Our Dearest Melody-I know you are going to be disappointed in the quantity of our Florence pics. So few that we had to double up with a travel tips portion. I know, you are appalled. You will cry yourself to sleep this night and punch your pillow, pretending it is our smiling faces. Please know that we did love your city, and had fun imagining you living there for two years. But you did live there for two years, you could have taken some pics during that time....just sayin'.
All our love, xoxo Ely & Ryan
Okay, I had to get that out of the way. Those who know Mel, you will understand. Those who don't, you should, she's awesome. And Florence was almost as awesome as she is. Honestly, Ryan and I both think that Florence got a little bit of a bad wrap in our vacation. It was the end of the trip, we were both so tired and missed Pete and ready to get home. We also only spent a day and a half there, and a lot of that time in museums that we weren't allowed to take pictures, so that is another reason for lack of photos. BUT we did do our most favorite thing on the trip while in Florence, the Fiat 500 Tour.
When we were planning our Italy excursion, one of the things that we did was ask every person who we encountered who had been to Italy to tell us what their favorite experience in Italy was. My favorite restaurant was a suggestion of my sweet client and friend Kristen, and the Fiat 500 tour was a suggestion of a bridesmaid at Amanda's wedding. She said it was hands down her favorite part of Italy, and I can say the same for myself. After 14 days of walking around cities on narrow streets with cars zooming past you, it was such fun to BE the car zooming by. A whole different way to experience Italy. They carefully chose a route that gave us a great taste of the city without taking us into the most busy and stressful parts of the city. Then we ended at a winery and we got to take a tour of their cellars and taste their wine and olive oil with delicious food pairings. They served the first wine that I actually liked, and drank a whole glass! I know, you're so impressed.
Interesting fact: vineyards plant roses at the end of each row of grape vines because roses are a sensitive plant and will show signs of distress due to weather and soil before the grapes will. 
This is Ryan with our guide Bepe. Bepe is great, definitely one of the main reasons that this tour was so great. Very smart, very knowledgeable, and so easy to talk to. He and his wife run the Fiat 500 Touring Club (so a husband and wife team always have a place in my heart), and Ryan and I can't recommend them more.
So the Fiat tour was our half day in Florence, and our last day in Firenzi was filled with a morning at the Uffizi and an afternoon visit to David at the Acedemia. Both places don't allow you to take pictures, but here are some pics from some of the things in between.
Has anyone else seen the BBC Walk on the Wild Side videos...when I see these pics, I think "Nightime....Daytime!" Except opposite...you know what I mean.
Florence Yays
- The Fiat 500 Tour. Hands down the best thing we did.
- The statue of David was just incredible. I was expecting it to be beautiful, but I found it to be powerful.
- Florence is the perfecter of gelato, and it was very yummy! Our favorite place to get it was another RS suggestion, Grom near the Duomo. They use organic ingredients and seasonal fresh fruit.
- Overall is a vibrant and beautiful city. Most things are within walking distance and was nice to just walk around through the markets.
- Great shopping and fancy stores
Florence Nays
- We were going to wait to climb the Duomo until it got cooler in the day, but apparently it closes early on Thursdays so we missed out.
- It was hot. Don't go in summertime.
Florence Tips
- Make sure to get reservations for the Uffizi & Accademia
- If you are planning a long trip, don't do Florence at the end. We were just so pooped that I don't think we got to enjoy it as much as we should have.
So that was the end of our trip! Tomorrow I'll have some general travel tips, and then back to the regular posts.