On the weekends I stay in Florence, my roommate and I never plan our day ahead because we usually have an errand or two that start it off and the rest evolves from there. Everyday I walk past numerous caffes, bars, and shops in Florence. On Saturday mornings I always grab a cappuccino to start the day. My favorite place for a cappuccino and treat is the Cioccolo caffe because they have the best chocolate croissants I have ever had. The man who works there is very nice and it is a very calm place to enjoy some tea or coffee. I have gone there on the weekends to read.
After our coffee, we continue walking and approach Piazza del Duomo, which is the spot of Santa Maria de Fiore and the famous Dome of Florence. In this piazza, there are bunches of places to grab a bite to eat and some gelato, but I personally never eat right in the main piazzas because I have found they charge a bit more for goods since they are tourist hotspots. My second day in Firenze, I was excited by the gelato mountains in one of the piazza gelato shops and paid 8 euro for a double scoop cone. I go to two places regularly currently and I pay less than half for my favorite gelato.
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| My roommate Lauren enjoying the performance in Piazza della Repubblica |
There are bunches of places to shop for your favorite things here in Florence. Mine are Lush, Sephora, H&M, Zara, and Brandy Melville. I also enjoy looking in all the shoe stores here in Florence--there are tons. You can also find all the art and photo supplies your heart desires at a few shops which are all walking distance away. This brings up a fantastic point about Florence: Everything is walking distance here! It is awesome!
Aside from eating and shopping, even just walking can be an eventful activity in Florence. When you walk, you will find your fair share of people dressed in costumes and vendors all throughout the main streets. Weekends are very busy and there are so many people out and about in Florence. Through the main Piazzas there is lots of entertainment. In Piazza della Reppubblica, there are singers, bands, clowns, and spray painters.
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| You see all sorts of people dressed up walking about in Florence. |
I enjoy going out in the evenings, but I do not do it every weekend. My roommates and I will usually grab a bite to eat with a couple drinks, but nothing extreme. There is night life here in Florence and a few clubs that people go to for dancing and drinking. The weekends I do not go out I spend relaxing in my apartment with movies and junk food. I know, I feel like a grandma, but I guess I am not the clubbing type. My Saturdays are not too eventful, but I enjoy them each week! They seem simple, but simple goes a long way in Florence.
A Presto!
Diana Pietrzyk is the Spring 2014 CEA MOJO in Florence, Italy. She is currently a junior at Columbia College Chicago.