Italy: Shopping in Florence

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The train to Florence was pleasant but not nearly as nice as an Italian bus. Our hostel was only a short walk from the train station and about 8 flights of stairs up. Why does it feel we are always walking and climbing stairs?

The city of Florence instantly appealed to both of us. The atmosphere is far more relaxed then Rome and people look at life a little more laid back. There are more people walking then driving and the streets are filled with people taking the time to enjoy their day. Even with a fashion school around the corner people are dressed for casual, leaving the Gucci and Prada at home. We definitely fit in more here then we have at in other city.

Our days in Florence were filled with many sites and tons of shopping. We saw the;
-Museum Accademia which is more sculpture and highlights of Michelangelo's David and the unfinished Slaves.
-Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo di Firenze is the city's beautiful cathedral, the symbol of the city. Brunelleschi's huge dome was an engineering feat of the Renaissance.
-Ponte Vecchio the oldest and most famous bridge over the Arno; the only Florentine bridge to survive WW2. The Ponte Vecchio (literally "old bridge") is lined with shops, traditionally mostly jewelers since the days of the Medici. Vasari's elevated walkway crosses the Arno over the Ponte Vecchio, connecting the Uffizi to the old Medici palace.
-Boboli Gardens, elaborately landscaped and with many interesting sculptures, behind the Pitti Palace. Wonderful city views, see pictures.
-Piazzale Michelangelo on a hilltop with a great view of the city

And we shopped. We shopped till we dropped. Florence is famous for its leather and we felt it was our duty to 'take it in'. So we did. Shoes, boots, bags, belts, jacket, gloves, and more bags. At the end of the day our only question was "How is this suppose to all fit in one backpack?" And of course it does not. We are now basically lugging around two giant bags each and it is not fun. But no regrets. We will figure something out right? Any suggestions will be accepted.

Other then shopping we also discovered a great deal on dinner called 'Kitsch'. You purchase one drink and are then provided with a full buffet of Italian food. You would think it would be 'free drink with food' however, Italians drink a lot more then they eat, so it is 'free food with drink'. Works for us, we went up for seconds 😊

Before we left Florence we took a day trip to see the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was a short train ride to Pisa where we met rain. And more rain. Not to be discouraged we followed a tour group and jumped onto the nearest bus. The bus dropped us off right outside the Cathedral square where we were bombarded by merchants trying to sell umbrellas. Refusing to pay 10 Euros for one more thing that we would later have to worry about fitting into our backpacks; we braved the rain and went in search for that perfect picture. In the end we had a bit of an audience as comments like 'Jill more leg!', 'Ewa drop your hands so it looks like you have a neck' were thrown out. Overall it was a good time and worth getting a little wet.

Off to discover Tuscany....

(And answser one final question 'Does the Italian shower really exist in day to day Italian life?' *to clarify this is a shower with out water and only cologne/perfume)

XOXOXOX Ewa and Jill

P.S. Due to some technical difficulties we will be updating this blog at a later date with photos from Ewa camera.

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Photos

Ponte Vecchio
A Medieval bridge over the Arno River, very famous in Florence.

Ponte Vecchio
Jill taking it in.

Ponte Vecchio
Ewa taking it in.

Boboli Gardens
Surrounding the Pitti Palace.

Boboli Gardens
An amazing view of Florence.

Walking the streets of Florence
Ewa misses Gucci.

David Outside
Can you tell the difference?