Florence became a true love, seems quite a strange title right? Well, it is a love story, but a different one.
Florence is, for most people, love at first sight. For me though, although I loved it, it was not that flaming passion, it was what people call true and mature love. The one that grows slowly, and strong each time, that makes we come back for more.
And that is what happened. While I am writing this, I am on my 3rd consecutive visit to Florence (this post is about the second), and planning a 4th (brief maybe), in October.
So, I wrote about Florence a lot in previous posts, (https://heelsandspices.com/2017/12/my-italy-in-10-days-day-1-firenze/ and 4 more), and this time I will make it more of a photographic journey, reserving specific spots for different posts (stay tuned for Santa Croce, and Bargello).
Florence has many hidden treasures, and I am slowly discovering more and more each time I go there. Let’s then embark on a beautiful 3 day visit to Florence?

The arrival
This time I went to Florence with my son, and my friend Andrea. We stayed at Hotel Le Due Fontane (http://www.leduefontane.it/it), in one of my favorite Piazzas in Florence – Piazza Santissima Annunziata.
It is a good place to stay if you want to be in the historical center, but in a less noisy and crowded place, such as the Piazza Duomo e.g. as it is just 5 minutes walking from the Duomo and 10 minutes from Santa Maria Novella train station.
Piazza Santissima Annunziata One of the two funtains at Piazza Santissima Annunziata Another angle
We arrived at the end of the afternoon, and soon were on the streets, me excited to show everything to my son and my friend.
As we walked to Piazza del Duomo, kaboom, first view, the Duomo, my favorite Duomo so far, Santa Maria del Fiore.
First view of the Duomo you never forget Strolling around Piazza del Duomo Another angle Palazzo Vecchio, serene and beautiful at night
We had dinner in a small bistrot – Bistrot 74 (https://www.facebook.com/bistrot74/) in Via Dei Servi. We discovered almost by chance (and ho I love to discover little gems), and fell in love. Great food at reasonable prices, a living menu and friendly and helpful staff.

After dinner, we just walked around at a relaxed pace and headed back to the hotel to rest, as next day was going to be intense.
Next day was a beautiful day, and waking up to this view made it even better. Piazza Santissima Annunziata is gorgeous day or night.

Day 1
After a good breakfast, with the amazing Gioacchino insisting on making us a special and strong coffee (and ouch, it was), we headed to the Duomo.
I had seen it before, but seeing it twice does no harm right? As well as again climbing Giotto’s campanile (did I already tell you I am a bit masochist? ahahaha), and stroll around Florence.
We then headed to Palazzo Pitti (check my previous posts about Florence for a detailed description), as Palazzo Vecchio was closed for an event. Palazzo Pitti was designed by the genius Filippo Brunelleschi, being also the destination of the fascinating Vasari Corridor (remember Dan Brown’s books???).
It is a magnificent building that houses several museums – Treasury of the Grand Dukes, the Palatine Gallery and the Imperial and Royal Apartments, the Modern Art Gallery, the Museum of Costume and Fashion, the Porcelain Museum and the Carriage Museum.
After Palazzo Pitti, we walked around, had a coffee at Don Nino’s (hey, it can be touristy, but it serves the best espresso con panna -coffee with cream) ever.
Dinner was at the Duomo square (Le Botteghe di Donatello –https://lebotteghedidonatello.com/). The restaurant has mixed reviews, but I ate there 4 times already and never had a bad experience. It was handy, close to where we were, and has an unbeatable view.
What more can we want, especially in a place located in the historical center, 2 minutes away from the Duomo?
The omnipresent Duomo Climbing Giotto Campanille Piazza della Repubblica The Baptistery (San Giovanni) Santa Croce seen from the Duomo The famous Dome Museo del Opera del Duomo Leonardo da Vinci – the genius of all genuises Piazza della Repubblica Il Biancone – Neptun´s statue, still in restoration Piazza della Signoria Crossing the Arno to Palazzo Pitti Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens Inside Palazzo Pitti – details These ceilings are just magnificent Art, beautiful art in Palazzo Pitti Napoleon’s bath, Palazzo Pitti Another room in Palazzo Pitti Rubens painting Fancy a nap? It’s all about details Beautiful sculpture Cannot but be awed Beauty beyond imagination theseFrescoes Meet her majesty Ponte Vecchio Il Porcelino Don Nino’s and an amazing coffee with cream Coffee with a view Dinner with this view See you tomorrow
Day 2
Next day we decided to split, as Andrea was going to Uffizi and Galleria dell’Accademia (I wrote about it in other posts), and me and my son to Bargello, Santa Croce, Piazzale Michelangelo, and walk around Oltrarno (the other side of the Arno).
Good morning Florence Facade of Orsanmichele church Details of the Facade Inside OrsanMichele And more details Bargello Museum Heading to Santa Croce Piazza Santa Croce My Dante <3 Dante’s mausoleum at Santa Croce The cloister On the way to lunch, close to Ponte Vecchio Lunch time – Trattoria la Lambretesca Peposo, a typical Tuscan dish Giardino delle Rose Panoramic from Piazzale Michelangelo Never get tired of these views San Miniato al Monte View over Florence The Duomo from a distance dominates the landscape Piazza Santo Spirito Piazza Santo Spirito Santo Spirito Santa Maria del Carmine Oltrarno A view over the Arno Back in town Crossing the Arno A different angle of Ponte Vecchio One of my favorite spots
As I will dedicate a post to Santa Croce and to Bargello, in this post I will only leave you with one or two pictures of it.
Day 3
Our last day was again a split. My son went to spend the day with a friend while me and Andrea took a lazy day.
We planned to see Mercato Centrale, Mercato de San Lorenzo, walk around Florence and finalize our stay with a stunning sunset and a beautiful dinner at a Trattoria close to the hotel.
In San Lorenzo we faced a very unpleasant seller, that was quite rude, to the point we were forced to tell him that if he continued to bully us we would call the police (basically he mocked Andrea for having a non leather purse, while we were looking at his leather goods and trying to negotiate a leather bag for my son. No need to say that we did not buy anything with him. That just reinforced my bad feeling about that place.
As it was raining part of the day, after the Central Market and San Lorenzo we camped at Don Nino’s for a while, enjoying a chat and a nice coffee. After that we were lucky enough to see the son coming through the clouds, and enjoy a really breathtaking sunset, seeing Florence wave goodbye to us.
Florence won me over. Yes she did, as this year I came back in April, and I will be there again in October.
Florence is perfect for reflexion photos Overlooking the Arno Skyline and sunset The almost perfect photo The golden hour at the Duomo How beautiful the city lights reflected on the Arno Stunning, how not to feel blessed? Goodbye Duomo, Alla prossima Firenze
Next day, hired a car, and headed to Tuscany, stay tuned for more amazing photos and places

I will never forget having you as my patient and knowledgeable guide to one of the most artistic and historic cities in the world. Our trip was magical.
Thanks love