Happy Holidays to Our Wonderful Blog Readers

It has been amazing to watch our blog readership grow over the past year and we just want you all to know how appreciative (and amazed!) we are that you come back post after post to our little slice of the internet.

Happy Holidays!

A Charming December in Florence

The entire city is lit with beautiful white Christmas lights. Even tiny little side streets have lights strung and it's totally beautiful! I'm sure a lot of European cities are particularly charming at the moment -- which is why we're thinking of a last-minute trip (somewhere within an 7-hour drive) for the week between Christmas and New Years. Because of our 7-hour driving limitation (the longest we can typically stand without going crazy), we can consider France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Any suggestions?

Christmas Market in Santa Croce

Yesterday we took a mid-afternoon walk (with Winston, obvi) to the German-style Christmas Market in Santa Croce. This is our first Christmas in Florence, so we're excited to see as much as possible. As soon as we arrived at the market, we were instantly drooling over strudel, pretzyls, cookies, candy, spices and more. If Winston wasn't with us I'm pretty sure we would've lingered for a while and made some bad (but oh-so-delicious) food decisions. We did warn Winston that if he misbehaved too much on the walk that he'd end up like the roasted big below (kidding, kidding).

It was a perfect, overcast early winter day -- crisp, but not cold, and quiet. It is amazing how the city transforms this time of year. We walked by the Uffizi, through Piazza della Signoria and it was so enjoyable. No crowds and peaceful. I wonder what July visitors to the Uffizi (that waited in line for 4 hours) would think about seeing the place totally empty.

What other holiday events in Florence do we need to know about this month? We don't want to miss anything!

P.S. This was Winston's longest walk in a long time and we were so proud of him! A few months ago he was diagnosed with Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration (SARDS). It's been a huge adjustment for us all, but he's been such a trooper. I think the quieter city streets this time of year are helping to make him more confident walking around!

The Christmas Lights are Up!

The lights in the neighborhood, that is. The city center is covered with beautiful white Christmas lights and even in the daytime there is something special about them. We took a walk last night for groceries and the Ponte Vecchio looked so pretty all lit up! I hate to be corny, but it really did look quite magical.

The lights in our neighorhood haven't come on yet -- have the ones in the historic center come on yet? I'm starting to wonder if there is some big celebration where the lights get switched on. Anyone know?

P.S. Our episode of House Hunters International aired last night. Friends and family (people required to be nice to us) say we looked slightly normal and not overly obnoxious. Yay! If you just found us after watching the episode and this is your first time reading our blog, click here.

Christmas in Florence

{photo via www.artingegno.biz}

I was reading The Florentine today and got so excited reading about all of the Christmas festivities, markets and celebrations. I checked out a few of the market and event websites and they look fantastic. The Artingegno a Natale (pictured above) looks delicious! It's full of aristan goods and foods, as well as traditional Christmas products. 

I can't wait to be there next year for Christmas!