The city seemed alive, even at night! Glowing, and magnificent.

Florence also has the Duomo Cathedral, which I definitely recommend climbing.

The inside of the Duomo:

The gelato in Florence is also excellent.

Gianinnos was my favorite place to eat!!

 They had a gluten free menu, so I couldn’t help but order two different entrees! 🙂

Gluten Free Ravioli:

AND Gluten Free Pizza:

The service was great and the food was delicious!! I would highly recommend it!

However, there are so many cute little restuarants in the area around the duomo. you really can’t go wrong!!

Make sure to save room for some Gelato though!!

We went to Trattoria Za-Za for lunch. It was such a fun atmosphere!

These were in the bathroom guarding the toilet paper…it made me laugh!

..and of course, some more guarding the toilets…haha!

Pisa is a great side trip from Florence (20 min train ride). Most people just stop briefly in Pisa to snap a picture at the leaning tower, and move on. We didn’t have time to stop by Pisa. I would have loved to, though. Maybe someday! 🙂

Until we meet again, Ciao!

Next Stop: Cinque Terre