The Return To Florence, Italy

A stay in Tuscany would be incomplete without a visit to my favourite Italian city – Florence and so, despite the grey clouds and rain earlier in the day, we jumped into the car, leaving our Tuscan farmhouse behind and made our way slowly to Florence.

I’ve been to Florence so many times in the past and although my experience was different each time, the one thing those visits had in common was the sunshine. It was scorching every time I visited Florence in the past – like truly perfect gelato weather so I was a tad worried about visiting with the looming grey clouds and potential rain. (It’s so petty on my part but I didn’t want to lose my Florentine-lust cos of bad weather).

Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. Florence was every bit as beautiful and charming as I remembered, rain or otherwise. We started off in Piazzale Michelangelo, with its stunning views of the city.

That view just never gets old!

We eventually carried on to the San Miniato al Monte (another brilliant spot for great views over the city) and one of the prettiest basilicas in Florence.

Let me show you what I mean…

Eventually, we left our vantage view-point at the top of the city and headed into the city centre in search of gelato and pizza.

Stopping by the Ponte Vecchio bridge on our way…

…before making our way through Florence’s picturesque winding side streets to Piazza della Signoria, the main square in Florence (I say square but its more like L-shaped).

* Piazza della Signoria, by the way, is one of the top spots to visit in Florence, especially so if its your first time in the city (for all the other places you have to see in Florence, check out this post here).

On a street corner not to far from here, in a totally unassuming side street pizzeria, we had our fill of delicious (and incredibly cheap pizza – made right in front of you) before heading down the road for our gelato fill.

(*The best gelatos in Florence are the ones not located in the main tourist areas – just walk a couple of streets away and you’ll find amazing gelatos at almost half the price! Like literally, all you have to do is walk across one of the bridges to find some of these places…)

The pizzas and gelatos did nothing to stop us from indulging in Florentine steaks afterwards before heading back home to the Tuscan farmhouse.

Florentine steaks are maaaahoosive (*forgot about my camera as soon as the wine arrived) and are hard to finish after eating as much pizza and ice cream as we had but you know what they say, when in ~~Rome~~ Florence… 😉