Our flat and other highlights in Firenze

When I was toying with the idea of planning a trip to Europe this year (to use my miles and maximize the fact that I still had a valid Shengen Visa), the only cities I wanted to visit were Paris (which you can read about here) and Florence - because I wanted to go Outlet shopping for bags that are very expensive anywhere else in the world.

Like our flat in Paris, I picked our apartment here with location in mind.

Our apartment was right beside the Medici Chapel,
and Mercato San Lorenzo.

Because our Pisa stop-over was super duper efficient, you can read about it here, we arrived in Firenze dying of hunger. It's a good thing we had a few minutes to spare before we had to meet our landlord's sister-in-law in front of the Farmacia Santa Maria Novella.

I just walked straight for McDonald's with my luggage.

I ordered a Happy Meal so I could bring home the toy for Sofia.

I got an extra order of fried mozarella with meat bits or what they call
McCrunchy Bites because I didn't think the Happy Meal would be enough.

It was a bit of a struggle getting to our flat because even though it was only 5 minutes away from the train station on foot, it was raining, the weather was freezing, and it was a bit of a challenge pulling our luggage through cobblestone streets. 

The flat was in a nice old building but we were really sad to realize
that we were in another walk-up flat!
At least this time, the building only had 3 floors.

We had a two bedroom flat.
The bigger bedroom had 2 single beds and 1 sofa bed.

This room had a really nice view.

You can see the Medici Chapels.

And also the tower of the Duomo.

Tim and I got the second bedroom at the back
with two single beds.

There was only one bathroom which was a bit on
the small side, but it was pretty clean.

I just found it funny to see this threatening sign.

The living room and kitchen area was quite spacious.

The kitchen was just bare in comparison to the spoilage we got from
Valerie's flat in Paris.

No Nespresso here, but there's a Moka
(I've read somewhere that every Italian home has one),
except there was no coffee grounds or milk,
so this was basically just for ambiance.

Just a few steps away from our front door was
Medici Chapel.

And immediately after was the outdoor part of
Mercato San Lorenzo with mostly the leather sellers.

Leather handbags of all colors, shapes and sizes.

Ceramics.

Souvenirs including masks and Murano jewelry from
Venice.

Here, you can get H bags without a waiting list,
and without doing any song or dance
to prove you deserve one.

There are also a lot of leather bracelets and belts.

From this point of view, our flat is to the right just a bit past the shops.

All kinds of strapy leather sandals.

Since we were still full from McDonald's,
we just walked to explore our neighborhood.

Tim is one of the bigger mobile network providers.
"Paasa A Tim!"

Quaint Restaurants

Shoe stores that offer everything at this price
must surely be selling 1. not leather 2. not from Italy

Wine Stores and Delis

This place sells bulk wine.
You can bring your own bottle.

We just walked around till we made our way to the Mercato.
It's closed at night, but the restaurant we wanted to try was across it.

We didn't get to meet our landlord because she asked her sister-in-law to meet us when we arrived, but Ilaria was nice enough to leave us a list of restaurant recommendations. We went to one of her favorite places nearby for dinner.

Za-Za Trattoria is right across the covered Mercato.

We had Caprese which was really good.

Then Kim and I shared an order of Risotto with safron, prawns,
zuchinni and fresh truffles. It was so good.

Tim, Lysch and Diana all ordered Bistecca with Arugula and truffle cream.
It was so good too (I was just too full for more meat), that we agreed to
eat there again on another day.

For dessert, we had Gelato at Antica Gelateria,
just a corner away from our flat.

I naturally homed in on my favorite flavors.

Creature of habit much, I always order
Fragola and Limone, my favorite gelato flavors.

I'm glad this shop had small cones at 1euro each,
and you can combine 2 flavors,
so I was able to eat with less guilt.

The next day, our first full day in Florence, we went to The Mall, the Luxury Shopping Outlet that I really really wanted to go to. I strategically wanted to go on our first day, just in case I wanted to go back for something, I would be able to do so the next day.  

We took the Sita Bus Shuttle from the Busitalia
station right next to Firenze SMN station.

The Mall is an hour away, so it's like you get a free visit to the countryside
as well. We arrived just a little bit after it opened. 

Everything everywhere was a steal!
I spent the most time in Prada.

We split up, meeting quickly to re-group for a quick lunch,
then again at the end of the day when everyone was done.

When we left, it was actually night time already and the stores were
almost closing. It was so much fun, I'll just blog about it separately.

Outlet Shopping Day was also Diana's birthday, we went went directly to the restaurant across from our flat when we arrived because all of us were famished (choosing to shop over eating a proper meal at the outlet).

We ate at Trattoria Lo Strocotto, guessing by the Rick Steves books
on display I'd guess they may have been featured.

The place was modern yet cozy,
and they accommodated us even though we had no
reservation and they were quite full.

Happy Birthday Diana!!!

Because we were famished, we did things the Italian way.
First course: Olive Oil with Chili Pasta (shared with Kim)

Tim's Potato Gnocchi were better, but very filling.

It was important not to fill ourselves because we ordered 2.4kg of
Bistecca all Fiorentina for our Main Course.

Up close, it looks like the beef version of sashimi.

I like my beef pink, not red, so I got the ends of our gigantic T-bone.

Then we had Tiramisu to share to cap the meal.

The next day, I dragged Diana with me to explore
the covered Mercato San Lorenzo (Food Market),
before everyone woke up.

The market was such a foodie heaven.

Look at all that ham!

Wine and Pasta in all shapes and colors.

It even comes in a stripes.

All kinds of cheese.

Dried Mushrooms.

Even flowers, but I doubt they're for eating.

We stopped for a Cappuccino.

They say this market is really busy at lunch.
They sell local specialties like meatballs and tripe.

Parmesan!!!

I looked for small bottles of Truffle Oil because there was no way
I could carry my luggage if I went for the big bottles.

Breakfast was truffle salsa on crackers
(effective sampling because I bought).

Tartuffo (Truffle) Heaven.

My dad's favorite is Grana Padano.

I bought from this store because they had small packs,
and the cheese tasted really good.

The market also has fresh fruit and vegetables.
It reminds me of the Mercado in São Paulo.

I also bought some Sale al Tartuffo (Truffle Salt) to bring home.
The smell was so potent,
my whole luggage smelled like truffles when we got to Rome.

and some small bottles of Olive Oil to give away.

There are also some meat stalls in the market.
I normally look away and walk fast when we pass them.

We still had some time to spare before meeting
up with our friends so
we shopped a little bit in the market.

Creative scarf display.

Me and Diana.

This was my hoarded truffle loot.

I was also able to buy two bags in stamped leather (to look exotic)
that may be used as a clutch or shoulder bag with long or short straps.
The side streets of the markets are cheaper, because near our place they
were selling it for 25euros each. Near the covered market,
the starting price was 18euros, but I got it down to 26euros for both. 

When we met up with our friends, we walked towards the Uffizi, the museum Tim and Jem failed to enter the last time they were here, so it's actually the big thing on Tim's to do list in Florence.

An artist by the Medici Chapel.

The Duomo was around a five minute walk.

The Duomo in shot in vivid.

The other side of the Duomo.

The top of this tower is what we see from our flat.

We wanted to have brunch, but proper restaurants
don't really open until noon, so we had to settle
for this cafe.

Parma Ham Pizza by the Slice

It's not too bad when they heat it.
The parts where the crust is thin is actually good.

I love the old buildings that have been converted
to shops on the ground floor.

I got distracted when I saw the gold sandals on the
Zara window so I went in to buy them for Sofia.

The beautiful building from inside the Geox store.

There was also a street artist with his belongings.

We also saw a covered market but we didn't really browse.

The stores that caught my attention were the jewelry
stores. I read online that Ponte Vecchio is such
a tourist trap, a started looking before we got there.
just to get a general idea.

I was drawn to the Mosaic design (cluster of semi precious stones).
I looked at the bag pendant but it was more than what I wanted to spend.

We walked until the foot of Ponte Vecchio, but we didn't go further
because Tim didn't want to miss our slot at the Uffizi.

The Arno River from Ponte Vecchio.

The back of Ponte Vecchio.
The windows you see are all Jewelry store windows.

There were also quite a handful of Cameo factories,
where they can make a cameo of your face,
if you give them a picture.

We arrived at the Uffizi with a lot of time to spare.

There are also artists on the plaza.
As well as vendors selling reproductions.

An older looking Pinocchio.

Yay! Jem and Tim are finally about to enter the Uffizi Gallery to see the
work of the Masters... all four Ninja Turtles!

Picture taking is not allowed inside.
So this is the picture I took before entering.

I took some pictures of Ponte Vecchio from Uffizi because the view was really nice, and I assumed they meant no taking pictures of the artwork.

shot in vivid with the Canon s95

I also sneaked a shot of the Uffizi Hallway.

View of the tower from the outside balcony.

View of the rooftops. It's always different in each city.

After the museum, we decided to do more of doing
nothing before we split up to do our own thing.

Anna! I remembered you and Hans when I saw this.

Ponte Vecchio, here I come!

I just decided to systematically look through all the store windows.
Hahahaha.

I was interested in the charms. But this would mean
I had to get enough to fill a bracelet.

I briefly considered getting a ring with Florentine design.

I was really drawn by the mosaic designs.

If the price on the window is really low,
look closely because chances are that's silver.

I wanted to buy hoop earrings for Sofia.

I couldn't resist taking my picture in the mirror.

At the middle of the bridge there are no stores,
so you can take a picture with the river.

Me from Ponte Vecchio.

On one side though you have this statue.

A midst all the commercial gold stores, there are also places that have
more unique stuff, like hand-painted gold medals.

There was also a watch store with Patek Philippe
and Panerai.

If you think that jewelry here is expensive,
it's because their view does not come cheap.

This is me trying on the earrings I wanted to get for Sofia.

I ended up buying a mosaic pendant I could use everyday,
tri-colored  hoop earrings for Sofia and a pair for me to match.

I would not mind working in a jewelry store here.

The store I bought from was Oreficerie del Ponte Vecchio.

I was very happy with the service I got from this store because when I was asking to see similar designs, the lady assisting was very helpful. She even brought out the same item I wanted that was bought by the store when gold was cheaper so it was the same design at a lower price. One tip when buying jewelry from Ponte Vecchio is to be aware of how many carats you're buying. The gold standard in Florence is 18k that's why the pieces are so expensive. Some places like the store I bought from have the same designs in 9k gold, which is perfect if you just want a souvenir and not an investment piece. Just for perspective, gold jewelry in the UK is 9k (it's the minimum gold standard used). The Oreficerie del Ponte Vecchio has many branches on Ponte Vecchio different names, that's why some of the stock in the windows look the same. You can visit the website of Oreficerie del Ponte Vecchio here.

Happy with my purchases, I decided to just meander
back home. Another carousel for Sofia.

Easter is big in Italy.

Check out the ornate Chocolate Eggs.

Chocolate Bunnies.

I took a picture of the front of the Duomo on my
way back.

My friends as usual didn't make it back
at the agreed time.
So I stayed at my favorite Gelato place instead.

This time around I wanted the rich creamy stuff.

I had a Pear Formaggi (Pear and Cheese) and
Caffe (Coffee) Gelato and it was so good.

We had dinner again at Za-Za, and again it didn't disappoint.

The next day, I really had no more energy to lift
my bag, so I just slid it down 3 flights of stairs.
Thank you Samsonite for the lifetime warranty.

We arrived early at the station (because we didn't want to have to run
after our train) so we had time for breakfast.
First debut of my new Tod's bag :)

Croissants in Italy are so bad, it's a good thing the coffee makes up for it.

With Lysch on the train to Rome.

Goodbye Florence! That was a great visit. I don't think I realized before how much cheaper it is to visit Florence using the cappuccino and steak index compared to Paris (and even Rome). I will definitely be back. just saying.