DAY 1: Despite being such a small city, our time spent in Florence was definitely filled with endless activities. Our first stop on our own little walking tour was the Ponte Vecchio bridge. The bridge crosses the Arno River and is noted for its beautiful jewelry shops along the sidewalks of the bridge. After snapping a few pictures and checking out some of the shops, we made our way across the bridge to the famous Venchi gelato shop. I never understood the hype of the Florence gelato and how it could be that much better than gelato in other cities, but after eating my gelato from Venchi, I realized I was highly mistaken. My mixture of dark chocolate and cappuccino gelato definitely lived up it’s Florence reputation – so much so that I had to go back for a second round! After stuffing our faces with gelato, we made our way to the famous Duomo cathedral. This beautiful, gothic styled cathedral can be seen from almost any vantage point throughout Florence, as it is one of Italy’s largest churches. Although we had hoped to climb the stairs of the Duomo and explore the interior, the lines for entrance were miles long! Despite not being able to enter, seeing the decorative exterior was interesting enough. For dinner, we went to La Giostra and had what I would like to call, one of the best meals of my life. We started off with a platter of tapas along with some delicious burrata and pan, and for my main dish I had chicken stuffed with cheese and vegetables – everything was unreal. Although a little pricey, the experience was definitely worth it.
DAY 2: After visiting most of the important sites on day 1, we spent a lot of our second day in Florence relaxing in the Boboli Gardens. Known for their collection of sculptures dating from the 16th through the 18th centuries, the gardens are a lovely, wide open field with places for visitors to relax and lay in the grass. There is also a beautiful view of Florence when you reach the top peak of the garden, which overlooks the entire city. We spent most of our day sitting in the grass and talking for hours and hours. It was a beautiful day out, and the perfect day to relax. After, we made our way to the leather market to make a few purchases. One of our friends who is abroad in Florence took us to her friend Massimo’s store, where we got some great leather jackets and bags. For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Osteria Santa Spirito for yet another amazing meal. I ordered the truffled gnocchi – aka heaven in a bowl. Safe to say, I gained about 20 pounds in Florence, but it was definitely well worth it.
Nikki Fried In Different Cities 