Our Honeymoon Part 3: Florence

Part three of our honeymoon: Florence! We spent three days in Florence and stayed at Hotel Continentale. It was in a great central location that made exploring super easy. Similar to Rome, we had done the touristy stops on prior trips so we used our time to wander and explore. The hotel has a (small) rooftop bar with incredible views of Florence. Definitely recommend stopping to have a drink on the roof.

One of my favorite parts of Florence was visiting the original Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy located on Via della Scala. The building itself is so beautiful with incredible details like these embroidered cutout curtains. (Sidenote: I fell in love with embroidered curtains while in Italy and photographed them all.)

We especially loved the Santa Croce area and kept finding ourselves there. Highly recommend checking out Spigoli Terracotte on Via Sant'Egidio for terracotta and ceramic dinnerware. We absolutely loved our dinner at Cibreo—one of our favorites of the entire trip!

Sandwiches from All’Antico Vinaio are a must—you’ll wait in a long line but they are so worth it. Tip: There are two across the street from one another, both have the same things. We had dinner one night at Trattoria Sostanza and had their famous butter chicken—so delicious. We didn’t make it to La Giostra (pictured below) but it was high on our list of recommendations.

Another favorite spot in Florence is Desinare / Riccardo Barthel Design. Hard to describe, but it’s part interior design showroom, part cooking school, part shop. We got stuck here for awhile during a torrential downpour and it was heaven to explore. I loved walking around and noticing all the little details that make Italian homes feel so special. We purchased a few pieces of Richard Ginori porcelain, one of the oldest porcelain manufacturers in Italy. They had a nice collection of vintage Richard Ginori pieces, and I (of course) fell in love with a striped set that is sadly no longer in production. Their pieces are so special and I can’t wait to display them in a future home.

Desinare / Riccardo Barthel is located in a great area for walking around—lots of antique shops and boutiques along Via Maggio and Piazza de Pitti.