A Gift ...Florence

 

Florence...sigh.

What can I say that hasn't already been said?

In this case, we were gifted three nights at the wonderful Kraft Hotel by some friends back home.

Thanks, so much Dee & Sasha!!

We've been to Florence many times over the years, and I've posted about this gorgeous city several times here on the blog. We have our favorite spots, and this trip we just revisited most of them. Why not? 

We also stopped into some new spots, too, but here's a few shots of random beautiful moments...

The Duomo and her surroundings...

Santa Maria Novella at sunset...

Ponte Vecchio at sunrise...

The rooftop bar at Kraft Hotel.

Another shot of the rooftop at Kraft Hotel.
There is a bar, restaurant and pool. Swanky!!

We walked around a lot over the three days we were there. I just took in all the sights and sounds, shot lots of photos, and thanked our lucky stars that we were actually in Florence again.

Evening reflection on The Arno River

I kind of love this photo.

Great views from the Bardini Gardens...

More reflections on the Arno River. 
I can't help myself...

 

We really took time to just walk the streets on this visit. We had a few things we wanted to do, places we wanted to eat, etc...but we ended up just floating around this amazing city.

Johnny in his version of Heaven.

A beautiful facade.

I always love the window displays!

I think I have to buy these.
If only...

We had some yummy food, as always...

A little bite to hold us over.

A lovely cheese and grilled veg platter
for apertivo one evening.

We visited the Uffizi Galleries for the first time since 2004! Johnny really wanted to go, and we went super early in the morning. It was great...we had the place to ourselves.

Getting inspired.

We also went a little low-brow and stopped into a local pub to watch a soccer game. It was big fun!

As always, Florence did not disappoint. We'll go back again later in the trip. There is a big Jeff Koons exhibition opening in October, so that's a must see for us.

I'll be posting some more about the trip soon!

Sending a giant hug and a big "Grazie" to our pals for giving us the gift of Florence!!