Heading to Florence

Valerie Fuchs
Aug 17, 2022
2 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8H2xzidDFw

Finally, our time in Sorrento was over. We ate a quick breakfast at the hotel, packed up, and headed to the train station to catch the train to Naples. From there, we got a bullet train to Florence, which took about 4 hours.

In Florence for just one night, we stayed at a boutique hotel, the Orto de Medici. It was small but elegant. After unpacking and cleaning up, we set off on a walking tour past the Uffizi, across the Ponte Vecchio, into old town Florence on the south side of the Arno River. Aperitivos found us at Piazza Santo Spirito for a relaxing late afternoon hour.

Our next stop was our number one reason to visit Florence: Florentine steak dinner at Antico Ristoro di Cambi. Florentine steak is a THING. The local Chianina beef is brought out raw by the T-bone so that chef and customer can agree on the cut and weight. We opted for 2.4 kg of rare beefy goodness with a side of potatoes and glasses of Brunello and Montepulciano wine. It was a feast of meat and very tasty.

People-watching was nearly as good as dinner as we ogled other customers and their feasts and funny interactions. Afterward, we wandered the beautiful streets of Florence for a while and enjoyed a taste of My Sugar gelato—award winning, and possibly the best

gelato of our trip.

Overall, it was a lovely day.

The Day's Stats

2 trains, 6 miles walked, and 2.4 kg of steak eaten

The Day's Tips

Bullet trains are pricier than the regular schedule, but if you are moving around as much as we did, it's worth the extra cost to save both time and trips. Also, pay attention to the different train companies--we found Trenitalia to be reasonably priced with frequent trains. Italo is a step up, and the additional cost does include more amenities, but most of the time we didn't think it was worth it.