Last Updated on January 24, 2024 by Tori Pines
Buongiorno Friends! In today’s Italy Travel Journal, we take on Florence. I am loving having you tag along on all of our adventures! Keep reading to hear all about day 5.
This morning we had nothing planned so we could sleep in and relax before our 11 am ticket to the Uffizi Gallery. We didn’t set an alarm because we never sleep past like 8am but we were obviously tired and slept until 10:45am!! We flew out of bed and rushed to the gallery walking along the Arno River. The weather was beautiful this morning.
The Uffizi Gallery
We made it just in time and since we bought our tickets in advance we walked straight into the ticket office. Seriously people, you MUST buy tickets in advance to all major attractions. It is either impossible to get tickets on the spot or you have to wait in very very long lines, it’s not worth it, just buy them in advance. After the ticket office, we went into the main entrance, through security and then walked through the long entry into the gallery.
It was pretty packed, the most we have seen in an attraction the whole trip. But we think that was likely due to the fact that we went in the middle of the day instead of early in the morning. If the Uffizi is something very important to you and you love art, I would definitely recommend going early in the morning. We are not huuuge art people so it was okay for us.
We used the Rick Steves audio tour again and wandered around for a while. We enjoyed it, and I liked seeing some of the most famous pieces that I learned about in school back in the day. That being said, we actually enjoyed the Vatican Museums a lot more. If you wanted to pick one or the other, I personally would recommend the Vatican.
Lunch at All’antico Vinaio
As our stomachs started to growl, we walked 2 short blocks to the one, the only, All’Antico Vinaio, a very famous sandwich shop in Florence. Although there are 3 shops right across from each other, the line was insane. They funnel all three shops into one line that wraps down the street, around the corner, and down another block. We almost bailed but as the line moved fairly quickly we decided to stay. It took about an hour to get to the front of the line, it was crazy. But we made it and decided to get 3 sandwiches so we could try out a few flavors.
We took them back to the hotel room so we could sit, relax and enjoy our lunch. The sandwiches themselves were okay. The bread was really hard and crusty, and hurt the roof of our mouths. The meat was freshly sliced and was good, along with the cheeses. One of the sandwiches was great, the other good and the third was not great. One had a lot of flavor, the other had none. We liked the “DOP” best.
I definitely don’t think they were worth the line, and probably not even worth it without the line. I’m sad to say that because of all of the hype!! But for us, it’s true. And we LOVE a good sandwich. But they are famous so I would understand if you still wanted to try it for yourselves.
Climbing the Dome
After we finished up lunch we headed back out to check out the Duomo and climb the dome. Along the way, we obviously had to stop for gelato, and I had heard amazing things about a place called “Perche No!”. I think it was the best gelato we have had all trip. It was creamy and very flavorful. They had a bunch of unique flavor options too! Don’t be thrown off that they are in a touristy area, this is an exception to the rule!!!
We arrived, found the right entrance for the dome climb, and I realized they took people in in large groups. That’s when I assessed my ticket more thoroughly and realized we had to be there to get in AT 3, I thought we had a window of 3 to 3:45. Whoops!!
I was super nervous they wouldn’t let us in but we waited anyway. The ticket taker arrived at 3:45, checked our ticket and let us in without saying a word. I’ve learned that in Italy they are pretty darn flexible with things like that, which is really great.
We climbed the 400+ steps to the top, which only took a few minutes and really wasn’t that hard. There were narrow stone hallways, spiral staircases and steep steps! You even stop halfway inside the dome to see the beautiful paintings on the ceiling and look down into the church.
The top was definitely worth the climb. The views were, of course, gorgeous and since we were close to the front of the line, there was basically no one up there for the first few minutes. After a little while it got packed and we were ready to leave. We had to wait for everyone in this time slot to get to the top, then we could head back down.
Going down was dizzy, on the world’s longest spiral staircase, but we made it. Afterwards we entered the underground cathedral. It was small and not a ton to look at, then we looked around the cathedral itself, and we left. It was a nice experience and I’m so glad we climbed the dome, I would do that every single time we come. We might climb the bell tower tomorrow if we feel like it. Be sure to book your tickets in advance as they do sell out!
Exploring Florence
We headed back to the room for a quick shower and nap and then we walked around and just wandered the city for a few hours. We saw the famous wild boar, rubbed his nose and dropped a coin for good luck. We saw the beautiful merry-go round and listened to some street performers play music throughout the city.
Dinner At Ristorante Parione
Last, we went to dinner at Ristorante Parione for our 9pm dinner reservation. I had been recommended to this place by one blogger I happened upon. They are not famous, do not have hundreds of recommendations by all the bloggers and vloggers or anything, but for some reason the one blog post I saw drew me in and so we went! And wow it was SUCH a special treat.
We were brought upstairs to the cutest little loft over the restaurant and had the sweetest server we could ask for. He was funny and kind and we thoroughly enjoyed him. For dinner we knew we came here for the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina. So we ordered that along with a mozzarella di Bufala and tomato appetizer. The mozzarella was out of this world and tasted different than anything I’ve ever had in the states!!
We had a bottle of their house red with the steak and it was all perfect. The wine was delicious and went perfectly with our steak dinner. The steak was great, but we added a little salt to make it have a little more flavor, the way we like at home. It came with beans which Austin loved and crispy potatoes that were so soft and buttery on the inside.
We even chatted with the table next to us who were from the Netherlands. Either people from other countries are just all nicer and friendlier than we are used to in the states, or people really are just happier when they’re in this magical country. Either way, we love it.
We rolled out of there full, happy and giggling from our bottle of red. We rushed across the Arno to Gelateria La Carraia that was supposed to be incredible, got two scoops each and wandered back to the hotel, enjoying the beautiful Florentine ambiance. It was a perfect night, we couldn’t be happier.
Ristorante Parione is now tied for the best restaurant we have eaten at with the one from two nights ago in Tuscany. The meals in Tuscany/Florence have been so much better than Rome already! We are loving the food in this region so very much. Please make a reservation for Parione, you will not regret it!!!
I will say, we are getting more and more tired as the trip goes on. The first few days were so busy that they took a lot out of us. But, we luckily have a lot less planned for the next few days so hopefully we will be able to recharge. Try to plan lots of time for naps and relaxing. You will thank me later!
Tomorrow we take a cooking class and I am beyond excited. I love to cook at home so this will be very fun for me.
Make sure you read the Day 6 Daily Journal next, and please be sure to read through all of my Italy travel resources to help you plan the perfect vacation.
