Florence, 3 years on | Lifestyle

At the start of this year I had a yearning to go back to Florence so me and the boyf decided that we should go back for my birthday. I haven't been there since I left over 3 years ago so I was excited to see what had changed, what had stayed the same and how I felt about the place! I know you're probably thinking, "oh she was only there for just over a year" or "it hasn't been that long since I lived there" but the reality is, when you move to another country, on your own, without knowing a single soul it changes your life entirely so of course, I have this emotional attachment to the place. So let's start with...

The Pisamover - This was brand new! Just 3 years ago, you had to get a coach to Florence or get a taxi to Pisa train station and then a train to Florence! In all honesty it was a right faff so this new, easy option was brilliant!

The Galleries - I made sure that this time I did a bit of touristy kinda things including visiting galleries.  Once we went to was called Uffizi, it's probably one of the most visited galleries in Florence and showcases lots of pieces from the Renaissance. We saw the Botticelli painting The Birth of Venus  which of course was stunning but ones I personally loved were the paints of unknown people, there's something about them.

The Food - the first thing we ate when we landed was pizza with bufala mozzarella and it was DIVINE! I found myself eating everything (including a little bit of meat), I just don't know how the Italians do it? if you offered me bruchetta topped with tomatoes in the UK I would turn my nose up, but you offer it to me in Italy and its an entirely different thing, the tomatoes genuinely taste better!

The Beauty - In all honesty, I new that when I went back I would fall in love all over again, I mean it's hard to describe because of course Florence is beautiful, the architecture of the Duomo is enough but the thing I really like is the simplistic beauty of Florence. The small, narrow streets, the little pockets of residential living with the buildings are close together as if they were sharing secrets! Everything, just stunning! 

It was lovely to be back, if even for a brief weekend! The way I think of Florence is like a relationship, I am married to London, I adore London but Florence is a love affair that's over but my mind still wanders from time to time!  

5 Reasons Why Florence Spoiled Me | Lifestyle

It's amazing what a year abroad can do to you, a year doesn't sound like  massive amount of time and in the grand scheme of things it's not but I must admit my year in Florence really has had an impact in these funny ways....

Coffee Snob...
Yeah, I really am! Like I can tolerate, even enjoy,  mochas or lattes because the coffee is watered down but imagine ordering an espresso and getting what actually turns up, it's a bloody shock to the system! This isn't localised to England, I've had them in Berlin and America, all just terrible!

Relaxed Lifestyle...
There was no rush for anything, if you were meeting pals it was always an Italian time which differs to an English time. For example, here I would meet a pal at like 8 but in Italy 8 could mean anywhere between 8-9 and that my friend is an Italian 8 o'clock! The pace was so much slower such a stark contrast to the chaos of London that I used to love so well. 

Work vs Home...
I literally lived a 15 minute walk away from my office, what a bloody glorious commute that was so now the thought of a commute longer than 15 mins fills me with dread! I feel like you waste so much of you time just getting to and from work that overall actually makes your working day far longer and I can't help but feel that is just a waste! To be honest, I can't blame Florence entirely with this one, I was very lucky but still! 

Getting a proper glass of prosecco...
Like what the hell? Why is it that in England I can only get a teeny tiny flute of prosecco, we treat it as if it's bloody champagne and it isn't! I want to walk into a bar and get a glass, not a thimble, but I proper glass of prosecco! Is that so much to ask for?

Cheap rent...
My apartment cost me 350 Euros a month, I rented one bedroom of a 3 bedroom apartment that had a large loft, balcony, a bathroom, a wet room along with the standard kitchen and living area which was also about a 30 minute walk to the Duomo! We have to consider the exchange rate was a little better last year but still seeing one bedroom apartments for like £850 a month in crappy awful locations is kinda hard to swallow right now! 

Florence you bloody spoiled me but I wouldn't change a damn thing about it!! 

Favourites in Florence | Travel

So I thought it was about time I gave you guys some tips for my favourite places or things to do in Florence, I'm not gonna lie, there will be a lot of food and drink places in my list but ya know, sometimes it really is the simplest things in life.

Favourite Gelato
There are a lot of gelato places and if you're in the centre I'm telling you now, avoid the places that have the ice cream piled high in giant towers, it's tourist ice cream, so not great. If you're in the centre then you need to visit La Carraia. Hands down the best gelato ever and for a good size cup it's like 2.50€ totally worth it. I go for the cookies and Nutella, need I say more..?

Favourite wine bar
Il Santino - This one is a tiny little place but if you can get a seat you are laughing, I would say go a little earlier rather than later, the Italians are always late so you have more chances of getting a seat inside if you go around 7ish. They serve little crostinis with your wine choice depending on what you order will depend on what crostini you will receive, the wine is delicious, the food is delicious, something very rustic and understated about this place. It's right next to a restaurant of the same name but the wine bar is like a little hole in the wall so go an check it out.

Favourite place along the river Arno
I'm telling you now, if you want to see something beautiful, go a grab a drink by the river arno in the evening before the sun sets. It's almost magical. I love nothing better than going to get a prosecco and sit along the river, the place I go is Rivalta it's a little more expensive per drink but aperitivo is included so you can fill up on the food they have to offer.

Favourite pizza place

This one I have written a review about it's called 'O Munaciello. It's a very traditional pizza place with it's roots from Napoli which is where pizza actually came from. If you're here then you have to have a traditional limoncello to finish the meal. It's delicious. It's a super popular restaurant so make sure you book it a table!!

Favourite tuscan meat restaurant
All'antico vinaio is another place I have mentioned before and is easily the most popular place in florence for their sandwiches, just look at the reviews on trip advisor. The thing that I love about this place is that one shop just sells sandwiches and the other just sells platters of meat, I mean, you can't go wrong. There is a queue for the sandwich place but I'm telling you now it's worth it and they are huge!! If you can get a seat in the other place then snap it up, again I would say go a little earlier to beat the Italian rush or try and book a table in advance.

Favourite view of Florence
If you are ever in Florence then you must walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo, it's a tourist hot spot, which totally makes sense because the view is breath taking. But I would say, after the walk if you're feeling good then carry on to the church a little further up called Basilica San Miniato al Monte, the view is even better and it's less crowded and more peaceful.

Favourite attraction 

It's obvious but the Duomo is by far the most beautiful thing ever, the sheer size of it is so vast you have to lean back to take it all in. It's smack bang in the centre to expect it to be crazy busy but honestly there is nothing more beautiful, during the day, at sunset, at night it always looks good. Unless you want to walk to the top I would suggest not bothering going in because all the beauty is on the outside for sure.

So there we have some of my faves! Have you been to Florence or are you going?

5 Truths about Italy | Lifestyle

A little light hearted post to day, I thought I would just tell you 5 things I have noticed about living in Italy,

Pizza and Pasta
I mean, I hate to stereotype here but I have never consumed so much pizza and so much pasta! They really do love it out here, the style is different to the pizza back home and the quality of the ingredients really are second to none but it's true the Italians really like their food and put a lot of effort and passion into what they prepare, you can really tell. 

Expressive
I would probably use the word passionate, but the Italians are very tactile and expressive! It doesn't matter where you are, if an Italian person has a point to make everyone needs to hear about it! Additionally to this they actually use hand signals and movements a lot, it's pretty interesting because ever signal means something, needless to say I have learnt the hand signal for vagina, commonly used when someone is being a twat. 

Later
Everything can either be done later or tomorrow! When it comes to going out, us Brits like to go out for a little drink and dinner about 7 but in italy you are actually laughed at if you go out for dinner that early it really isn't unusual to leave your apartment at midnight to meet for drinks with your pals at midnight! The Italians are never in a rush! 

Italian men

Ok, so I haven't actually had much first hand experience with this one, but I have had a few guys be pretty forward with me in bars, I think this kinda falls into my second point, the Italian people can be blunt and to the point! Though I did just wanna point out to all the people who said "you're blonde, the men will love you in italy" all lies, I've yet to have a single man fall to his knees and beg for my hand in marriage, however this may be more linked to my troll like features more than anything

The Coffee
When I live back in the UK I wasn't really into drinking coffee, however everything changes when I came out here, it's just so smooth and delicious I always opt for a Cafe Lungo, which basically means long coffee. The sizes are different, you walk into a bar and ask for a cafe, you're getting an espresso sized coffee if you want a very watery coffee like in England you have to ask for an Americano. I must admit, the coffee out here has spoiled my taste buds, because every single coffee I have had outside of Italy has been vile. 

So there are 5 fun truths about Italy. Have you ever visited, can you relate to this? 

Florence Update | Lifestyle

So I guess a little Italy update is about due, if you have been following my little blog you'll know that in November I moved to Italy because I was offered a job out here.It has been the most crazy few months I'm not gonna lie and I must admit my blog has taken a bit of a back seat in the last couple of weeks! Sorry!!! I'll explain what's going on with my blog in the next post but in this one let's have a chat about all things Italian!!

I must admit I feel like I've settled in pretty well, almost too well! I haven't officially been homesick, well, not really! Like I haven't looked back and thought I wish I was back in England, Christmas aside, of course I miss my friends and family but I don't want to go back, I want them to come out here instead!! For me, the hardest thing has been remembering that my friends and family have their own schedules which means I can't always speak to them, since moving out here I have all this free time and not that many people to spend it with so it's odd for me!

I definitely feel like the language thing was holding me back, it's not like I have come out here with even a basic understanding, I literally knew nothing!!!! And that's pretty damn hard when you can't even say "can I have a coffee", it's pretty isolating because you can't even try and involve yourself I conversations happening around you because you just have no idea! I'm a loud person, I'm nosey and talkative and yet I found myself sitting silently at my desk whilst things were happening around me! Couple this with the fact I was a new girl and it's bloody flippin' hard I tell you, but I have never once thought that I want to go home, I'll just figure it out here! I start my classes really soon and I think that will make me feel a little more confident and I'll keep you guys posted on that part of my journey too!

The lifestyle out here, generally speaking, is so much more relaxed! Back in England and London I was in a tight routine which I absolutely loved but out here I literally don't have any routine, it's odd but it kinda suits the lifestyle! You eat dinner late, everyone looks at me odd when I eat my dinner at like 6:30pm!! I am missing going to the gym a little, I loved that routine but the thing is, I have am obsessive personality which means that I know what I would be like if I joined a gym out here, I would choose that over life experiences which just isn't ideal!

I am loving it out here and genuinely is one of the best decisions I have ever made and believe me, I have a track record for making some pretty dumb moves! I just thought I would share that little update with you guys!

Rivalta Café, Florence | Food

Who doesn’t love a burger? Regardless of whether you eat meat or not I know there are some pretty good vegetarian burgers too, or so I’ve been assured, I’m all about the meat anyway enough of that. In today’s post we’re gonna have a chat about this little burger place call Rivalta Café who specialise in burgers but only on a Sunday.

Me and my roommate Valeria had spent most of the day wandering around shops when we decided to stop for lunch, she literally knows all the best places so I just follower her lead. I have actually been to this place before but we came when it was the evening just for an aperitivo so it was nice to come during the day and have a look around. The location is pretty nice as it’s just by the river and I imagine in the summer the place is always busy because it’s a right little sun trap, that being said it’s December and chilly so we sat in doors.  The really quirky thing about this menu is that each burger is names after a star sign, but here’s where I have to be honest, real school boy error I didn’t take a picture of the inside of the menu which means I can remember what my burger was called or what was actually inside it other than chicken…! I know, I’m a right pleb.

I’m now going to try and explain this burger to you, As I mentioned above I actually went for a chicken burger, mainly because I wanted to be different as opposed to ordering just a standard cheeseburger but also because it just sounded really nice. This wasn’t like a chicken fillet it was more like a chicken mince which meant they added some herbs and spices. I do know that this one had some cinnamon, garlic and peppers mixed in with it, however that’s about as much as I remember from the menu. It also had a delicious gooey cheese melted on top which I loved. I have to mention the little roasted potatoes it came with, I bloody loved them I really like that the burgers didn’t come with chips the potatoes were far more enjoyable and how cute were the little condiments on the side, just tomato, mustard and mayo.

Moving onto the actual taste, it was good, I will be honest is wasn’t mind blowing and wasn’t the best burger I’ve ever eaten, but it was good. I really liked that it wasn’t too heavy, sometimes when you get a burger it can fill you up so much you can’t walk around after or you just want to take a nap. I felt like that even though it was a burger it still felt like quite a light lunch, we also shared a bottle of fizzy water and a glass of wine and the meal came to 20EUR each which I don’t think is bad at all.

Where is your favourite burger place?

Konnubio, Florence | Food

I'm a bit sorry for the picture quality in this post, sometimes the lighting just isn't my friend and there isn't a massive amount I can do about it. Today I'm going to introduce you to a restaurant which at first glance you wouldn't necessarily associate with Italian cuisine but the second after you taste it, you just know. The restaurant is called Konnubio, it's very interesting because not only do they do a range of meats and fishes they also have a variety of vegan options and do offer even gluten free foods as well which I found incredibly impressive. The thing that melted my heart a little was actually that they had an English version of the menu, sometimes it's just nice to see words that are familiar. 

The restaurant was actually an old converted leather shop, Florence is known very well for it's leather but I thought that was a little interesting fact about the restaurant. I must admit when I was looking at the prices I though that they were a little steep for just a main course but I wasn't even expecting it to arrive as it did. At first I was really torn between having the Lamb or the Calf Cheek but because I've never hard calf cheek before I went with that option. The cornmeal mush was interesting, again it was something I've never hard before and cornmeal is basically like a flour that is made from dried maize, it was a looser texture than standard mashed potatoes but was very appealing anyway. We all ordered a side dishes of just roasted potatoes which you can see in the picture. We didn't order starters but still kinda got one anyway, as with most restaurants they provided us with bread and there was a wide variety of different breads and tiny little buns, I particularly liked these tiny little rolls that had raisin in them, but the bread itself wasn't sweet. Then we each were given these tiny little bread balls which you can see pictured. Well I had no idea what to expect, I mean I didn't even now whether it would be warm or not, but when I cut into it with my knife there was like a meat paste inside, bloody delicious which was also infused with herbs. I still have no idea what it actually was. 

When my main arrived I couldn't wait to tuck in, as you can see it was beautifully presented. The calf cheek was probably the most tender meat I have ever eaten in my life, you barely even needed a knife to cut it because it literally fell apart. The cornmeal mush was a nice accompaniment to the meat but I wouldn't say it tasted amazing, it was nice but the real show stopper was the meat of course. As I mentioned I also got a little side dish of potatoes and they were gorgeous, they were roasted with rosemary and had some olive oil over them, really really tasty I pretty much ate the whole dish. Another thing that arrived which you can just about see in the back of the picture was a little square of fried polenta, which melted cheese on top something I wasn't expecting at all to come with my dish. That was pretty tasty but the cheese was very strong, I couldn't eat it all. 

The evening was then finished off in a very traditionally Italian way by each of us having a little shot of limoncello, delicious. We split the bill 6 ways and it only came to 30.50 EUR each which I think is bloody fantastic considering we had wine etc. I think if you want to try out something a little different than "stereotypical" Italian food then you should check out Konnubio. 

What is your favourite type cuisine?

O’Munaciello Pizzeria , Florence | Food

I know, it’s another foodie one and it’s another pizza, but I mean I’m in Italy how could I not have pizza?!

I am so lucky to have my roommate Valeria because she know all the best places and is happy to take me wherever, she is a great person to go to restaurants with. A couple of weeks ago she took me to a very traditional Neapolitan Pizzeria. Now I know what you’re thinking, I’m not in Napoli so surely I should be going to more traditional places that are linked to Florence, well when the pizza is this good it doesn’t matter. I have never seen a place so busy in all my life, we had to book a table and the earliest we could get was 10PM, bloody 10PM! I’m normally in bed by that time, but I guess I have to start getting used to these European dining hours, but I do love that they make an entire night out of it starting with an aperitivo which is something I will go into in another post and moving onto dinner later.

O’Munaciello is an incredibly lovely Neapolitan restaurant just situated over the river with lots of quirky design pieces to try and make it as close to Napoli as possible, they even had a washing line going across it which is actually very typical of Napoli apparently. When it comes to service the place was fine, but we went on a Saturday night so it was completely rammed and the staff were just so incredibly busy so there was a little wait with our food but I didn’t mind so much because I got to see everyone elses delicious pizzas.

I was very fortunate to have Valeria take me through each pizza and what they had on them, there were some typical topping with meat and mushrooms but I settled for the ‘Nduja pizza which you can see above. This is quite a simplistic pizza but the dark red dots on the pizza you can see are actually Nduja meat which is like a very spicy pork sausage but it’s more of a spreadable type of meat kinda like a pate consistency. I love spicy things and I love meat so I was pretty damn happy. When the pizza arrived I literally couldn’t wait to dive in. Since being in Italy I  cannot get over how intense the flavours are here, I mean they are incredible even down to the pizza base, it’s much thinner but still very doughy. The tomato sauce on top, was very rich and you could taste how fresh the tomatoes are, the mozzarella...don’t even get me started, I have just become obsessed with cheese atm and the sausage was incredible. I’d say it was slightly spicier than expected but it wasn’t over powering, it was the perfect amount to create a delicious dish. The thing that amazes me is that the pizza was only like 10EUR which for the quality is amazing. I decided to keep it fairly traditional and had a light beer to wash it down with which went very well actually.

I’m not gonna lie, I couldn’t quite eat it all, I did however eat all of the cheese because...just wow! But I was very full and incredibly satisfied. In keeping with the theme we decided to end the meal with a Limoncello which I loved! O’Munaciello

What is your favourite pizza topping?

All’antico Vinaio, Florence | Food

As I know some of you like my little foodie posts I thought I would share with you my delicious meal at All’antico Vinaio. Just to give you guys a bit of background, this is a small chain of sandwich shops around the centre of Florence more towards the Duomo so in the main tourist area. This shop is literally famous for is amazing sandwiches, guys there is literally a 20 minute queue just to get to the door of the shop. Whilst you are waiting you see everyone with these giant focaccias filled with delicious meats and cheeses, so you totally know the food is worth the wait but in this specific area there is also a restaurant which doesn’t serve the focaccias but offers these wonderful platters of cold meats and cheeses.

I was taken for lunch to All’antico Vinaio by one of my very lovely roommates Valeria who wanted to show me what real Tuscan meats and food really are. As we were in the queue waiting for the sandwiches she said that she wanted to see whether there was any space at the restaurant and we were actually lucky enough to get in. I genuinely mean we were very lucky because had we been but a minute later we wouldn’t have been able to get a seat, this meant we could enjoy our food at a more relaxed and comfortable pace. As I just mentioned, inside they don’t offer the sandwich but instead the offer the biggest range of platters I have ever seen, ranging from vegetable ones to just meat or just cheese, plus a whole range of sizes to cater for who you are dining with.

Me and Valeria went for a medium sized platter which had a bit of everything as you can see we have 4 different types of meat such as prosciutto, salami, roast pork and finocchiona (which is like a spicy sausage), two different types of cheese one was a goat cheese and the other I can’t quite remember but was delicious anyway, Tuscan jam, roasted courgettes, sundried tomatoes, Tuscan pate and two little meat ball things. I must admit that this sounds like a lot of food but I’d say it’s actually the perfect amount to share between two and I was in heaven. I absolutely love meat I’m the biggest fan of cold meats from all around the world, I actually think I get it from my father because he loves it too and this was right up my street. I literally didn’t know what to try first, Valeria advised that the jam is to be had with the cheese, it was like a strawberry jam but very nice, not too sweet but a great combination together. The finocchiona was probably the spiciest of all the meats but it was amazing, so incredibly flavoursome as it had peppercorns in it, but it was a must softer texture than other hams I’ve had before but still great. The little meat ball thingys weren’t quite what I was expecting, they definitely had meat in them but it was more of a breaded texture I kinda bit into it not really expecting for it to taste the way it did, it was good. I do just have to take a moment of appreciating for the pate…Oh. My. God. I mean, I don’t even know where to begin. I have always loved pate, I once ate so much of it I actually made myself sick because it was too rich for my young stomach, for years after I couldn’t touch it but as I got older it worked its way back into my heart. Just at the right time too because apparently Tuscany is known very well for its pate and I can wholeheartedly say I completely understand why now. I won’t talk about the salami or proscioutto because you can get both of these meats in England but they tasted fantastic, but the dish as a whole was delicious, the only thing I didn’t really have an opinion on was the roast pork, it was great but ya know roast pork is roast pork.

For dessert we decide to just have something very small which was a dessert wine and some almond biscotti, I must just point out, there is a very big reason for why this dessert wine is so small because bloody hell does it pack a punch. I took a sip not expecting it to be anywhere near as strong but geez it made me wake up a bit. That said, it was a very good accompaniment to the biscotti which was wonderfully sweet.

My first experience at All’antico Vinaio was amazing, we were sat at the bar an watched the chef create each platter in a beautifully artistic way.  I can’t wait to go there again and cannot wait to take my pals or family there as I know they will probably love it as much as I did. However I would definitely try and book a table next time because I don’t think I would be that lucky again.

Is this the type lunch you’d like or have you even visted All’antico Vinaio’s before?   

5 Picture Post | Lifestyle

Today I just wanted to share with you 5 pictures I have taken whilst I’m in Florence, I may turn this into a weekly/monthly thing. I think there are so many beautiful things to see and I suppose the most obvious one is the Duomo and whilst it is stunning I wanted to share with you some images I’d class as "everyday beauty", searching for the beauty within something that isn’t so obvious like some flats or a piece of graffiti. 

Where have you been that is simplistically beautiful?

Meanwhile in Florence | Lifestyle

As I type this, as you guys read it, I am currently sitting in my apartment in Florence deciding what to have to eat. Isn’t it crazy how in a week your whole life can change? I have never been to Florence or Italy for that matter before so never, ever, considered that I would move here to work and yet here I am feeling rather content in my little space. So in today’s post I’m just going to chat about how I’ve found my first week here and how I am getting on so far.

When some people move abroad they move because they want to be in a different country and may not have a job yet or will look for one while they are out there but for me that wasn’t the case because I was offered my absolute dream job, so that was the easy part for me. What I did find it incredibly hard finding an apartment to start off with, I spent a week or so emailing various different agencies trying to get more information about the apartments but it was really hard trying to get through the language barrier or even getting a response. However I was very fortunate, a girl I would be working with emailed me to say that her and her roommate have a spare room for me to rent if I was interested. Of course I replied immediately saying yes, I was so grateful and it was a massive weight off my shoulders to know I didn’t have to worry about having somewhere to live, genuinely thought I would be living out of a cardboard box on the streets for a hot second there. 

Before moving out, I knew I had to get a Codice Fascale which is basically a tax code so that I can be taxed on the pay from my job but you can only get this when you are in the country. I arrived about 7:30pm on a Monday night so I knew that on Tuesday that was the first thing I had to sort out. I must say that getting the Codice Fascale wasn’t too painful, because I had all my right documents etc but trying to find out where to get it from was another story and I was without WiFi or 4G…nightmare. Needless to say, I know that particular street in Florence very well now.

I have to mention how wonderful my roommates are, everyone I have encountered over here has been so welcoming and helpful, it’s completely amazing. Not knowing any Italian has been a massive hindrance though, don’t get me wrong I knew it would be a problem but I just wish I already knew the language. I won’t need it for my job, but ya know, if I want to actually live here I’m kinda gonna need it! I must admit on one day I felt really shit, just really useless because I have no understanding at all it makes things very hard but it’s ok, I will learn it, it just takes a bit of time.

My first week in Firenze, as it is known to the locals/Italians, was just wonderfully odd, I spent hours just exploring and walking the streets, everything you have heard about this place is true, it’s breathtakingly beautiful. What I really love about this city is that you can turn down a street and right at the very end of that street, in the distance, are mountains. There is history and art on every single corner, when I first saw the Duomo I was speechless, it’s just so pretty. I loved just walking wherever my feet were taking me, I didn’t have google maps or anything just a rough idea that I was going in the right direction, where that may be. By the end of the week, I was really craving the comfort of a routine, I couldn’t wait to start my job because I knew that every weekend from now on I can always explore.  

I’m aware that this post is getting rather lengthy and most of you have probably switched off by now but I just wanted to give you a little snap shot. Over the next few weeks/months I feel like my blog is definitely going to take more of a lifestyle turn which I’m fine with, but fear not, I have spotted a few beauty brands that I’ve never heard of before and they certainly will be making an appearance. 

Just thought I'd give you guys an update, get ready for regular post on Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays!