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firenze sunset atop piazzale michelangelo

Piazzale Michelangelo

so remainder of the day we spent shopping. we did finish early enough... well made ourselves finish early enough because we wanted to go back to piazzale michelangelo.


meaning i had to bust out my black friday shopping skills again. quick browsing in each store. if it doesn't instantly catch my eye, not touching it, not trying it on or not going inside the store. i even walked by two kikos!.. okay i lied. i went in one of them, but i just did a quick once around. i was only in there for 30 seconds! i swear! now that's something.
plus i needed to go back to the ovs store, which was not in the main shopping district - though later discovered i might as well have not gone since they didn't have my colour! again! i'm beginning to think i won't ever find this damn coat. 


at the end of shopping i only purchased two items. one was a new tank from H&M. now i don't normally shop there, but the shirt was only 9 euros! it was hot pink with black straps so i was sold. and i bought me some new sunglasses - which i wasn't even looking for. my friend really wanted a pair - like me and the coat. i just like trying them on. i usually grab weird ones to have a laugh. anywhos i grabbed a pair of guccis for my friend. she didn't like them, so i tried them... love at first sight. literally. i had to have them. wished they were a bit cheaper, but anything under 200 euros for (designer) sunglasses i guess is okay. 


anyways...

here are some pics from piazzale michelangelo. we took the bus up. it was a 15min ride from the station and only cost 1.10 euros.



so here's me and the fake statue of david.
i'm yet to see the real one. it just seems to need a lot of planning ahead if you don't want to wait 3 hours in line, but i will try to go next trip out... if there's time (i also discovered a new shopping outlet around florence. looks major.)

it was a really gorgeous view. also made it in time for the sunset so the sky later became all sorts of pretty. i like it up there.

and then, since it's our last night in florence, we're headed back to piazza della signoria to have a delicious italian dinner. the weather is cool and there are a bunch of nice restaurants with outdoor seating. maybe i'll see that gucci dog again!


and of course later tonight - some more drinks at the pub :)

snack time! Gucci style

okay so the only thing i would let myself afford in the gift shop was a pencil case. sounds pretty dinky i know, but i needed something! i wasn't leaving empty handed!

just like i wasn't leaving without ordering something in the cafe...

i couldn't say no. look how inviting the place setting is!

yeah.

uhh... hi! can i steal this please?? 

i'm sure i wouldn't be the first. and i'm sure they have a whole stock!.. because of the people who did steal them. 

unfortunately i was not one of them.

anyways i ended up ordering a caffe latte and tiramisu. yummy.

(also tempted to take the plates and cups, but i didn't... my bag wasn't big enough). 

okay no time to waste. it's shopping time. 

oh what a Gucci-full morning!

i couldn't think of a more fabulous way to spend my last morning in florence. admire all things gucci and then have a little something at the gucci cafe. 

oh yeah... they have a cafe!

so for starters, i actually woke up pretty early this morning - keeping in mind the fact that we did make it to the pub last night. and might i add 5 shots for 5 euros! whaaa? that's a different kind of story though...

anywhos to continue... half my morning was spent trying to figure out what to wear. what does one wear to a gucci museum? i already feel awkward when i go into those high end stores looking like crap, but this is like a fashion sanctuary. i had no clothes for this occasion because i left my heels and summer dresses back in tivoli. though not to worry. when in doubt, 

wear black and throw on some oversized shades à la beckham. 

i was afraid at what the cost might be for entrance. i anticipated like 20 euros, but it was only 6! 
and they gave out these little brown booklets because at each section there was an info card to collect about gucci's life and the history of the brand and all that jazz. very interesting stuff. 

now you weren't allowed to take photos... but i snuck some anyways! however, the whole building was dimly lit and i had to turn my flash off not to draw attention to myself. so make do with what i have. 
enjoy!

    

need to ride in style? 

gucci car!

rims and interior

purses circa 1970s (L)

electric guitar, board games, puzzles... etc. (R)

office or house furniture, including logo ashtray (L)

...now i don't smoke, but i must say that's damn cool!

water equipment: fins and snorkel masks (R)

the dress kate beckinsale wore to the 2010 cannes film festival

the dress hilary swank wore to the 2011 academy awards

and that's about it. there were a bunch of other items in the museum of course. they even had a picnic set, complete with plates and cutlery, and equestrian equipment such as riding boots and saddles. i took a lot more pics, but these few really stood out.

now i know my photos obviously don't do justice to these creations - especially the dresses. the lighting in the dress room was so dim, therefore the pictures turned out yellow. 

but let me tell you... 

like you see these dresses on tv and magazines and you go 'wow that's a nice dress.' no. nice is an understatement. these dresses in person are gorgeous. especially the one hilary swank wore. i really liked the dress when i saw it at the oscars, so i easily recognized it and was very excited to see it on display. it wasn't even behind a glass! so kinda had to touch it... shhh! don't tell!

okay done with the museum part, now let's go see what i can afford in the gift shop!

Museum of what!?

omg just discovered the existence of possibly the greatest museum ever!

*and cue heavenly music now... 

GucciMuseo

si si... it's true! 

i was talking to my dad and he said he saw something on the news about a gucci museum that just opened at some piazza and there was some big festivities and all that. turns out, it was at the piazza della signoria. 

and i was totally there last night! standing in front of it when we were looking for that blasted restaurant!! and the building is totally noticeable because they put on this light show. 

so when we were going to dinner tonight i went to check out the times cuz i'm totally going to this tomorrow! and i knew i was in the right place because i saw this guy...

check out his collar! seriously? i dunno if the owner was purposely advertising for the museum or it just so happens that this dog enjoys chilling around the streets in a friggin gucci collar! 

i just had to dish about this.

but anyways...

on my way out. second attempt at the pub tonight. hopefully we make it there and don't get locked in the damn lobby again!

1 Day ticket of crap!

so we made it back to florence in time to catch the last hop on hop off bus. 

now... my sister and i have done the city sightseeing buses in a bunch of cities. we think it's the most convenient way to see all the major sights if you're only spending a couple of nights at your destination. and it's a pretty good deal since the tickets sell by 24 or 48 hour validity... except in florence apparently. 

we were in the midst of buying a 1 day ticket at a newsstand when the bus came. you can also purchase on the bus and since it was the last one of the day, we ran on. of course after the bus takes off we come to discover that the 1 day ticket is not the same as a 24 hour ticket and we wouldn't be able to use it the next day.

well that's just stupid! 

we didn't complain, but the operator lady was very nice and kind enough to let our tour group stay on the bus for the last drive around at no charge - score!

good thing too cuz the piazzale michelangelo is the only stop i would like to check out tomorrow. it's situated at the top of a hill and overlooks all of florence. really pretty.

and since i just cut my sightseeing in half, i can spend my last afternoon in florence shopping!