May 19th, 2009 - Bienvenido Firenze!

We made it to Florence! I was so excited to spend a few days here. I had been here before. Twice. They were both day stops and that just isn't enough time to see all there is to see in Florence. I can't wait for a time where we can go to Florence and just wander with no agenda. This was not that trip. It took us 3 taxis to go to the hotel with all our luggage. Yep... 3 taxis. Luckily we weren't staying far away, but still... We stayed at the Hotel Davanzati. http://www.hoteldavanzati.it/index.php?lang=eng It has been rated #1 on the Trip Advisor forever! There is a good reason for it too. First of all, the 3 men who run this place are incredible. You really feel like part of the family while you are here. Every single night there is a free happy hour. All you can drink red wine or prosecco and appetizers. It is so great!

After checking into our hotel, we went to a great place to get pizza. It is the best pizza we had in all of Italy. I will update the blog with the restaurant as soon as I hear back from the hotel on what it was called. After lunch it was over to the Medici Chapels and then to the Accademia Museum to see Michelangelo's David. There are no photos allowed of David so?? This is the second time I have seen The David and all I can say is you HAVE to see him to believe it. It is one of the most amazing works of art I have seen. David is a babe!

This is Alex and I on the Ponte Vecchio. It was another gorgeous day in Italy! We were on our way to dinner to a fabulous place that I found online before we even left home. I made reservations months in advance so we were assured the window table (that everyone wants).

http://www.goldenviewopenbar.com/home.php?p=ristorante_en&lang=en

And this is the view from our table at the Golden View Open Bar. This was a great place! I highly recommend eating here. Just make sure you make reservations WAY in advance!

Looking the other way from the Ponte Vecchio. Isn't the river lovely! It was just a perfect day!

Here is our terrace at the Hotel Davanzati. There is only one triple room (I believe) that has this terrace. It is SOOooo nice! Like I said, I wish we could have some time in Florence where we could just relax a bit.