It's so European, Part 2: This girl fell in love with Florence

By Cyndi

April 6, 2012

On Tuesday morning, we flew out of Brussels to Florence and made our way to our hotel. Michael & Ashley used points again and we stayed at the Westin right along the river. Our room was upgraded so we could be near them, 15' ceilings and a balcony facing the river. We spent our first day seeing the sites and getting settled.

We took a recommendation from the hotel for dinner and it was not as local as we had wanted. So we wandered around for a while and found an amazing place for dessert.

On Wednesday, we had an all day winery tour. We found them online and were thrilled with our guide, Pierre. His wife started the company but as she was days away from delivering their 2nd baby, he took over. He shared so much about Tuscany and the Chianti wine region specifically. First stop, Terre di Corzano.

REAL olive oil ... soooo good!

We stopped at a butcher for lunch and headed to a second winery, which was not even close to as good as the first. After that stop, we stopped in a small town to grab gelato and we also picked up some additional local wines.

My vege plate while the rest ate beef tartar and other meats

Used wax to close off the wine barrel to ensure no oxygen enters (which can happen with a cork)

We ended the wine tour with an overlook of the city and decided to walk back to the hotel. Again, I loved every minute of this city. It is so beautiful, so quaint, and just my kind of city.

Thursday was our last day in Florence and we started out with going to see The David by Michelangelo. There were no pictures allowed, so all you get is the sign outside:

We then headed to the Synogoga ... It was beautiful, required a 5 euro entrance fee, and again, no pictures. We took a few from out front outside the gate.

We went back to the main part of the city and had a fabulous lunch ... followed by The Don sighting!

We grabbed a bottle of wine and headed to the rooftop of our hotel, to relax for a bit. What an amazing view!! Our dinner selection was from looking at trip adviser and it did not disappoint. It was a set price for 3 courses and house wine! We headed to grab some gelato and then back to the hotel since we would head out early the next morning for Rome.

Rooftop of our hotel

Florence at night ..... love .....

Morning sunrise on the balcony off our room before we head to Rome

Florence was fabulous. I would go back! It was just big enough to always walk down a new street, small enough that I didn't feel like we needed to look at the map at each block. I loved the day trip to wineries. Definitely, my favorite stop of this trip!