We had to get up early to catch our flight to Florence but were rewarded with a beautiful view of the early sunlight on distant buildings.

Finding the best way to get from Bordeaux to Florence was a little challenging. Train trips took about twelve hours, and most flights went to Paris first. Thanks to AI, I found a small airline that flew directly on some days of some months. Lucky for us they were flying on a day that worked for us. AI even assured me they were safe and reputable,

Volotea Airlines got us to Florence in a couple of hours, and we then checked into RoomMate, our lovely home for the next few days. After settling in, we set out to explore the neighborhood.

In 2015, we lived in Florence for five fabulous weeks and on this trip expected to easily find our way around the city. Although we were a little surprised by how unfamiliar everything seemed, after walking around a bit we had our bearings. An apertivo was a great way to start our first evening here.

Since we spent so much time in Florence in 2015, we wanted to find some different things to do for the next couple of days we are here. Augusto, front-desk staff extraordinaire, gave us great suggestions and marked them on our map.

I was especially thankful that he knew about the Florence flower show. Because I forget that Europeans write the day before the month, I thought it was next weekend.

Florence Flower Show

After breakfast, we walked to the flower show. Along the way we peeked in the door of one of Florence’s many beautiful churches.

After a short walk, we entered the park and saw luscious displays of flowers, plants, citrus trees, cactus, and bulbs.

People were choosing beautiful things to plant in their gardens, and I wanted to get something to plant. Just as I had this thought, I saw a stand selling seeds. This was a perfect solution for me! I got Italian seeds for basil, parsley and tomatoes. Fingers crossed they will grow in my Florida herb garden.

When we got to the back of the flower show we saw a beautiful conservatory and realized we had visited it in 2015. Unlike today when the park was filled with people, we were the only people walking in the park that rather rainey, dreary day and unsure if we were allowed to go in the conservatory. We took a chance, walked in and met a wonderful group of young men making a film there. They were so interesting and wanted to tell us all about their project. It is one of my favorite memories of our earlier trip here.

Mercato Centrale

On our walk home, we stopped at the huge Florence central market. It was filled with wonderful aromas and so many options to buy different foods or eat at the market.

Some popular vendors had long lines and made us wish we were hungrier.

I saw a vegetarian vendor with amazing options.

After we left the main market, we walked through a few of the streets surrounding the market. Leather goods and assertive vendors filled the streets.

Loving Laundromats

We have had some of our best experiences at laundromats in other countries, so we did not mind taking time after the market to do our laundry. Part of traveling light (my new travel goal) is washing clothes along the way. I enjoy spending time doing what the locals do and usually meet nice people.

Delightful Dinner

Our hotel gave us a list of good restaurants close to our hotel and made a reservation at the one we chose, Osteria Pepo.

We were able to sit by the window, and my classic Tuscan tomato bread soup was better than I remembered from our previous trip.

The reviews I read recommended the Tiramisu. We shared one, and it was so good, I think I should have ordered my own.

We talked with a lovely couple from Toronto who moved from Italy. They come to Italy every year to visit family.