[Travel] Florence - 3 days 2 nights F&E (1/2)

Hi Readers!!!

As per my pervious post, our next destination is to Florence. We took a train down to Florence. Florence was also 7 hours behind Singapore time when I was there.

Train to Florence
We headed back to Rome's train station (Roma Termini) to catch a train to Florence. This time round we did not purchase the sleeper's cabin as the journey took less than 2 hours. We purchased the tickets with 2 seats by 2 seats facing each other, with a foldable table in the middle of the 4 seats.

It was at this place where we met "helpful" locals who would spy on tourists and "help" them carry their bags and then ask for tips. We were quite unfortunate to be victims to 3 such locals. Despite our protests and efforts to avoid them, they still insisted on helping us carry our luggages. In the end, we gave them some coins, and they have the nerve to demand €5,00 to €10,00 per person. *Angry* and of course, we did not give in to their ridiculous demands. Hmph!

 

At the Train Station

When we finally reached Firenze S. M. Novella station, the weather was a stark contrast from Rome. Firstly, it was raining cats and dogs, and it was sooooo cold! Plus we had 3 luggages to drag with us to the Hotel in the rain. Brrr.... Here are some pictures of the train station taken during better times.

 

 

Hotel
Hotel Globus
This hotel is about 15 minutes walk from the train station. When we finally arrived at the Hotel, we were faced with a flight of stairs O.o As we were wondering how to carry 3 luggages up the stairs, the staff descended from the stairs and came to our aid. *Phew*  She helped us to carry the luggages up the stairs. Strong for a lady. We thus proceeded with the paperworks, and finally she handed us the keys to our room! There are only 3 floors in this hotel.

 

Lift / Elevator
The lady staff directed and taught us how to use the lift (it was really small). A very amusing lift indeed. Not those typical lift that you find in more bigger and reputable hotels. It may even be faster to climb the stairs. Well, first of all, if the lift is not at the floor your are at, you have to press and hold the "call" button, until the lift arrived. Next, you have to pull open the glass door to enter the lift. To go to your desired floor, press and hold the desired floor button (i.e. our room is on the 3rd floor, therefore we have to press and hold the button "3" till we reach the 3rd floor). If you stop pressing, the lift will stop too! Amazing! And when the lift pass the intersection between 2 floors (i.e. 2nd floor and 3rd floor) you can literally see the wall. That was the first time I took such a unique lift.

 

Room
What I like about their room was that the room we were assigned to was very very spacious, with ample space to open all luggages. The room was very clean too! It was well furnished with all the necessities such as TV, dressing tables, even laptop (which we didn't use)..etc. The cons was that I found the bed a bit too soft for my liking, but this of course is very subjective. There was a strange smell coming from the tap water when I brush my teeth and took my bath.

 

Happy Hour
For those who needed some alcohol before you can sleep, this is the place for you. The hotel went the extra mile by providing guest with "Happy Hour". Happy Hour starts after 7pm, where they served free alcoholic drinks, some chips and nuts. Awesome!

Breakfast
Their breakfast was a very simple affair, and was located at the same place as the Happy Hour. Much simpler than the first 2 city I had been to. Tables were placed very close to each other. They served croissant, cheese, ham, cornflakes, cakes and fruits. Every morning, the staff cheerfully asked us on our preferred beverage, and he would brewed our coffee on the spot and serve it to you once done. If tea was chosen, he would direct us to a basket of different brand of tea bags. I read really good reviews online, however, I didn't quite like their food (subjective) as their food were served quite cold, like cold croissant... etc. I do like their service tho.

 

Shopping
Shops near Hotel Globus
One of the reasons that I found our Hotel location delightful was that there were many shops and pushcarts around! Here you can find bags, leather goods, belts, winter accessories etc... And yes, you can haggle for a lower price. The only setback when I was there was that it was raining and it was so darn freaking cold! Hence I didn't really window shop a lot there. Argh!

 

Leather School in San Croce Church
Address: Via San Antonino 24, 50123, Florence, Italy
A cool place for leather lovers! Located behind San Croce Church. They sell leather goods such as purse, wallet, belt, coat... etc.

 

The Mall
A must go place in Florence especially if you are in the search for branded goods! From our Hotel, we had to walk to the bus interchange which was located near the train station. Purchase tickets from the ticketing counter for bus 10 to The Mall. Per trip costs €5,00, therefore a to and fro trip costs €10,00. Fret not, you can actually purchase a return ticket at The Mall ticketing counter itself :)

We boarded Bus 10 which headed towards The Mall. The journey to The Mall was a pretty exciting experience for me. Why? Having lived in the Sunny part of Mother Earth, I hardly see snow. Imagine my childlike delight when I saw snow!!! Some of the lovely scenery that I had taken (it looked like a fairytale story). Snow and snow and more snow :D

 

The journey took less than an hour. I was a little disappointed when I reach because The Mall wasn't snowing. It was in fact, drizzling -.-"' Nonetheless, we were excited about shopping for branded stuffs! We were about 15-20 minutes early, as the shops were not opened yet. We ventured around, pressing our faces against the glass doors, peering into the shops mentally cataloging which goods to shop first. In here, you will find famous brands such as Valentino, Ermenegildo Zengna, Burberry, Dior. Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada and many more...

 

 

After shopping for a couple of hours, we decided to take a break. And guess what? It started to snow!!! YES!!! Yippee!!! Yours truly, a mountain turtle at heart had finally seen snow! Such an exhilarating experience <3

 

We decided to escape from the snow to eat! Yes, they have a café and a restaurant. The café was packed when we arrived so we ate in the restaurant called "DOT.COM", located at the second floor instead.

 

Controfiletto All'Aceto Balsmico (€16,00)

Steak in balsamic vinagre sauce

 

Tagliata Rucola E Parmigiano (€16,00)

Steak with rocket & parmisan cheese

 

We continued to shop for a while before we left, which a few shopping bags *Wink*.

Ok, stay tune folks, for part 2...

Tiny Pea