Day 11 — Florence, and the whole city at sunset

Written by Wendy from the road · photographs by Tatiana

Today we grabbed a yummy croissant and espresso at Cantinetta dei Verrazzano, walked around the historic center and found a cool music store, Casa Musicale G. Ceccherini. It was really big inside and offered all sorts of instruments which my son was really into being a musician himself so we were there for a while.

For lunch we grabbed a sandwich at this popular spot, I' Girone De' Ghiotti. We waited in line for a while but it was worth it. Afterwards we walked around some more and headed back to the room to rest. It was 90–100 degrees all week so it wears you out.

Later in the day my son and I went to grab something to drink at MDB which is known for being one of the best steak houses in Florence. I mentioned to our waiter that we wanted to visit the Duomo but the lines were incredibly long to buy tickets and then more lines to enter the church, so he told us to check out the Piazzale Michelangelo which was at the very top of the hill. He told us to take a cab there and then walk back down into the historic center so we did just that.

The view from up there was amazing because you could see the whole city, and it made for great pictures during sunset. There were lots of people there taking pictures, a DJ playing music, food stands, little kiosks selling souvenirs and even a basketball tournament.

The walk back down into the city was really nice because there were streets lined with trees, little waterfalls here and there, then you were walking along the river and crossing bridges. When we reached the bridge we stopped and took pictures there because it was a perfect spot for that.

Later that night we had dinner at Il Grande Nuti since our son had always wanted to try the cheese barrel pasta and it did not disappoint. Once again we grabbed gelato at Venchi because that place was so good, and headed back to our room to get some sleep.

---

Places from this day

• Cantinetta dei Verrazzano — croissant and espresso to start the day.
• Casa Musicale G. Ceccherini — the music shop that ate an hour.
• I' Girone De' Ghiotti — worth the queue.
• MDB Steakhouse — a drink, and the tip that made the day.
• Piazzale Michelangelo — the whole city at sunset.
• Florence Duomo — admired from outside; the lines beat us.
• Il Grande Nuti — the cheese barrel pasta.
• Venchi — again. No regrets.