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I knew I would appreciate & love Florence more as soon as I got off the train at Santa Maria Novella. At only about 1/8 the size of Termini, with people milling around in equal quantity, it was a huge relief.
After locating the tourism office with free map in hand & advice that public transport is not necessary, everywhere is walkable, I begin my first experience on just how easy it is to get lost in this little city. Rule #1 - hardly any streets are parallel so taking a left won't give you a shortcut if you are trying to cut a across diagonal.
The Accommodation
Finding the Alloro B&B in exactly the way illustrated on the net was also a relief however I had read a few reviews on Trip Advisor the night before about single rooms being the size of a shoebox so I'd all ready decided to politely view the room first. As suspected, I was shown the shoe box room , nicely decorated but I'm here for 7 nights. Option 2, not as Tuscan chic decorated as the first but lots more room so that was the ticket.
Check out the cute little gift of notebooks & cute pencils on arrival - so homely & thoughtful, it's just what I needed after the tumble dryer that was Rome.
Breakfast is every morning anytime between 8-10 & it's just a matter of dialling '9'to let them know Sleeping Beauty has awoken from her slumber & would like breakfast with an espresso please - DELIVERED TO HER ROOM. How delightful. I actually missed breakfast twice because I really needed to sleep in & there are only so many carb overload starts to the day one can take.
There is a gorgeous courtyard that is peaceful with a trickling fountain that I have spent some time in blogging, reading, doing my nails while having a cold drink - I can't believe it's only 15 metres from the street & so peaceful.
Only negative I could probably point out - if I had to - is that because the building is around a courtyard, that actually houses 3 x B&B's, all hours of the day & night the sounds of 'ding' from the elevators', crash from the iron gate, ka-danga-danga-dang of suitcase trolleys going over cobblestones. But this is really just a niggle than a negative & have to balance out that I am a light sleeper also.
The Location
Alloro is about a 1 minute walk from a very lovely Piazza that that has exactly what you expect from Italy - gorgeous food shops/supermarkets filled with a million varieties of pasta, olive oil & deli meats, lots of cafes, restaurants, trattorias & just around the corner from Nuevo Mercato - the leather market.
Already I have noticed that EVERYTHING is cheaper than Rome - although I did get stung a LOT for additional items to the bill such as cover charge, bread & water in both Rome & Florence.
Another big thumbs up is the practice of apertivo - that is for the purchase of only 1 alcoholic beverage, you are able to help yourself to snacks at the bar. These are usually bruschetta's, some pastas, olives, chips, nuts etc. In combination that it is from 6.30 ish - 9.30 ish & usually happy hour on booze, this is a total boon - for everyone. I made myself a regular at a cute place on the corner ran by 2 really lovely girls which was calm, relaxed & a nice place to people watch.
The City
I LOVED this place - so pretty, so ancient, so slow paced with the most amazing shopping both for variety at every point along the spectrum & value, I think I have nearly died about 20 times a day on what I just can't buy - such a mental financial note for next time.
There are so many great places to eat, the gelato, the pizza, waffles, paninni, bicycles, rows of scooters everywhere - this is what I wanted from a summer holiday in Italy.
What makes the city mostly enjoyable as that a vast portion of the city streets are a no drive zone for the summer which makes pedestrian ambling so much easier and stress free.
I've noticed the pace of life is less urgent - at first I thought I was invisible when sitting down at a table but after cities like Paris & even Melbourne for that fact where you are actually WAITED on, they are just taking it easy here. No need to rush it & push you out the door.
The most stunning aspect of this city is the Arno River, it is just so beautiful at any time of the day - talk about Romance Central. It really did take my breath away at sunset on the first night I arrived & took a little walk down there, just amazing.
What Have I Been Doing??
Bike Tour
I do love a bike tour to orientate in a new city & this was the most unique of all, because I was the ONLY ONE ON THIS TOUR. At first when I meet the girl downstairs & she said I was it, I thought how awkward, just me & her. So I asked if there were more bookings the next day to join a bigger group. We pop upstairs where I am introduced to Mario, my guide. Um, ok let's forget about that booking transfer, 1-1 with a spunky Italian, I'm in.
Mario is an arts graduate, a poet, actor & summer time tour guide born & raised in Florence so sharing knowledge on the history of Florence was certainly his thing. It really was to my benefit to have his full attention because we had more time to go over a lot of details & popped into a few places off the usual route - into a particular church that would've been too small for a group, a cute little Piazza that came with recommendations of a place to go the next day. I got quite a bit of art education which I think would've been missed in a group.
Boboli Gardens
I absolutely loved it here. For only 9€, you get the gardens, a few museums, the Strozzi Palace & the most amazing gardens I have been in. I'm not sure if it can be told from the pictures but it was just so beautiful & huge, my god, I would've need a whole day just to be able to amble around & see it all. I'm not usually emotional about anything of this nature but the view across the Tuscan landscape actually made me tear up & get a bit weepy, it was just so beautiful.
On a little detour to what I thought was a free Crystal exhibition (not free after all) I stumbled across a tribute to Galileo - I couldn't believe it. People were just walking past this magnificent sculpture with frescoes on the ceiling depicting his discoveries. I had the whole place to myself and it actually felt like a bit of a blessing.
Chianti Tour with Wine Tasting & Dinner
This was a fun day out & I had a good time with a dude from Brisbane, a son & daughter combo from the US & a family from Brazil.
The afternoon took us around the Tuscan country side with the only downer being the best views from the bus (oh yes, that is why I don't do guided group tours by bus).
We stopped at a castle now a wine making outfit & got a little lesson on Chianti classico, super Tuscan wines which was followed up with 3 glasses of wine & a tasting plate - super yum, wish I hadn't have had any lunch.
Then we stop off at 2 towns in the region of Siena for a little wandering around the squares but it turned into a Tuscan pub crawl for me, the Brisbane dude, the son from Florida & the 2 Brazilian guys. Having a pint along the way certainly made the trip a lot easier & well, fun.
Finally stopping of for dinner at a restaurant that has been in the Michelin guide for years running (erm, what was that I was saying about better meals for less per head). This place lived up to that experience. Generous servings of pastas, a ragu, a dessert & wine on the table, it must've been around $60 a head tops, so damn delicious, I made a point of not stopping eating until the plates were full.
This evening ended with a very dozy drive back to Florence, getting in around 11pm .
Parco Delle Cascine
Another day in another garden. Yes I love them, they are peaceful, pretty, cooler to hang around in & exactly what I wanted this summer holiday to be.
Parco Delle Cascine is also quite a large place & I spent the most part of one day ambling, reading, lying down, finding gelato, more lying down, reading, resting..........I think you get it.
Eating, eating & more eating
Everything I want is here - and lots of it. Pizza - tick, pasta - tick, fresh tomatoes, buffalo, pesto, olive oil - tick tick tick. Although I don't really think much of the bread here but that is not such a bad thing. I love what seems like the thousand gelato bars, incredibly cute restaurants everywhere in every price range.
The only downside to solo travelling is eating alone - and everyone knows that the Holy Trinity for me is eating, drinking & talking. So yeah, there have been a few bummer moments of having to eat early - with the seniors & young families. There was one night when 2 older gentleman were seated next to me, one of them started chatting & he was a British tour operator & had a whole lot of Aussies seated inside - on one of those 16 days 89 countries type arrangements. I think he must've been in my spot at least once as he went inside, made a place for me at the table & literally came out & said Debbie, you are sitting in there, grabbed my plate & plonked me in this group - how nice! It was nice to actually share a meal with them plus being from your home country, it's just all that more easier.
Walking, walking, more walking
Everywhere is walkable in Florence & I think I've clocked up at least 4 hours every day - see above segment on eating eating eating.
What have I not been doing?
The pre-booked cooking class. Thanks to a botch up by the operators when I requested to change the dates, they booked Chianti & the cooking on the same day, offered me another option for cooking but no information so I couldn't turn up, then wouldn't honour my original booking & thus a fair amount of email argy-bargy has gone back & forth. Literally - how could I attend 2 tours on the same time at the same day? Bit disappointed but oh well, thats what happens on holidays.
What is probably noticeably absent is any visit to the Uffizi or Academia - this is for 1 reason, art overload.
I like nice things but I'm not a huge historian & art lover mostly because I just don't retain the information for some reason. After Paris, Rome, Florence the bike tour, all the free churches & basically being in 3 cities that are living art galleries, I don't think I would've coped.
Here I really wanted to totally chill out, take it easy, sleep in, wander, binge eat on pasta & I certainly knocked over that priority list.
Florence & Tuscany is a without a doubt a place I will certainly visit again....and again........and again
- comments
Joseph Pulvirenti Enjoy your cooking classes Debbie. Go Girl you will be cooking like an Italian in no time.
Mum Easy to see why this part of the journey is so memorable. What is there not to love? So many great memories Debs....
Philip Am really enjoying your blogs. Much better than the book I'm reading! As it happens, I can only agree with all of your observations so far (although we've managed to enjoy the odd HoHo)