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!
Three countries in one daaaaayng
Jeff thinks this headline is cheesy, and ignore the fact that “dang” is spelled wrong. But, seriously, on Saturday, I was in three countries on one day without ever once stepping foot in an airplane. That’s pretty DAYNG cool. (Jeff was busy flying to Israel, Greece and France. Lame.)
Saturday, one of the pilot’s wives (Deb) planned an outing, complete with brown rented minivan, to a glass-blowing exhibit on the outskirts of Aachen. I’m pretty sure “outskirts” meant Holland because we definitely entered a new country — new language, new roadsigns, and a new way to say ‘thank you’ (dank u, as opposed to danke in German). The presentation was in Dutch, but we had a nice bilingual gentleman sitting among us who shouted out quick English translations, much to the dismay of a whiny adolescent in front of us, who just thought we were a bunch of noisy Americans. The one thing that really stuck with me is that once the glass is blown, it cools in a 500-degree oven. Not sure if that’s Fahrenheit or Celsius. Either way, it’s pretty smoky. Oh, and the artisan made a glass horse in about 15 seconds. Incredible.
Here he is, spinning a platter.
The glass work was beautiful, and I bought myself a 35 Euro vase off the clearance rack. It matches the new counter-top in our to-be apartment. I love that on the bottom you can actually see the scar left from the glass-blowing tube. Makes it feel more like art, and less like something I bought from the HomeGoods section of TJ Maxx (called TK Maxx in Deutschland, by the way).
On the way to the “outskirts of Aachen,” I moved from minivan to Mini-Cooper with Nancy, Gail and Zukhra. Our GPS took us off-track about seven times, and I was thrilled to hear one of the FedEx wives say “shit.” License to swear! I’d been worried I was the crude one of the bunch. I didn’t hear too many F-bombs, but I look forward to breaking that ice.
Following Aachen, we made our way to the top of a large hill, from which you can see the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. On the way, we got lost again (surprise!), and we actually ended up in Belgium. All the road signs turned to French, there were a lot more horses, and of course, thank you is said “merci.” Thanks, Ms. Henderson, for the four years of French.
Here’s another great view — not sure the country — we found along the way to never-Nederland.
We eventually arrived and met up with the other families. From “the hill” was a lookout tower, from which you can see the three countries we’d already been lost in. Snapped this photo with Gail, and behind us is Holland.
We also partook in more meat, french fries and beer, while some of the kiddos got lost in the labyrinth maze, also at the top of this hill.
We loved the beer from lunch so much, we went back to Belgium to a small grocery store, where we bought more Duvel, cookies, and of course, Belgian chocolate.
Then, it was back in the school bus and home to Germany.
That concluded Saturday. More on Sunday later …
A European Adventure 