Hey gang, sorry for a very delayed update on the last leg of my European tour. But better late than never!

Florence was a dream. I know I’m not original in saying this, but that city is dripping in art. Every street you would turn into held some incredible story, building, statue…you couldn’t avoid art there if you tried.

I will type of Florence a bit differently as this is the place where I stayed the longest, and so I think a day-by-day account of what I did might become a bit tedious. Instead, I will try and do a general overview.

I really loved Florence. It’s so so beautiful and the food is incredible. Having studied art in school, I was very eager to see the pieces that I had studied on tattered old school book pages in real life. They did not disappoint. I spent the early days of my trip just exploring the city. Thankfully, Florence is a very walkable city and while the heat was a struggle, there were water refill stations dotted across the city, which I made good use of. The famous Medici bridge, the square around the Ufizi, the Duomo, all contribute in making walking Florence incredible fun. The day spent in the Ufizi was one of my favourites. It’s a massive gallery and I spent far too long roaming the lower floors that by the time I got to the Botticelli’s I was reaching a point of exhaustion. The lesson here is make a plan of what you want to see beforehand and only see that, because trying to see the entire gallery is very unrealistic. Botticelli’s work lived up to the expectations. It was really breathtaking to turn the corner and suddenly see the Birth of Venus staring you down against an unassuming wall. The same can be said for the Statue of David by Michaelangelo. Everything you have heard about this statue is true. It’s (almost all) massive. There were a few more museums that I went to and consistently found myself stumbling upon incredible pieces of art, so I was kept busy and more importantly, kept out of the blazing heat for much of my time there.

I can’t talk about Florence without talking about the food and drinks and the little wine window shopping. While we did fall victim to some tourist trap restaurants (where the pizzas seemed almost like a Papa John’s frozen pizza), we did stumble across some amazing ones. My favourite restaurant was in a little village outside of Florence called San Gimignano. It was tucked away on a little street and only served local wine from the area. As it was my last day there, I treated myself to a glass of their local white and a truffle ravioli. 10/10 would recommend.

I loved Florence for its food and culture, but it was so much busier than any of the previous places I have been, including the hostel that I stayed in, so it also felt a bit more chaotic than some of the other spots I stayed in. The overall socialising, drinking, exploring and the many more activities I’ve done this summer so far did catch up with me towards the end of my time in Florence unfortunately and I got a bit of a dose of an illness during my time in France. I can see why Australians made sure to book an Airbnb every 3 weeks for some rest and recovery during their longer stints of travel. I think that is a good tip.

Will I miss Italy? Yes. Am I looking forward to a rainy Ireland? Yes. Two things can be true at the same time.