HAVING A FEW IN FLORENCE

I'm back and oh boy am I glad to be!

It has been a tough couple of years but with borders open, jabs and boosters successfully administered and lower COVID rates, it was finally time to go to an airport and jump on a flight. I booked a trip very last minute to Bologna in Italy because after 18 months of the UK, I felt it was only right to go to the home of pizza and pasta.

Obviously a relaxing few days in the same city was far too tame, so having landed, had a couple drinks and got in at 1AM, we booked train tickets from Bologna to Florence. This was an Italian city which had been on my hit list for far too long so I was very excited at the prospect of being there in 8 hours time. Our alarms woke us from slumber at 07:00 and we were 'up and at em' by 07:30, strolling the streets of Bologna to the central station.

We were in Florence just after 09:00, soaking up the sun which was pouring over the city. The warmth was gorgeous and we found the perfect spot for breakfast right by the Ufizzi gallery. The Ufizzi is an art gallery right in the centre of the historic city. It is spectacular to look at but tickets are in high demand. You definitely need to pre book if you want to get inside (or you can queue for hours on end but we didn't fancy that with it being such glorious weather).

Chocolate and pistachio croissants were ordered and consumed in a matter of minutes. We had a couple of coffees then set off to explore. It didn't take us long to stumble across Ponte Vecchio, an arched bridge noted for the shops built along it. It is so quirky but far too many people were gunning for that perfect picture to post on instagram. We took in the structure whilst moving slowly through the crowds of tourists.

On the other side, you could wander around Boboli Gardens for €10.00. I suspect some people spend all day here, reading and walking around the maze of vegetation. Unfortunately, we didn't have the luxury of time so decided we'd stick to the main city.

It was back over the bridge and now our mission was to find the Duomo. You wouldn't think it hard to find a 116 meter dome in the middle of a city but we somehow managed to struggle. That being said, we were walking aimlessly so we were hardly helping ourselves. There was a lovely open square with restaurants and bars lined up along the perimeter. I was admiring the cocktails when suddenly, bam. . . there it was, the Duomo. As we had turned the corner the aesthetic structure had appeared from what felt like nowhere. I hadn't known what to expect, but this exceeded all expectations. We walked around so we could feast our eyes on every angle.

We wanted to escape the crowds so we decided to walk down a side street which led us to the most amazing food market called Mercato Centrale (quite literally, "Central Market"). The downstairs boasted limoncello and cheeses, meats and olive oil. There was so much food and having become accustomed to London prices, I couldn't quite get my head around the fact that you could get a bottle of wine for €2 (no, I'm really not exaggerating for once)!

The upstairs was more of a food court, with pizza, pasta, sushi, Mexican, pastries and so much more. We were spoilt for choice, so much so that we decided to find a restaurant. We also wanted to sit outside if possible so the hustle and bustle of the market was left and a lovely little restaurant was found.

We sat down, basking in the sunlight, and ordered two bowls of pasta. I had a glass of wine, and then another, and then a couple more. Before we knew it, we had drunk our way through the afternoon. Laughing and taking in the atmosphere of a vibrant city. The cobbled stones, the awesome buildings, the friendly faces. It was a place that felt typically Italian. Our food was delicious (I think . . . all I can confidently say is that the wine glasses seemed to get bigger and bigger)! Eventually, we thought we'd move and take one last look around Florence.

There was just enough time to put our heads into a couple of shops and have a drink by the Duomo. It really is immense. Time seemed to escape us and suddenly we had a train to catch. We ran through the streets and made it with minutes to spare, sun-kissed but not sober. The journey back flew by and before long we found ourselves back in Bologna. It had been a great day, one that will stick in the memory book for sure. It was so easy to get there from Bologna too (it takes me longer to drive to work everyday)!

Florence and back within 12 hours, not bad for our first day in Italy...

Top Attractions:

• Ufizzi Gallery (pre-book tickets)!

• Ponte Vecchio Bridge

• Boboli Gardens

• Duomo

• Mercato Centrale

**If you have Trainline you can buy tickets using this app. There's plenty to choose from and they range from 40 minutes to 2 hours (we picked a 40 minute journey and it was £20.00 each way but we booked late so you can definitely get cheaper tickets if you're organised)!