Florence day 2, part 2: baby lamb, Boboli, paper
Following Saturday’s market, we had a jam-packed day that went something like this (unfortunately, I don’t remember the EXACT order).
We walked and did a little more shopping with our hosts. The whole city feels like a big outdoor market on the weekends, with stands selling everything “Italiano” — olive oil, truffles (my new obsession), aperitivo, vino, and lots of leather (belts, jackets, purses, gloves). I bought a delish truffle “relish.” I want to put it on everything — bread, pasta, my finger.
Here's the crew...walking.
A neat shot from our walk. A carousel in front of this old archway on our way to lunch.
Then, for lunch.
This was the wine Dan picked. It was super yummy. Remember it.
After some seriously delicious pizza and vino, we had to re-energize with coffee. Here's Lindsay and her tiny little macchiato. This is unlike anything you get at Starbucks.
We continued strolling, stopping at a few paper stores. Florence is known for stationary and marbled paper — something I did NOT know until Lindsay, my paper-obsessed travel buddy, informed me of this interesting piece of trivia.
Here's a woman actually creating marbled paper. This was later in the day, but the demo fits better here in my story.
Then, onto leather jackets. In 2010, I regretted not purchasing one. I had just started my business and was a lot more careful with my spending. Fortunately, el presidente and Terese were regulars at this particular store, and we got their discount. It was almost too good of a deal to pass up (we’re talking, they knocked off like 160 euros). Jeff agreed I made the right choice: “You couldn’t have afforded NOT to buy that jacket.” My thoughts exactly.
Here are Lindsay, Terese, and I sporting our purchases later in the day. I sort of talked Lindsay into getting one (Terese helped), but she was clearly pleased she had caved. She will look soooo cool going to concerts in this authentic Italian leather, undoubtedly impress her new beau, and just look far more sophisticated and trendy than any of her U.S. colleagues and friends (especially in central NY).
Here we are with Terese. She's wearing a previously purchased jacket, too.
I was a little upset when I found out my jacket was made of baby lamb. Don’t hate me, animal-loving friends. The lamb was already dead and probably organic. And he’s really soft. (Sorry). A tip for those of you considering a jacket — don’t ask what it’s made of.
After we dropped our goods off, we continued on to more touristy sight-seeing things.
The basilica of San Lorenzo, the oldest church in Florence and where the famous Medici family is buried.
Same church, San Lorenzo, different view.
The inside courtyard was also very beautiful, with an orange tree planted in the middle.
San Lorenzo courtyard area. Orange tree. Go 'Cuse.
From here, some more museums and then on to the Boboli gardens behind the famous Pitti Palace, an excessively opulent home to the Medici family (we went inside on Sunday, so hang tight).
I realize I didn’t take many pics from the inside of the gardens, but the views of the city and of Tuscany are amazing. Here are just a few photos.
View from Boboli Gardens.
Tourist shot!
A view of olive trees from the back end of the Boboli gardens.
Not sure what to say about this one.
This somewhat concluded our day. We had a fab dinner later that evening at Ristorante la Giostra, where there’s a human menu recited from the owner who models his style after Jack Sparrow.
More to come, but for today, I am outta time. More on the inside of the Pitti Palace and my day trip to Pisa tomorrow!
Ciao.
Firenze day 2, part 1: A whole pig
The markets in Florence are amazing. Don’t expect a full-size grocery store in an Italian city. Instead, you have specialty shops and stands and markets. Local cheese, fresh pasta, ripe fruits and veggies, and Italian honey.
Saturday morning, the four of us ventured first to the big open-air market (if that’s what you call it), which also had an indoor portion that I think you can shop in most of the week. Here are some shots from Mercato di Sant’Ambrogi.
I’m a huge fan of the colors.
Fresh produce. And squash blossoms (I think), which they cook on the Food Network all the time but don't sell in the U.S., at least anywhere I can find.
Love this woman's expression.
Here's an entire pig, which gets roasted and then sold off by the body part you happen to crave. This stand also sold the most delicious Gouda cheese, which was more like butter than anything else. So good.
That’s all for the market. I broke my promise about the leather jackets and Boboli Gardens. Stay tuned til tomorrow for Firenze day 2, part 2.
Arrivederci!
FIR-EN-ZE, Day 1
Now that you’ve heard about the journey, let’s talk destination.
Lindsay has friends with an amazing guest house in Florence, just in the shadows of the famous Duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore). The Duomo might be one of the most magnificent structures I’ve ever seen. When Jeff and I visited in 2010, we spent hours just circling it at night, vino in hands, constantly awestruck.
Duomo and tower.
The Florence Duomo.
The door of the Bapistry immediately next to the Duomo. Depicts scenes from the Bible.
Clock inside Duomo -- tells time by hours until sunset.
The inside of the Duomo is actually quite plain (yet incredibly beautiful), except this magnificent ceiling, which has been created on the inside of the dome, itself.
Terese, our hip hostess with the mostest, took us to numerous sites on Friday — the day we arrived. One of our first stops was “the David” and other key attractions at the Academia Gallery. We happened to run into a professional tour guide and personal friend of our hosts. Using his language skills, he got us into the museum quickly (Terese’s pass helped too) and spent at least an hour providing an in-depth art history lesson.
(An aside: Tour guides in Italy are unionized and licensed, and there are heavy fines for performing this job without the right papers. Police will actually stop and ticket. Crazy!)
Some tidbits about the Biblical David. Michelangelo (“M”) sculpted him at around the age of 25 (sometime between 1501 and 1504), and in his interpretation, he catches the moment David sees the Goliath — sling in hand and ready to attack. Other famous artists before “M” had sculpted David, post-battle, with the head of the slain enemy. “M” was the first to capture the expression and emotion immediately prior to attack.
Here's a picture of the 15-year-old David. He CLEARLY does not looks his age. (This pic was taken on my first trip to Italy just moments before I was scolded for using a camera).
We also learned from our guide that David is not just marble, but he is actually politics. His left-facing stature is a warning to the Medici family: stay in Rome.
A fun fact! Michelangelo was actually gay. Are you surprised? Look at the bod on this sculpture. He also lived until the ripe age of 89, more than double the life expectancy of his time.
I am constantly amazed at how prolific these artists of the Renaissance were. M has about 48 known sculptures, plus paintings, plus architectural design work. He did have assistants/employees, though. They helped him on the sculpting side by chiseling away chunks of marble and getting pieces down to the basic shapes, but the man, himself, always did the fine finishing work — creating the muscle tone, smoothing away the rough edges, etc.
Travel/sightseeing tip — The Academia Museum is the only place (or one of the only places) where you can see the unfinished works of Michelangelo, which helps demonstrate the process of the carving and sculpting. As you face the David and walk through the gallery of M’s work, one of the sculptures on the left has Michelangelo’s signature — a sketch of his face — which he used to mark his marble. I didn’t dare take a picture this time around.
Anyway … enough with the writing. Here are a few more shots from our first day in Florence.
Lindsay making music on this water-filled bowl thingy. The Academia Gallery also has a large instrument exhibit, including some of the first pianos ever made.
It was rainy when we arrived but turned into a great weekend. Here are Lindsay and Terese, right around the Ponte Vecchio bridge. I love all the umbrellas in the background. Warning though -- people here are dangerous with umbrellas (and just in general) and abide by no commonly accepted rules of order. Very UN-German.
A famous sculpture, the Rape of the Sabine Woman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rape_of_the_Sabine_Women). This is a huge deal in the art world because of the elaborate sculpting work, especially the imprint made on the woman's lower cheek. This is also one of the first sculptures created with the intent of being viewed from all angles.
In the evening, we enjoyed dinner at one of our hosts’ favorite restaurants, and Terese’s husband (we’ll call him “el presidente,” or just Dan) joined us for dinner. I had lasagna, of course, because it’s my favorite meal on the planet. It was truly the bomb. (I’ll try to get the name of the restaurants and post later).
Stay tuned for day 2 photos and notes tomorrow, featuring tips on purchasing leather jackets, a photo tour of the Boboli Gardens, a great indoor/outdoor food market, and more.
A European Adventure 