I was taking to my Italian mother the other day. She said was one of her cousins was in Florence and it felt so strange. There aren’t many tourists, so to be able to walk and “see” the city was an eery feeling. We are used to so many tourists that we are elbow to elbow with them. Instead, my mother’s cousin arrived in Piazza Della Signoria with open eyes, as if seeing the Piazza for the first time. BEAUTIFUL!
I remember that feeling years ago. I was in Florence in June, it was so packed with people that I could not enjoy the city and I wanted to leave. I thought, I am DONE, I do not need to visit Florence for a long time.
THEN, one year, I visited in late November. I was walking the streets, hardly any people. Like my mother’s cousin, I had this strange feeling that something was wrong. Where were the people? My next thought was… ah, it’s late November – no tourists – this is GLORIOUS!
Fast forward to COVID 2021. My friend is in Florence right now. She said that August is SO HOT, over 100 degrees, she can see why the Italians go to the seaside the whole month of August. She remembers going around town with me, but couldn’t remember where restaurants and shops were.
So, I marked up this quick map for her. Once I did that, she had her bearings. She said there are not that many tourists. When outside you don’t need a mask, but inside you must have it. Also, because of COVID there were no new things to see in the market place or the shops. Everything seemed as it was from 2 years ago. Oh… this was funny. She was looking forward to a good dish of pasta. The pasta came, but it was SUPER AL DENTE. Not good.
My Italian girlfriend said her husband did that sometimes. I mean, there is AL DENTE, and there is ULTRA AL DENTE. She would tell her husband, “You must have been REALLY HUNGRY to serve pasta like this! YUK!”
Anyhow…
Traveling right now is challenging and different, because COVID rules / regulations keep changing.
If you are traveling… BE SAFE!
Florence… I miss you. I’ll be back.
Brilliant Viewpoint 
Your story makes me miss Florence too. I visited in college and want to go back so badly!
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YOU CAN! Keep looking for good flights. To be economical, I stayed at Monasteries. Some were simple, but some were REALLY nice. They all include a breakfast. Under 100 euros a night. If you want to… you can make it happen. Put it on your vision board. Amazing how you will start attracting things for Florence/Italy.
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I didn’t know you could stay at monasteries! I’m looking into them for sure!
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Here you go, this will show you what monasteries are available. There are a lot of them. I really like them. https://www.monasterystays.com/
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I just mentioned to another person here. Look for pkg deals with Groupon.
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That sounds very interesting. I always wanted to stay at a monastery, esp the one in France with the lavender gardens. My friend went to Rome and also Paris one year over school break (she studied medicine in Ireland) and said it was great – not crowded although not everything was open. I think I’d rather go off season as I don’t like crowds.
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Agree, off season is much better!
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Oh, how I would love to be able to visit Italy one day! I have seen pictures of how beautiful it is. I can only imagine how beautiful it is in person. So over the COVID!!🙄 Please be safe!! Thanks for sharing your story.
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I just told Laci, you can do it. You just have to plan, and keep looking for DEALS. Oh, my girlfriend got a Groupon deal to Ireland a few years ago. Flight/car/hotel/some meals included – great price, so look there too.
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Another city on my list of places to visit. I know who to go to for tips 😉
I was laughing at the pasta comment. In Brazil everything, including pasta, is overcooked, so it took me awhile to get used to al dente pasta. Some restaurants do over do it though.
Blessings to you! ♥♥
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Haha. Great orientation. I also went in November, it was still full of tourists. Only one day the rain came, chased away tourists and the cigarette smell. It was so beautiful, even in the rain. And I thought to myself, now here, I have to come back.
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My daughter was just in Italy for 3 weeks. She said there were not that many tourists, but in August temps over 100, not fun. Also, she said she got TIRED of Italian food. The flavor is ALL the same whether it is a pizza, pasta or sandwich. She craved spicy food… ANYTHING, but Italian – Indian, Asian, Mexican.
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