First stop from Rome was Space Prada outlet in Montevarchi, a small town in the Tuscan picturesque hills. It was about 2 hours drive. But it was an easy drive with beautiful view of the Tuscan hills, fields and villages.
There was a cafe at the outlet that served decent lunch there. But I had no time to waste so I ate take out pizza in the car, it was from Spizzico a fast food chain and surprisingly it was very edible.
The Space outlet was not as good as people described in tripadvisor and forums. Stuff was not as cheap as they said. Although still a lot cheaper than back home. Wallets were euro$250 and above. Miu miu Totes were euro 550 and above. Prada leather bags were euro 800 and above.
We went on to the The Mall, another outlet that carries more brands as I was after the Bottega outlet.
It was about half hour drive away, also in the hills of Tuscany, The mall was in another small town Leccio.
Here, Gucci was worth a visit. Nice boutique, with friendly sales assistance ( did I mention handsome?) and lovely bargains. Wallets from euro 150 onwards for women.
Bottega outlet was pretty good too, maybe 30% off boutiques.
We also found Prada outlet there! So actually we could have skipped Space outlet and saved time. Still I was glad I went to Space as I found some really good deals that weren't available at the Mall.
Do google themall.it if you wish to know the full directory.
The mall closed at 7 pm daily. And in we went to Florence.
We were ravenous by the time we got into the apartment. So it was a perfect night to go for the famous Fiorentina Bistecca, that originated from Florence.0 Huge T-bone steak charred on the outside, juicy medium rare on the inside.
Our host recommended this place called la lampara. We though the name was funny. Thankfully the food was not. It was amazing.
It was beautiful. Love at first sight I'd say,
Our apartment was literally steps away from the famous Il Duomo, the cathedral, and the bell tower.
Probably, this cathedral was the first one I saw that was prettier outside than inside. However the paintings on the dome overhead kinda made
up for it. Until you look at it more carefully.
If you read Dan Brown's Inferno like I did before visiting Florence. You will be more excited when seeing these magnificent historical artworks. If you notice, the drawings depicted hell scenes, punishments for the 7 sins. Horrifying pictures of Satan and vivid imageries of sinners punished in hell in various cruel and gory ways. Not very slightly, but interesting nonetheless.
Around the cathedral, do look for another entrance to climb 436 narrow steps up the dome.
We didn't go up as It would be too ambitious to climb that many steps with a hyperactive toddler.
But my friends who did, told us that the view was amazing from the top.
The Grotto's bell tower next to the cathedral is a pretty sight too. And again you may wish to climb it but not if you are with kids.
I was pretty happy hanging out around il duomo.
The streets, the shops were charming.
However beware of unscrupulous leather goods seller.
I stepped into a shoes shop around San Lorenzo piazza called Martelli. Seeing that the prices were around Euro 20-40, I was excited yet apprehensive.
I asked the shop lady if the shoes were leather and if they were made in Italy.
She said yes leather and yes they are made in Italy, just not in Florence.
I sniffed the shoes. synthetic. I peeped inside the shoes : Made in PRC.
Sigh. She just spoiled my perfect picture of Florence.
After looking at the other leather shops and comparing the prices. I figure I might as well pay a little more and get a branded one at the outlet. At least quality is not jeopardized.
San Lorenzo market was mentioned in many forums however I suspected that many of things there which are cheap were made in china. I didnt visit in the end. But we did have a nice time strolling along the small streets around duomo.
We also found this interesting concept store. Fullstop.it. They make a range of bags and watches made of high grade rubber which can be mixed and matched. Pretty fun!
The three of us bought matching watches!
After basking in the Florentian charm, we realised we had to go back to the mall again. Shopping is never enough for us Singaporeans. Especially with such bargains.
Our suitcases were bursting at the seams by this time.
This is why driving a car is so convenient, we can go back to the outlet anytime we want haha.
We only came back to Florence after the mall was closed at 7.
We parked along the Arno river ( it was free) and ogled at the famous old bride ponte Vecchio. Also mentioned many times in Dan Brown's Inferno.
We picked a restaurant with great view of the bridge and compromised on the food quality.
This bridge is famous as it is linked to the palazzo vecchio and there are shops built along the bridge. The shops used to be occupied by butchers but these days mostly by souvenier shops.
So that's all we had for Florence, we would come back for sure. Good food, bargain outlets nearby, pretty places to eat and ogle. What else would we need?
Reminds us a little of Sevilla, friendly little historical town, rich with history, good food and shopping :)
Ciao Florence. See you again next time.
Next, we were going to Pisa and take photo with what Sheldon exclaimed :"This building is not balanced !"
After an hour or so drive, we managed to find parking alongside the road near the tower and took a short walk to the tower of Pisa. Surprisingly there were quite a few Africans selling accesories and toys alongside the road we parked and of course they asked for a "fee" if we would like to park there. So we bought a little turtle toy for Sheldon in exchange for the car safety. That was a bummer.
Anyway, there's really nothing in Pisa except for the tower and the cathedral and baptismal around it. So it was just a quick stop for us to take the super touristy picture of the leaning tower.
This is the only place that we are allowed to do really weird kicking or pushing poses while taking photoes.
The place was packed with tourists and you have to buy tickets to go up the tower, to enter the baptismal and cathedral. We couldn't be bothered.
We just did the touristy thingy, took silly photoes, selfies, selfie videos, and then headed off for lunch.
Recommended on tripadvisor, we were glad we ate here. It was just a short walk along via Santa Maria : Osteria i Santi.
The grilled beef, the pasta with wild boar and the tiramisu were to die for. The cod was very decent too.
The town Pisa itself is not pretty. Nothing like Florence. So there's not much to see and a quick stop is enough.
On we went again, up north to the coastal towns in the province of Genoa.
Stay tuned for stories of the beautiful Italian coastal towns and Unesco national parks of the 5 villages : Cinque Terre.
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