We put a lot of things in our pockets, especially when we travel.  I find when we are unpacking and getting ready to do a post trip load of laundry that my pockets are particularly stuffed with receipts.  So with that in mind let’s take a look at some of the slips recounting the real cost of things from our most recent trip to Florence.

1. We stopped at the cafe on the corner of the Ponte Vecchio and Via Bardi, The Bar Ponte Vecchio, a couple of times for a cup of coffee. It’s a little cafe nestled between an old tower and the oltrarno side of the bridge. The cafe was a great place for a little morning coffee (espresso) and people watching.  You could watch locals and tourists getting ready for their days as they crossed back and forth across the bridge. As you can see a water and two coffees cost only 3,40€ ($3.71). All we had to do was find an open table and a waitress served us.
2. Golden View Cafe was located almost directly below our apartment in Florence. The modern cafe with white walls and grey tables had a window-filled room looking out on the Arno and the old bridge. It was really convenient for a quick morning coffee and a bite to eat when we needed it. The light lunch we got one day, consisting of water, soda, a salad and sandwich only cost us 11,50€ ($12.77). When we just got coffee in the morning, espresso and croissants, the coffee only cost 1,10€ ($1.22) per cup and the croissants were the same.
3. We visited our favorite cafe on top of the Rennaissente department store on Piazza della Repubblica, Caffe’ La Terrazza.  Along with a great view of the city, the piazza and the Duomo, we had two coffees and two croissants (one chocolate-filled) for a total of 11,00€ ($12.00).
4. We had a wonderful long lunch on Piazza della Repubblica at Paszkowski, one of the long-established restaurants on the square. We were able to sit outside in the shade at a comfortable table  and watch the pedestrians and pigeons in the square. We even had a rather lengthy conversation with a pilot of a private jet about travel. The meal, of salad, pasta, wine and a decadent chocolate dessert set us back 43,00€ ($47.76), but was well worth the hour or more we had to sit and relax.
5. The convenience of having a grocery store across the street was wonderful.  We visited it almost every day. The line at the checkout was always long and snaked through the store. But they were just busy; the five registers were always open and moving as fast as they could. The best part of this convenience was the wine. The selection was pretty good, with lot of chianti wines and many from outside the region as well. We got Santa Cristina, a Antinori wine, for 6,76€ ($7.51) and Chianti C. DOCG Peppoli (another Antinori) for 11,65€ ($12.94). Both were rather close to the price you would spend in a U.S. store for those wines. 
6. Finally, you can’t go to Florence and not have gelato. We love the neon bright atmosphere of Festival Del Gelato down the street from the Piazza della Repubblica on Via del Corso. I had a medium and Amanda had a small for a total of 8,00€ ($8.89) and because it was gelato it was worth every cent, if not more.

We hope this gives you a little insight into the cost of some things in Florence. Until next time, ciao!