PM360 asked Amy Gittelman, VP Sales, Populus Media about the place she just can’t stop returning to.
My Odyssey: I first visited Florence on a semester abroad, in no way understanding how monumental an effect it would have on me, despite living on $2 a day (it was 1987)! I have returned time and time again, always finding something new in the old and fantasizing that this is where I will retire. In 1999, I visited Florence (my second time) with two friends. We decided to go to dinner at a restaurant near a church that was having a midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The dinner was incredible, but nothing could compare to listening to the choir and hearing the bells ringing throughout Florence. Note, I am a nice Jewish girl from Queens and I could not have been more moved by this experience. Visiting with my son in 2015 brought Florence to life in a new way, as I was able to see it through his eyes.
My Recommendation: The city itself is a museum where every corner brings something loaded with history and culture. You could visit the Duomo (if you can handle the 463 steps to the top—DO IT), the Baptistery, the Uffizi Gallery (literally the best collection of Italian paintings), the Accademia (Michelangelo’s “David”), Pitti Palace, and my favorite, Piazza Michelangelo on the Southern Side of the Arno overlooking all of Florence. Much to my family’s chagrin, I am also obsessed with “farmacias,” the Duane Reades of Italy, each one possessing endless types of skincare you can’t find in America. Do I go to every one? Yes I do. And almost every product is the right size for a carry on!
