Florence, Italy

Arriving to Florence

We arrived in Florence on the train, walked to our Airbnb to drop our bags, and went on our way to explore the city. We stayed directly across from Galleria dell’Accademia, so we were very central to everything within Florence. We threw clothes in the wash at the Airbnb and walked to a wine bar down the street. We got to aperol spritzes at Antiche Dogane for €8. We didn’t want to eat too much since we had a pasta making class later this evening.

We booked a 3-hour pasta making class called Pasta Mania through Airbnb Experiences for $101 total – incredible deal for the experience! We arrived at 4:30pm for the class and was put into a small group of 9 of us. We watched a video on how the pasta is made and how they procure the ingredients- this is some of the freshest food you’ll eat and it is tasty. We were given aprons and our ingredients- water, flour, and egg. We made the dough and were taught how to make different types of pasta using some very cool utensils. We ended up making ricotta and truffle filled cappelletti and fettuccini while the head chef made red sauce from scratch.

This was my favorite activity! We learned so much about the history of Florence, how the food is made, local foods, and how to cook a delicious meal. From here, we walked around Florence and still had room for gelato. We walked along Ponte Vecchio, which felt a lot like Venice since it is along the water.

Full Day in Florence

Our first full day in Florence started with breakfast at Shake Cafe a couple blocks from our Airbnb. It offers healthy breakfast foods and drinks, which ended up being €22. I bought tickets for Galleria dell’Accademia before our trip because they sell out fast and the line is incredibly long to wait for tickets. Two tickets were only $37.63. We opted out of a guided tour, and instead, did our own tour at our own pace. There are beautiful statues and paintings- this is also the home of the Statue of David. We only stayed here for about an hour before we moved on to the next thing.

One of my must-do’s for Florence was visiting a wine window. I found Cantina De’ Pucci on Google Maps and walked here after the museum. You ring the bell at a hole in the wall, tell your order, and they deliver it to you through the wall. So niche, but so fun! We got two different types of wine cocktails for €18. We needed some food and wound up at La Schiacciateria for authentic Italian sandwiches for €12.

We purchased timed entry tickets to walk up the dome of the Florence Cathedral the day before on GetYourGuide. We walked up to the top of the cathedral and onto the roof area and saw panoramic views of Florence. Beautiful scenery and it was so peaceful. We then climbed up bell tower afterward, which is right next to the cathedral. We did some souvenir shopping and walked around the il Mercato Centrale Firenze and went back to the room to get ready for dinner.

Chris wanted steak, so he found Trattoria Dall’Oste and made us reservations. This meal was a splurge, but we knew that going into it based on the reviews online. We got so much food – cheese board appetizer, bread, wines, entrees, and dessert. We feasted for €117, but it was well worth it. They explain the meats and how they cook it, and everything was incredibly fresh. We walked off our food and went to a rooftop bar called View on Art Rooftop Cocktail Bar that overlook the Florence Cathedral. This was a cool experience at sunset, but it definitely gets packed. The last place we went to was a bakery called Don Nino for an assortment of macaroons for €17.50.

Leaving Florence

We were leaving Florence via train to head back to Rome around 11am. We had time to get breakfast at Shake Cafe again. This time we sat and took our time eating and spent €33.50. We checked out of our Airbnb and hauled our luggage back with us to the train station. Florence was a very quick stint of our trip, but absolutely one of my favorite cities to date. We got on our train back to Rome and continued on.