Florence

Thursday 16 – Saturday 18 April 2026 |

We left our little cabin at exactly 10am, we know because the cleaning lady drove up precisely at the appointed checkout time. I suspect it was because we were the only people leaving that day.  (The campground wasn’t that busy).

We had time to kill before boarding the 11:18 train to Florence, so walked back down the hill with all our gear, hubris waffting off us as we boasted that our legs were perfectly fine.

Olivia (the gym and sports specialist) explained to me how DOMs works. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness doesn’t have to hit you the next day. It can be delayed!

We alighted the train in Florence after 1pm, but as checkin at the 7 Santi Hostel wasn’t until 3pm we wandered into the Parco di Villa Il Ventaglio to relax.

Our hostel was very centrally located, with a cheap kind of South Sea Island decor.  There was a basic breakfast room, but it was completely out of bounds because there was a large school group staying at the hostel and all their meals were being provided there.

We thought that the kids might be noisy and annoying – I mean, what could be worse.  A FA cup quarter final game between Firenze and Crystal Palace 100m away! Surely not? Yep, kickoff was 9pm.

The next day, we explored central Florence.  Strozzi Palace, Firenze Campo Marte.  We didn’t visit anywhere that needed tickets.  The queues were long, and if you didn’t book weeks in advance, there were no tickets to be had anyway.

Giunti Odeon – Bookshop in a Cinema

Olivia found out about this little treaure in the heart of Florence.  A bookshop built inside a magnificent cimena.  They still play movies there during the evening.

It’s hot at the top

The day really started to heat up as we decided to climb to the top of the Piazzale Michelangelo.  There was utterly no shade, but the views of Florence were amazing. Feeling drained we voted to catch the bus home. 

Florentine Wine Windows

After a short relax on our bunk beds we set off to find one of the famous ‘wine windows’. These are tiny doors in the wall where you can buy a glass of wine.  It evolved to avoid paying publican taxes and has become a bit of a thing ever since.

Unfortunately, we were too far from the city centre to find one in our suburb, and we didn’t think it was worth the trek back to the CBD for a glass of dubious wine!