Florence Then and Now: How We’d Experience the City Today as Nerd Parents

Florence, Then and Now (2010, 2026)

This post was written after our first visit to Florence, long before we were parents.

We’ve left the original story exactly as it was written — as a record of how we traveled, what we noticed, and what mattered to us at that moment in our lives. We haven’t been back since.

What has changed is us. We’re older now, we travel more intentionally, and we’re parents to a seven‑year‑old who experiences cities with curiosity, questions, and limits we didn’t have back then.

As longtime educators and travelers, we think about cities less as destinations to complete and more as places to learn from together.

If we went back to Florence today, this is how we think about it — not as a checklist of attractions, but as a city shaped by pace, story, food, and memory.

📌 for Later!

Our First Visit to Florence

Below is our original article, written in 2011, about our 2010 trip.

Piazza della Signoria with Palazzo Vecchio in Florence

Without a doubt, Florence was my favorite city of our grand Europe tour. If you offered me a job in Florence tomorrow and had already worked out the living arrangements, I would contact a realtor on my way to the airport.

We arrived late in the afternoon exhausted from riding the trains all day. The hotel was actually outside the city – not a mistake I would make a again – so we had to take a taxi. Riding in a car in Italy is, by the way, very close to riding a thrill ride. We traveled a lot by car in Italy and all drivers were the same: fast and furious. Once we arrived at the hotel, we decided to stay in. We also had an extra day in our Italian itinerary, so, fraught with worry that I wouldn’t see everything, I convinced Cristina to spend the extra day here. Florence didn’t let my faith down.

As I mentioned earlier, we used the Hotel Ibis chain during our time in Europe. We did miss out on some old world charm, but we did have access to a private shower every night. Yet, at this hotel we got both. The girls at the desk, all about the age of twenty-two, spoke near perfect English and answered every question I had clearly and descriptively. Hell, if I didn’t know better I would think they were flirting with me. When I asked about the public transportation, they explained how to catch the bus and how to buy tickets. While I wouldn’t recommend the hotel because of location, it was the best stay we had in all of Europe.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, aka il Duomo

After getting a good nights sleep, we headed out to Florence. For the first time, it was a very hot day. We had warm days up till this point, but none as hot as this. We make our way through the narrow streets of Florence, sweating, until we reach the Duomo or the The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. The Duomo is one of those churches that when you first catch a glimpse of it, you pinch yourself to make sure you are awake. It’s beautiful. We go inside after the young girls that have to wear full body dental napkins to cover any bare shoulders and legs above the knees. The inside of the church reminds me of a dream I used to have of a church as a kid. The situation becomes fuzzy for me; now I’m not sure if I am awake or dreaming. Cristina takes my hand and that answers the question. The inside is as beautiful as the outside. To me the architecture of Notre Dame was about the power of the catholic church. The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is about the beauty of the church. The inside of the dome is an amazing, dizzying work. You can go up there, but we knew it would be death on our legs so we decided against it.

The frescos inside the Duomo

We then stopped to get of a slice of pizza. Which might have been the worst mistake I made. Not because the pizza was bad. It was because it was that good. The pepperoni were so flavorful that I lamented that I might never be able to eat pizza stateside again.

Find the Museo dellOpera del Duomo so you can see the Deposition by Michelangelo

We then head to the Duomo’s much less publicized museum, the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. Having the museum be a near secret makes for a much more intimate experience. We are close enough to touch works by Donatello and Michelangelo, but out of respect we refrain. Michelangelo’s Pieta — no not that one (don’t worry when we get to Rome I’ll talk about it) — was my favorite work here. This work, called The Deposition, was the work of an older artist one more worried with the emotion than the look. If you look closely at the old man, you see a Michelangelo self-portrait.

My first time eating Gelato; I will always remember my first.

We then toured the Medici Chapel and a local market. Then, what happened next was the greatest single food moment of the trip and maybe of my life. Words will fail me if I try to accurately describe the first time I tried gelato. Fireworks went off. My eyes went in to the back of my head. Considering that this was very hot day, this enhances the mystical effects of the gelato. Greatest. Food. Ever.

My favorite Italian piece of art in front of the River Arno

We then head over to the piazza. We cross the river Arno, by the way of the Ponte Vecchio, but first we stop to take pictures and buy an Italian soccer shirt for Cristina to prepare for the World Cup. Remember, Cristina’s father was born and raised in Italy. On her eighteenth birthday, she got papers to be a dual citizen. Cristina and her sisters’ worst nightmare is a USA-Italy World Cup final. They would literally be torn in two.

Speaking of depression, we then decided to tour the Pitti Palace. The depression coming from that horrible pun. If I could do it again, I would have done the gardens and not the museum. Maybe, next time.

Dinner seems fancier with a glass bottle of water

It was near five and we were famished. It was still too early for Italians to go out for dinner. The staff were having their meal when we walked into Osteria dell’Otia. We started off with a pasta course. Cristina had, well, neither one of us are quite sure what she had. Maybe, when we have time we look up in our journals what she ate. I had the carbonara. Let me just say, this might have been the finest day of eating in my entire life. I came real close to licking the plate, and not politely. For our meat course, Cristina ordered what I called melted cheese, cheese sauce, more melted cheese, chicken, with more melted cheese in a cream sauce. It was wonderful. I ordered the beef Carpaccio not even being sure of what it was. I was worried when I first saw it, since it is raw beef. Yet, I’m glad I ordered it. It was refreshing and a perfect way to end the day.

Exhausted, we took the hot box…I mean the bus back to the hotel. We wanted to go to the Uffizi Gallery and The Gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti the next day. However, the next day wasn’t on our itinerary so we hadn’t purchased tickets yet. Wait time for tickets could last hours especially at the Uffizi. That meant we would miss out on a couple of other things we wanted to do. There were none to be found unless you paid for an overpriced guided tour.

It was worth every penny.

📌 for Later!

If We Went Back to Florence Now (With a Seven‑Year‑Old)

We have not been back to Florence, but if we did, this trip would look very different. Not smaller. Not lesser. Just more intentional.

Florence would not be a city we would try to complete. It would be a city we teach through. Not in a classroom sense, but in the way learning actually sticks through stories, walking, food, questions, and moments that do not feel like lessons at all. This is similar to how we would do London today.

As two educators and lifelong nerds, this is where our Nerd Couple identity would show up most clearly today. Not as experts with all the answers, but as parents learning alongside our child.

📌 for Later!

Florence as a Living Classroom

If we went back now, Florence would be less about museums and more about context.

Why are the streets so narrow?
Why does the stone look different from city to city?
Why are there statues everywhere?

We would not rush to answer every question. We would let curiosity lead. Florence is a city that invites questions, and for a seven‑year‑old, questions are the beginning of real learning.

As older parents, our focus on travel is to do it more slowly and make it more meaningful. Even at Disney, we take a slower pace.

Instead of saying something is important, we would ask, “What do you notice?”

📌 for Later!

Teaching Art Through People, Not Pedestals

Art would not be introduced as sacred or untouchable. It would be introduced as something made by people.

Michelangelo would not be described first as a genius. He would be described as a real person. Someone who argued with powerful people, got frustrated with his work, and hid his own face inside a sculpture when he was older.

That kind of story sticks. It helps kids understand that art is not magic. It is an effort.

Honestly, that is how we connect to art now, too.

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History Without Starting With Dates

We would not begin with timelines or memorized years. We would begin with use.

Why did people gather in this square?
Why is this bridge different from the others?
Why does this building feel like it is watching us?

Florence makes it easy to teach history as lived experience instead of a list of facts. Dates can come later. Understanding why people built things the way they did matters more, especially at this age.

📌 for Later!

Food as Culture, Not a Reward

Food would not be a break from learning. It would be part of it.

We would talk about why meals take longer, why people sit and talk, and why food feels different here than it does at home.

Gelato would not just be dessert. It would be a cultural moment.
Pizza would not just be familiar food. It would be something to notice and compare.

That is a nerd lesson disguised as a snack.

📌 for Later!

Modeling Curiosity as Parents

This is where our Nerd Couple identity would really come through now.

We would not pretend to know everything. We would model curiosity by looking things up together, admitting when we do not know something, and letting our child see us learn in real time.

That is something we did not fully understand the value of before becoming parents. Now, it is the point.

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Choosing Depth Over Coverage

If we went back today, we would skip more than we would see, and we would feel good about that choice.

We would choose one meaningful art experience, one neighborhood to wander, and one long meal a day.

Florence does not reward rushing. Parenting has taught us that overstimulation does not lead to memory. Connection does.

📌 for Later!

What We Would Want Our Kid to Remember

Not the names of museums.
Not the most famous anything.

We would want her to remember how it felt to walk without a plan, the taste of gelato on a hot day, and the idea that cities are built by people, not textbooks.

We would want her to learn that learning can happen anywhere if you are paying attention.

And honestly, that is what we would want to remember too.

Final Thoughts

We do not know when we will return to Florence.

But if and when we do, it will not be about recreating the trip we took before we were parents. It will be about sharing a city that shaped us and letting our child discover it in her own way.

That is how Florence would fit into our lives now.
Not as a destination to conquer, but as a story to pass on.

Let’s Talk!

If you have visited Florence, how would you handle it? Go slow and be an art nerd? Try to put it all in a day and a half? How long would you stay? What were some of your must-dos when you are in Florence? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

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