Impressions of Florence (Italy) - November 2010

Greetings from Florence! Those of you who've been reading this blog a little longer may remember that I visited this beautiful Italian city a year ago. My previous impressions can be found in this post. While Florence isn't huge and I always end up taking similar photos of the city during every visit, I thought I'd share some of my more recent images with you here. What I have noticed during this trip, aside from the lower temperatures (though this is the case for most of Europe at the moment), was that the town seems to be more Christmassy compared to previous years - but thankfully nowhere near as commercial as other places I've seen.

View of Florence taken from Ponte Vecchio.

As always, I'm doing what one should do while in Italy: stuffing myself with food, drinking too much coffee and indulging in a little window shopping (no purchases yet). Posts dedicated to retail therapy will follow of course, but for now I'll focus on the more scenic aspects... and a few tasty treats.

The South Bank across the river.

The city streets lit up with Christmas lights.

Florence's most famous building: the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral.

The best place to be, if you have a sweet tooth. Yummy treats include chocolates, cantucci, biscotti, panettone and Sicilian cannoli.

Some of the city's landmarks as seen from across the river.

A very ornate street lamp taken at the junction below.

Prime shopping location in the heart of the city.

More Italian delights, such as Parma ham, cappuccino/espresso and homemade gnocchi.

Just off Ponte Vecchio.

Piazza del Signora and Palazzo Vecchio with some of its surrounding statues.

The grand via de Tornabuoni with its historic buildings and luxury boutiques.

The majestic arch leading away from Piazza della Repubblica.

More Tuscan landscape.

It may be cold... but at least your ice cream won't melt. Ice lollies and gelato galore.

On top of the world: rooftops and hills around Florence.