Florence may very well be my favorite city in the world. I have been twice now and wouldn’t blink an eye at the opportunity to visit the historic and gorgeous city again. I insisted that Brit, Lili, and I visit while over in Europe and we were able to squeeze in a short two day stint in Florence on our sisters trip. We spent the majority of our time exploring the leather markets. We had been careful with our money up until then in hopes of finding amazing leather jackets. Each of us were lucky in finding our dream jacket and color and we even found more goods than we could have dreamed of. The best parts of the city include the delicious food and wine as well as the endless art. Seeing the Duomo in all its glory was pretty spectacular too and we couldn’t seem to take enough pictures.

We stayed at an AirBnB not far from the train station and it was the perfect location for getting around town easily. We arrived Saturday evening just in time for a delicious margarita pizza dinner. We picked up some vino and groceries for the following morning on our way out and spent the evening hanging out, chatting about life, and preparing for an adventurous day.

I loved sleeping in a little and then grabbing cappuccinos at the local cafe right down the street. Cappuccinos in Italy just can’t be beat!

Below is a picture of Lili and Brit in front of the many markets. Haggling was a skill we learned quickly. Vendors will always upsell you and they expect you to haggle with them. If you don’t get your asking price, just walk away! Chances are, they’ll give it to you…

I absolutely love the Duomo! It’s my favorite site in Florence and always makes for a great picture!

I loved seeing little shops & stands on  various corners! So neat!

Below is a view of the Duomo tower and a picture of Brit standing in front of a store where Lili and I got really awesome sandals. The pair Brit wanted was unavailable in her size but she found a couple of bags that she loved. How cute are those different styles & color sandals? I love a good comfortable flip flop! There were so many options :)

We stopped for lunch after some shopping and explorations and enjoyed bruschetta and the local drink of choice: an ‘Aperol Spritzer’. It’s made with aperol, prosecco, and a splash of soda with an orange wedge. Delicious! It was a great midday treat before returning to the leather markets.

My favorite purchase was my leather jacket. Brit and I got the same one in a different color. Franco, the man who sold it to us, was quite aggressive in his sales. Most people are. It really turned me off and I didn’t want to walk into his store but after Brit told him we would just look, we followed him in. Turns out, his pushiness worked for him because we both walked out with jackets we LOVED. And for a great deal! We snapped this picture with Franco and the picture was taken sideways because the camera holder decided that that would make it even cooler!

We enjoyed our jackets so much and loved that style that we returned the next day where Lo made her purchase! Leather Sister Twins for the win! In case you are wondering, you can get leather for a very fair price in Florence. Jackets in the states (real, leather jackets) are often above $350. We got two for that price.

I wish I could say we did more historical touring than shopping but we didn’t have much time on Monday before we left and were eager to check out leather on Sunday before doing anything else. By the time we looked up tickets and times to visit The Statue of David, they no longer worked with our schedule. We thought about visiting the Baboli Gardens but were late to that as well. Instead we did a lot of walking and got serene views of the city from a popular look out point.

We brought our LizzyLovesLetters can coolers with us :) Kind of a neat view, don’t you think? I love the skyline view with the Duomo.

One of the other picturesque spots in Florence is on the bridge overlooking the river. Here is a picture of us on our last night in Florence!

If I return to Florence someday, I’ll make sure to spend more time than two days there and visit more historical sites. I’m also eager to visit Tuscany and the many wineries in the area. We were interested in doing a wine tour, but none were available on the Sunday we were there, when we had the most time. Oh well! Someday, somehow.

After two days in Florence, we took a train to Milan for the evening before heading back to the States. We ate one last Italian meal: gnocci! YUM. And drank a delicious bottle of wine. We met some German students who sat with us and chatted about their vacation experiences and it was the perfect cap on a very special and wonderful trip. I am so lucky to have traveled to Europe with my sisters and I will never forget our adventures & memories :)

adventure florence italy sister trip travel