Maddie’s European Travel Diaries: Florence Day 1

Happy first day in Italy! This morning we woke up at 3am to catch our 6am flight to Florence. We arrived in Florence around 8:30 and immediately boarded a bus to head to Pisa, Italy! After the hour bus ride, we saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the surrounding area. There were several buildings nearby that we also toured, including the Battistero di San Giovanni and Cattedrale di Pisa.

After touring these with our guide, Mario, we did a bit of shopping at the stands and little shops surrounding the area near the Tower of Pisa. Around 11:30am we met up and boarded the bus again, heading towards Florence. This drive was gorgeous, through the beautiful hills and vineyards of the Italian countryside. When we arrived in Florence, we dropped our bags at the hotel then went on a walking tour of the surrounding area to preview the monuments and museums we would be seeing later in our visit. At the end of the walking tour, we were given free time until dinner. We ate lunch at this really good pasta/pizza place and I had the best pesto pizza I think I’ve ever had in my entire life. We walked around Florence for a little bit before meeting back at the hotel to check into our rooms. We unpacked, took our afternoon siesta, and got ready for dinner. We headed out to dinner around 7:15pm for our reservation at 7:30. We had pasta with ragu sauce and caprese salad with a pineapple upside down cake for dessert. We also tried some local gelato after dinner before going back to the hotel and crashing. Check back for a day 2 Florence update tomorrow!