Florence

Florence is one of the most popular destinations in Italy, and for good reasons too. This city is beautiful with stunning architecture, attractions and things to do.

Here are some observations I made when living in Florence, which I thought I would share:

  1. Museums are everywhere.
  2. Churches are everywhere.
  3. Tourists are everywhere.
  4. Most stuff is closed on Sunday and some places are closed on Mondays. Or Wednesdays. Whichever they feel like is a good day to close.
  5. Everything closes for lunch for approximately for 2 hours except eating places of course.
  6. Nearly everyone smokes.
  7. If you are a girl you will hear Ciao, Bella. Really, no matter what you look like, although if you look foreign you are bound to hear it more often.
  8. Peanut butter is hard to find.
  9. Nutella is everywhere.
  10. Gelato is fantastic.
  11. If there is an appointment or event happening most people will get there exactly on time or 15-30 minutes late but never early.
  12. If you are under 26, you get non-adult discounts and priviledges.
  13. Most people here can speak at least a little English.
  14. It rains a whole lot – but thunder and lightening is not as common.
  15. People here think 50 degrees F is horrendously cold.
  16. If there is a showerhead in the bathroom, the placement is usually on the side/middle above the bathtub, or you just have to hold it yourself.
  17. To flush the toilet, find the button.
  18. Don’t use too much toilet paper – by that I mean maybe 1 sheet is safe for not clogging the toilet, otherwise throw all the rest in the bin.
  19. If you don’t, find a bucket nearby and dump some water into the bowl to wash it down – the plumbing systems here are ridiculous.
  20. People here do their best to be as fashionable as possible.
  21. If you wear bright colors or nonmatching patterns or tennis shoes – you’re gonna stand out and by stand out I mean look like a tourist.
  22. If you speak English in public with your an accent people will assume you only speak English.
  23. Don’t say Ciao to someone you don’t know – say Buongiorno or Buonasera or Salve, but not CIAO.
  24. Air kissing on the cheek is a common greeting but when you first meet you shake hands.
  25. The streets are very narrow because the buildings are so close together
  26. People walk on the street, park cars on the sidewalk, if there are any traffic laws here I don’t see anyone abiding them.
  27. All the rooftops of florence are this lovely orangey red color – might I even say – blood orange.
  28. Also, the blood oranges here are delicous.
  29. All markets inside and outside are open in the morning from about 10-14.
  30. Did I mention they use military time here?
  31. Italians are fashionable – and it’s NOT fashionable to get drunk. Only the tourists do it which does not help our stereotype.
  32. Wine is drunk at dinner basically every night – mmmm
  33. There is fresh pasta sold everywhere
  34. There is prosciuto everywhere, mmm
  35. The tomatoes here are to die for
  36. The street art reflects the historical reinissance but with modern touches
  37. There is also graffiti everywhere as well
  38. Cypress trees are all around, but they used to be only around cemetaries.
  39. Because the streets are so small, everything is pretty close together which makes walking more worthwhile than driving.
  40. Many people also ride bicycles here but I don’t know how I would survive that because all the streets are cobblestone and bumpy.
  41. Catholicism is the norm.
  42. There are a lot of old people here – I definitely see people clearly over the age of 65 than I do babies in strollers.
  43. If you ever get lost, find the Duomo and hopefully you’ll be able to figure out where you are from there. But even so, most people are kind of enough to give directions.
  44. Everything here is pretty expensive especially compared to other Italian destinations.
  45. There are so many Euro coins.
  46. The Lion is a symbol of Florence.
  47. People walk a lot more slowly here. I’m sure if I mentioned speed walking they would say do you mean running? why would you run?
  48. It gradually gets more and more crowded as time gets closer and closer to summer.
  49. Summer is very busy and the heat can be intense.
  50. Florence really is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Every day in Florence can be an adventure – seriously, there is no day that is exactly the same. For more tips check out my Florence travel guide.