Bella Firenze part 1

A couple weeks ago Steff and I decided we needed to get our travel pants on and actually go and explore Italy. Time is going far far too quickly for my liking and there is still so much to see and do! Florence is obviously an absolute must-see for everyone, but it will not be the top of my list in a few months when all the tourists arrive - a little trip in February was the perfect solution! 

First stop: Il Duomo

Spot the tourists...

In the week leading up to our getaway we had been constantly checking the weather forecast for Florence…and every time it said rain. Yet when we hopped off the train, we were greeted by lovely blue skies! 

Now I'm not gonna lie - this trip was never going to be a culture/museum-filled adventure. Jeff had one agenda for going and one agenda only. The San Lorenzo market. This market is the best market in the world. I had already been approx. 8273 times with my famiglia when we were on holiday in Tuscany. 7 years in a row. And every time we would head straight to the market and buy as much as possible. Pashminas, belts, bags, wallets, jewellery..you name it, we bought it. And all thanks to my Mamma's insane skills at haggling. Well now it was time for the student to become the master. Sadly I am nowhere near being a master yet as some charming bag seller decided to bollock me for asking for lower prices. I decided not to let this dampen my spirit though as we came away with 4 clutch bags, 2 'ciao bella' t-shirts, earrings, rings, another bag aaaaand I think that's it. And because I was so absorbed by all this shopping, I took zero photos. 

Anyway - you know that amazing unexpected weather we had? It went. Just as we bought our last bag, the sky suddenly went an ominous grey colour and it started raining and thundering! We scurried into a cafe and took refuge with a cappuc and spent an hour admiring our lovely new things! Once it had stopped, it was time to wander round to find some supps. 

Piazza Santa Maria Novella

Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

The post-thunder sunset was so beautiful. Must have been some pretty delighted shepherds somewhere in the Tuscan hills.

Florence is actually quite a small city, so it didn't take us long to find somewhere to eat. We all know that I don't care that much I am obsessed with food. Since coming to Italy I really have eaten some amazing things. But I do have some rules for finding a great place to eat. 

1. The menu should be handwritten. 

2. The crockery shouldn't match. 

3. The tables should be squished together and higgledy-piggledy. 

4. The restaurant itself should look like a house/hospital wing/generally not presentable.

I'd say if you can get at least two of these in a restaurant, you're gonna have a good time. As it happens, we found all 4 in a cute trattoria and had the BEST meal. 

Pecorino con miele e pinoli

Pappardelle alle cinghiale

Before we even found the trattoria we knew we wanted something with cinghiale (wild boar) and the main course did not disappoint! It was so rich and delicious and needed absolutely nothing added to it. 

Torta al cioccolato 

This was like eating 11 of the most velvety truffles in a row. My kind of pudding. 

After supps we needed to fare un giro as we had eaten sooo much. Hannah had been to Florence the weekend before and told us about a cocktail bar near Louis Vuitton which was a must apparently. She wasn't lying. It was quite chilly out, so finding the poshest green house I've ever seen with even posher cocktails was wonderful. 

Spritz for Stefy and Fashion Colle bursting with raspberries and fresh mint for me. 

The people in this bar were the epitome of chic. The infamous Italian style is certainly not a myth. Boys and gals alike looked so effortlessly cool…it was a bit depressing. Whilst sipping on our drinks we did some boyfriend shopping too - I think we found at least 3 potential suitors each. 

Before heading back to the hostel we wandered round the streets and did some window shopping in the likes of Prada and Gucci and then found ourselves on the Ponte Vecchio where we found our engagement rings that the potential suitors would one day buy for us. An enjoyable and practical trip!! 

We then headed back to our hostel, which I'm not going to talk about as it takes away the lovely chic feel of the trip. Let's just say it was hard to get our beauty sleep for the next day's adventures thanks to a snoring man...

The Nutcracker (that famous ice version)

A lot of you already know how disappointed I have been with Genova's (lack of) Christmas decorations. I'm not saying the UK have it right by decorating at the end of August, but December needs a build up itself so that it feels important enough to build up to the big day! Plus, November is such a rubbish month and I need some mulled wine to get me through. 

Anyway, with this lack of festivity in mind, Plum, Steff and I decided to go searching for a festive treat that didn't involve a club or a cheeky Italian. We obviously went straight to the opera house and found that 'Lo Schiaccianoci' was on!! (The Nutcracker ballet to you and me.)This was the perfect plan - all three of us immediately turned into ballerinas (in our minds, obv)and started humming to the only Nutcracker tune we know - I know you know which one too - Do do do do do do dododo dododo dododo dododododoooo. Knew it. 

Before the show, we went for Aperitivo at a pretty smart looking bar next to the opera house. I had a champagne cocktail which was so divine. 

And since this is aperitivo, we get loads of free food. We had peanuts, crisps, pizza, selection hams and salami, great big hunks of cheese, toasted spicy bread and olives…

*Obviously we ate it all before I could take a picture*

We have reason for inhaling it though - sadly, the service was unnnnbelievably slow, and poor Stefy and I hadn't eaten for at least 3 hours, so we wolfed it and ran to the ballet with a few minutes to spare! 

We had great seats with a pretty good view

But BB and I still needed our glasses

The lights went down, and we settled down ready to see the Italian/Russian version of Darcy Bussell…

If Darcy Bussell was on ice

The three of us erupted with laughter!! We actually couldn't believe that we had missed the pretty clear sign outside that said it was on ice - the shock was just hilarious. Once we had calmed down, we appreciated it all the same, and it actually was even more festive on ice! 

Sadly the photos aren't great - but my iPhone zoom did the best it could! 

 Sparkly ballerinas!

 Stars of the show

 My favourite photo

It was all over too quickly - it was so magical and sparkly, we were lapping it up! But - guess what? The classic 'Do do do do do do dododo dododo dododo dododododoooo' didn't play! We have no idea why!! (^may or may not have copied/pasted the do's^)

All the same, it was a fantastic show and made us feel extra Christmassy! And finally, Genova managed to sort itself out and actually switch ON their Christmas lights! 

Woohooooo - Christmasssss! 

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Nice is nice, but Monaco è bellissimo!

So Steff and I have been here almost two months (omg) and I feel our Italian is improving a bit. It became clear that Steff's was much better though when our French housemates invited us to Nice and Monaco for the weekend and I had no clue what was going on. Once Steff had translated everything for me (cheap coach ride to Nice; stay with Sophie's aunt; get €5 train to Monaco; eat a crêpe)I nearly wee'd with excitement. 5 days later, we were off!

                               

Gals ready for the 4 hour journey!

(There may or may not be two three pieces of focaccia in the red bag.) 

The journey was pretty cool actually - we had wifi and reclinable seats; and can't really complain about 4 hours to get to the bloody south of France!

When we got there, we headed straight to the high street and saw the lovely architecture, shops etc. Although I was more amused by this:

Almost wanted to do something naughty just to see what would happen!

Wallace & Gromit - french style

THE GOGGLES! too much 

That evening, we headed a little out of Nice to Sophie's aunt's flat for some supper and sleep before the next day's adventures. Supps was delicious and obv included baguette and camembert. Parfait! 

The next day, we were up bright and early to catch the train to Monacoooooo. I had never been before and found out at the station that it's actually a country. Smooth. When we got there Steff and I were amazed - the place was dripping in money! We were greeted with the bluest sky which was a huge blanket over the most exquisite yachts and boats. 

After taking more than enough snaps of the same effing huge boats, we wandered up into the old town. 

Once we got to the top, we had a little rest (there were loads of steps. Upwards ones) and took some photos!

This was my only instagram - the skies were actually that blue!

After more climbing/wandering, we made it to the centre of the old town. The buildings were very French and chic and we saw the Prince of Monaco's palace! 

 Not Buckingham Palace - but pretty cool! 

Changing of the guard - right up my street!

Cheeky. 

We got some French baguettes and sat on a bench looking at the view. To be honest, I still can't believe that I am two months into my year abroad and it's already been this cool. I kept screaming in my head 'MONACOOO'. It was pretty surreal! 

I think there's an F1 track in there somewhere...

All the buildings were like this - they almost looked fake they were so pristine and colourful. They were real though. Promise.

As we headed back down, we walked past a building dedicated to F1. I'm not exactly a huge fan, but I know my Daddy is so I felt obliged to take photos of the trophies!

I have no idea who won them though..

After just a couple hours in Monaco we decided to head back to Nice. I could have spent all day there, but realistically I could afford approx. nothing. 

We did a bit of shopping in Nice and continued to amble around and saw this fountain, so decided to make a wish. 

       

There were no coins in it at all - but a coin in the fountain = a wish somewhere, so we did it anyway. 

After the wishes were made, we went for...crêpes! 

(That wasn't my wish - fountains aren't that quick.)

We crept in, had a crêpe and crept out. I had masses of nutella..it was beyond delish.

Steff was a cheeky monkey and had nutella and bananas. 

(See what I did there? Monkeys..bananas..cheeky..lololololol)

After more shopping and wandering it was time for supper...woohooo more food! There were loads of restaurants right by the beach which was cool, although tainted slightly by the amount of tourists and English-speaking. It's just not the same when all the menus are called 'tourist menu' and the waiters grab you from the street, persuading you in English to pick their moules over the others.
We eventually decided and ended up in a not too expensive/not too cheap one. The waiter spoke French, and that was enough for me!

Steff and I shared a starter (like I said, not that cheap!)and then we both tucked into some Moules Frites.

This photo looks beaut right? 

Unfortunately, the photo looks far better than it tasted. The white wine sauce was no where to be seen, and the moules were one level of chewiness away from being a gummy-bear. Could have been worse though - the wine was good and we got ketchup with the chips. Classic Brit abroad. 

The next day was cut in half as we had to get the coach back again. We went for a yummy French brekkie in town and then walked the promenade by the sea. It was SO French and chic...perfect for photos! 

Babes by the beach

Le Negresco Hotel.

 Chic

Not so chic

sneaky waterfall in the middle..

I just scrolled up and it took me 5 years - pretty long blog post this time, so I'll summarise.

1. I'm a lucky gal

2. I now know Monaco is a country

3. I don't like tourists. Or chewy moules.

4. The sky was really blue. 

5. I still bloody love crêpes. 

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