We made it from Venice to Florence on Thursday and after a string of packing up and moving every other day (Strasbourg, Salzburg, Vienna, and Venice over the span of 8 days), we were delighted to settle into our apartment for a week here. We’re staying on the top floor of a 500 year-old building just a couple of blocks from the Duomo and we love it (even though it’s four flights up with no lift).
This was the first lodging reservation I made after I got a good CT scan report in late March, along with the go-ahead from my medical team to take this trip. So we had almost four months to anticipate being in this particular space, and it has lived up to our dreams.
the terrace
The terrace may be our favorite part (air-conditioning is a close second! – it’s above 100 degrees every day this week!) The view from the terrace is incredible….
The Duomo. I can’t get enough of her. She looms so large and beautifully over this neighborhood, like a moon that never wanes. I’m a little bit obsessed with her.
I was afraid that, after all the other beautiful places we’ve been this summer, Florence wouldn’t live up to my memories. I was afraid that Paul and the boys would not find Florence as enchanting as I’d claimed it was, and that it would be just a hot, crowded let-down for them. But the moment we set foot into this stunning city, all my fears were swept away. It loves us to my memories – and beyond (even with the heat and the crowds). And Paul and the boys love it beyond anything I’d expected.
Firenze, she is a charmer.
Buona notte de Firenze!
Seeing the Sacred 
Lovely! I know that you’ll enjoy your time there (no, I’ve never been). And to have a week there is marvelous.
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Welcome to Florence! I just know you will visit the Accademia and see Michelangelo’s David. I wept when Mack and I left the building, having longed to see the David for many years before, and then, taking in the magnificence of the sculpture. Also impressive are the unfinished statues–the prisoners or slaves–at the gallery. What an experience you will have!
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So glad you love my homeland the way we do! Firenze is enchanting, yes. But now imagine a smaller village on one of the beautiful lakes further North. Same people, same history, same amazing food but on a smaller scale where you feel like you simply can’t get enough. Italy will forever occupy a place in your heart and make you yearn for it in years to come! Relax and enjoy!
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❤ I stayed in a villa outside of Florence over 10 years ago, during a 3 week trip through Italy, and it is such an amazing memory. What a city.
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So happy all of you are seeing all this beauty.
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Florence never fails to enchant and inspire, as does your writing!
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You will be so amazed at the art in the dome and the dome within a dome architecture! There is a great book about the construction if interested!
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