Travel Tripz » Florence

Out and About in Florence (Italy)

Guest Author — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:32:51 +0000

Florence is the capital city of Tuscany, a region in Italy. It was a huge centre for medieval trade and finance and is where the Italian Renaissance began. The historic city centre was declared a World Heritage Site in 1981, fulfilling the first five criteria of UNESCO’s checklist for the honor. It’s worth having a look at these cultural criteria as they encapsulate all that is magical and unique about Florence. World Heritage Site UNESCO Cultural Criteria met by Florence: I. To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius II. To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a...

Read More...

The Boboli Gardens

traveltripz — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 23:41:00 +0000

After taking in the sights on the Ponte Vecchio we arrived at the Pitti Palace and the majestic Boboli Gardens. These beautiful formal gardens are situated behind the Pitti Palace which was the property of the Medici family. This stunningly beautiful palace is the 2nd largest museum in Florence. The gardens cover and area approx 45,000 metres and include statues from the 16 and 17th century. There are many areas where you can sit and relax before continuing on your stroll through the many twists an turns. I have read a number of reviews about the gardens and some have not been very encouraging saying they are...

Read More...

A Day in Florence

traveltripz — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:23:00 +0000

We are so excited to be here in Florence so we rise early and head down to partake of a very tasty buffet breakfast. Everything, as usual in Italy, is cooked to perfection, proscuitto, eggs – scrambled, poached and fried, an assortment of cheeses, breads, jams, little Italian sausages and fresh tomatoes gently grilled to perfection. The breakfast room is abuzz with tourists from many countries all quickly downing a hearty feed before setting off for an exciting day of exploring. Our first stop is the Ponte Vecchio on our way to the Pitti Palace of the Medici’s and the...

Read More...

Back in Florence

traveltripz — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 06:57:00 +0000

We arrive back at the hotel and park the car. It looks so tiny in the parking space when we look down at it from our hotel room window. There is il negozio di alimentari (grocery store) just down the road from our hotel so we set off to buy some food for dinner and lunch the next day. It reminds me very much of the corner shop from my childhood. The air is filled with the aroma of food and hessian sacks. It doesn’t take long to make our decision as there isn’t a great deal of variety, so...

Read More...

A Walk Around Florence

traveltripz — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:20:00 +0000

My main reason for coming to Florence is to visit the factory of Guiseppe Armani “The Society“. I collect Armani porcelain and so this is exciting for me to be able to see where and how the statues are made. However, before we go in search of the factory we need to pick up the car we will be using to drive around Tuscany, from the Florence airport but we will do this in the morning. Today is like any other day that we arrive in a new city, we book into the hotel, drop off the luggage, freshen up...

Read More...

Hiring a Car in Europe

traveltripz — Sat, 12 May 2007 01:29:00 +0000

When we were in Europe we rented a care for a few days in Florence. Everyone kept telling us that we were brave to drive around in Italy as they are all madmen on the road but we found the opposite actually. Well perhaps they are a little mad on the roads but we found that they are actually very good drivers. We drove from Florence to Sienna in a little Smart Car. Anyone who has seen a Smart Car knows how small they are but it was perfect for what we wanted and a lot of fun. We recommend...

Read More...

The Start of Our Fantastic Trip to Europe

traveltripz — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 02:12:00 +0000

In 2001, My friend Paula and I decided to go to Europe for a holiday. I had always wanted to go to Italy and especially Florence. However Paula convinced me that as we were going to be flying all the way from Australia, we should visit a few more place than just Florence. After the excitement of planning the trip, with the fabulous travel agent from American Express, we set off from Sydney to Singapore. What a pleasure it was to land in Singapore, the airport is just great with lots of beautiful orchid garden arrangements. The ladies that we...

Read More...