Florence

Last weekend brought a trip to one of my favorite all-time cities: Florence, Italy. I went last year and had a great time so I was excited to go again. Brent's cousin, Danielle, was here from Florida visiting so we decided to make a weekend trip to Florence.
We had gorgeous weather, which was even better coming from Holland where it is really cold and rainy. It felt so good to have the warmth of the sun on my face again. Wandering through the markets is always fun with so much to buy and the male sellers trying to woo you into purchasing something. There is always the faint smell of good food in the air and when you walk into a cafe or restaurant you get a full-scale sniff and you want to faint from the goodness of it.
The food in Florence is amazing. I wish I had another stomach so I could fit more in! We went to the best place for lunch, Mario's, two days in a row. It is really cheap and fast and tastes sooo good. They speak hardly any English and they seat you with strangers. I love it. Dinner, also for two nights in a row, was at Gato e Volpe (the cat and the wolf) - a play off of Pinocchio. The food is also so good there and the staff are very nice too.


Florence is full of museums and old buildings, there is so much to see. Last year I saw the essentials so this time I just wandered around. We went up in the tower of the Duomo; last year they were doing some construction so it was closed. The view over the city was fantastic. We also trekked up to an overlook on a hill and watched the sunset. There, too, was an amazing view that was breathtaking and the pictures can't capture how beautiful it was. The most random thing by far was when walking through some streets there was suddenly a huge gumball machine in a yard! I have absolutely no idea what it is for, but I took a picture because, what the..?!

I had a great time and can't wait to go back again sometime. I ate as much Gelato as possible, I can't get enough of it there. I am salivating thinking about it right now!