Florence and Pisa

We were supposed to visit Bologna, Florence, and then Pisa all by train for Memorial Day Weekend, but we were in a head on car crash on our way to the train station on Thursday when a guy came straight into our lane going around a bend. The girls were seemingly most upset about the car and not going to our hotel that night. We didn’t want to cancel every hotel and train ticket and tour we already had scheduled and paid for, so we decided to cancel Bologna and go straight to Florence on Friday. I booked us a new train ticket….and we missed that train. 🤦🏼‍♀️ I clearly wasn’t thinking straight and didn’t get us to the station early enough and then the one free parking lot was completely full so we had to drive down the street to park at a big grocery store and hope not to get towed. So for the 3rd try, we made it on the train stressed and frazzled. Honestly, I’ll probably always remember my emotions with this trip going after our accident. 

We have taken the train to Venice before but this was our first big trek across Italy. We had snacks and iPads and headphones, so being on the train went pretty well. We took regional trains the whole trip and had to switch in Venice, Bologna, and Prato. We had one train that was completely full and we were squished in tight on the pull down seats so we could at least be together. Otherwise since trains aren’t at full capacity still, we had plenty of space for us and our big backpacks. 

We arrived in Florence around 5:30 pm on Friday night and walked to our hotel. The girls loved how fancy the room felt. We went up to the roof and enjoyed the view of the Duomo and cathedral!

 Then, we ventured out to find a restaurant that was supposedly really good! It was a bit of a walk, but it was pretty going on the bridge over the water. We had reaaaaally tasty pizza at Gustapizza and even saw some horses go by! We found a highly rated gelateria on the corner by the bridge and enjoyed it during sunset! The only downside was the guy trying to sell roses who wouldn’t listen when we said no. Then he was trying to hand them to Emma telling her to ask for them. It was so uncomfortable because he would not leave for so long! Ugh. 

After we finished our gelato, we let the girls ride the carousel on the walk back to the hotel. While we were riding, Dan was trying to take pictures, but a pan handler approached him and wouldn’t leave him alone without a “donation” (because you know, he was leaving for Africa tomorrow to see his son)… Dan kept politely declining, but the man insisted and started stuffing cheap jewelry in Dan’s pocket, so we learned some of the methods of pan handling here the hard way! Dan came straight to me when we got off asking me for money and then the guy kept asking me for more and more. It was awful. Not everyone was as aggressive… some acted as bus boys for cafes and seemed to be more like employees. This was the first city we have encountered this. So finally, we made it back to the hotel for one last rooftop view! 

Saturday, we had a Foodie Tour booked with a local, so we enjoyed the empty streets by the Duomo on our walk there. We stopped at Conad City real quick for some coffee drinks and breakfast because I didn’t think we would be eating so many things on the tour! 

Our tour guide took us to a cafe and we had a quick coffee before going to a little bakery for these little crunchy cookie things. We got to walk through the market (so much crazier than ours in Aviano!) and bought some cherries to try. We also had a realllly good sandwich that was like fried salty bread with cheese and prosciutto inside. I don’t even remember what it was called but I would go back for another one. 🤤 Our next stop was a little avocado lunch shop where we got to try wine and a little platter. We were so full at this point! Our tour ended with gelato and then we walked to the famous Piazza della Signoria to see the outdoor statues and fountains. We then walked back to the hotel for a break before checking out the Disney Store! Emma picked Rapunzel and Ava found a little clip on plush dog. We got a few candy treats and walked around the city! Our fruit flavored gelatin gummies are worth mentioning because they tasted exactly like the fruit! The peach one was 🤤. I would get them again next time we are in Florence!

For dinner, we ate at Trattoria Za Za. My steak was so good but not the typical Florentine steak. I’m way too cheap to go for that! Ava slept the whole walk there and part way through dinner. Poor girl was exhausted!

Sunday morning, we found a cafe right next to the Duomo for a lovely breakfast before heading to the train station.

We arrived in Pisa around noon and walked to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was pretty crowded but they have the beautiful green grassy area blocked off so you can get gorgeous pictures without a million tourists. We had lunch and took the typical tourist pictures by the tower and then walked to our hotel and checked in. 

We had the whole rest of the day to explore Pisa and found some sand by the water, so the girls turned it into a beach day. We even found a playground someone told me about that had little trampoline squares in the park! It was perfect! We had a fun night since the girls could do something more for them versus walking around Florence. 

Frozen yogurt… tasted like cold yogurt. 😬

Monday after breakfast at the hotel, we hopped on the train by 9 or so and switched in Florence and Venice again before getting back to our train station! We quite enjoyed the Frecciarosa fast train!

Overall, I know a lot of people love Florence, but it was so busy and cars, bikes, and people were everywhere (well compared to where we live), and it was stressful making sure none of us got hit! I’m glad we went and visited the major sites and maybe next time I will enjoy it more to the fullest.