Category Archives: Florence

Travel theme: Unexpected

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When I was in Florence, Italy I wanted to see the most famous places and sights of the city.  As I went from one landmark to another I walked through residential areas.  When I looked around I noticed something that I didn’t expect to see.  I usually think of shutters as decorative, but here they were both opened and closed and it looked like they were quite versatile.

Florence

Later that day I saw this building and thought that the pattern of the shutters was eye-catching.

Tuscany

These pictures are among my souvenirs of Italy and just as meaningful to me as this photograph I took in Florence.

FlorenceCheck here for more about this topic.

Travel theme: Round

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Florence is a beautiful city to visit and I thought that I’d look at some pictures I’d taken to find some examples of things that are round.  First I found many examples in the Duomo.

Florence

Next I noticed the clock on the Palazzo Vecchio.

Florence

Then I thought of something a little different.   Since I’m always looking for gelato when I’m in Italy it occurred to me that what could be better than a scoop of gelato in a round cone?

Florence

There are more examples here.

 

Travel Confessions

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This is part of a series on Travel Confessions.  My nomination was from Renee at cravesadventure and you should go to her blog and read her travel confessions too!

There are a few rules in the Travel Confessions series:

  • Post a photo (or photos) and description(s) of your confession(s) in a new post.
  • Tweet your post with hashtag #TravelConfession and follow/tweet @Traveling9to5
  • Tag 3 other travelers you’d love to see

My list is all about souvenirs.  Some are useful, some are decorative, and some never make it home at all (chocolate).

Confession 1:  I still bring home refrigerator magnets when I travel.  I already have a big collection, but they’re cute, inexpensive and easy to pack.  And when they’re on my refrigerator I get to reminisce about where I got them.  Here are some of my favorites.

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Confession 2:  Shoes, handbags, jewelry and scarves are my idea of great souvenirs.  When someone admires one of these items I like to say, “I got this in Italy.”  Then I try to stop talking because otherwise I’ll describe the day, time and place where I purchased it.  But I always remember…

Confession 2 1/2:  This relates to Confession 2.  After my first trip to Florence I found myself with three handbags, two pairs of shoes and many scarves.  I barely had room for these in my suitcase and I finally had to leave the shoeboxes behind.

shoes

Confession 3:  Chocolate is a delicious souvenir, and sadly one that never lasts long because I eat it immediately.  Here’s an example:  I bought chocolate at the Rome airport that I ate before I boarded the plane.  However I still have the empty box.

chocolate

Now I will nominate three bloggers to share their travel confessions:

the travelbunny

East of Málaga

DUTCH goes ITALIAN

I’m looking forward to hearing your stories!

Necessary Shopping in Florence

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A visit to Florence should include shopping, from window shopping on the Ponte Vecchio to actual buying at places like the San Lorenzo market.  A good place to begin is with the Ponte Vecchio itself, which is impressive from either side of the Arno.

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A Food Break in Italy

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While I was in Italy there were times I was looking for a light lunch or a snack that didn’t include chocolate or gelato.  This was only because I would eat the gelato or chocolate immediately, and the idea was to have something (like crackers) that would last longer!  Here are some examples of things I found in Italy that provided a little break from walking and sightseeing.

Pizza:

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Gelato Adventures

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When I wrote A Gelato Journal, I mentioned there would be more posts about things I learned about gelato while I was in Italy.  My focus was to make sure that gelato was as delicious as I remembered, although there wasn’t much doubt about that.  Along the way I learned about events such as the Gelato Festival in Florence. Continue reading →

How to Get Around in Italy

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Now that I’m back from Italy, I realize there are many ways to go from place to place.  Besides walking, I thought I’d focus on how people get around.  For instance, did you know you could get into a traffic jam while in a gondola?  Just look at this:

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