After my business trip to Copenhagen, I traveled with a co-worker to Florence, Italy.  We made our way down to Sorrento/Capri/Naples after (that will be a separate post linked here when published).

We were only there for a short time (one full day), but here are the highlights.  I definitely want to come back to explore Florence and the region more!

Nude and Food Tour with Florence for Foodies: This tour was great! We ended up being the only two people on the tour that day so it felt like I booked a private tour.

• The Nude Part:
  • We met our first guide at the Galleria dell’Accademia (map) to see Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of David. Our guide gave us the history of Michelangelo’s life before taking us around the David. She was so passionate and knowledgable it made learning about the art and history that much more enjoyable. I am glad I booked the tour that included the guided visit to see David.

• The Food Part:
  • After our visit to the Accademia, we met our food tour guide and started our day with Italian pastries and espresso.  We then walked to the Mercado Centrale (map) to continue our food tour with tastings of sandwiches, tripe (which I normally do not like, but I can get on board with Italian tripe), truffled things, and sweets.
  • Then, the highlight of the tour: our guide took us to this cute wine shop, La Divina Enoteca (map). It is an old shop (original marble basins for seafood are still present) that now sells Italian wines and local small farm products (like cheese, spreads, olive oil, balsamic vinegars, honey, etc).  Again, since we were the only two people, it was like a private wine and cheese tasting. Oh and the shop owner was the sommelier of the year in 2014!
  • Of course the tour ended with gelato near the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

All in all, with the short time we had in Florence, I am really glad we did this tour and got the education on Michelangelo and the tour of the market and the sommelier’s shop. This tour is highly recommended!

After the tour, we had time to walk across the Arno River at Ponte Vecchio (map) and up to the Piazzale Michelangelo (map) for the panoramic views of the city. It was just gorgeous.

I am already thinking about my next visit to Italy. My plan will include cooking schools in the cities I visit. My sister attended the Food and Wine Academy of Florence and made gnocchi which she still talks about to this day.  So consider this bookmarked for future use!

Italy post to be continued with Sorrento, Capri, and Naples….

Until then, ciao!