Epic Honeymoon - Day 10 - Florence

Florence's amazing Il Duomo.

For our departure from Venice, we looked at the options and chose to take the train. Trains through Italy and quite convenient, but not necessarily cheap. Booking in advance, we managed to get a very decent price with TrenItalia, and so we set off to ride the rails for, arguably, Italy’s cultural capital, Florence.

I had done a bit of searching around in the months leading up to our trip, and compared a few options for our hop and skip down Europe’s boot. You can fly from city to city, but if you get in early enough, the train will be around the same cost (or less), and actually more convenient. The major cities all have their primary train stations within a stone’s throw of the city itself, where as airports tend to be further out. I booked all of our tickets using www.railplus.com.au, having compared a few different sites. They might be a good option for you, but there are plenty of others available, too. I would note that, after doing the sums, any kind of Europe RailPass is not really an economical option. It’s much more about the convenience of arriving to the station and buying a seat on the day: the seat cost doesn’t change on most / all trains, only the reservation cost tends to skyrocket closer to the day. On top of this, you have to be well planned if you’re using a limited passes, as they only allow a certain number of days’ use over a set period. You won’t save much or any money by having a Pass; you just won’t have to plan everything so far ahead.

A light drizzle to welcome us to Florence.

Our trip to Florence took about 2.5 hours, and it was pleasantly smooth. Due to the train I had selected, which was continuing further south (probably to Rome), we had to change trains at Firenze Rifredi, on the north-west edge of the city, but it was only a further 5 minutes to our final stop in Firenze Santa Maria Novella.

From the station, it was only 5-10 minutes’ walk to our AirBnB on Via Faenza. We were met by our host Salvatore, and he even helped me by carrying one of our bags up the four flights of stairs! Salvo’s place was fantastic – he’s very easy going and great to chat with. The room is spacious and comfortable; Salvo allows full access to the kitchen, including the espresso machine, which is a great way to kick off the morning. The apartment is within easy walking distance of all of the main sites in Florence (but allow 30 minutes or so to get to Piazzale Michaelangelo), and has plenty of options for food in the area, too. I highly recommend staying with Salvo when you visit Florence.

Our AirBnB apartment in Florence.

After checking in and resting for a moment, we headed out for a walk. Avy’s craving for the food of her homeland had not yet been satisfied... and lucky for her, Florence has a large variety of Chinese / Asian / fusion restaurants. I still stick by my mantra of eating the local flavours when I travel, but I also have to keep the wife happy! We sat down for some Taiwan favourites of Beef Noodle and Hot & Sour Soup. The various Asian restaurants, while violating my mantra, do serve a purpose in Italy: they are (so far) clean and modern; the food is really high quality; and the prices are extremely reasonable. You can get a very good feed for usually under €5 per person.

After lunch, we went to the local supermarket and stocked up on some staple supplies, dropping them back to the room, and then walked down to Florence’s number one site: Il Duomo. The full name is actually Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, and the affectionate shortening is of course linked to the church’s main feature: a massive dome adorning the roof. It’s really a spectacular building to behold and, having taken almost 140 years to complete, is an icon and figurehead of the Renaissance times in Florence.

Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore; Il Duomo.

At the south east corner of the Duomo plaza, we happened across Edoardo gelato. It boasted a bit more of a hipster-feel than a lot of the other shops – not that I consider myself hipster in the slightest! The flavours listed outside drew us in, and we were not disappointed. We ended up back here once more the following day, and our number one choice was Lo Zabaione, which includes fresh eggs and white wine – delicious! Conversely, we didn’t care too much for Sorbetto al Chianti, but then, I think Chianti is a bit of an acquired taste. Edoardo’s is absolutely worth a visit after you have marvelled at the Duomo (or maybe during!).

We continued down through town until we hit the River Arno, which flows along Florence’s south. Another major site of Florence is the Ponte Vecchio, which straddles the river at the south west end of the city. With shops – mostly jewellers – from one end to the other, it looks more like a mall promenade than a bridge. I suppose what makes this interesting is that it was built so long ago, making it a bit of an engineering pioneer at the time. Crossing over the bridge and looping around to the next bridge, we circled back into Florence, catching the sunset over the south bank before heading back to our room for the night.

Ponte Vecchio over the Arno.

Ponte Vecchio over the Arno.

The river Arno.

Sunset over south-western Florence.


Pack your bags for a shopping spree on Day 11!