Florence!

Tuesday 15th April 2025

The overnight train was loud and shaky so not much sleep but I did watch the train getting loaded onto the ferry at Messina which I found very exciting. We eventually got to Florence at midday to find that we are in a very posh hotel the Hotel de la ville right in the centre of everything!! A bit cloudy, but we set off straight away for a look around, and what sights we saw!! This is the main cathedral, we didn’t go inside because the queue was so long. We will go early tomorrow instead!

We walked over to the indoor market which looked great, may eat there tomorrow and then back towards the hotel. We saw an Eately shop, which seemed a bit strange. There is one in the centre of London which is great and sells everything Italian food related, but we are in Italy!! We also took a look in the church opposite the hotel. They had all the pictures and figures covered up with cloth. I had to look it up, they cover them in a veil for the last two weeks of lent and take them off at Easter.

In the evening we went to a lovely small restaurant round the corner, they put a lot of effort into the plants! The food was great as well. One amazing thing we have discovered about Florence is the wine windows! Centuries ago the big families would have vineyards out in the country and to make extra money they would sell direct from their house in Florence. You knock on the small window and can then buy a glass of wine which is passed to you through the window. Unfortunately the many tour groups all stop at them so they are always packed and blocking up the street. Nice idea though!!

Afterwards we had a wander around and crossed the Ponte Vecchio. The shops were closed but I love the fact that they all look so different with their wooden shutters! Very beautiful!