Florence with Friends

What is better than Florence? … Florence with FRIENDS!
For this final leg through Europe we planned to meet up with Tay & Megan,
our friends from high school / college! There is nothing like old friends who you
know well and feel so comfortable with. They are on a 3 week trip through Europe
so we lined up the end of our travels with the start of theirs and planned a little
adventure through Tuscany, meeting first in Florence! It was so fun to reunite in
the middle of Italy after not seeing each other for a year. Let the adventure begin!
We had just a day in Florence before leaving for the countryside, and these
two had flown in from the states that day…so we took it easy strolling around
all of the main sights, eating, and mostly all catching up & loving being together!
This was the view from our hotel room at Continentale…straight out
overlooking Ponte Vecchio! I wanted to sit here all day and enjoy the view.
We did manage to leave though, and hit the streets exploring before rain came later!
Charming streets + Italian pastries ^^
Chase has a talent for always finding the good photo spots ^^
Our first gelato stop was at La Carraia to check out all of the hype.
Did it live up to it? Not quite. Was it creamy and delicious
and did we still eat every last drop? Most definitely :)
Next we strolled by Michelangelo’s David (replica…the real one
is inside a museum here but since I had seen it last time, we just
stuck with this one this time. It is outside the Piazza della Signoria!
And the Duomo! So pretty on the outside, but don’t miss the inside dome ^^
The outside too though ^^^^ I just love those colors!
So handsome with his umbrella :)
Love this group! ^^
The sun started peeking out again as we walked the river ^^
Never miss Ponte Vecchio at sunset…ahh, that reflection ^^
Since it was a Sunday night most of the best restaurants were closed…
so we headed to Mercato Centrale which is kind of like the Ferry Building
in SF with all different food stands and amazing places! It is more modern
but has some of the best spots in town. We went for caprese and pizza!
Sunset after a day of on and off rain and lots of pretty sights ^^
The next morning before heading into the countryside, Chase
and I woke up early to take a quick little jog (which is turning into
more of a walk for my pregnant self these days :) We wanted to see
the view from Piazzale Michelangelo which was AMAZING. Wow!!
Incredible ^^
Such a pretty spring morning and a quick breakfast: 
And then we hit the road!
See you from Tuscany :)

xo