Fabulous, friendly Florence!

So I travelled to Italy for some "girl-time" to celebrate a friend's birthday, and Florence, Italy was our first stop on this adventure.  I have to admit to being less than excited about Florence being the city portion of our trip.  I had visited the city 2 times prior, and unlike almost everyone I know, just didn't feel the "wow" that people describe in Florence.  Sure, there's the statue of David, some beautiful churches and interesting architecture, but compared to other cities in Italy, I just wasn't inspired.  Venice - so romantic and unique, unlike any other place in the world. Rome - numerous ruins, including the Colisseum- all the images that conjures up, the Vatican, palaces and museums, so many famous landmarks - I love Rome.  But Florence was always kind of "meh" for me...so I was determined to see Florence with different eyes this time, and find some new reasons to love this city.  Here's what I found:

Florence has a wonderful little airport that's extremely easy to navigate - a pleasant surprise after the chaos that is the airport in Paris. For a larger city, it definitely has a small-town feel.  Unfortunately, there are not really any direct flights into Florence from the U.S. or Canada, so you will need to fly to a major European airport and catch a smaller flight into Florence from there.  Impossible to get lost in it, only 3 baggage carousels, and no huge line-ups for passport control - a breath of fresh air, airport-wise.  And only 20 short minutes from the center of Florence.  I love the Florence airport!

Something that really stood out on this trip to Florence were the Florentine people...they were just so friendly!   From shopkeepers, to waiters, to hotel staff, there was a distinct difference in the friendliness here that definitely wins out over Venice or Rome.  We were warmly received in the family-run trattoria's that we dined at, often with explanations of entire menus without so much as a roll of an eye - and desserts sent to the table, "on the house" - how sweet!  The shopkeepers seemed pleased to have our business, taking the time to explain who or how our purchase was made and beautifully wrapping it up like a present.  The hotel staff practically bending over backwards to make sure our stay would be comfortable and was there anything we needed?  Taxi drivers that greeted us and didn't make us fear for our lives!  I felt comfortable and welcome in Florence...and I loved that!

Delicious Caprese salad from Vine e Vecchi Sapori, Florence

The shopping in Florence is said to be some of the best in all of Italy, and I can't disagree!  Whether you are looking for a high-end purchase at a store like Chopard or Cartier or something a little more affordable from one of the numerous street-vendors, you can surely find it in Florence.  On past trips to this city,  the focus had been on the history of the city - museums, churches, statues, etc., leaving very little time to explore the shopping.  This trip, the history was merely a backdrop for our exploration of all the wonderful offerings in the shops of Florence.  We visited the Central Market and had some wonderful cheese and balsamic vinegar tastings with Paula at Baroni.  We purchased spices and sun-dried tomatoes at Conti - a shop that looks like a work of art with all of the beautiful colours of the vegetables.  We bought high-quality leather goods at Peruzzi ( a must-see if you go to Florence).  Florence is also known for its gold jewellery and my personal favourite store is the Gold Corner right by the Santa Croce church.  Fabulous, unique pieces and they give great discounts!  We visited the oldest, still-operating, pharmacy in the world - Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy was like a living museum - so beautiful and selling products made from original recipes from the monks...it was really interesting!   In fact, we did so much shopping in Florence that it was necessary to purchase another suitcase to bring home all my stuff  - but no problem, there is luggage available to purchase too!  I love shopping  in Florence!

Conti, Central Market, Florence

And finally, one of the greatest things I loved about Florence was its "walk-ability"...put on a comfy pair of shoes, and most everything a person would want to see or do is within a 20 min. walk from one place to the other.  Grab a map, readily available at any hotel, and you're good to go.  Its nice not to have to spend money on taxis (unless you're overburdened with purchases!), and wandering the streets often leads to unexpected finds in shops you wouldn't discover otherwise - one of my favorite things!!

River Arno, Florence

Now, when all is said and done I still don't think I'd pick Florence as my first choice for a trip to Italy where I'd only be visiting one major city.  Is that a bad thing?...I don't think so - after all, if we all fell in love with the same place, we'd never get a chance to visit because it would be too busy!   But I definitely saw the city in a different light, perhaps one more suited to my interests.  I would definitely welcome a return trip to Florence and in fact, would look forward to it.