Destination: Florence

When I opened my eyes after a delightful night’s sleep, it occurred to me that this is pretty good living — a four-poster bed, in a 16th-century monastery, a block from Michelangelo’s David, with a farmers market going on just outside my window on the most venerable Renaissance square in Florence (Piazza S. S. Annunziata). I’m in a nice guidebook work rhythm: two or three days spent learning, and a day in the hotel inputting on my laptop before heading to another great city. Today I’m leaving my favorite hotel in Florence (Loggiato dei Serviti). But I’ll be back in September with 25 fellow travelers when I’ll be guiding our Best of Europe in 21 Days Tour. If you’re on my tour, I have a hunch we’ll have a great time together.

This is Day 26 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and beyond. Find more at blog.ricksteves.com.

Some people shop randomly. I sightsee randomly. And after a long day of determined and focused sightseeing while researching my guidebook, I find a special joy in just being out and lapping up the beauty of a great city like Florence. Its downtown is traffic-free, the street musicians are top notch, and romantic floodlighting spills onto the goofy selfie-stick salesmen. Then suddenly it hits me. Seeing the Baptistery newly restored, I, for the first time in my life, truly appreciate the amazing stonework in this zone. Here, 900-year-old Baptistery stones, 700-year-old Duomo (cathedral) stones, and 150-year-old Duomo facade stones all come together in perfect harmony.

This is Day 25 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and beyond. Find more at blog.ricksteves.com.

In Florence, the Church of San Lorenzo is a great example of how Renaissance architecture is poetry — stony, mathematical, and timeless poetry. You’ll need to turn up the volume to better hear my guide, Alessandra, riff in a stream of consciousness manner about the mathematical underpinnings of all this beauty. And even though I don’t really get it, I’m happy to simply enjoy it and accept the fact that this visual harmony is not accidental, but logical. Next time you’re in a Renaissance church, enjoy the math.

This is Day 24 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and beyond. Find more at blog.ricksteves.com.

You can just bumble through Europe and have fun. But if you make a point to know what’s going on and where, you’ll bring home more memories. And there is certainly a lot going on. Within a few steps of my Florence hotel, I enjoyed a wonderful market. Then, on the same square that evening, the cutest little girls choir I’ve ever tapped my toes to sang with more musical horsepower than I’ve ever heard.

By the way, I’m almost a month into my spring trip, and so far I’ve only been in Europe’s “struggling” countries — Portugal, Spain, and Italy — far from the booming countries of the north. Consider these images (and my posts of the past few weeks) and then consider the Americans who are staying home because they think things are “unstable” over here. In a capitalist society — in the USA or Europe — people never feel as rich as they think they should be…and commercial media reminds us of that day after day. But as long as you feel the sun, sip the wine, and see the good in people, life sure seems sweet. In four decades of travel in Europe, I can’t recall a better vibe.

This is Day 23 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and beyond. Find more at blog.ricksteves.com.

It’s funny to me how travelers are disinclined to walk just 5 minutes away from the tourist zone to find a restaurant filled with locals (not tourists) that offers double the joy, taste, and memories. (At Antica Trattoria da Tito in Florence you pay about $10 per plate, and I splurged about $40 for a corposo bottle of Brunello di Montalcino — from the Altesino Winery, which we filmed last week.)  When researching, I spend my days working on sight listings and my evenings sussing out the restaurant scene for my guidebook. And at the end of the evening, my treat: I eat at my favorite place. But before I sit down, I always take a moment to walk through the restaurant just to feel the vibe, assess the clientele, and look at the food being served. During my little spin here, I bumped into Bobo, the chef and owner. He took the words right out of my mouth: “Good energy!” Tip: To dine in a high-energy place like this, come early for more sanity…late for less sanity.

This is Day 22 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and beyond. Find more at blog.ricksteves.com.