A Tale of Two Firenzes
Adam and his Balsamic Steak
With our car troubles behind us, we hopped in our trusty steed to continue the last car-portion of our honeymoon journey. Soon after leaving Antibes we were saying “au revior” to France, and “ciao” to Italy. Driving through the Italian Riviera should be an Olympic sport. The narrow road whips around corners and through long, dark tunnels. Huge trucks switch lanes rapidly and fast Italian drivers, who lack the gentility of French drivers, speed up behind you, impatiently swerving while waiting for you to move over. None of this mattered though, because soon we were seeing the majestic peaks of the Appennino Mountains signifying our close proximity to our first stop in Italy– Florence.
A Pizzaiolo Working at Gusta Pizza
Once we got to Florence, however, our wonder and excitement at finally arriving in Italy turned into frustration and anxiety as we tried to navigate the extremely narrow, crowded, and poorly marked streets on the way to our hotel. It took us about three laps around the city, several turns down streets we were absolutely unauthorized to be on, and literally driving into the San Lorenzo market, narrowly missing a few leather purse stalls, before we finally found Hotel Orto de’ Medici- a very cool restored palace located only a few minutes walking distance from the Santa Marie del Fiore in the Piazza del Duomo. Our relief at finding our hotel was short-lived, however, because soon after we stopped the car in the middle of Via San Gallo a taxi was honking at us to get the hell out of the way. We quickly gathered everything we could out of the car and literally threw it in the door of the hotel. Our arrival was announced to the reception by the clanging of three bottles of St. Emillion wine as they fell out of the bottom of their box and crashed onto the marble floor of the foyer. Thankfully, it turned out our honeymoon luck hadn’t ran out and the bottles stayed in tact.
Ponte Vecchio
After finding our room we were again back in that damn car- it was time to take it back to EuropCar and say goodbye. We’ll spare you the details, but just know that it took us around 1 hour to drive 2km to the rental car shop. Oh well. The car finally back where it belonged, we set off on our own four feet, feeling much more capable of navigating the old streets of Firenze, and free to go wherever we pleased.
Our first meal was at Acqua al 2, home of the balsamic steak that Adam has been pining after since his last trip to Florence 5 years ago. We are happy to report that it was just as good as he remembered – thick sau
Gelato from Vivoli
ce that looked like chocolate but smelled like delicious balsamic vinegar coating a perfectly cooked filet mignon. Sophia had Parmigiana di Melanzane (eggplant parmesan) and it was fantastic. While French cooking is good, they just don’t know how to do vegetables as well as the Italians. The sauce was fresh and light, the eggplant was tender, and the mozzarella and parmesan rounded out the dish perfectly. Mmmmmmm. With each bite of our meals the stress of our car experience earlier in the day melted away. It was a perfect start to our delicious venture into Italian cuisine.
View From Michaelangelo's Hill
Florence is a town of contradiction. While it is literally built on top of its own history and tradition, its thronging crowds can make a stroll down Firenze’s beautiful cobblestone streets feel like the line for Splash Mountain at Disneyland. The amazing art history such as the Duomo, David, and the Ufizzi Gallery inspire visitors from all over the world to come and form huge crowds, distracting the visitor from quietly enjoying the art. The swelling desire of the visitors to find “true Italian cuisine” has prompted countless hack artists to create restaurants with uninspired tourist menus in 6 languages. With patience, these contradictions can be navigated and the town can be enjoyed tremendously. When we asked for a nicer hotel room, we got one. When we looked for a way around the Duomo lines, we found one, when we ignored the pushy hawkers with their 6 language menus, we found a beautiful hand written (in Italian) one page menu at a local trattoria. We ended up finding a wonderful and warm city beneath the touristy exterior.
Santa Marie Duomo
We got up early on our second day and headed out to see Michelangelo’s David statue. The statue was awesome but one of our favorite exhibits in the Accademia Gallery was the musical instruments exhibit. We saw harpsichords, Stradivari violins, baroque clarinets and a few pianofortes as well. Next up was the supposed “best sandwich” shop in Florence, which all the “Italians” frequent. Seems that another venue fell victim to the “Lonely Planet Phenomenon”. We arrived to find a bunch of other Americans, Lonely Planet guidebooks in hand, looking around for the locals. The sandwich was excellent though, with a lot more care and fillings than the typical Italian sandwich (which are about 90% bread).
Sophia in her Modesty Tissue (Front)
With the sandwich craving temporarily relieved, we headed over to see the famous Duomo: Santa Marie del Fiore. The line looked about an hour long, so we headed over to the Giotto’s Campinele next door. For a 6 Euro fee we found ourselves hiking up to a beautiful view of Florence without the lines or hassle of the Duomo. Actually we did end up visiting the Duomo itself, just before closing when the lines were gone. The most memorable aspect of this visit was the fact that Sophia’s shorts were deemed irreverent due to their shortness, and thus she was forced to wear what is essentially a huge green napkin around her body (see picture). How they found this dress to be appropriate we can’t imagine, but here it is in all its glory. In another church she found a way to make even the green napkin scandalous, pictured here. The joke is on you, Mr. Security Guard.
Sophia in her Modesty Tissue (Back)
Adam was surprised to find a change at the famous Ponte Vecchio. For years, lovers have been upholding the tradition of bringing a padlock to the bridge, locking it to the central statue, and throwing the key into the murky green waters of the Arno River. To our surprise, all the locks have been removed, replaced with a completely unromantic sign promising a hefty fine to any would-be padlock lovers. Alas, we left no padlock.
The rest of our tour in Florence included a trip to the beautiful Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens (yes, like the pizza), the Basilica St. Croce, a random Italian beer festival, dinner at Tratoria Cibreo (thanks Larry, we loved this place), a breathtaking view of Firenze from Michaelangelo’s hill, amazing pizza at Gusta (ate there twice), a visit to the interesting Farmacia di Santa Novella, and gelato at Vivoli that lives up to its reputation. Each stop and each bite brought us closer to the “real Florence”, which we will remember as a warm and romantic stop along our trip.
At Home in Florence
Glad you got your steak. The first time around it was a pleasant surprise and the pic looks almost exactly the same as the first I got to take. Sophia’s “Modesty Tissue” reminds me of having to give Krissa my zip-off pant leg so she could enter the Vatican in her tank-top.
What fun you guys are having!
Vivoli had the best pistachio gelato when Jay & I were there 3 years ago!!
And I love the modesty tissue – looks like a hospital gown. I can’t believe they actually had those on hand … too funny.
Well, it seems that your trip continues to be wonderful. (When you are back I can tell you some of my car experiences in Europe, as thrilling as your, especially a night on Crete.) I am glad that you like Cebreo, but most important is Florence itself, which is my personal favorite.
Keep having a great time and we will see you soon.
I am still kicking myself for not getting the pistachio! At least the rice and the lemon cream flavor were both delicious