Florence?

What I am about to say may shock you.... buuuuut Florence.... meh... not all everyone says it's cracked up to be. Don't get me wrong, it's still Italy and most everything in Italy is beautiful, but compared to what I have seen it's not my favorite town. I expected it to be my favorite... but apart from the shopping it is just a smaller version of Rome. Of course, I didn't get to see a view of the city yet from a viewpoint so maybe I will change my mind next Friday when we go back. But in my opinion, Assisi, Rome, and Siena are all prettier and have more to offer.... apart from the shopping of course. Florence definitely takes the shopping cake. There is a giant market with toooons of leather. (I think I have found my new obsession) and scarves and jewelry and other random things. Plus, you can barter. Which is always fun. I tried to barter and only ended up taking it down 10 euros but hey! That's like a whole pizza... or 5 gelatos... which I could definitely consume in the span of one week. And may have done so already. But I finally bought my leather messenger bag I have been looking forward to for forever. And it wasn't as expensive as they are in America, aaaand it's genuine Italian leather. So it wins! But apart from the shopping... seriously... I would recommend doing Florence maybe one or two weekends but no more than that. Italy has other gems to offer.

This is the beloved bag. I only stared at it for an hour when I first bought it, don't worry.