Florence

Hello Chums

A new day, a new destination.

We arrived in Florence, after two hellish nights of sleeping on hot, smelly overnight buses, the first one going to Barcelona and the second one going to Florence. Both were absolutely horrible journeys in which by the end of it, my knee had swollen up and was all hot and felt like it was severely bruised. Not fun.

But we got there, and found our friend Nat's apartment, where we were ( very kindly) invited to stay while we were in Florence.

And I had my first coffee ever, as I am not really wanting to become addicted to the stuff I never went there, but decided if I was to have a coffee anywhere in my life it would be Italy. And I was not disappointed; I was however afterwards in the next couple of countries  when tasting their version of coffee (let's just say i should have known, as Bosnia isn't really renowned for its coffe making skills).

We stayed in a really lovely area, with great restaurants and a little bakery around the corner, south of the river in Piazza Santo Spirito. There was a market everyday where Maria was excited to find fresh fruit and veg, and on the weekend an antique and vintage clothing market. Pretty cool.

They have these sign posts that have been "Christianised" all around the city. Its awesome, not because its Christian but because its awesome walking through a city and looking up and seeing an angel carrying something or other on a sign. The downside is it can be disconcerting when you see a sign with someone hanging off it (the Crucifix can be a little disturbing if you come across it unawares).

This little cat was staring at me as I walked down the stairs in our Apartment block thing, which you can really not classify as an apartment block as it was way too gorgeous.

The antique market

The most amazing pasta I think I will ever eat. Calamari and pesto. Every time I think of this meal, I just want to go back to  Florence and eat it all over again. It was SOOO good!

The Ponte Vecchio

My gorgeous travelling companion

You can buy little faces of the Pope and Michael Angelo much to my amused discovery.

I also found this postcard, which I don't know is appropriate to put on the internet, but here it is anyway. I'm a bit sheepish about putting this up actually! (Pun intended)

The Beautiful Duomo.

This is Maria's sense of humour to a T.

Maria casually trying to get a picture with a nun.

Nat and Maria looking gorgeous as usual.

A cool book in the Accademia bookshop.

The leather Markets

An angry goblin outside the Uffizi Gallery

Cute little case for nothings

This lady was determined not to move an inch, and so is now in my photo.

A Gorgeous little paperwork bookshop near the Ponte Vecchio

Our fruit market

There's a story behind this icecream that needs to be told I think.

Twenty five years ago, a newlywed couple came to Florence on their honeymoon. They found this Icecream shop and spent a ridiculous amount (at the time) on icecream in a week. The icecream was so good, that they bought a tray from the icecream shop home with them and years later told their three children about the wonderful icecream shop in Florence.

That couple was my parents. 

And the name Vivoli icecream is something of a legend in my family, so when I got to Florence I knew I had to go and eat some. And trust me it was worth it.

I can now see why my parents spent so much money on icecream while they were here.

"I do a great impression of a hotdog...or a potato..."

This was in a shop window, and I still don't know what to make of it.

The Boboli Gardens

This guy cracked a fit and a half when we took a picture of him, and started yelling at us in Italian. I still feel bad about that...

We spent our days eating icecream and pasta and drinking red wine.

We saw the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia and all the artwork that these galleries have to offer. I had the best time. Florence is one of those cities, a bit like Paris where everything feels alive, where you can truly see the cities personality.

I could have easily spent more time there.

And I will definitely be coming back.

Thats all folks.

See you soon

Cheerio

Love Katie G xx