Florence, Italy

We stayed in Hotel West Florence for our Florence part of Italy and from the outside... looks promising yea? 

Turns out it's another dated tiny room. It also claims to be 4-star but this would be 3-star standard anywhere else.

Oh well, after our earlier experiences in Europe, we have come to manage our expectations before checking in towards the end of our trip. Still, I dreaded checking in to our accommodations every time because our rooms seem to get worse and worse. I remembered our first hotel in London which was a Best Western hotel in a quiet side of town, and because we checked in at night, it reminded me of horror movies but on hindsight, compared to the rooms we had in Italy, that room was super nice already. We stayed in Ibis hotels in France (both Paris and Colmar) and it was modern and clean. Guess we should have just stuck to major budget chains like Best Western, Ibis throughout, especially when they offer low prices too. We initially didn't care about accommodation as long as it stated 4-star, but I guess accommodation does matters when 4-star feels like 3-star. 

We made a trip down to the Leaning Tower of Pisa as it's near Florence. 

Lots of stalls leading the entrance.

Piazza del Miracoli

Florence Cathedral

Ponte Vecchio

Piazza della Signoria

Nice dinner at this restaurant! I really love the dining options in Europe. I don't mind having 3-course meals everyday haha.

I didn't have much expectation of Florence before this trip and it was just a stop for me because I wanted to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But Florence totally won me over with its beauty. I remember thinking that it felt like the scenery infront came out of a painting. 

I stood here for quite awhile taking in the beautiful view. These pictures do no justice to how breathtaking it actually was. Now whenever someone ask me about Florence, all I remember is this moment.

Click to read about the full list of cities we visited during our honeymoon:   
London, England
Paris, France
Colmar, France 

Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Mt Titlis and Lucerne, Switzerland 
Milan, Italy
Venice, Italy
Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy