Day 2: Florence
We sleep late.....not getting up until 9 am. I hope that that will take care of any jet lag. I guess that means that the bed is fine and the noise level is low....or it might mean that we were exhausted from the trip.
The sky is overcast but there are signs that the sun will break through. The temperature is comfortable…no need for a jacket. We head out for breakfast...heading east away from the Ponte Vecchio and the tourist area. Walking on the Via de' Bardi (in back of the apartment) we pass not one bar until we hit the the Porta San Niccolo neighborhood...a busy commercial district. We pick the Bar Rifrullo at random (but later find that it is listed in many guidebooks), order our cappuccino, tea and cornetti and sit down at one of the outside tables. This is a real neighborhood gathering spot in the morning.....locals greeting each other warmly, sitting and talking, reading papers.
We then head back to the apartment...en route, we explore the city gate (now in restauro) and look up at the famous Florence view point, the Piazzale Michelangiolo.. We walk back along the river...there are two nice parks plus some very fancy palazzi with large gardens and a small museum that we plan to return to.
After a brief stop at the apartment, we head out in the other direction--towards the Pitti Palace and the more commercial section--to explore and locate food shops, restaurants, etc. We also need to buy some provisions for the apartment...paper goods, water, etc. We walk along the very picturesque old streets in the Oltrarno district and pass some of "landmarks" from our first trip to Florence in 1993--the first trattoria we ate at (Angiolino, where we think they gave us a hard time for not ordering a full meal) and the place we had our first breakfast that year (Marino's--well known for their cornetti.) We stop for a cornetto to see whether they are still good…they are. We also happen by a plaque noting that this area was the location of one of the old Jewish neighborhoods in Florence. We stroll through Piazza Santo Spirito and stop to sit on the steps of the church to watch the scene. Going back towards the apartment, we pass through the very pretty Piazza della Passera, which is very peaceful...even though it is steps from the very busy main street leading from the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace. There are a couple of restaurants there that we will try during our stay.
We finally buy some provisions at the small shop closest to our apartment.....a crowded little store with some fruit and vegetables, dry goods and dairy products and bring them back to the apartment. After a short rest (it now almost 1 pm), we decide to go to the Museo San Marco in the afternoon and stop for a sandwich on the way. We make our way across the mobbed Ponte Vecchio (we usually try to cross at the next bridge..it is quieter..down the river—the Ponte delle Grazie) and head across the center of Florence. We stop at I Fratellini, a Florence instiution. It is a sandwich cart that is located in front of the American Express office on Via dei Cimatori. I have one of their famous “lampredotto” sandwiches—stewed cow stomach with salt, pepper, gravy, a green sauce and a hot red sauce served on a fresh, crusty roll. Diana opts for the “porchetta”. Mine is delicious…hers just okay. We eat standing up on the ledge that surrounds the cart….very ingenious. On the way to the San Marco, we pass the famous gelateria Carabe run by Sicilians. The gelato is subtle but very good….peach, plum, and coffee.
The Museo di San Marco is housed in an old convent whose most famous residents were the monk and painter, Fra Angelico, and the monk and political leader/revolutionary of the 15th century, Savonaraola. (D. His fundamentalist preachings sound eerily familiar to contemporary fundamentalists. )The convent is now set up as an art museum displaying many of Fra Angelico’s most famous works. His paintings are beautiful and very accessible as well as incorporating many of the important artistic developments of the day and he was very influential on subsequent artists of the Renaissance. Many of the paintings were altarpieces for churches around the city but a number of the frescoes decorate the walls of the monks’ cells on the upper floor….in many cases, they were the only decoration on the walls and served to help the monks meditate on their religious beliefs at night. There is also an interesting exhibit set up in the cells occupied by Savonarola—his desk and chair, his clothes, stick for self-flagellation and his books – margin notes in his Bible. The other noteworthy painting in the museum is one of the Last Suppers of Florence, this one done by Ghirlandaio.
For the trip back to the apartment, we hop the small electric bus. Although I don’t yet have a bus map, I figure out from the route signs that the Bus C will go close to our apartment. It takes a circuitous route through the eastern part of Florence and we get off just across the river from the apartment and walk the rest of the way. When we arrive at the apartment, I realize that Bus C actually passes right in front….I didn’t recognize the name of the piazza that was shown on the bus route (Pizza Santa Maria sopr’Arno).
We hang out in the apartment resting up before dinner. Since it is Saturday night, we think it might be smart to make dinner reservations. The first place we call (I Quattro Leoni) is full but the second, the Osteria de’ Benci located just across the bridge, can take us—at an outside table—at 8 pm.
It is about a ten minute walk back to the restaurant and the night is very pleasant. The Osteria de’ Benci is bustling and the young wait staff is very energetic. The menu is somewhat quirky…some traditional dishes and others more imaginative—like “drunken spaghetti”—cooked in red wine, olive oil, and garlic. We pass on the most of the imaginative….Diana opts for a “maccheroni alla gricia” (pasta tubes with guanciale, pecorino cheese, and pepper), a Florentine steak and roast potatoes. I order a pasta dish recommended by the waiter…..fusilli with guanciale, cheese, garlic and hot peppers (very spicy), a grilled scamorza cheese on a bed of radicchio and a dish of spinach. Everything is excellent—the cheese goes well with the bitter radicchio, the steak is rare and tasty, the pastas are both well cooked and very flavorful and the spinach is garlicky and great to eat. We have a red wine from the Maremma (southwestern Tusany) called Micante…it is quite full bodied and goes well with the food. Diana has a raspberry tart for dessert which she thinks is terrific. We enjoyed the meal—the bill came to Euro 80.00 (steak is not cheap) but it was a good value.
We make it back across the Arno without difficulty and sit around reading and writing until we go to bed.
The sky is overcast but there are signs that the sun will break through. The temperature is comfortable…no need for a jacket. We head out for breakfast...heading east away from the Ponte Vecchio and the tourist area. Walking on the Via de' Bardi (in back of the apartment) we pass not one bar until we hit the the Porta San Niccolo neighborhood...a busy commercial district. We pick the Bar Rifrullo at random (but later find that it is listed in many guidebooks), order our cappuccino, tea and cornetti and sit down at one of the outside tables. This is a real neighborhood gathering spot in the morning.....locals greeting each other warmly, sitting and talking, reading papers.
We then head back to the apartment...en route, we explore the city gate (now in restauro) and look up at the famous Florence view point, the Piazzale Michelangiolo.. We walk back along the river...there are two nice parks plus some very fancy palazzi with large gardens and a small museum that we plan to return to.
After a brief stop at the apartment, we head out in the other direction--towards the Pitti Palace and the more commercial section--to explore and locate food shops, restaurants, etc. We also need to buy some provisions for the apartment...paper goods, water, etc. We walk along the very picturesque old streets in the Oltrarno district and pass some of "landmarks" from our first trip to Florence in 1993--the first trattoria we ate at (Angiolino, where we think they gave us a hard time for not ordering a full meal) and the place we had our first breakfast that year (Marino's--well known for their cornetti.) We stop for a cornetto to see whether they are still good…they are. We also happen by a plaque noting that this area was the location of one of the old Jewish neighborhoods in Florence. We stroll through Piazza Santo Spirito and stop to sit on the steps of the church to watch the scene. Going back towards the apartment, we pass through the very pretty Piazza della Passera, which is very peaceful...even though it is steps from the very busy main street leading from the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace. There are a couple of restaurants there that we will try during our stay.
We finally buy some provisions at the small shop closest to our apartment.....a crowded little store with some fruit and vegetables, dry goods and dairy products and bring them back to the apartment. After a short rest (it now almost 1 pm), we decide to go to the Museo San Marco in the afternoon and stop for a sandwich on the way. We make our way across the mobbed Ponte Vecchio (we usually try to cross at the next bridge..it is quieter..down the river—the Ponte delle Grazie) and head across the center of Florence. We stop at I Fratellini, a Florence instiution. It is a sandwich cart that is located in front of the American Express office on Via dei Cimatori. I have one of their famous “lampredotto” sandwiches—stewed cow stomach with salt, pepper, gravy, a green sauce and a hot red sauce served on a fresh, crusty roll. Diana opts for the “porchetta”. Mine is delicious…hers just okay. We eat standing up on the ledge that surrounds the cart….very ingenious. On the way to the San Marco, we pass the famous gelateria Carabe run by Sicilians. The gelato is subtle but very good….peach, plum, and coffee.
The Museo di San Marco is housed in an old convent whose most famous residents were the monk and painter, Fra Angelico, and the monk and political leader/revolutionary of the 15th century, Savonaraola. (D. His fundamentalist preachings sound eerily familiar to contemporary fundamentalists. )The convent is now set up as an art museum displaying many of Fra Angelico’s most famous works. His paintings are beautiful and very accessible as well as incorporating many of the important artistic developments of the day and he was very influential on subsequent artists of the Renaissance. Many of the paintings were altarpieces for churches around the city but a number of the frescoes decorate the walls of the monks’ cells on the upper floor….in many cases, they were the only decoration on the walls and served to help the monks meditate on their religious beliefs at night. There is also an interesting exhibit set up in the cells occupied by Savonarola—his desk and chair, his clothes, stick for self-flagellation and his books – margin notes in his Bible. The other noteworthy painting in the museum is one of the Last Suppers of Florence, this one done by Ghirlandaio.
For the trip back to the apartment, we hop the small electric bus. Although I don’t yet have a bus map, I figure out from the route signs that the Bus C will go close to our apartment. It takes a circuitous route through the eastern part of Florence and we get off just across the river from the apartment and walk the rest of the way. When we arrive at the apartment, I realize that Bus C actually passes right in front….I didn’t recognize the name of the piazza that was shown on the bus route (Pizza Santa Maria sopr’Arno).
We hang out in the apartment resting up before dinner. Since it is Saturday night, we think it might be smart to make dinner reservations. The first place we call (I Quattro Leoni) is full but the second, the Osteria de’ Benci located just across the bridge, can take us—at an outside table—at 8 pm.
It is about a ten minute walk back to the restaurant and the night is very pleasant. The Osteria de’ Benci is bustling and the young wait staff is very energetic. The menu is somewhat quirky…some traditional dishes and others more imaginative—like “drunken spaghetti”—cooked in red wine, olive oil, and garlic. We pass on the most of the imaginative….Diana opts for a “maccheroni alla gricia” (pasta tubes with guanciale, pecorino cheese, and pepper), a Florentine steak and roast potatoes. I order a pasta dish recommended by the waiter…..fusilli with guanciale, cheese, garlic and hot peppers (very spicy), a grilled scamorza cheese on a bed of radicchio and a dish of spinach. Everything is excellent—the cheese goes well with the bitter radicchio, the steak is rare and tasty, the pastas are both well cooked and very flavorful and the spinach is garlicky and great to eat. We have a red wine from the Maremma (southwestern Tusany) called Micante…it is quite full bodied and goes well with the food. Diana has a raspberry tart for dessert which she thinks is terrific. We enjoyed the meal—the bill came to Euro 80.00 (steak is not cheap) but it was a good value.
We make it back across the Arno without difficulty and sit around reading and writing until we go to bed.
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