102 Meals

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

July 23, 2013: "You-Feet-See"

Today was Madelyn's first full day in Florence. After breakfast (fresh fruit from the market and croissants from Cafe Verdi), we headed over to the Uffizi for a day of marveling at works of art.

Because this was my second time through this trip, I did not feel like purchasing an audioguide. I bought the thing I should have purchased the first time around, the Uffizi Gallery Official Guide, translated into English. It outlines all of the rooms and mentions what each piece is in the museum, complete with maps and indexes. If you're coming to Florence, you should definitely purchase this, as it will be a great book for your coffee table when you get home.

We spent about 4-5 hours in the museum, looking through all of our favorite rooms. We then shopped around Florence, and bought some special items for ourselves. I bought a charm of the Ponte Vecchio on the Ponte Vecchio, and a charm of Santa Croce. Madelyn bought a gorgeous blue leather briefcase. Love the life here!

We then took a walk through the Boboli Gardens and relaxed a bit. It was HOT here today, so any relaxing outside was not as relaxing as it could have been.

We ended up eating dinner in the center of town. Madelyn ordered pappardelle with wild boar, and I had gnocchi in butter with asparagus. Delish!

Tonight's entertainment was brought to us by Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina. They played a beautiful chamber music program of Vivaldi, Bach, and Respighi. It was really lovely music, and the acoustics in the square, stone courtyard of the Bargello Museum were actually pretty amazing. Perfect setting for chamber music!

Tonight ended with chocolate-orange gelato from Vivoli, followed by Campari and Sodas at a little bar near Santa Croce.

All in all, a spectacular Florentine day.

Really cool pathway in Boboli Gardens

Mystery staircase in Boboli Gardens

Finally catching some shade

View from Boboli

Concert setting in the Bargello

Monday, July 22, 2013

July 22, 2013: "Your Eyes Are Beautiful."

If you read on through this post, you'll "get" the title.

This morning started off pretty slow. I woke up, went to Sant'Ambrogio, and got some fresh fruit and focaccia for Madelyn, who was coming in from a 12 hour night train ride from Germany. She arrived, we ate, visited, and planned our day. Madelyn is a great clarinetist that I had met at the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival last summer, and she is traveling through Europe, doing research and attending a clarinet conference in Assisi. She is with me for three days, and it's my job to be the tour guide!

We headed over to the Duomo, formally known as Santa Maria del Fiore, which is a breathtaking sight. We walked in and took in the art, sculpture, and simplicity/splendor of the inside. Looking up into the dome is overwhelming. First off, it's extremely high, so it's almost difficult to even focus on one thing. (Stolen from Wikipedia:) It was suggested that the interior of the 45m wide dome should be covered with a mosaic decoration to make the most of the available light coming through the circular windows of the drum and through the lantern. Brunelleschi had proposed the vault to glimmer with resplendent gold, but his death in 1446 put an end to this project, and the walls of the dome were whitewashed. Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici decided to have the dome painted with a representation of The Last Judgment. This enormous work, 3,600 metres² (38 750 ft²) of painted surface, was started in 1568 by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari and would last till 1579. The upper portion, near the lantern, representing The 24 Elders of Apoc. 4 was finished by Vasari before his death in 1574. Federico Zuccari and a number of collaborators, such as Domenico Cresti, finished the other portions: (from top to bottom) Choirs of Angels; Christ, Mary and Saints; Virtues, Gifts of the Holy Spirit and Beatitudes; and at the bottom of the cuppola: Capital Sins and Hell. These frescoes are considered Zuccari's greatest work.

Then, we decided to walk up the 414 steps in the bell tower. It was hard! The stairs were steep, narrow, and never-ending. It was so worth the view! We imagined what it was like in the 1700's, building this with no modern technology. Hauling stone up 300 feet in the air- we had trouble just hauling ourselves.

We decided to go to see Offenbach's "Orpheo al Inferno" tonight, which was held at the same outdoor theater as the ballet (courtyard of the Pitti Palace). It was extremely well done, from the sets, to the live orchestra, and the vocalists. I'd never learned about the opera before, so we did some google searching during intermission. It's a great opera and I'd recommend it to anyone!

Before the opera (which started at 9:30pm), we had dinner over in Piazza San Spirito. We ended up at Ristorante Ricchi, which was were Mike and I spent one of our first dinners. They told us it was a 5 minute wait, apologized for the inconvenience, and had the bartender pour us two glasses of Prosecco. Love this country. After a great meal (Madelyn ordered squid ink pasta and clams, which is something that I will repeatedly go back there for!), we went inside the bar to pay the bill. Behind the gelato counter, there stood the same bartender who poured us our Prosecco. He is, in every sense, your classically tall-dark-and-handsome gorgeous Italian. He looks at me, and says (in Italian) "your eyes are beautiful." "Tu occhi sono bellissima." I thought he said "the gnocchi here is beautiful." What does Alley respond with, you ask?

"Oh, I ordered the tagliatelle. It was delicious."

Sunday, July 21, 2013

July 21, 2013: Snoozin' in the Gardens

Today was the hottest day so far in Italy. I know it's bad back at home, but when you're walking uphill in the direct Tuscan sunlight for 30 minutes, it's tough!

I started the day late, and headed over to All'Antico Vinaio, my favorite sandwich spot in Florence. I could eat there every day, and I'm going to have trouble finding a replacement for it once I'm back in B-town. The ingredients are so fresh, and you can see the men delivering the freshly baked focaccia from their shop across the street. Today, I had fresh focaccia, cheese spread, eggplant spread, salame Toscana, fresh tomatoes, and olive oil. Warmed up, this sandwich is pure heaven!

I then headed across the Arno (stopping for frutti di bosco gelato of course) and walked up to the Pitti Palace. I have an Amici Degli Uffizi card, so I can get free tickets for all of the state museums and gardens for the whole year. I walked up to the Boboli gardens and took some pictures. There were a lot of people walking around, laying in the sun, or picnicking in the shade. It was too crowded and noisy for me to sit and read Frances Mayes', so I made the trek over to the Bardini Gardens, which is much harder to find and further away from Boboli. These gardens are serene, and they offer really comfy wooden benches that boast a gorgeous view of the city. I found a bench overlooking Florence, saw Piazzale Michelangiolo to my right, and ended up falling asleep for about an hour. I must have looked like a sight, lying sideways on the bench and sleeping when I could have been marveling at the breathtaking view! I stayed here for about 3 hours, reading, napping, reading, and more napping. The bells of Santa Croce woke me up, and I caught a short video of them ringing toward the end of their "concert." The dissonance and rhythm of those bells is something that literally slows down my pulse and helps me realize that I'm in a very, very special place.

I had a Tuscan home-cooked meal tonight. Francesco and Loredana invited me over to their apartment for dinner. We had pork, Tuscan-style, spiced with salt, rosemary, and garlic. Spinach and mashed potatoes were delish, and we downed a bottle of Chianti Classico. We had great conversation, and I got to play with the bambini again.

This trip is exactly what I needed! I have my friend Madelyn coming over tomorrow for three days, so I get to play Tour Guide again. I love this! She only has 2.5 days, so we are going to wake up early and see the entire city. Madelyn and I met while we were playing at the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival last summer in NYC, and she's traveling through Florence en route to a clarinet convention in Assisi. Looking forward to taking her to Uffizi, Palazzo Vecchio, Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens, Accademia, Piazzale Michelangiolo, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce, Sant'Ambrogio, and San Lorenzo market. It's going to be a fun time for us gals in Firenze this week!

View of the south side of Florence of the hills of the Boboli Gardens

South side view- check out the castle!

I don't know anything about that castle- will do some research tomorrow.

Top of Boboli Gardens

There's Mickey in the distance.

View of the city from Boboli Gardens

Entrance of Bardini Gardens

Beauty.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

July 20, 2013: A Shopper's Guide to Firenze

Okay, here are my directions for successful bargain shopping in Florence. Some of it is obvious, but some points are real lessons I've learned.

When in the market a la Sant'Ambrogio:

Do your best to make friends, and speak as much Italian as you can. Even if it's bad, the locals really appreciate it when you try to speak their language. Many of them know English, so you can at least communicate between your broken Italian and their broken English.
Shop at the same stand for at least one item, such as fruit or meats. Bonding with the people is part of the experience, and trust me, when you're vacationing alone, it's nice to see a familiar smiling face.
Sample as much food as you can. Duh!
Don't over-buy- the market is open every day, and you want your food fresh! They don't do grocery shopping like I do at home (Peapod by Stop & Shop) and buy a week's worth at once. Going to the market is a daily ritual!

When in the market a la San Lorenzo:

You might hate to read this, but if you're a woman, go talk to the men. They love the attention, and usually will give you a cheaper price if you smile at them. Don't judge me.
ONLY carry a limited amount of cash on you. This is for a couple of reasons: Number 1, pick-pockets. Number 2, if you can prove that you don't have enough cash to pay 30E for a cheaper leather purse, they will be so desperate to keep your business that suddenly, that bag is now worth 20E. Happened to me today (I keep 20E in the main part of my wallet, and stash the rest in the change purse part. Get's 'em every time).
Shop the ENTIRE market. Write down prices that other vendors have quoted you on the same items, and use that information while you're shopping at the stand that you really want to buy from. I had three different quotes for a small leather handbag today. 35, 20, and 13. Seriously! All I had to do was tell the 35E guy that someone down the street offered me 13, and I had 'em.
Most important: When they tell you the price, frown, shake your head, and start to walk away. They'll literally run after you and ask you YOUR price. Always give them the lowball answer and you'll end up paying a fair price for it.
Scarves and little things: buy multiples from the same person. They will reduce the price for each if you buy a few!
Jewelry: It's junk here. Go to the Ponte Vecchio for the real stuff that will last forever! You'll spend more, but they're real metals that will always be a keepsake of your trip.
Always know you can get the same product from another vendor (possibly next door), so don't get your heart set on one thing, thinking you'll never be able to purchase it after the guy gives up trying.
Have fun! It's a game.

Masks at San Lorenzo

Hats at San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo Market

Dark skies at the Duomo!

Crazy concert seating set-up in Santa Croce for Roberto Benigni. This dude made my walk home super long tonight. Damn you, Roberto.

Florence has all of my money.

Cool sculpture on Ponte Alle Grazie

Gorgeous Ponte Vecchio at Sunset

Another awesome photo of the beautiful old bridge!

This picture does not do tonight's sunset justice.

Hazy Firenze

Don't let the cranes ruin the picture.

Reading Under the Tuscan Sun under the Tuscan sun

Palazzo Vecchio

Big fish

You'll see the (cough) moderate amount of stuff I purchased today, all for under 75E!

After this long and fun day of eating and shopping, I hiked up to Piazzale Michelangelio and had a cocktail. I am reading "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes while I'm here. I know it's cliche, but I never read the book and heard that it was a lot better than the movie. Only one gelato for today from Santa Trinita: Crema and Dark Chocolate. I had pasta bolognese from a nice little restaurant on the other side of the Arno, with a real tasty glass of vino rosso della casa.

Salute!

Goodnight, Firenze.

Photos from Rome & Gamberale- Enjoy!

Vatican

St. Peter's Square

St. Peter's Basilica

Michelangelo's first signed sculpture. It is behind bullet proof glass now, as someone had come into the church years ago and attacked the sculpture with a hammer. Michelangelo's signature is engraved across her chest.

Beautiful sunlight into the basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

Swiss guard in uniform, at the Vatican gate. Michelangelo designed the uniforms.

Derek and I at Colosseum

St. Peter's Square

Mike and I at Colloseum

View from the hills of Rome

Hills of Rome

Forum

This is where Julius Caesar's funeral was held.

Via Sacra, one of Rome's original roads

Triumphal Arch of Titus

Original seats for upper class

Tunnels which used to be underground. This is where props would be transported, criminals walked through to be publicly executed, and exotic animals would be brought up in elevators to be hunted. The gray vertical structures are parts of the original elevators used for the events.