After the mesmerizing beauty of Venice, my family traveled (again by train) back southward to Florence. I was looking forward to Firenze, having been told that I would “love it” given my interest in art. The museums on our to-do list looked interesting and I had found (via Instagram) a list of sandwich shops that were drool-worthy.

All that being said, I also went to Florence with a very untrue/unrealistic idea in my head that we were visiting a charming medieval city where no cars were allowed. I pictured an idyllic provincial town of peace and quiet and simplistic beauty. Who told me those things? How did I paint that very clear and very incorrect picture in my brain? I have no clue at this point—but the disparity between my vision and the reality was quite large when we stepped off the train and realized my sister and I needed to book it across town for a timed ticket entrance to the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze. We put my parents in a taxi with all of our luggage and made a mad dash through a rather modern, busy, dirty, crowded, smelly, overwhelming, normal city so that we could see the world-renowned statue of David.

I suppose that in a city known for its art (not just in physical forms, but general lifestyle aesthetic) it made sense to commence with the larger-than-life sculpture by Michelangelo that is known for being an iconic representation of beauty. He, indeed, was stunning (although I critically thought the proportion of his hands was a bit off). The museum wasn’t huge, but we were able to see some other great pieces of art in our brief time. Unfortunately, we were hungry, so rather soon after arriving, my sister and I left to meet our parents nearby at one of the sandwich shops, All’Antico Vinaio.

It was obvious from a block away that this was a popular destination, but we gamely joined the line to order a few sandwiches to share. Apparently (by that I mean an unconfirmed bit of info floating in my mind) Florence is the birthplace of modern sandwiches. That could be total horse crap, but we really leaned into that myth and patronized multiple shops during our time in Florence, all of which offered a unique take on a classic lunchtime staple.

Revived by food, we headed toward Cinema Teatro Odeon (another Instagram find) to check out the movie theatre-turned-bookstore. We all looked around at the books for a bit before my parents headed off for their timed entry to the Uffizi Gallery. My sister, Grace, and I decided to stay at the store. We found a few books of interest and headed up to the second floor which has been maintained as theatre seating with the perhaps most comfortable chairs I’ve ever sat in. We people watched, read a few pages from our intended purchases and aimlessly viewed a filmmaker documentary as it played on the large screen. The theatre was clearly a popular place to pause, particularly for students or remote workers, many of whom had laptops and/or sketchbooks. The only thing missing from this magical place was a coffeeshop (and operational bathrooms).

After our repose we walked across the river (with some sunset photos backed by views of Ponte Vecchio) to Legatoria Sant’Agostino for a paper marbling workshop (read The Remarkable section below for more details), followed by dinner in the lofted section of Parione Trattoria before a 25-min walk across town to our stay at the AC Marriott Florence. The hotel was bigger and more updated than our Venetian stay, but far less convenient of a location.

The next morning, I felt very unwell to the point that as I was getting ready, I repeatedly told myself that at any moment, I could come back and crash. I’m sure everyone is aware, but vacation does not exclude one from sickness or injury. We walked part of the way back into town before pausing for some of the best pastries and cappuccinos of the trip at Bar Pasticceria Piccioli (where we also had breakfast the next morning). In a very typical Italian fashion, we ordered and paid for our food/drinks at the counter and then brought our receipt to the barista who confirmed our drink choices. It would have been most Italian of us to enjoy our purchases at the bar, but Piccioli also had some available seating in the back which we took advantage of. This was a bar/bakery that proudly served in-house made pastries which were 100% savored to the last flake of each cornetto bite!

My dad and I had timed entry tickets for climbing the bell tower, so we rushed ahead to the city center. I already was really lacking energy and lung capacity before our brisk walk, so, by the time we arrived I felt completely exhausted. The stairway was narrow and there’s only one way up/down, so the timed entries help mitigate traffic flow issues and I was grateful to be able to go somewhat slower than I normally would have. I am generally a physically adept person and climbing wasn’t intimidating to me, but my body that day really was screaming for me to stop. My dad and I made it to the first of three levels (which is about ½ of the stairs). We took some pictures as I regained my ability to breathe normally before I decided that I couldn’t go the rest of the way. It was humbling, but the right choice for that moment, knowing that we still had a full day of touristic activity ahead. He continued up and I eventually walked down and enjoyed people watching while I waited for him and my mom/sister to meet up.

We spent the rest of the day going in and out of the various elements of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the church itself, its crypts and the baptistry). We patronized a few shops and then, in the afternoon, we split up again for Grace and I to go to the Uffizi Gallery. My parents headed elsewhere and we all met later to find dinner.

Our final half day in Florence was spent going up to the Piazzale Michelangelo (we walked partway, then took a taxi to the top of the hill) where we enjoyed a stunning panoramic view of the city. On a windy day in November, we basically had the place to ourselves. We walked back down through the rose garden, which still had some lovely blooms. Back across the river and into the city, we had a final round of sandwiches and capped off our Florentine visit with an affogato. Then, it was back to the train station to begin our train-taxi-hotel-taxi-plane-plane-taxi journey to get home on Black Friday.

Italy, as one might expect, was lovely. So much history, art, architecture, food, drinks, beauty and joy. I felt like we were in each of the three cities long enough to actually do more than just the highlights, but that we left enough in each place to return to one day.

The Highlights
Paper marbling. Cinema Teatro Odeon. Sandwiches (All’Antico Vinaio, Pino’Sandwiches, Panini Toscani). Views from Piazzale Michelangelo. Walk through the adjoining rose garden. Ponte Vecchio. Galleria dell’Accademia. Parione Trattoria. Climbing Giotto’s Bell Tower. Affogato window. The grand architecture of St. Maria del Fiore. La Bussola Ristorante Pizzeria. Cappuccinos and strawberry brioche for breakfasts at Bar Pasticceria Piccioli. Uffizi Gallery.

The Remarkable
Every time I travel, I look for a class or workshop to help connect me more specifically to the local culture or lifeblood of a city. In Paris, I’ve done cooking/baking classes; in Prague I attended a chamber concert; in Heidelberg I took yoga classes. I discovered Legatoria Sant’Agostino from the lifestyle influencer, Jamie Beck, when she shared a video of her family creating bespoke paper designs using a traditional marbling technique. My family was game to do it, so I booked a private experience for the four of us (at the time, it cost 50 euros per person).

The employees were so kind and encouraging during our time (we even got to meet the owner, whose family has run the bookbinding store since the early 1900s). After a brief demonstration on the various design techniques, we each got to pick out our desired colors and were advised on which order to use them. I was very pleased with my peacock feathering design but equally wowed by my family’s creations. We chose to have our sheets of paper made into various souvenirs for an extra cost—totally worth it, in my opinion, for practical mementos of time well spent!

A related note: many of the highlights from this trip were found from social media searches (and then, algorithmic pushes of related content). Social media is not everything, but it can be a beautiful tool to connect people to moments of rich inspiration. Obviously, touristic trends can spin madly out of control and negatively impact local economies. When planning a trip based on recommendations (whether those are personal, guide book or Internet finds), be sure to consider peak seasons, days and times as you also consider whether you actually want to do the activity or try the food, not just because it hit a top-5 list. Also, leave space in your vacation schedule for your own discovery. When you do find something great, share the things that bring you joy & spread your influence for good. You never know how your favorite travel discoveries might impact someone else’s future trips!

SDG