Italy: Northern Delights the Easy Way - Days 5 - 7: Florence

We have really settled into Florence. The curving streets have made it a challenge to follow a map and we have been turned around many times. However, we discovered many interesting shops and sights we might not have seen had we been able to follow the map. Breakfast at our lovely hotel, Mia Cara, less than a 5 min walk from the train station, was followed by a morning stroll through the streets searching out the highlights. A late lunch at one of the many, many pizzerias was followed by a siesta in our room. Back out late afternoon for another try at finding specific sites and then dinner by the Duomo or on the street of our hotel, Via Fuenza, where we were never disappointed. After an hour relaxing in the room we went back to the corner for a late night treat at our favourite gelato place, Gelati del Bondi.

Over the course of two days we were able to eventually find all of the places we had marked to see and many others we just happened upon. Florence is such a beautiful city we very much enjoyed just wandering the streets, so getting lost was not a bother. Our favourite shop was Signum on Borge dei Greci 40R, with lots of beautiful notebooks, library sculptures and other stationery. A delightful little shop.

Unfortunately we discovered a surprise train strike was to take place the next day, when we were scheduled to depart. Rather than face the crowds and chaos at the train station, since it was unclear what would be running, we decided to take a taxi to Lucca. However, our hotel concierge offered to drive us, at a lower rate. While still pricey, given the challenges we have had with the trains and finding our hotel upon arrival for our earlier stops, we felt we deserved this break.