Today we left for Florence. Our home for the next few nights is the Borghese Palace Art Hotel www.borghesepalace.hotelinfirenze.com
This is a very modern hotel compared to the last one we were in.
We arrived at the hotel around 10:15 am and dumped our luggage (the rooms weren’t ready) . We all split to go into different directions. We had a lot of ground to cover (bite to eat / shopping) before we met again at 1:45 for a walking tour of Florence. We found the leather stores near Santa Croce Church and the Jewellery stores on and near the Ponte Vecchio Bridge.
The square at Santa Croce Church.
This is the Arno River – looking away from the bridge
This is the bridge. You want Jewellery – this is the place to go. Even though everyone said the shops off the bridge are cheaper – I found a pair of earrings “on the bridge”. (They had my name on them :))
Here I am on the bridge looking down the Arno River – well not really looking because the sun was shining in my eyes and I look like I fell asleep – but you get the idea.
Here are some pictures from touring around Florence:
This is one of my favourite pictures…
Florence is known for its Mopeds. They are everywhere.
We had our final group meal tonight. We dined at Frescobaldi Wine Bar in Florence www.deifrescobaldi.it/ . This was one of the dishes. Deliciouso…. one of my favourite meals. I know this might not sound great but it was delicious – Ravioli stuffed with a pumpkin puree (there was something else in the mix but it was a chef secret) and it was topped with an Amaretto sauce.
Before dinner we met on the rooftop patio of the hotel to have a drink of champagne and some wine and cheese. It was a nice way to officially end our trip.
Most of us (myself included) have tickets for the Uffizi Gallery tomorrow. However, five of us decided to ditch the gallery and head off for a special tour. You will have to check in tomorrow to see what we got up to. I will say though – that I loved Florence. It is a compact city, extremely clean and easy to walk around and navigate. Hopefully I will be back some day to really explore the city.
Ciao bella.
Elizabeth, Your Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
www.StampScrapAndMore.com
I am loving these pictures. Thank you so much for taking the time to give us a tour!
I know it’s Italy – but that hotel room….oo la la!!
What gorgeous photos of Florence – I really have to stop buying stamp stuff and save up for a trip to Italy!! Thanks for REALLY enabling me 🙂