Bedtime Tales With JuneB - A Trip To Florence

Want to drift off to sleep? Love bedtime tales? Who doesn’t like a bedtime tale? Well if you do, then this is the perfect story to send you off to sleep. Another in the series, Bedtime Tales with JuneB.

Join me while we enjoy this trip to Florence, with all the sights and amazing things Florence has to offer while you fall for this amazing city, and before you know it, you'll be fast asleep.
Beautifully relaxed and at peace. Listen every night to get into that totally relaxed state.

Transcript

Hello beautiful souls,

This is June Bee and welcome to a beautiful night's sleep.

Thanks for being here for another in the series Bedtime Tales with June Bee.

Join me as I take a trip to another part of Europe,

Italy to be precise and explore all the things we will discover on our journey to sleep.

So let's get into your favourite sleeping position,

Make sure you're comfortable,

Close your eyes,

Relax your muscles and slowly imagine yourself melting into the bed.

Now let's go to your breathing,

Slowing down the heart rate and let's take some nourishing breaths together.

Breathe in,

Breathe out,

Breathe in,

Breathe out,

Breathe in,

Breathe out,

Breathe in,

Breathe out,

Breathe in,

Breathe out,

Breathe in,

Breathe out,

Last time breathe in,

Breathe out.

Settle in now,

Get comfortable,

Let go of everything that happened today and let's relax together.

Let yourself focus on my voice,

If your mind wanders it's okay,

Bring it back to the sound of my voice.

Keep your breathing slow and steady,

Let's go on our journey together.

Travel has always been so special for me,

I have been blessed with the ability many times on a shoestring to go and poke my head in at some of the amazing places in this wonderful world we live in.

In this series of bedtime tales,

A Trip To,

We can explore all the places I have visited and what I have discovered to be my favourite parts of each one of them.

So today we are taking a trip to Italy,

Florence to be precise,

And taking in all the sights and sounds of the place I have grown to enjoy so much more over the past few years.

Believe me,

You will fall in love with the place too.

I first went to Italy many years ago and it was an experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I initially went to Rome,

Venice and Florence.

I like some of each of these beautiful and interesting cities,

So after a long break from travelling with what has been going on in the world,

I have been back to delve a little deeper into why I like Florence so much.

Before the pandemic,

I went to Italy and did these three popular cities again,

Rome,

Venice and Florence,

And I took my son with me for the experience.

He enjoyed the trip and fell in love with Florence,

As did I,

All over again,

And since then we have been back there about five times.

Florence,

The capital of Italy's Tuscany region,

Is home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture.

If you love art,

You will fall in love with Florence,

As it is steeped in it.

Florence is home to some of the world's most famous art galleries and masterpieces.

It is known as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance,

Which some believe was Europe's most prosperous cultural period.

The cathedrals and galleries are so amazing,

And walking along the cobbled streets are a pleasure to enjoy on a warm spring or autumn evening,

As these are the best times to visit Florence.

So what does Florence have to offer?

I'll list a few of the many things I always do when I visit.

Firstly,

Leather shops and markets.

The go-to for finding the best leather products in Florence is local markets and shops.

Renaissance Florence was famous for its leather work.

That tradition survives today,

Everywhere from the San Lorenzo street stalls to the high-end shops.

Now who doesn't love a bit of shopping,

Right?

I know,

I know.

Some people say,

Oh man,

June B,

Not shopping.

Well I can really appreciate fine leather work,

And in Florence you can fill your boots – another English technical term of course – with some of the finest leather work I have seen.

Leather goods,

Including and not limited to,

Bags,

Purses,

Gloves,

Hats,

And let's not even start talking about jackets,

Skirts,

Dresses and coats.

Oh man,

You have so much to choose from.

Your only decision is what colour.

Now there are shops that have all different leather goods,

And then there are the markets.

Now that is a whole different kettle of fish,

In my opinion.

The markets will tempt and tease you with the many bargains you can get by bartering with the people selling at the stalls.

You can start off with one price,

And by the time you reach the end of the very expansive market you may be lucky to get it for half the price.

That is,

If you like to barter.

Regardless,

The quality is superb and well worth a trip over to Florence to pick up a quality jacket that will probably last you a lifetime.

Yes,

They are that good.

Now let's talk about food.

I am a self-confessed food connoisseur.

I cook most days from scratch and have sampled some of the finest food that I have been fortunate enough to taste in my travels.

Well,

When it comes to Italy,

There's no surprise that Italian food is nearly at the top of my list of favourite cuisines.

Firstly,

There is a place called Mercato Central.

Excuse me if I have pronounced this incorrectly.

You know sometimes it's hard for us English folk to get our heads around different languages,

Right?

It is two floors of foodie heaven.

So as all around the world,

Most places have all the fast food joints you could ever want.

If you want to get some authentic Italian food and partake of their many delicacies then you must take a trip to the Central,

As the locals call it.

So dodge the fast food places and head to the centre of town inside this classic 19th century Mercato Central building.

Here on the ground floor you will find vendors selling wine,

Fruit,

Meat,

Fish,

Cheese,

Oil and spices,

Which is frequented by locals as much or even more than tourists.

The food court upstairs is on the first floor and it is a great place for people that can never agree on what to eat.

I'm sure we all know some of those people,

Right?

The selection is so vast and they even have a cooking school up there.

Expect freshly made pasta,

Florentine meat,

Vegetarian burgers,

Pizza,

Dumplings,

A truffle bar,

Fried fish,

Cold cuts,

Tiramisu,

Gelato and the list goes on and on.

Hungry yet?

Well,

I am.

And finally the desserts are absolutely amazing.

Gelato Central for me.

The best tasting ice cream I have tasted on all of my travels has been in Florence.

Well,

Anyone that knows me knows I'm an ice cream lover and I have sampled so many,

In all different places around the world and up to now Florence wins the prize.

Still looking for some place to beat that record though.

Nightlife.

Well,

I didn't go out that much to party per se,

Although I was out many evenings after the sun went down and for me it is a great place to wander by the water or along the beautifully cobbled streets,

Window shopping as you go.

I have always felt so safe and comfortable in the streets,

In the day or at night and that is probably why I have been back to Florence so many times in the last few years.

Lastly,

And how could I leave it out,

The wine.

Oh man.

On one of my visits I took a trip to the Chianti region where they make the wine and visited a winery that had wine tasting and a tour.

Needless to say,

Feeling so happy after all that wine,

Cheese and conversation,

Then learning which is the best wines to pick up when I got back to the UK,

It was a game changer for me in terms of my newfound knowledge and wine selection expertise of fine Italian wines.

There was a little place I found the last time I went to Florence.

It sold rolls filled with such amazing fillings and then glasses of wine to go with your roll.

It was such a great experience,

Having this delicious,

Freshly packed roll paired with a glass of the right wine and enjoying the sun softly touching your face and your tummy saying thank you for this culinary delight.

Florence,

What an amazing place to fall in love with and if you're lucky enough to visit,

Have a pizza on me.

I'm not sure about you.

I'm getting sleepy and hungry even thinking about it.

So I'm ready to let go fully and surrender to sleep.

Thanks for joining me tonight and as you slowly drift away,

Have yourself a great night's sleep.

And looking forward to seeing you again for another in the series of Bedtime Tales with June Bee.

Good night.

Reviews

Lovely - I fell asleep near the beginning, 😂. Thank you for your offering 🙏🏽

Thankyou Jine. That was wonderful. I slipped into sleep 😴 💤 nicely and gently and easily with this meditation. It was so soothing and relaxing. So thankful for it..

Another excellent and effective sleep story from JuneB! I loved the travel element in this one. And I was quickly out like a light shortly after the story started.