End of One Chapter, Beginning of Another

The last few days in Florence were incredibly bittersweet. On the one hand it meant saying goodbye to my roommates and my time living in Italy, but it also marked the beginning of my adventures with Courtney.

We made the most of those two full days in Florence by seeing everything from the incredible art to the beautiful gardens. We had initially decided to skip the museums because we had so many other sites to see and were trying to budget. Luckily, while standing at the top of the Duomo with an incredible view of the city, we met an American couple who told us that the museums were staying open until 1 am and entrance was free! Looks like we had something to do after our relatively early dinner reservations on our last night after all! After finishing dinner we walked to the Accademia to see the David and were let in within 5 minutes, giving us time to then make our way to the Uffizi, which only took about 15 minutes to get into. It was perfect.
If you only have a few days in Florence, here are a few things I'd recommend doing:

Buy a bottle of wine and walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo to enjoy some live music and watch the sunset. I have so many wonderful memories from this place - you can't miss it!

Enjoy the incredible, free art of the streets (seriously, it's everywhere!) while wandering around the city and go to the museums if you have time!

Take a stroll thorugh San Lorenzo Market for some leather goods, then make your way to Mercato Centrale to buy ingredients for a picnic!

Spend an afternoon in the Boboli Gardens and the Bardini Gardens

Climb the Duomo! You can't get this view of the city from anywhere else!

Last, but not least, take the time to get lost, step into random shops, walk down narrow streets, spend hours at each meal and savor every bite, talk to Italians, and take it all in!

 Thank you again to my sister, Courtney, for sharing her amazing pictures with me!