travel

48 hours in Florence

March 25, 2018
florence

Florence, brings to mind Assassin’s Creed! This is the place to be to immerse yourself in Italy’s Tuscany culture – gelato, tiramisu, cannelloni and pasta. This is our 48 hours in Florence, a city of many masterpieces of Renaissance art and amazing architecture. Florence has a relaxed pace to the city and a chilled atmosphere to slowly explore and breathe in the italian culture.

One of the reasons we moved to London was that it enabled us to travel to nearby european cities on weekends instead of taking a massive european holiday. We have been truly inspired by the Travel Man, Richard Ayoade. Richard hosts a TV show that take him and a guest to a city travelable from London for 48 hours. He maximises some of the world’s most popular destinations in a bite size time frame by fitting as much of the city into 48 hours i.e. a weekend. We love his catch phrase – “We’re here but should we have come!” and just like the show we have been pronouncing it everytime we land in a city.

48 hours in Florence – Let’s go!

Il Duomo di Firenze

We climbed the Palazzo Vecchio and were greeted with an amazing view of the iconic Duomo di Firenze. This breath taking view will set you back 13 Euros to get access to climb the tower. It probably isn’t for the less fit because there are so many stairs to the top. However, it is just beautiful to see this ancient city rested in the midst of green mountains in the background.

Another bird’s eye view of the other side of the city. It’s called the Watch Tower for a reason. This tower has slits around the building so that snipers can take out intruders trying to breach the city.

Did I mention stairs? Well, there’s a lot of them. Although they control the flow of people allowed to enter the tower, there is inevitably going to be people walking past you when you either go up or down the stairs. Just something to be aware of if you decide to check out the Watch tower.

Cell in Assassin’s Creed

If you are a fan of Assassin’s Creed, you will remember that the main character gets locked in the cell in the tower. It’s a tiny room with a window.

Night view of Il Duomo di Firenze

In the evening, when the sun goes down, the entire structure of Il Duomo di Firenze is lit up with flood lights and spot lights. It is just as incredible to see it at night as it is in the day time. It highlights all the images that you wouldn’t notice during the day and is just a beautiful juxtaposition between the dark black sky and the elaborate white cathedral.

Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy. It is still lined with shops as it was in the medieval times. What once was butcher and market stores are now lined with gold jewellers, art dealers and high-end watch stores.

Basilica di Santa Croce

The Basilica di Santa Croce is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 meters south-east of the Duomo.

Piazza della Repubblica

We stay close to this square which had a beautifully lit ferris wheel. So easy for families to hang out here at night. It feels safe and family friendly to either go on the ride or just sit back and relax to classical violin street performances in the evening. The echos from the string instruments create a very relaxing atmosphere that puts your worries to rest.

 Florence

Foods you just have to try in Florence

Tiramisu

This was heavenly. We weren’t vegans when we visited Florence. This place was the bomb. The airiness of the cream was just divine. With just 48 hours in Florence, remember to slurp your espresso with this cake!

Cannelloni

Freshly pumped cream into the cannelloni shells. Yummmm… I got a second one. Just too good. The shells were crispy as they are freshly filled and not left to soak the moisture from the cream. The cream was deliciously infused with vanilla bean and covered in pistachio for effect and crunch.

Pasta – Ravioli

Silky pasta just melts in your mouth. Truffle infused oil elevates the pasta to another level. Delicious.

Gelato

Florence is home to the creation of gelato. So we had to try as many flavours as we could!

Blub art

Would you recommend Florence?

Although in the same country, Florence is completely different from Venice or Rome. It has a different charm to its city and we different prefer the calmer way of sight seeing and less tourist crowds. During the summer time, it felt very romantic to wonder the streets in a summer outfits. We would definitely recommend Florence if you are travelling with kids or the elderly and want to visit an Italian city. It is easier to walk around because the streets are wider and it is less crowded than most of the popular Italian cities.

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