Hi everyone! Here’s a few little highlights on some decadent desserts that I loved while studying in Florence. Enjoy!

If you’ve ever had a Dove ice cream bar (or a DQ Dilly Bar), this place is pretty similar in its specialty. Here, you can actually customize your bar with choosing between vanilla or chocolate ice cream on the inside, white/milk/dark chocolate on the outside and then some topping and a drizzle to finish it off! It was so good!! Only complaint was that it seemed pretty small compared to the ones I’m used to at home, but probably because portion sizes are smaller in Italy.  

 This place was the closest to a “healthy” restaurant as you could find here. It reminded me of America a bit because you could get salads and wraps as well as power smoothies and acai bowls (seen above). It was also near the train and opened pretty early so great to grab something for traveling on the weekends.

  Shoutout to my bag model, Nikki, for holding my bag so I could take the picture!  

Currently feeling like Blair Waldorf: flavors are (in order) Caramel, Hazelnut, Pistachio, and Chocolate. These macarons are very famous in Paris for (some say) having the best and they were pretty good. I don’t love macarons so they were just ok to me – I thought Angelina’s had better ones personally but also might have just been the flavors I picked.  

  First time trying Italian hot chocolate – no regrets here!  

 The oldest cafe in Florence! Their hot chocolate was crazy!! Definitely would just drink by itself – once I had a macaron and drank it, it became too sweet for me!

Eduardo’s Gelateria – hands down my favorite in the city (as well as the whole trip itself) for gelato!! Every time I went I loved the flavor I got AND they make their cones in house! Their menu also changes frequently because they make everything from scratch but my favorites were definitely cinnamon and pistachio. Pro tip: if you want authentic gelato (not processed food coloring stuff), go to places that don’t show their gelato in the windows. It’s pretty for a picture but not the “real” local stuff! Another test is to ask to try flavors like banana or mint chip – if they are yellow and green, move on.  

This one had multiple locations and is featured at some of the EATALY locations but I personally thought the gelato was ok – not as flavorful as the other places I tried. The chocolate wall was pretty cool though!

This place was AMAZING! Their cannoli was to die for and so flavorful!! The one just above was a gelato one (who knew this was a thing?) and their little green cakes  (cassata) would literally melt in your mouth. They had a little cart in the market next to our apartment so we went there too many times for a late night snack as roommates haha! They are also considered the best of the city.

Never actually had anything here since it was SUPER far from our place but it looked really cute inside and heard their coffee and little cakes were good.

Another place we heard was pretty good – spoiler, it was! Only went once since it was far but I had a great tiramisu flavor here.

Ok, so this is not what you usually think of when you think dessert but their strawberry margaritas were good and pretty big! They also had a deal with them on Tuesdays so after class treats were super nice.  

If you ever miss home while away, this is the place to go. An Italian take on a typical American diner, this place has pancakes, eggs, sausage – you name it! It also has American lunch favorites like burger & fries, mozzarella sticks, and even milkshakes!!

Another great place – their chocolate mousse flavor, tiramisu, and amaretto were really good! Some of their flavors were more fluffy like whipped cream too. The name is translated to “why not”, which definitely speaks to the culture that gelato should be eaten three times a day (a little proverb my Italian teacher told me)!

Literally the first place I had gelato at, this place is very cute looking with a little bike outside and all decked in white inside. You can live it up with a wafer and some chocolate & whipped cream or skip it and just get the gelato as is. The pistachio was pretty good – I didn’t love their cannoli flavor though, which my friend recommended since they put pieces of the shell in it.

Their gelato here was very good! When I had pistachio gelato here, it literally changed my life haha. I was on a pistachio kick until the rest of the trip! Naturally, I also had to get the pistachio cream-filled croissant too. Their flavors also changed every week or so but we roommates frequented here a lot for late night bites after dinner.

This bakery was recommended to us by our program leaders (so you know it has to be good) and turns out not only was everything made in house fresh daily but it was also really cheap too! They had little cookies and croissants along with mini pizzas and sandwiches for a quick lunch on the go!  

Ciao for now! 

See you in the next post!