Europe 2025 | Florence, Italy

After our slightly troubled time in Bologna (well dad's troubles at least), we were happy to arrive smoothly into Florence, and our new home for the next few days at an apartment immediately next to the Cappelle Medicee (so close, that from the bedroom windows it felt we could almost touch the building).

We arrived quite early, so we had plenty of time that first afternoon to get out and explore the town (and find some food).  First on our path was the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore with its stunning marble detailed facade.  Stunning in day and night!  But, en route we got our first experience of the pickpocket plague that the region has to contend with.  As the girls were walking under an umbrella, two girls got very close, but luckily mum and dad noticed and stepped back disrupting them - to much nasty staring and glaring - but crisis avoided - bags intact - and lesson learnt.  (We later saw the same two girls casing out other areas).

We had heard about the crazy queues at All’Antico Vinaio, but we managed to walk right in and get our first Schiacciata of our stay (well our first each)... And its worth the hype!

We headed down to Ponte Vecchio and admired the house like structures attached to the bridge (almost like barnacles), and researched (wikipedia is awesome) the history.

It was then time for the dinner we had to have, Bistecca Florentine, and our waiter insisted we would eat 1.7kg between us (we didn't - though dad did try his hardest).  The problem with all that meat is there's no room left afterwards for dessert!

Next morning, and onto more exploring.

We checked out Neptune, and the array of statues at the Loggia dei Lanzi, and the entrance to Palazzo Vecchio.

Before we decided it was about time we tried one of the famous sandwiches again, but this time from a smaller less insta-famous seller.

So good!

In what became a bit of an epic journey (to find gelato) we trekked across the city, back and forth over bridges, and down many streets, until we found a (good) gelato store which wasn't closed!

It was worth the walk!

Heading back to the apartment for a rest, we took an opportunity to duck into the Cathedral, which was about to start closing for the afternoon to admire the huge dome and detailed artwork within.

We also stumbled upon Odeon, another insta-famous destination where you can enjoy a movie within the bookstore-come-theatre.  We watched the majority of the 1911 silent film, L'Inferno, portraying Dante's poem.

And then onto dinner (pizza) where the girls shared their first Aperol Spritz (yes, we know it should be an everyday thing in Italy - but it's winter!)

For our last full day in town, we started with an early morning walk to go meet David.

And then explored a lot of the city, sampling some food from the Mercato Centrale, snacks along the way, and of course the famous Vivoli affogato (which we forgot to photograph but have used one from someone else - and once again - worth the hype!)

We finished with a beautiful dinner of pasta and beef, and retired to the apartment.

And with the promise of letting the kids sleep in (which they are very excited about), we close the book on Florence, heading tomorrow morning to our final stop on the Euro 2025 tour (at least in Europe) - Rome.