First off, we never intended to visit Florence during our time in Rome. It just kind of happened and I’m SO glad that it did! We had four full days scheduled for Rome and realized quickly that three days was plenty, leaving us a day to go somewhere else. After checking trains I determined that Florence was the most feasible and interesting possibility. Plus, I had always wanted to see the Duomo in Florence. We literally decided the night before and the next day made it happen.

I studied the train schedules the night before and purchased our tickets online for ItaliaRail. The train station was about a 15 minute drive from our hotel and getting there was simple. The train station in Rome was really clean and easy to navigate and the train we were on to Florence was beautiful. Our round trip tickets for both of us totaled just under $200. It felt a little steep for a day trip but I couldn’t argue with the speed and ease of a beautiful train. Our trip from Rome to Florence was 1 1/2 hours and same with the return; we took a direct train to and from (which is why our tickets cost a little bit more).

Like I said before, the train ride was extremely easy and comfortable. Once we arrived at the station in Florence, it was about an eight minute walk to the Duomo in Piazza del Duomo. We took our time just enjoying the slower pace of foot traffic and noticeably wider streets and pathways (compared to Rome it felt like we could really breathe in Florence). We passed by a dress shop and Sophie spotted the most beautiful green sparkly gown on the rack, grabbed it and tried it on.

She looked stunning and everyone in the store made a fuss over her. She bought it to wear to Prom. Not many girls can say they bought their prom dress in Florence, Italy but Sophie can! It was made for her!

The main thing I wanted to see during our brief time in Florence was the Duomo and suddenly there it was right in front of us. AMAZING. It took my breath away.

The Florence Cathedral (or in Italian known as the Duomo di Firenze) is covered in super intricate carved marble in white and greens and pinks and is unbelievable to see. The entire complex is referred to as the Piazza del Duomo and now that I have been there I find it funny that I thought I would have to LOOK for it. I mean, come on. It is impossible to miss and totally spectacular. I believe that construction on it began in 1296 and was completed in 1436. We spent quite a bit of time just walking around the complex and taking it all in. It was a beautiful day and was comfortable to walk around in the sun without our coats. That blue sky against the carved marble was pure magic.

Because we were flying back to Paris from Rome the next day we knew that we needed to Covid test in order to get on the plane. We decided to just test in Florence since there were plenty of pharmacies around and we were already experienced with the testing. Seriously, the Europeans DO NOT MESS with Covid testing. They probe all the way up to your brain. This is not an exaggeration. Don’t come at me; I’m telling you it’s a literal brain probe. It is straight up awful, no way around it. Anyway, we found a pharmacy near the Duomo and went in for our test. Once you tested you waited outside on the sidewalk for about 30 minutes and they brought your paper results to you. Seemed fine. We did a little shopping and then I left Sophie on the sidewalk to get our results while I meandered through a few leather stores. I did not look at my phone once while I was wandering. As I made my way back to the pharmacy I pulled out my phone to read this text from Sophie: “Mom, come right now. We are positive”.

WHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTT?

Cue total panic. We went in and talked to the pharmacy people who showed us that BOTH of our tests had registered positive and they were getting ready to input those results into the Italian system. This means that the test results are directly linked to your passport. No bueno. Please do not link any of this madness to my passport. I begged to talk to someone, anyone else and to please wait before inputting. More begging and discussing in Italian and English and pantomime. I convinced them to test us again. I am shortening this for sake of time but this was no easy task. The main pharmacist told us that our positive results were VERY faint, considered a faint and very low positive result. We had no symptoms and are of course fully vaccinated. It made no sense! So we tested again, knowing that if this test was positive or any stronger than the first we were definitely stuck in Italy. Guess how long you need to quarantine in Italy if you are Covid positive? TEN DAYS. No matter what. And that is quarantined under penalty of jail INSIDE your hotel room. At your expense. My mind was whirling. Trying to figure out all of the things I would need to cancel, how I would get us back to Rome with all of our things and convince that hotel to let us stay, cancel flights from Rome to Paris and Paris to the US. It was about 2:30 AM in California so there was no way for me to reach Sam or anyone who could help with my newfound plight. Not going to lie, I was sweating.

We tested again, this time with different tests and waited very very very nervously for 15 minutes.

The results came back…the same as the first ones. Very faint and low but STILL positive. The pharmacist leaned forward and quietly told me that because our results were extremely low (is this even a thing???), we were vaccinated and needed to travel back to the US she agreed to certify our results as negative. I just about burst into tears. I said thank you over and over. She just nodded. She also told me that there was no guarantee our results would still be low when we tested to get from France to the US. She advised waiting as long as possible to take that fateful test…but the reality was we already knew we needed to test the very next day. Would the weird Covid still be in our system? Would it get stronger? Would it disappear? What the what???

I still have no idea what even happened in that pharmacy in Florence but Sophie and I felt pretty overwhelmed with stress and then relief and then fresh stress again because we knew we would have to test back in France before getting on the flight to the US the next day. Our window was very tight and we did not feel confident it was all going to work out…but at least we held a certificate that would let us travel from Rome to Paris the next day.

It was seriously so stressful. Once we got our certificates we both felt lightheaded and hungry so I pointed across the piazza and we landed at the first place I pointed. I then ate the best ravioli of my whole life while staring up at the Duomo and feeling the sun on my face and feeling VERY grateful that at least I would be able to get us to France the next day. Good grief. I no longer cared about seeing or doing anything specific in Florence; I was just trying to prepare for possibly staying in a French hotel room for a week in case our results the next day were positive…

Sophie took over navigating from this point on since she had a few things she really wanted to see. First we walked down to the water and took some photos, then did some shopping and finally made our way over to Piazza della Signoria to climb to the top of Palazzo Vecchio.

The Palazzo Vecchio was built sometime between 1299 and 1314 and was once the most important building in Florence because it was the seat of government. Fun fact: Michelangelo’s David used to stand at the entrance to the Palazzo! The Palazzo Vecchio also offers some of the most striking views of Florence from the high tower. I think it was about 300 steps to get from the bottom to the top and I felt every single one of those. It was quite the workout. Just when I was starting to regret ever agreeing to this climb we emerged at the top and had all of Florence beautifully below us. Yes, it was worth it.

This is the view we were rewarded with once we got close to the top of the tower. There were probably another 50 steps to get to the best views…

Then of course we had to descend roughly 300 steps – no elevators in this place. My legs were vibrating for about an hour afterwards. They didn’t hurt…just vibrated!

The sun was starting to set which meant it was about time to head back to Rome. Before we set out for the train station we gobbled up some gelato which ended up being my favorite gelato of the entire trip: a mix of tiramisu and caffe flavors. SO good. I would eat gelato every single day if I lived in Italy.

I picked up this watercolor print while we were in Florence of the beautiful Duomo and now it hangs in my bedroom. We actually met the artist who did it and he was the sweetest man. Happy Duomo memory for sure.

I left Florence realizing that I need to go back! Just a few hours wasn’t enough. I loved the relaxed feel of the city, the warm sun, of course the Duomo and the slightly slower pace of life. I can see how Florence must be magical in the warmer months; I fully understand why people come to Italy in the summer!

This was also a great train learning experience. The trains in Europe are fantastic; I wish that we had something comparable in the United States.

Thank you, beautiful Florence, for a colorful seven hours. I could have done without the Covid testing drama but everything else made up for it. Plus, what a bizarre story to tell, right?!

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