Florence

Back on the ‘road’ again.

Stop two on our Italian honeymoon adventure was Florence, or Firenze if you want to try and sound Italian.

Any hopes that the temperature in this Tuscan city might have been slightly less oppressive than Rome were dashed, when we discovered it was actually a few degrees hotter.

Given that it was face meltingly warm, we decided to take a more relaxed approach than in previous days. Copying the Italians, we would have a midday nap, before heading out later on in the day. Forget all this trekking about constantly… we tracked down a local swimming pool and hung out there. It provided some much needed relief.

Many people seem to gush over Florence than any other Italian city. The reasons why, I must admit I am yet to fully understand. The centre is old and beautiful, but it never really grabbed me as somewhere I was desperate to go back to. Grace had never been though, so we made time for it in our schedule as we wind our way north from Rome.

We took tips from a friend who lives in Italy, and headed to an area south of the river, and thus somewhere less frequented by tourists. It became almost immediately clear that this proved to be a wise move. We had the biggest steak I’ve ever seen in a nice wee place that came recommended, drank the Chianti that Florence is famous for, and sat outside with our Aperol Spritz after. Very nice. It was exactly the sort of local neighbourhood that seemed to difficult to find in Rome. I would tell you where it is, but the resulting stampede from the huge volume of visitors this site gets would mean that it wouldn’t remain off the beaten track for long.

Of course, we couldn’t come to Florence and not take a swatch at the Cathedral. So, before burrowing back into the safe haven that we had discovered for food, we braved the iPad wielding throngs.

The building is amazing, and pictures won’t do it justice… So I’m only going to post the one. I remember always being surprised at just how tall and grand it is.

It seems like the Italian police have at least something in common with their Greek counterparts..

Mile count since we have arrived in Italy: 32. Knackered, but Grace still looks fantastic. Maybe if it gets warmer in Scotland she’ll wear something like this more often:

Overall, Florence is a cool place. It’s not somewhere that immediately grabs me for any particular reason, but it has a nice, relaxed atmosphere. I can imagine that if you spent a bit of time here… And in the right places… You could fall slowly in love with it.