Florence

Florence... It's Grappa (Italy Pt.2)

After walking our legs off in Rome it was time to make our way to the next part of trip: Florence, Italy. When I started looking into this Italy trip I didn't know exactly where I wanted to go. I had heard from my mom that Costco had a travel section where members were able to book trips (you can search through trips they offer HERE). While I really wanted to do Rome, Florence, and Venice I decided the Rome, Florence and Paris trip was more that I wanted at the moment. Costco was great when it came to booking the trip. They made it super easy to package everything up (airfare, hotels, private transfers) and they even upgraded our hotel room (for free!) when we got to Florence. I will never run out of good things to say about Costco Travel and will always recommend them to people that want to travel but don't want to put together the airfare, hotels and transfers.

Florence was a cute town, with a lot less hustle and bustle than Rome, but still lots of character. We arrived in Florence on the day before New Years Eve so doing the research before we got there we knew that lots of places were going to be closed for all of the New Years festivities. We started our day off by exploring the neighborhoods near us. We were able to get tickets to go to the Galleria dell'Accademia which is home to the original statue of Michelangelo’s famous David. I am not an art person so the other paintings and statues didn't mean much to me but the David statue was amazing! For some reason I had always imagined the David statue being life-size. NOPE! This statue was huge and very impressive.

A side by side view of the David Statue so you can see how it was not life-size and actually pretty big!

We spent the rest of the day stopping into stores, walking through all the piazzas, looking at the Christmas lights, and eating a great meal at Acqua al 2. We got the recommendation from a friend and after looking into the menu we knew it would be an amazing dinner. We got the steak sampler and WOW those steaks were amazing. The steak sampler included 3 steak medallions 1 balsamic vinaigrette steak, 1 blueberry sauce steak, and one plain. We devoured them; luckily for us there is an Acqua Al 2 in Annapolis, MD so we are able to visit every now and then for more!

Walking along the Arno River overlooking Ponte Vecchio//Checking out all the Christmas lights in the city

Acqua Al 2 & the famous Steak Sampler

The next day we decided to take a train to the town of Pisa to explore the town and see the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. A tiny town, but full of energy; I wouldn't recommend spending more than an afternoon here as there isn't much to do other than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Eating Pizza outside of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Walking inside the Leaning Tower of Pisa up to the top. View from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

On the train ride back I did some research on a place where we would be able to get some good pasta and found a place called Pensavo Peggio. I was in search of some good pasta and from the Yelp reviews and comments this seemed like we wouldn't be disappointed. We walked down a little alleyway into the restaurant. It was dark and quiet, the hostess took us upstairs to our table, which was in a cozy little corner. The server came over and handed us our menus. We wanted some carbonara but it was not on the menu. When our server came back I ordered the truffle ravioli, not really sure what I was getting myself into and we asked if they would be able to make carbonara and the server said sure! THIS WAS THE BEST PASTA OF OUR LIVES! The pasta was perfectly cooked, the sauce on the pasta was the right amount and the flavor was finger-licking good!! After we licked our plates clean (literally) we paid our check and headed out. I highly recommend this place to anyone who visits Florence!

After dinner we stopped into a cute liquor store where we were lured in by the cashier singing (loudly) to the music playing. We browsed the store and when we got to the limoncello the cashier offered us a few samples. What a yummy sipper. As we were sipping the limoncello samples the cashier asked us if we had tried grappa. Before we could answer he was pouring us samples saying (loudly) "It's Grappa" with his Chef's Kiss fingers shaking in the air. We bought a small bottle of limoncello said goodbye to our new friend, and headed out to check out some more lights. Our last day in Florence (or Firenze as the locals call it) was spent sleeping in and preparing for the New Years Eve festivities. We took a walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo to see the fantastic view that local were talking about. Travel Tip: Be prepared for the steps that lead up, its a hike! Although the walk up was tough, it was 100% worth it for the spectacular view.

View from the top of Piazzale Michelangelo

We headed back to the hotel to get ready for the fireworks! Almost all of the stores and restaurants were closed, which we were prepared for, but not prepared for the liquor stores to be closed! We asked some locals where to check out the fireworks and got a variety of places to go, we decided to go to a bridge that overlooked Ponte Vecchio and hung out for a few hours. We had no alcohol but had some nice Canadians standing next to us that graciously let us have some of their wine (Thank you nice people!) and we talked until the fireworks went off at midnight. After the fireworks, we wandered around town following the music that we heard. IT GOT CRAZY! All of the Piazzas had different types of music playing; live bands playing local music, DJ's playing and people dancing the night away. We finally found wine for sale out of a little newspaper stand. We bought a bottle opened it up and I carried it like a little baby inside of my jacket. As we walked around people were setting off fireworks that had no spark or light but made the biggest BOOM sound I've ever heard. It sounded like bombs going off for hours, but nothing the police cared about. I didn't see anyone get hurt, but I can only imagine how many people get hurt from those "fireworks" every year.  Celebrating New Years in a different country was something that I would recommend to anyone who loves to travel.  Seeing how it is different from ours and celebrating with the locals was one of the best New Years I have ever had!  

Dance party to celebrate the New Year

My DO’S and DON’TS for Florence:

DO eat all the food. Again, just like Rome, the pasta is the best in the world!

DO make a day trip to Pisa. A cute town, but you DON’T need to stay for more than a day.

DO your research to see what is open or closed when you are traveling around the holidays (or other countries holidays). We were sad that we didn't get to check out the inside of the Duomo.

DO try the limoncello (and Grappa, just for funsies!)

DO look at yelp or trip advisor when you need an idea for something to do or somewhere to eat. Read the reviews!!

DON’T worry if how people celebrate a holiday is different than how you celebrate the holiday. Go with the flow and celebrate like a local!

#italy #florence #firenze #newyearseve #holidaytravel #pasta