Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen.
- Benjamin Disraeli
(Told you I'd slack at this! But I'm almost through so…)
I left off in Garda. The next day, we hopped the bus to head to Florence. As much as I expected to fall head over heels in love with Venice, I was a bit surprised by how infatuated I was with Florence! It's this charming city full of art hidden on winding streets connecting open piazzas loaded with cafes…and then there's the shopping. I was in HEAVEN. Ladies, if you're a shopaholic, Firenze is your Mecca! And their specialty…leather goods. Hard to imagine buying a leather coat when it's 90* out! But I digress. One of our first stops after wandering the streets a bit was lunch. By far, the best meal I had in Italy! A teeny hole in the wall off a side street called Francesco Vini. We both had the most decadent, amazing food and, yes, wine!
After lunch & a bit of exploring, we headed…There. What do you HAVE to see in Florence? Michaelangelo's David.
Holy hell. Do you have any idea how HUGE that statue is? It's massive. The giant replica standing in the original location, the Palazzo della Signoria, doesn't even prepare you for the sight of the original. It's sitting on a up on a pedestal and stands, total, 17 feet tall!
Not much else in the Galleria dell'Accademi interested us, so we hit some shops before heading back to the hotel. We were in for a huge treat that night! We checked in to the Grand Hotel Mediterraneo Florence and…
Villa Il Leccio Strada
We had dinner at a family home in the heart of Tuscany. Villa Il Leccio Strada in Chianti was absolutely breathtaking. We sipped prosecco overlooking the vineyards and toured the original facilities before settling in for an outstanding meal. Everything about that night was so absolutely perfect - except the impending end to our tour of Italy, that is!
After dinner, we stopped by the replica David once again before way too many glasses (bottles) of wine in the hotel lobby with our new friends. I could get used to this lifestyle…
La bella vita, no matter what time zone :)
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