My husband and I spent the last two days of our honeymoon in Florence. It’s such a short time to explore a world-class city, yet I knew I couldn’t face a frantic rush from museum to museum after our quiet week in the small Tuscan town of Volterra.

“Let’s see the cathedral,” I said. “And then let’s just…explore.”

Without the pressure to cram all of Florence’s cultural experiences into a weekend, we were able to simply walk around and get a feel (but mostly a taste) for the city. We came across a street market and sampled Parmesan cheese. We found Florence’s only kosher vegetarian restaurant and had falafels with beer for lunch. We drank house wine that tasted like should have cost more and ate pizzas that could have fed an entire family. We sipped steaming hot espressos and licked melty gelato.

“I’m married now,” I said to my new husband as I finished the cone. “So I figure I can let myself go.”

Art is everywhere in Florence. We didn’t go to the famous Uffizi Gallery, but we did wander through the Piazza della Signoria, an open-air museum full of marble sculptures. It was buzzing with eager tourists, so we only stayed long enough to take a photo of the replica of Michelangelo’s David’s bum.

We were more impressed by the anonymous lamp-lit paintings on walls throughout the city. Weather-worn and faded, these pieces were revived by the soft glow of the hanging lamps. Our favourite was a washed-out picture of an English knight slaying a dragon. It seemed so out of place compared to the many religious paintings on Florence’s walls, but that’s what made it so fantastic.

Our hotel was across from one of Florence’s six bridges, so in the early evening we’d stand at our window and watch people on the bridge – young couples kissing, tourists snapping photographs, well-dressed locals on their way out to the bars. At night we left the window open and listened to the sounds of the city diminish until all we could hear was the hum of passing cars.

On our last day we stumbled upon Santa Maria Novella, Florence’s first great basilica, on our walk to the railway station. It was the perfect ending to our trip – a reminder that in Florence you can uncover the most wonderful treasures entirely by accident.
If you , return to Florence, just take a look at this site, it can be helpful for your next visits!

**This short Travel Story was submitted as part of the Holiday Travel Writing Competition. All short-listed entries such as this one are published in our online Travel Guide**

Story written by Katie Dickerson | Since 2006 Holiday Velvet offers Florence apartment rentals.