Places We Go : Fascinating Florence

2 hours ago
2 min read

Updated: 60 minutes ago

Last November, John, Jim and I spent three nights in Florence. We came from Milan, a 1 hour 45 minute train ride. Florence, capitol of Italy’s Tuscany region, is home to masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. This time, my main goal was shopping for leather goods, scarves and food products. Why? I've had the good fortune to visit a few times before and I just wanted to waggggggggggnder the streets. Fortunely, J&J were in agreement. Let's take a look.

This scene remains my favorite in Florence. Florence suffered significant damage during the German occupation (1943–1944) and the Allied liberation in August 1944. Retreating Nazis destroyed most historic bridges, except the Ponte Vecchio (above), and bombed surrounding areas, while Allied forces targeted rail lines. Cultural treasures faced looting, though many were hidden.

On to shopping! Florence has authorized dealers who sell "Made in Italy" scarves in wool and cashmere.

A leather merchant displays his wares.

Paper merchants make their marbelized paper right in their shops. gggggggg

During our stay, we took a day trip to Lucca, a historic walled city in Tuscany. We walked the footpath on top of the wall that surrounds most of the city. The "sweater" weather we encountered in early November added to our joy.

Here's the neighborhood restaurant where we ate lunch.

In Lucca, John said the house special ravioli was the best pasta he had in Italy this trip. It was so yummy!

Julius Caesar was in Lucca in 56 BC. Moving day 2,081 years later.

Amazon deliveries must be the same around the world.

Back in Florence, the Mercato Centrale is a two-story indoor market hall filled with a zillion tasty things I wish I could have brought home.

I purchased Italian saffron from this spice merchant.

Delicious food including the best melt-in-your-mouth burrata salad I've ever had.

My favorite hotel of our three week trip was in Florence. The Hotel Pendini was right on Piazza della Repubblicca. My rooom was just below the fist "P" on the hotel sign. For a single, Hotel Pendini was €215 (including breakfast) per night.

John&Jim settle in for breakfast at Hotel Pendini. I loved European yogurt which is thinner that ours.

Such a pretty room.

I even loved the floors.

My room was old fashion, huge and filled with antique furniture. And see that phone? It worked for my wake-up calls!

Laying in bed, seeing the top of the Duomo and hearing its hourly bells was a treat.

I rarely watched TV on this trip but did catch the weather reports on BBC or CNN.

My view from bed at dusk. The only downside was live singers from 10 pm to 2 am. The hotel manager told us that triple paned windows aren't legal and even the 5-star hotel across the piazza has the same noise issue. Earplugs solved the problem.

On the night before we left for Rome, Christmas lights were starting to go up. Magical! Looking forward to the Olympics Closing Ceremony today. No matter what you're doing, I hope you enjoy your Sunday!