I have talked so much about safety, how we travel, just information. We have so many beautiful pictures that we love to share. You can see Italy through our eyes. Just a little information on Florence. It sits at the top of the region know as Tuscany. Tuscany is the area where the majority of Italian wines are made. The further south you go you find olive groves, lemons, wheat and chestnuts and San Marzano tomatoes that make the most delicious sauces for pasta.

Florence is the home of “The David” statue, the Uffizi Gallery where 1300 square meters of art from some of the greatest artist in the world are kept. The main hall on the building is almost 1 kilometer long. We didn’t see it all and I had a difficult time getting Kay to leave. The art is part of the collection of the Medici family. They were a powerful family in Florence. They had strong ties to the Pope’s and tried for years to get the Vatican moved to Florence from Rome.

First trip we saw the David and the Uffizi. That was all! We were too busy going on tours. Fast forward second trip. We take our time. First stop in Florence for us is Central Market. We made sure that we were located near the market. It has a massive fresh food market on the first floor and anything you want to eat restaurants (food court style) on the second floor. The food is reasonable and delicious. There’s a market that is open daily all the way around. So it’s a very neat place to visit.

There had been a series about the Medici family on Netflix and Kay realized they had their own church. So a couple of the days were dedicated to churches. The Medici “funeral chapel” was absolutely unreal. The exotic marble that they had used and the craftsmanship leaves you speechless. How did they cut such intricate patterns with no electric tools only their hands.

This wasn’t the only church in Florence and we did not see them all. The most popular is the Duomo which was designed by one of the Medici’s. They were behind the design and hiring the workers that could bring their dream to reality. We didn’t go inside because the outside roof is highlight. For some reason they wanted to defy gravity and give it an other worldly look. It is a domed roof that is stacked blocks, No rafters or support, it’s engineering master piece from it’s time.

We also visited Santa Maria Novella which is directly across from the train station. It dates back to 1095 and has survived floods and wars. We would expect St Peter’s Basilica in Rome to be massive but it seemed that every church we visited wanted to be the biggest or best. Kay took a photo of me standing beside one of the columns in Santa Maria Novella that puts the size of the church into perspective. Then there was Basilica Santissima Annunziata. It honestly looked like a plain movement building on the outside but when we walked in we were stunned at the ceiling. Not just the ceiling but it had all of these little prayer / altar alcoves that people were praying and lighting candles. It is a working church and we had to wait until Mass was over and then just had a short window between services. It’s not out of the way actually if you walk past the Duomo and keep going straight it’s at the end of that street on the other side of the piazza.

If we didn’t already love Florence, these churches definitely made us fall in love even more! Florence has what the Italians consider a small footprint. In other words, you are supposed to be able to easily walk it. That’s great if you are young or old and fit (we aren’t fit anyway). But ii is a very easy city to navigate. So we haven’t had any problems. I have some many pictures of these Basilicias. I don’t want too show you too much you won’t go. So pack your really SMALL bag and book your flight! LOL!

We are ready to help you plan your next trip whether it’s Italy or Amsterdam. We will give you just as much support as you do or don’t need. Email us at [email protected].