The first full day in Florence was very dreary, but I aimed to make the most of it, even after sleeping in until 11 (oops). I didn’t have museum tickets to any of the historic sites for a few days, so the goal was to walk the city and familiarize myself with my surroundings, along with look at what I could from the outside.

First priority: find a good cappuccino. This little cafe and wine bar had the smoothest cup of cappuccino AND their chocolate & Nutella muffin was so good! If you’re in Florence, west of all the action, GO HERE. Great start to the day!

The feel of Florence was definitely different than Rome. Rome was large, the buildings exceptionally grand in size, while Florence was much more quaint with a LOT more shopping that I could see.  You can walk across most of the center of Florence (where all of the important monuments and museums are) in about 20-30 minutes tops, while in Rome, it could take almost an hour or more to get to all of the sites. Still, I walked quite a bit and just took in the street scenes.

It started really raining, so I ducked into a little Trattoria for shelter and wine. The wine was good, as expected, and I ordered some assorted toasted bread with cheeses. Surprise, one of the spreads was chicken liver and another had sausage and pepper. This time around, I ate the other crostinis and told the waiter that I ate a vegetarian diet. I didn’t imagine I had to tell them that before ordering bread and cheese, but I’ve learned my lesson. At lunch or dinner, I will now always preface my order with it!

There is a cliche that Italians only drive Vespas and I’m here to tell you that that’s not ENTIRELY true, however, there sure are A LOT of them. You’ll be pressed to find a street without them parked along the side or one with multiple scooters zipping down the road. They also drive mainly compact vehicles, as the streets are narrow and harder to navigate in large cars.

More walking, more getting rained on. I did eventually find Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge with shops hanging off the sides over the river. Historically, the shops were meat and fish markets, but in the hot, Italian summers, the smells became too much. They were eventually replaced and now the bridge is lined with jewelry shops. I told myself at the start that I was just going to look. And for 80% of the bridge, I did well! Then, I saw a bracelet that I really liked, so I asked about it. Only $500+. HAH. Alright, keep moving. They tried to find the silver version for me, since it was white gold, but alas, it was sold out.
I get to the last shop on the right and see another bracelet and this time go in asking if they had it in silver; they did not. She then asked me my budget and what I was looking for, and much to my surprise, she explained that I could still get something that was made of gold, just different in style. I fell in love with a dainty, white gold chain. She told me she could have it cut to size in 30 minutes. I was sold.

I haven’t purchased a nice piece of jewelry for myself…ever. I actually have a nickel allergy, which means I can’t wear 99% of “fashion” jewelry that everyone else wears. Even the hypoallergenic pieces tend to have traces of nickel. This means I keep my jewelry very simple: the same diamond studs in my ears and the same white gold chain around my neck. I’ve worn the necklace every day for almost 5 years now and the earrings for almost 3. But I decided to treat myself and I’m beyond happy with my purchase.

I walked by a lot of little food and clothing shops on the other side of the bridge and had a weird encounter with one man outside of one of the shops while I was trying to get my bearings on my phone. He said hello in Italian and I replied. He asked if I spoke Italian and I said no. Spanish? I said no (I took 5 years of it). English? I said a little. He eventually gave up and went back to smoking his cigarette while leaning against the building, probably waiting for another girl to walk by alone. It’s not that I felt unsafe, it was that I didn’t appreciate the attempt one bit because I simply wasn’t interested in talking with this stranger that was 2.5x my size. I figured out my way and walked. I didn’t really walk with my phone out or stop to look at it much while in the city, but most of the times that I had, no one had bothered me.

I crossed back over the bridge and stumbled upon Santa Croce, a gorgeous church. I snapped a few pictures and told myself that once the weather was nicer, I would make a note to take more. A bright white church against a grey, dreary sky isn’t what I had in mind.

More walking; my feet were tired. I found my way back towards my AirBnB and vowed to take a short break and then find some food to warm myself up. I’m in Italy and you know what I had for dinner?

Indian food. Warm, spicy, filling Indian food.

No regrets.