The Mall in Florence has the best selection of Outlet Shops

Aside from all the eating I planned to do in Paris, my only other main destination in Europe was The Mall, the Luxury Outlet Shopping Center, in Florence. I have been a loyal visitor of La Vallée Village in Paris, I've even gone crazy shopping for the hour I was there last year (you can read about that here), but even that pales in comparison to The Mall, mainly because they have a really good selection of stores in one place. 

The Mall is 30-minutes away from Florence, in the green Tuscan Hills (as quoted by their website). It is easily accessible by direct bus from the SITA or Busitalia Station across the street from Firenze Santa Maria Novella (Main) Train Station. 

We arrived just in time to buy return tickets
 and board the bus,
(Euros 5 one-way, Euros 10 for return) 

We were aiming to catch the 10:00am bus,
but we made it just in time to catch the 9:30am one.

It's a nice 30-40 minute drive through the Tuscan Countryside.

I was so excited when the bus passed in front
of PRADA.

We go dropped off right in front of the shops.
I was hungry when we boarded the bus,
but my hunger disappeared as soon as we arrived.
I only wanted to shop!

This is the store line-up.
Since I did my research on-line.
I just headed straight for Tod's first (It's way at the back).

The early bird catches the worm because I was able to grab this last
pair of Tod's shoes in my size.

I was also able to grab this bag for my friend.
It was the last piece and a Japanese couple had their eye on it.
They would get it every time I put it down,
but I just told them I was getting it.

I also bought the D-Styling 2 Manici  for myself in Nicotine.
The Sales Assistant was nice enough to bring the bag out
of the store so I could see the color in Natural Light.

It was only after I bought our bag did I realize that it was an "it-bag"
carried by Jennifer Garner, Blair Waldorf and the girl on Scandal.

I was so happy my shoes went well with my bag.

I finally gave in and got some nourishment at the cafe
to fortify myself for shopping in Prada.

I think the Cappuccino was only 1euro. Even the cafe was cheap.

I just had to take a picture before entering.

When you enter Prada,
the door man gives you a number.
You'll need to show this number every time you want
something, then they'll hold it for you.
When you're ready to pay,
you just give the number to the cashier.

The Prada Store was so big, it was a bit overwhelming, so you should have an idea where you want to start because the store is overflowing with Asians grabbing everything. You need to stay focused, go for what you've come for (because things run out fast), then browse leisurely afterwards. 

My first stop was the shoe section and I realized that Rumors of Euro50 Shoes in Prada is not just a Rumor or a Myth, it is TRUE. They have Euro50 Shoes!!! 

The shoes were actually MiuMiu
but these Nude Slingbacks were 50 Euros!

The wedge heels were really nice.

I also got this strappy bronze pair.

The Kitten Wedge Hell was also very sexy.

It really pays to go early because I was able to get the shoes I wanted in my size. I felt like I won the shoe lottery. They also had Prada shoes in Euros 75 and Euros 100 price points but the one I wanted was two sizes too big.  

After shoe shopping, I moved on to buying the stuff my friends asked me to get for them.

MiuMiu iPad Case and Prada Pouch

Prada Wallet in Cobalto Saffiano Leather
When I got this there were so many colors to choose from,
but after lunch, there was nothing left.

Prada Men's Wallet

The atmosphere in the store is one of urgency, with a fear that things will run out if you don't grab, so it gets expensive if you're competitive like me.

I impulse bought a Prada Gaufre Nappa Wallet
because I heard the magic words "That's the last one."

Since I wasn't sure I wanted a short wallet
(heck, I didn't even plan to buy a wallet)
I also bought a long MiuMiu wallet on impulse, this time because
the magic words were "It's on Special, Additional 50% Off"

The real reason I went to Prada, was because I wanted to buy a bag. 

The bag I wanted was the Prada Gaufre Nappa Bauletto.
But they only had it in baby pink.
Thanks, but No Thanks!

I realized that bag shopping at the Prada Outlet must be done at a leisurely pace because there were just so many nice bags all within the same price range, so it's really hard to choose just one. But if you take the time to look at each and every one, you'll know it when you find the right bag for you, because it will feel right, and you'll get a feeling that you absolutely must have it, which is not the case with all the other nice bags there.

That's how I felt when I saw the Prada Bauletto in Soft Calf Leather.
I swear, it was love at first sight. It's very similar to the style I wanted,
but because of the classy gold detail, it didn't feel like I was just settling.
I thought I got a classic alternative to the beautiful rusched bag I wanted.

The lines were quite long when I finally finished my selection, so I made friends with the handsome door man and I asked him if I could go for lunch first before I paid for the things I had reserved with my number and he told me to go ahead.

There was still a few minutes left before I had to meet my friends for lunch so I checked out the Lanvin store first. Both my friends were believers that Lanvin makes the most comfortable shoes on earth, well worth their exorbitant price tag. So while I wasn't willing to pay the price of Lanvin in Paris, I was totally willing to check it out at outlet prices.

The Lanvin store was quite small compared to
Tod's and Prada.

I walked out with a pair of black toe capped light pink flats in python skin.
The only catch is they only had it in 36 so it was a bit snug.
(and that was cold weather!!!)

I tried wearing it to work once and I was exhausted after wards
because my left foot was killing me.
In fairness, the right foot was fine. I tried to have it stretched,
but the shop just advised me it will stretch with use.

While some of my friends wanted a proper lunch, all I wanted was a quick bite to eat at the Cafe so we could go back to our shopping.

Tim and I had salad and pizza to share for lunch.

After lunch, I dragged him back to Prada with me so he could check out all my impulse purchases before I swiped my credit card. Hahaha.

Most of the shopping was mine, but some of the bags were Kim's.

I'm so happy Tim helped me carry some of my bags,
or I wouldn't have been able to buy more.

The girls outside Prada after lunch with our half-day haul..

After spending more hours in Prada, looking around in case I missed something the first time (which I didn't), I was almost ready to call it a day. My heart was already happy, and my credit cards have already been well-used. But out of curiosity, I wanted to take a peak inside Balenciaga where I looked for a bag for another friend, and YSL where I wanted to see if they had the bag I had a crush on.

I swear, I didn't plan on buying a third bag,
but they had they bag I wanted, in the size and color
I wanted, and they had an additional 30% off
only for 3 days, including the day I was there.
It was just meant to be mine.

After that, I was really ready to call it a day, so Kim and I just did our Downtown Tax Refund, where you can get cash back on the spot from the Tourist Refund Center at The Mall, as long as you leave the EU within and send back the tax refund form stamped by customs within 21 days. They will get your credit card details because they will debit your card with a 50% penalty if you fail to send in your stamped form.

Here are the details of the Downtown Cash Refund.
OC person that I am, I took a picture of my stamped forms just in case.

While waiting for our friends, Kim and I just had cake and coffee at the
cafe. It's a good thing we did because we stayed until closing.
It sure felt like I was running on coffee and shopping the whole day.

We caught the 7pm shuttle back to Florence.

It was really the best outlet shopping experience I've ever had. Just imagine, all the expensive bag brands in one shopping center - where all the stores sell what are normally expensive shoes and bags at NOT expensive prices. It was really shopping Heaven!!! The only catch is I probably need another expat stint, or a new job if I want to keep coming back because you can't buy just one. You have to be fair and buy all the good deals. Hahaha. just saying. 

THE MALL Outlet Centre

Via Europa 8

50066 Leccio Reggello (FI)

Open: Mon-Sun 10:00am-7:00pm

http://www.themall.it/en/outlet-italy/visit-the-mall.html

Daily service connects the centre of Florence to The Mall Outlet Centre and viceversa.

Departure: BUSITALIA/SITA depot  

Via Santa Caterina da Siena 17, Florence (near the central train station).

One-way ticket cost: 5.00€.