Travel Diaries: Florence, Italy
Thank goodness we packed light because we arrived in Florence after a two hour train ride and walked with our luggage to our hotel. Our hotel was not too far from the train station, but we had all we could handle in the way of rolling luggage. We thought it would be fun to walk and get our sense of direction down for Florence. Florence will be easier to break it into restaurants, shopping and sites….instead of taking you through our dad by day. We stayed in Florence four nights, Matthew and I both remember this being our favorite city the last time we traveled to Italy.
Shopping in Florence
My navy dress here is one of my favorite travel dresses, classic and has been a favorite now for over 5 years. I have it in 4 colors. We picked up Sarah’s dress at a boutique in Venice.
Our favorite shopping spots:
We loved the Gucci flagship store
Mario Luca Giusti
Florence Leather Market (Via Ferdinando Bonaventura)
Santa Maria Novella Farmaceutica
Emilio Pucci
Missoni
Valentino
Ponte Vecchio (Sarah found a gold with peridot, her birthstone, and diamond ring for her cute finger here)
Mercato delle Pulci (Florence Flea Market)
Julia B - home decor
Via del Corso (Matthew ordered a few made to measure shirts in this area)
Loretta Caponi
La Casa Della Stampa
Ginori 1735
Alberto Cozzi Firenze
restaurants in florence
You all were amazing with your restaurant recommendations, so thank you! We made reservations and ate at a few of the spots y’all sent me. I also did some research and found some exceptional spots worth trying on your next rip to Italy. I’ve listed the restaurants we went to (and sure to read in parentheses, just a few were not worth visiting again)
La Giostra ~ This was hands down one of our best meals in Italy ~ be sure to get the pear ravioli.
Trattoria 13 Gobbi ~ We all loved this meal, especially the zucchini flowers.
Sophia Loren ~ This was touristy and I would not chose to eat here again. We were all so hungry after the train from Venice, and needed a place close to our hotel. The pizza and salads were good, but nothing super special. I should have planned out this night in advance.
Trattoria Za Za ~ Ok, this was ok but another touristy place I would not eat at again. It’s not that it was bad, just not worth recommending, but we were hungry and needed something near the Florence leather market. We all had a decent meal here, but nothing spectacular.
Harry’s Bar Firenze ~ Ok, we’ve never met a Harry’s we did not love and this is no exception. Harry’s Bar was located in our hotel and we were in luck the night we had a reservation here because it was pouring rain and luckily, we just had to walk downstairs. The wine and food and were amazing. Order the Cream Di Pomodoro Con Burrata e Basilco as a starter.
Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura ~ We ate here in-between our all day tour of Florence, which consisted of Academia Gallery Museum and Uffizi Gallery. The food was exceptional, the people watching was next level and it was next to Uffizi, so it was a perfect lunch place to mix in on our day of Florence education.
Vivoli Gelato ~ This is a must in Florence. It was recommended by a long time follower whose husband has family in Italy and we just loved it! Vivoli started in Florence in 1929, where Serafino Vivoli founded the shop and soon became the popular place to embrace “dolce a ninety” (a sweet nothingness).
All’Antico Vinaio ~ This famous lunch shop that originated in Florence certainly has the daily lines to prove it’s hype. Was it worth the hype? I’m not one to ask….I’m not a big sandwich person, but I did have a bite of Caroline’s as well as Sarah’s because these sandwiches are made to order and bigger than your head, but was it worth the thirty minute line???… Matthew and Sarah say yes, so take that for what it is worth (BTW - Sarah is crazy picky). I think it was worth waiting once (apparently a 30 minute wait is short)…I guess, it is always fun to see what the fuss is all about and my family enjoyed this lunch, so I recommend you doing this at least once.
Ristorante Buca Mario - Recommended, but did not make it to this one
Trattoria Sostanza Firenze ~ Did not make it here, but plan to when we go back. Must try the chicken, Artichoke Pie, and Strawberry Meringue dessert on the next trip
Trattoria Cammillo
Osteria Pastella
La Sorbettiera Gelato
Cooking Class
Oh my goodness, we had so much fun and loved our cooking class we went to in Florence. We signed up to go to the pasta class in at Towns of Italy and they were beyond fabulous with the kids. They also offer a pizza class, but we opted for the pasta class (although ask me how many times we’ve made pasta since being home)?!? We made a reservation about a month in advance, so not terribly early, but wanted to make sure we secured a spot on the day we had available. To be honest, when we go back, we want to do a more authentic cooking class in Tuscany, but we we in Florence and had a short window for the class, so this was a perfect option. If we had the time the next time the four of us visit Florence, we absolutely would do this one again. It was in a great area, just a few blocks from the train station. We laughed so hard during one part of the class, we are still laughing as a family about learning how to make pasta that day. Plus, the instructors did a fabulous job of making the class hands on in front of the group for any of the kids interested. Both Sarah and Caroline got to do something fun in front of the class. I would 10 out of 10 recommend this as a first timer cooking class in Italy.
sights around Florence
I know we only covered a small amount while in Florence because there are so many spectacular sights to see, but I’m listing what we covered below and then other suggestions in a second box of places we’ll go the next time we visit Florence.
Places we visited / toured:
Accademia Gallery
Duomo Cathedral tour and climb
Ufizi Gallery
Guided City Walking Tour
Ponte Vecchio
There are so many more sights to see, but these were our top five because we wanted plenty of time to shop and explore on our own. We knocked out most of these in “Florence in a Day.” message me if you want the name of our tour and our guide. It was a great fit for us to knock out the sights and museums in a day with skip the line passes. We did not want to wear out the museums and learning by doing it every single day of our trip. I loved having one day dedicated to sighting seeing.
Nighttime in Florence was my favorite. The Piazza della Signoria comes alive and may be the most beautiful city square. It’s surrounded by the oldest art museum in the world, Palazzo degli Uffizi, and Palazzo Vecchio, which is the former palace of the Medicis. It’s the heart of Florence and truly magical at night. We loved going each night to enjoy gelato and even bought the glow in the dark weird things you shoot in the air, but had a blast doing something so simple in such a special place.
Blurry picture, but want to remember these little things
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