Florence, Italy-Part 3

Welcome to the third and final part of my entries about Florence - one of the most amazing cities on the planet.

Most tourists spend all their time in the actual city of Florence.  As you can tell from my previous posts - there's plenty to see and do.  In fact, shopping is really good in Florence, despite the historical and relaxed atmosphere.  It was here in Florence that I bought my first piece of designer clothing.  I found the Armani store in Florence.

This is the Emporio Armani store - not the same thing...

I walked in and all I could afford at the time, was a tie ; )  I really splurged and bought two - they remain some of my favorite ties, reminding me of this city.

Another trip took me outside Florence, riding mountain bikes through the hills above Tuscany.   This was one of the best bike rides ever.  When I think of Italy, my mind immediately goes to these memories.  The tour took me through actual olive gardens (not the kind we all like to get unlimited breaksticks at) and grape vineyards.  On the tour, I learned a great deal about the production of olive oil (I can still tell you about the differences between first and second pressings):

The tour also took me past hillside villa estates and some minor medieval castles.  Passing the vineyards, I also learned about the making of Chianti - but I've forgotten all of that ; )  We had lunch at the top of a mountain - a tiny local trattoria, where we had bruschetta, pasta, and the best ghnocci I've ever tasted.

Now - I know you're all on pins and needles...wondering why I love the fact that Florence is a WALKING city.  The plain and simple truth is that this allows me to enjoy all the GELATO I want ; )  No trip to Italy would be complete without a daily serving of the best that ice cream technology has ever produced:

In Italy, I learned all kinds of new Italian words - Fragota (Strawberry), Limone (Lemon), Pesca (Peach), Stracciatella (Chocolate Chip), Vaniglia (Vanilla) and Cioccolato (Chocolate).

Every night, after dinner, I would grab a little Gelato and stroll down the streets of Florence.  Unlike now, not a single calorie would stick to me...

Ciao!