Our family was excited to head back to Florence on the bullet train. We had a nice little private compartment where we enjoyed the scenery and some snacks.
Upon arrival we found our way over to the Villa Medici. It felt a little odd to be on our own! This was a lovely hotel in a quieter residential area which we loved. It was only about a 10 minute walk into the heart of the city, so we felt close by, but it was out enough to allow for some quiet.
We had a great suite and enjoyed some beautiful views from the balcony.
Our amazing travel agent, Jackie Briggs, had arranged for us to have a private tour with a wonderful guide named Adri. She knew we had already spent some time in Florence, so she showed us some of the not-so-common places (other than the Ponte Vecchio which was on our walking path).
Adri also introduced us to Perche No! which very quickly became our most favorite gelateria. I really think we ate there 5 times, and we all got two scoops each time. My favorites were the pistachio and hazelnut chocolate, but the tangerine and crema (vanilla) were a very close second. We also tried and thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate chip, black cherry, and strawberry. One day they were closed, so we tried Adri's other gelateria recommendation called La Strega Nocciola, and it was delicious too.
Adri introduced us to two amazing artisans while we toured together. First we learned more about paper making. The gentleman told us how they use the different colored glues to make beautiful artwork on paper. This was fascinating!
After that demonstration we walked over to a stone inlaying studio. This was so cool! This is a dying art form unfortunately. There are only 5 master stone inlayers remaining though this was developed at the time of the Medici family. They told us how they acquire stones from all around the world. They cut them down to various sizes and make beautiful pieces of art with them. We actually ended up coming back the next day to purchase one of these small pieces because we couldn't stop thinking and talking about how amazing they were.
Pictures of the artist cutting the stones down. This is how they've always done it, since this art was started.
Adri told us that Trattoria Antico Fattore di Lucia Angelo had a great Florentine steak which was something we really wanted to try. We went back the day after our tour, and it did not disappoint! We shouldn't be surprised though since they've been working to perfect their recipe since opening in 1865. Ryan, Mia, and I shared this huge hunk of a steak, and we couldn't finish it!
On Sunday, we toured the neighborhoods on the other side of the Arno River. We came across a little playground at one point, and that was a great way for the girls to burn some energy for a little bit.
After the playground, we walked over to take a fresco painting art class we had signed up for. It was taught by Dr. Alan Pascuzzi who was great. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with him! He gave us a little bit of history of how Michelangelo used this medium and taught us how this process works. He was very gracious and understanding when he learned we are all novices.
Our finished products. Ryan did the Medici family coat of arms, Mia did the cool sun, I did the symbol of Florence, and Lily did the beautiful bird. We were really proud of how well they turned out!
Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, Ryan saw that one of his most favorite college professors, Dr. Dennis Jones, was in Florence. They arranged to meet up with one another, and we had a nice little visit with him and his wife for a few minutes. What a small world!
This was part of why we wanted to add on the extra time in Florence; we just wanted some time together as a family. Traveling with my family is the best!
A few miscellaneous pictures from our time here...
We enjoyed watching the light show that was being projected onto the sides of these buildings.
Looking down the Arno at the Ponte Vecchio.
We stumbled upon a little street market while exploring neighborhoods one day. Not only did we enjoy discovering the beautiful church next door, but we had fun walking around this market to see all the goods for sale.
It was fun to keep an eye out for the signs that had been creatively altered throughout the city, like this one. We also found a rubber ducky pop up store which was cute.
We ate so much delicious food on this trip, like this spinach and cheese gnocchi.
We ate our fair share of delicious carbonara throughout this trip too.
Seriously, we couldn't get enough gelato!
One afternoon we went up to the Piazza Michelangelo which gave some beautiful views of the city. It helped that it was a gorgeous day!
It was fun to walk down the hill back into the city and see the artwork and gardens along the way.
Ryan took this picture on our way down. It almost looks like a painting!
On new year's eve, the girls went to bed around 10, but Ryan and I stayed up hoping that we'd see some fireworks in the distance. Little did we know that there would be some just down our street! We had great views for a fantastic show!
On new year's day we took the train to Bologna, so we could visit Fico Eataly World. We love Eataly in Chicago (and Florence), so we knew we wanted to visit the flagship in Bologna. There is over a million square feet filled with delicious foods, vendors, farms and such; I'm pretty sure we walked almost every single one of those feet too!
Welcomed into their world by their cute fig and mortadella.
We decided to take the walking tour around the building. Otherwise, we thought we may just be wandering around without really understanding what we were seeing. Our guide introduced us to many of the vendors, secured us many free samples, and taught us lots about what we were seeing. A list of some of the vendors we saw: prosciutto, mortadella, hams, grana padano cheese, olive oils, balsamic vinegars, pastas, almonds, candies, ice creams, wine, jams, and chocolates.
We also liked seeing the animal farms that were here. We got a laugh out of seeing the donkey as we always laugh singing the "Dominic, the Italian Christmas Donkey."
Ryan and Mia managed to sneak in a putt-putt game too!
We stopped in the bookstore, and I loved seeing the Italian version of The Grinch; how fun! Towards the end of our visit, Mia found a nice climbing tree. This place had everything!
Evening finally came, so we took the train back to Florence. On Wednesday morning, we got up knowing we only had a few hours before we had to leave. There really wasn't much choice in what we would do...breakfast at Jolly Cafe, our favorite neighborhood cafe, then breakfast dessert at Perche No! It was soooo delicious!
Reluctantly, we gathered our things and headed back to the train station. We made it back to Rome, and headed over to the Marriott by the airport. We ate a nice dinner in the hotel, then had a quiet evening in our room. We all got a good night's sleep, and then drove over to the airport the next morning. We had an easy flight back to Atlanta where we watched lots of movies and tv shows. This trip was amazing, and we hated to see it end, but it's always nice to come home! Happy 40th birthday to us!
