Another travel blog post! This post will cover Florence.

Florence was my home base while in Italy. My best friend Livi traveled A LOT, but she lived and took classes in Florence. After being to Rome, I’m so happy she chose to study in Florence. Florence is INCREDIBLE. I have not a single bad thing to say about the city.

We did so many things in Florence. I was just content wondering the quaint city.

We stayed in an Airbnb for the first four nights and a hotel the last two nights. Since originally I was going with my roommate Cara, I had searched places with high ratings and with a low cost. We LOVED both places that we stayed.

The Airbnb didn’t have wifi, but it was suppose to. The host was apologetic so that was apperciated. Other then that, we enjoyed our stay. It was a very authentic space which my Mom and I apperciated. It was also a two minute walk from Livi’s apartment which was perfect.

Our Hotel, Hotel Rapallo, was an incredible boutique hotel. The hotel was a 10 minute walk from the train station, but a bit more of a hike to Livi’s apartment. We didn’t mind the distance to Livi’s apartment since we only stayed there for the last two nights of our trip. The hotel had complimentary breakfast, and our favorite, tea time. Tea time was from 5p.m to 11 p.m. and had little pastries, meats, cheese, tea and coffee. YUM.

Day one we got into Florence around 8:30 PM. This is after our long travel day with a 15 hour layover in Lisbon, Portugal. We were exhausted! Luckily, Livi pushed us to enjoy a true Italian dinner in Florence. The restaurant was the best introduction and welcome to the city.

Day two we just spent time walking around and getting to know the city. My Mom bought a plan with Verizon while we were abroad and it wasn’t working at first (ended up being the silliest mishap). Finally, we got the phone to work. At first, it was disasterous because her navigation wouldn’t work. Florence, and really everywhere we went, was really impossible to navigate without a working GPS.

Once the GPS started working we were good to go. On Day two, Livi took my Mom and I to this amazing panini place. All’Antico Vinaio was a 10/10. They’re GIANT and I had so much prosciutto in my panini. After that, my Mom and I went to the Gucci Gardens.

At night, Livi and I went to the Christmas market and walked around. It was similar to the Christmas market Bryant Park has around Christmas time.

Day three was more exploring of Florence. We shopped, ate and walked around. With ongoing rain, we stopped exploring for a little to get dry inside a local pub. This pub was great, but what was not so great was the “turkish” style toilet. Livi and I went to use the bathroom and thought we were in the mens bathroom. The “toilet” was a squared whole. We were confused and asked the waitress where the womens bathroom was. She said, “Oh that’s the womens bathroom. You have to squat, it’s turkish style.” We were hysterically laughing over this. It was unreal (I should’ve taken a picture).

Day three was Thanksgiving and because we’re from the United States, we celebrated with dinner. We walked over the river and enjoyed dinner in a small, quiet restaurant. After being stuffed full, we went to the cutest irish pub just steps out of Livi’s apartment. The bar was owned by the sweetest man named Beckham who we quickly got to know.

Day four we went to Rome. You can find my day in Rome travel post, here.

Day five we changed hotels and went to Tuscany for our wine tour. When we got back we went to dinner and Livi stayed over. Yes, I slept in the middle of Livi and my Mom in a queen size bed. Typical, this still makes me laugh.

Day six was our last full day in Florence. My Mom and I hadn’t seen the Pisa yet, so we took a train from Florence to Pisa. I was so shocked by how small the Leaning Tower of Pisa is. All of sudden we’re walking and it’s just there. It was awesome and super memorable to just see, and it’s another short train ride to get to Pisa from Florence.

That night Livi, her roommates and I went to a rooftop bar which was amazing and a great way to end the trip.

On day seven, my Mom and I climbed the Duomo, the Bell Tower and toured the Baptistery. Then we went back to the hotel, where a taxi picked us up ot bring us to the airport.

We were off to Lisbon, Portugal for another 15 hour layover. We stayed at a hotel close to the airport and the next morning we were off and back to reality. Reality for me consisted of FINALS, how fun is that…