Solo Female Travel to Florence

Florence is one of the most inspiring, extraordinary cities I have visited. I was partly inspired by Giada De Laurentiis (with her show Giada in Italy).  And because this is a solo trip, I immediately think of Airbnb Experiences and Viator signing myself up for a wide range of activities. I am sure everyone expect me to talk about the museums and renaissance influences; I love them, don’t get me wrong, but Florence has so much more to offer. 5 days is definitely not enough time in this amazing city.

Is it safe for sole female travelers? Yes. Unlike other major Italian cities like Rome & Naples, Florence is much safer. Just have your normal awareness, and people are out late for dinner or gelato anyway. Please note – its not so safe in Pisa especially when you take public transportation with extremely high pick pocket risk.

First thing first, wine! I love wine, I am more a new world wine kinda girl, given the fact that I get easy access to Napa wine and Washington wine. I can tell you that I wasn’t so educated on the old world. I like my wine bold, full body and a bit peppery and spicy. I signed up a wine/cheese/lunch tour to the Tuscan region (close to the city but yet you get that full winery experience) and really get to experience the wine culture. A unique day trip touring different wine estates and we visited the famous Chianti Classico wine region with stunning views. We even came to the place where George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney come often (well you know they love Italy). Next time, I would love to visit the Montechino Castle (in love with Brunello de Montechino) and Antinori, nothing but just Antinori!

Back in the city, not going to let the wine tasting and food tour end. One wine tasting I went to even had olive oil tasting, this is the first time I tried out the first pressed neon green olive oil – you taste it like how you taste wine slurp it with your tongue, my throat immediately coated with intense pepper flavor. I can never go back to the commercial EVOO. This is extraordinary. You basically look at the harvest date, the closer the year, the more fresh it is. Not expiration date.

Where should I begin! This is one of the most fond experiences I had in Europe. This cooking class from Airbnb Experiences is so rewarding. I met these 2 personal chefs (Max and Luca) right by a lively market in the heart of Florence, they seem to know everyone there at the market and introduced the group all kinds of seasonal produce and unique ingredients, including rabbit meat, which we will be cooking for the day. Back at this little cottage right by a massive olive field with an impeccable view, the chefs started to show us how to make pasta from scratch. It was such a fond memorable experience and the first thing I did after coming back to the state, was to order a pasta maker from Amazon!

There were couple late afternoon I would simply head over to the Ponte Vecchio and wait there for sunset. No, you won’t get bored, there are live musicians playing music and it’s a lively environment with lots of energy.  Check the sunset time on your phone and head there to enjoy the magical moment.

Florence has definitely stolen my heart. I love the people, the food, the wine, the scenery, the vibe and everything about it. So what I did? I went back 3 months later with my sister :0)

And thanks to my sister for an amazing discovery that I totally missed the first time I was there – the street art with Blub! It was surprisingly fun running around for a scavenger hunt looking for Blub’s art. Blub is a Florentine artist, with signature painting of famous characters with diving mask, air bubbles, and blue color background! Well, we didn’t catch them all.

Until next time…so much to explore Florence!