WEEK ONE

Firstly, our apartment is amazing.  Right in the heart of the Santa Croce district, it is less than a 5 minute walk to many of the major sites including the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio.  It is on the corner, so we have windows looking out onto the street on both sides, it is perfect!

The first few days we spent just wandering around this great city and getting used to how all the traffic (both human and cars) works.  This included me stepping in a huge pile of horse shit in my thongs, getting it all in my toes, which I am now claiming was just chocolate gelati!

Anna's Italian is very impressive.  We went to the Mercato Centrale and had lunch (paparadelle with wild boar ragout - one of the main dishes here) and struck up a conversation with some locals sitting on our table.  Anna was able to talk to them fluently for over 20 minutes, it was great.

Apart from enjoying great food, we also started to visit some of the tourist attractions, including the Galleria dell'Accademia which houses the statue of David and the Pallazzo Vecchio which used to be the palace of the Medici's who ruled Florence for many years.  We also went for a walk unto the Piazzale Michaelangelo which is about a 20 min walk uphill and great views from the top!

There is a very popular and busy bar right below our apartment - Looking up from the outside tables, you can see our apartment on the top floor on the corner with the Demons scarf hanging out the window!
You will also notice that Anna has embraced the European lifestyle with the odd smoke.....

The Piazza della Signoria is a huge square and one of our favourite places as it is the hub of Florentine life.  It includes the Palazzo Vecchio, the fake statue of David, many great restaurants and cafe's and also the Loggia dei Lanzi, an open air museum with many great sculptures including Perseus which my grandmother told me so much about before i set off.

We had a great dinner with some of Anna's classmates and we decided to feast on a traditional 'Bistecca de fiorentine' which is a 1kg T-bone steak.  They bring it out to you uncooked to make sure you are happy with the cut and then take it away to be cooked, although they don't cook it very much because it is served very rare!

One of the things I love so much about Florence is that you can see the Duomo from so many places, so if you ever get lost, all you have to do is look for the big dome and you can get yourself back on track!