Florence Like a Local: Day Trip

Buongiorno!! It’s Florence Day!

We know, you already met up in Florence yesterday, but that was just to get you organized. We are heading back for the day, but this time as a group. After a quick breakfast at our BnB, we will take the short ride back down the hill together so that we can experience Florence as a local. Don’t eat too much at breakfast, as you will be snacking throughout the day in Florence.

Ryan, the founder of Grape Stained, spent two and a half years living, studying, working and exploring the lesser known, more authentic side of the city, especially gastronomically. Florence is his backyard and passion. While we will of course be making some stops along our route to those photo perfect places like the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, and Piazzale Michelangelo, we will also be exploring some back streets of Santo Spirito, Sant’Ambrogio, Santa Croce, and San Frediano in search of the best local delicacies and wines. 

Whereas most people that visit Florence for a day wait in long lines for a famous Instagrammable panino, we will be skipping that and instead visiting a hidden gem, known for their award winning breads, spreads, meats and cheeses. Wine bars packed with tourists? We have a spot with the best list in town, where you can find wines from every region of Italy. Want to try that local delicacy, but Mercato Centrale is too busy to walk through? The local farmers market down the road is even better. Want a true cappuccino with the minimal cost? Yeah, we know a place for that. Wine windows? (Yes, this is touristy), but we know where they are and will make sure we enjoy a glass from a few of them. Looking for the perfect leather bag, but don’t know whether it’s real or not? Guess what.. We know the shop for that too. Our goal is to show you the authentic side of Florence and get you out of your comfort zone a little bit.

Other than taking endless photos and indulging on an overwhelming amount of snacks and wines, one of the biggest highlights of the day will be meeting Pietro, a local chef. He will meet up with us in Mercato Centrale, before leading us to the local favorite, Mercato Sant’Ambrogio. Pietro will lead us along on a gastronomic tour of Florence’s markets, to better explain the purest style of Italian food, local and seasonal. We will have the unique opportunity to choose the ingredients that we will have for dinner later that night as Pietro has invited us to a dinner at his house in Mugello, close to our BnB. Get you’re walking shoes and your stomach ready to be Florentine for the day.

This excursion is part of or Grand Tour of Tuscany adventure. Click below to learn more about this itinerary and how to book!!!

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