I have seen 5 friends in Florence, Lucca and the nearby coast in less than 3 days. So for this travel post I have thought of showing some pictures while giving some suggestions about where to shop (Florence of course!), where to explore (Lucca) and where to rest (Versilia).

 

 

I already covered Florence once in this blog for a series of pictures when it was around March last year, check this out for a lovely view of the lilies city. Instead this time I want to focus on one of my favorite shop in the city. The place was a new discovery, the brand wasn’t.

 

 

Brandy & Melville is one of my favorite brand. It’s a young brand with a Tumblr style. Unicorns, aliens, rainbows and cutie things are in there. But above all, this shop at the entrance has the most photogenic walls ever.

 

On one there is big mouth drawn (like the red Rollling Stones one to give you an idea); on the opposite one there is a pair of angel wings (picture) and on the stairs wall there is a neon light (dream!! picture) with written “Follow Style”. Just how cool is that?

 

 

After a little bit of shopping, me and my friends decided to grap the biggest panini ever. I am so useless because I don’t remember where it is placed but it was a recommendation from Trip Advisor and it was very cheap. 5euros and you put everything you want inside!

 

 

I will add here some little snaps of the beautiful architecture in Florence. Every time I go wander around in this city I am always enchanted by its perfection.

 

 

 

Lucca was a discovery. I have never been there but it happened to be quite a medieval city like mine. There are walls that surround the entire the city centre and it has narrow old streets like mine.

 

 

Lucca is recognized as the city of the 100 churches and some of them are truly massive and impressive. I love the white marble (we are near Carrara for a reason) and all the studied details on the walls (picture above).

 

 

It is such a small town perfect to explore in one afternoon as we did. I really loved the angel statue on the top of the church above. It has some sort of doomed destiny for me, it looks melancholic and defeated and I adore it for this impression. Sometimes I think I watched Penny Dreadful too much though.

 

Above you have the central square with a selection of the oldest cafes and wine bars. I honestly love the shape of the windows on the medieval building on the left compared to the newest on the right which has that very typical Tuscan architecture.

 

Here instead a little gem is to be found up in the sky in that tower above. There are olive trees and you can climb up the stairs and enjoy the view from up there. How wonderful!

 

The last two pictures instead represent what Tuscany is most famous for. Food. Both Osterie (homemade cuisine), they look quite gorgeous. The first one, near a church is so small compared to the other one that looks like an old countryside barn rearranged as a restaurant. They both captured by attention.

 

 

 

As for the last step of this trip it is time to go to the beach. And if there’s one thing I can hardly comprehend is the seaside so close to the mountains. I didn’t know where to look. Versilia is the name that includes places like Forte die Marmi, Viareggio and I stayed in Lido di Camaiore, a small little town by the seaside.

 

 

And to the very end, the symbol of Tuscany is the sunflower. Watch the movie “Il Ciclone” to understand what I am saying (highly recommend it!!!!). Summer in Tuscany starts when sunflowers bloom. Period.