Florence, Italy {part 1}

Oh, Florence. 

You were charming.  

elegant.

romantic.

breathtaking.

colorful.

one of the loveliest cities in the world.  

After taking an overnight train from Vienna, Austria, we arrived in Florence around 5am, and decided to wander the quiet streets before the hustle and bustle began.

We were just a few streets from the Duomo, so we started there.

And it was magical.

From there, we did the Renaissance walk throughout downtown, and stumbled upon the Bargello;  A museum filled to the brim with  breathtaking sculptures by Michelangelo, Donatello, Lorenzo, and more.  

After checking into our hotel and grabbing a quick breakfast, we walked along the beautiful Arno River up to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge....

Next up, we toured the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens.

amazing views of the Florence countryside!

After the Pitti Palace, we worked up quite an appetite, and found the highly recommended Gusta Pizza for lunch.  Oh. My. Goodness.  We agreed - this pizza might be the best we've ever had!
It was so delicious, and very cheap - if you find yourself in Florence, you must go here!

An evening stroll along the Arno...

Day 2 was spent exploring the Santa Spirito Piazza, shopping at the San Lorenzo market - I bought scarves and leather wallets, and standing in a loooooong line outside of the Galleria Dell'accademia.  It was a HOT day.  So hot, that I barely took any photos!  We were a mess ;)
But we did get cleaned up for a delicious al fresco dinner at
Baldovino.

On our third day, we took a day trip to Cinque Terre!!  I will do a whole separate blog post on this amazing adventure!!

Stay Tuned!
Hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!!

XOXO