On Sunday evening, we touched down at Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola, after a scary amount of turbulence that caused Celina to throw her noodles in the air and all down the neck of the man sitting in front of her. We were a little shaken up afterwards (understandably) and didn’t know what to expect as we climbed into a cab and whizzed off to our hotel. Luckily, Florence is the most hospitable city we’ve ever been to! We had an amazing time overall, so if you’re looking to live like a career girl in Florence, here’s what we got up to and some of the fun we had!
On day one we really wanted to have a wander around and examine Florence. The atmosphere of the city was electric and we found ourselves shaking off the stresses of work almost too easily. We headed to the Piazza della Signoria and couldn’t decide what we enjoyed more, the little children excitedly shouting “Pizza Margherita”, or the general decadence of the area.
After we wandered around, looking at the prices of bags and trying to decide what food we wanted, we arrived at The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (or Il Duomo di Firenze) and just had to stand in the warm evening air and take everything in. We saw so many things that we wished we had time to do, like the Magnum Design Your Own Icecream Bar, but our grumbly stomachs forced us to walk on.
‘We had an amazing time overall, so if you’re looking to live like a career girl in Florence, here’s what we got up to and some of the fun we had!’
Dinner in Ristorante Osteria Zio Gigi
In Florence, there’s no shortage of good food, so we were on the hunt for something traditional and homey. Zio Gigi delivered that in a big way, the atmosphere was relaxed, the wine was great, the staff was accommodating and friendly and the food was exactly what we needed. The only problem was the portion sizes, we ordered spaghetti (for the first course) and I had chicken and roast potatoes on the side. We struggled to finish it all but we enjoyed it, my chicken was beautifully cooked and herby and the potatoes were crunchy and moreish. One thing we learned was that our eyes are always bigger than our bellies!
A Walk Along The River
On day two we took a walk along the Arno and took some selfies with the Ponte Vecchio. It was a scorching hot day and it was so nice to take a walk and enjoy the sunshine. One of the things we loved about Florence was the smell of the city. In one day, we smelled the fresh aroma of rain, petals, incense and freshly cooked fish. I’ve never been in a nicer smelling city.
Lunch At La Mangiatoia
One of my goals while in Florence was to eat pizza. I completed that at La Mangiatoia, and ordered myself a gigantic Margherita pizza and one of the delightfully designed Coke cans and tackled it like a champ. The whole pizza was so fresh, you could tell that it was created with only the best ingredients, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Buffalo Mozzarella, sweet and vinegary tomato sauce and a freshly baked base made this the best pizza I’ve ever had. Celina had lasagne which came with a creamy sauce and perfectly cooked layers of pasta, we just couldn’t get over the quality of food and how homely it felt. Again the staff were so lovely and we just felt so at ease and stress-free.
One of the reasons we had such a great trip in Florence was the fact that we didn’t take a map with us. Because of this, we were constantly wandering around, but we didn’t panic like we would if we were lost elsewhere. The slow paced, clean, city has something to offer no matter where you go, so we always discovered something worth snapping. We found the Porta Romana and walked up and along the Giardinio de Boboli to the Istituto D’Arte, all by chance because we decided to take a stroll.
We even found a Lush store and stocked up on some bath bombs and it was so easy to get home every time we were lost. We also had a great walk around the shopping quarter, so if you’re in need of some luxury retail therapy there is literally no better place to go.
Italy is renowned as a fashion-forward country, we saw some great outfits in Florence and decided that the Italian style is a mixture of casual and chic, with great bags. It’s important to feel comfortable while you wander the streets of Florence, so make sure your outfits exude casual old Hollywood vibes. Here are some styling tips:
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