Florence
Florence is the kind of place that doesn’t just show off, it assumes you already know it can. You turn a corner and there’s another masterpiece just sitting there like it’s no big deal, churches stacked with detail, statues out in the open like yard decorations, and streets that feel like they’ve been holding stories for a few hundred years longer than necessary. Florence has a way of pulling you in, dusting you off, and sending you back out thinking, well… that was a little more impressive than expected.
The Ponte Vecchio is the only bridge in Florence the Germans didn’t destroy during World War II—turns out even they couldn’t bring themselves to wipe out a masterpiece. Dating back to Roman times, it got a fancy upgrade in the late 1500s when Ferdinand I decided only goldsmiths and jewelers could set up shop there. Still sparkles to this day.
* Forbes ranked Florence as the most beautiful city in the world.
The world’s largest Franciscan church, Santa Croce is the final resting place for luminaries like Michelangelo, Rossini, Galileo and Dante.
It’s a beautiful square centered among the top attractions, have an Americano; people watch and take in the ambiance.
The Uffizi Gallery is one of the world’s greatest art museums, whether you planned on caring about that or not. You walk in thinking you’ll breeze through, and suddenly you’re face to face with works that have been stopping people in their tracks for centuries. It’s packed with Renaissance heavy hitters, the kind of place that quietly turns skeptics into believers somewhere between one room and the next.
Plaza Lucchesi Florence
Is a great place to rest your head at night, loved it! It is right in the middle of all the action yet quite and relaxing right on the Arno River. The only thing it was missing was a couple of dumbbells to throw around but they did offer me a complimentary gym pass to a sister hotel down the street. http://www.hotelplazalucchesi.it/en/
