So excited to visit Florence! Ryan had it all 'loosely' planned, and I just went along for the ride.
Planned in our books usually means a top 10 kind list which we may or may not get through depending on how distracted we get by minor things along the way.
Did I mention how lovely Italian people seem to be yet?
Whist waiting for our bus to Rome, so we could get to the station, a car whizzed past to the junction, and then did a reverse all the way to us. I wondered if they were going to ask directions.
Andrea's lives in the area, and offered us a lift to the center of Rome as he was visiting friends. A bit dubiously, we accepted, and it was fab! We got to see a whole different perspective of Rome, and drove via Garbatella. It is actually a subway stop on our way in, and has a historic mini centre, and beautiful gardens. So nice is is known as the garden city, and is now a very sought after place. Not so much when Andreas was growing up there. I was starting to think Rome was only nice in the touristy areas, but so happy to be proven wrong :) :) :)
So back to Florence!
As soon as we arrived, we wondered straight to the river.
We soon came across the Ponte Vecchio - the oldest bridge in Florence. So beautiful, and filled with stunning jewellry shops.
If you follow the arches perpendicular to the bridge, and a little further along the river
You come to the Piazza della Signoria, filled with locals, tourists, and street artists. The vibe is lovely!
And our first port of call is adjacent to this square, the Uffizi Gallery.
Time to get lost among the priceless Renaissance artworks.
A bit of a selection:
Some of the views from the windows were gorgeous of Florence too:
We stopped by the palace, but by this point, were all cultured-out, so did not feel the need for more.
Phew - so two of the big 5 already down without even trying!
Cant wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Much Love
x