Florence
/View the Florence gallery here
DAY 1
We pulled into Florence around 1:00pm on November 9th, and walked 10 minutes through our ethnic neighborhood to our AirB&B- A studio with a tiny kitchen and bathroom. Smelled funky, and the only window looked out into a "courtyard" that was probably 4ft by 4ft of cement. Therefore, it was very dark in our room and you could never really tell what time of day it was. Our top quilt and pillows had grease stains or something on it, so we re-made the bed with clean sheets, I boiled water with cinnamon sticks I found in the cabinet, and then everything felt a little cleaner and a little less stinky. Not the best AirB&B thus far, but will do the trick.
We did some research on places to explore on our first evening in Florence, and headed towards Duomo. Duomo's exterior is so exquisite with its white and green marble details and hints of red. Plus it's totally massive.
We went to a pizza shop in the main square and got a couple slices and enjoyed them while watching MTV music videos being played on the shop's TV. We reminisced of the days watching "P Diddy's Making of the Band: Danity Kane" on TV in the early 2000s. Too good. After lunch we walked to Palazzo Vecchio and the famous Florence shopping bridge covered in jewelry kiosks, Ponte Vecchio. The sun was beginning to set, so we sat along the river's edge watching young rowing/ crew team members not-so-elegantly practice their form. Then, we noticed a riverside restaurant with outdoor seating next to us, Signorvino, so we went there for inexpensive, but yummy, white wine.
We left and continued to wander the streets, getting our bearings for the following days of sightseeing. We stopped to rub the snout of Il Porcellino ("piglet"), the bronze statue of a boar, and fed him a coin to ensure good luck and to return to Florence someday!
Around ten-of 7:00 we were ready for apertivo, so we went into a recommended spot named Sei Divino. We ordered a drink and were given nuts and olives. A few minutes later we noticed that the women next to us received a plate of bruschetta. We waited for our aperitivo to be delivered to us because, after all, we were paying customers during aperitivo time. More customers came in and were presented with the bruschetta plate. We realized that because we came in just before 7:00 we weren't considered customers anymore, unless we bought another (too expensive) round of drinks. Not worth it. Feeling jaded, and hangry (hungry + angry) we decided to go to a new restaurant, Negroni, another recommended spot for aperitivo. The sun was down at this point, and we walked through the sparkling streets with warm windows, yellow street lights, and lights lining the river. It was very romantic, and helped us to brush off our hanger.
We crossed over the river and rounded the corner excited for outdoor seating under Christmas lights, as our recommendation had described. Closed! Negroni was closed! The romance of the walk here was gone and the hanger was back. Unable to think of where we could go, we wandered back to Signorvino (which was just down the street) like dogs with our tails between our legs because we had been there only a few hours ago and failed to find a new trattoria to enjoy.
We were happy to be back at our new "spot," though.Their apertivo looked amazing and their menu was well priced. We had mini sandwiches and mouth-watering olives in olive oil, then ordered a delicious plate of bruschetta with three different spreads: a parsley and garlic puree, an artichoke spread, and shallot spread. Whoa. Yes.
Take that stupid Sei Divino- Signorvino does bruschetta way better than you, so we wouldn't have wanted yours anyways! Humph.
DAY 2
On Tuesday, November 10th, we woke up late because our room was so dark that we didn't realize it was already 10:00; it looked like it was 3:00am in our room- pitch black. For breakfast we decided to go to Marcato Centrale, which was steps from our door. It's an awesome indoor market with various vendors selling produce, nuts, meats, sandwiches, wines, oils- pretty much anything! I got a huge organic apple and trail mix and Mike got an amazing roast beef sandwich with pesto and spicy sauce- out of this world good. Outside, men sell leather jackets, leather purses, leather belts, scarves, and souvenirs. "Hey man why are you wearing that turtle jacket? Let's get you into a nice leather jacket. And you're a tall lady, you could pull off this long leather one," one of them stated, trying to promote their business. We kept walking. If there's one thing we've learned by now it's to ignore anyone promoting their products, whether its a restaurant selling their cheap menu, gypsies selling selfie sticks or roses, or trinket kiosks. Just keep walking.
As we got closer to Duomo, the streets were closed off and had crowd control fences up. Oh, right, Pope Francis is in town. We walked into the plaza, and people were already waiting for him to come out and make his appearance at 11:30. We had intended on seeing Duomo's interior today, but had to cross that off the list, so we decided to join the crowds and wait for him to appear. The bells chimed at 11:30 signifying the end of mass, and simultaneously the crowd began to hum loudly and the selfie-sticks went soaring into the air.
We could barely see the Pope as he made his way from the doorway to the Pope Mobile, but quick glimpses were really fun and cool! Once he drove out of sight, we were essentially trapped for 15 minutes as people tried to navigate the slim walkways and herds of on-lookers.
Next on our agenda was Galleria dell Academia, home of The David by Michelangelo. David is SO so so so sooo stunning. He obviously commands the room because he is a giant, but the detail of his body iscompletely mind-blowing. What a genius Michelangelo was-- making David's hands and other features larger knowing that the statue would be viewed from below, and thus would look proportional to the viewer. His hands really blew me away: the veins, wrinkles, and realness. The marble also makes the skin on his legs look veiny. I can't even describe it. And I'll never understand how Michelangelo created him out of a single piece of stone. I can't even make play dough resemble a fish.
We walked through the rest of the museum, learning how plaster molds are created to recreate statues, looking at lots of religious paintings, and finally at old musical instruments. Having been baffled by David, I can honestly say the rest of Galleria dell Academia was a bit underwhelming, but none the less impressive. We, of course, appreciate the art and the mastery of skill needed to create art-- especially these pieces we see in museums. At the time David was created, in the early 1500's, most art was of religious subjects. We just, personally, prefer different subjects and styles like landscapes, impressionism, and realism. The few hours we spent in the museum drained us, so we sought out more cheap pizza for an energy boost. We walked through town and, evidentially, another Pope Francis sighting was taking place because people were lining the streets. We looked up his Florence itinerary, and he was due to be driving through town on his was from having, "lunch on a plastic plate with plastic utensils and drinking tap water with a group of 60 underprivileged locals." "What a guy! Good ol' P. Francis!" we joked. We saw him drive by, another fun sighting of a man who is so loved in Europe, so the morale around the city was high, which is always exciting.
We found a little pizza joint that was situated near Casa de Dante, as well as the palace in which the Mona Lisa was painted! After lunch, we went to an information kiosk to book an excursion for tomorrow, then went back to the AirB&B to book our next destination (Perugia!), play Rummy, and enjoy a bottle of wine before dinner at a rip-off restaurant close to our apartment. We didn't even take our own advice about ignoring the salesmen! Hunger suppressed our better judgements and we had halfway descent food for a gourmet price. Fools. We've realized we always have to make one restaurant mistake in every city. It's a pattern.
DAY 3
Back to the indoor market for breakfast, and also discovered that they have an awesome cafeteria upstairs filled with amazing restaurants and a cooking school.
We wandered around for 30 minutes or so, then went into the center of town to tour the Duomo. There are tons of hidden balconies that you can walk along up in the dome, which has an unbelievable mural by Giorgio Vasari and (mostly) Frederico Zuccari. Besides the breathtaking dome, the interior of the Duomo cathedral actually isn't as impressive has the exterior! We learned that the designer/ engineer, Brunelleschi, had intended for the entire ceiling to be painted like the inside of the dome, but it never came to be! There is a beautiful mosaic by Gaddo Gaddi above the cathedral's main door, as well as huge paintings, but it surprisingly wasn't as intricate or breathtaking as other churches we've toured over the past month and a half, which from the outside of the Duomo I was expecting an intricately designed interior to match.
Across from the Duomo is the Baptistery, which have the famous three sets of gilded bronze doors. The doors on the East and North entrances are the most famous because Brunelleschi (the Duomo engineer) and Lorenzo Ghiberti entered into a competition put on by the Florentine Republic to create a new pair of doors for the East side entry (facing the cathedral), which is a huge honor. Like the original doors facing the Cathedral by Andrea Pisano, these doors had to be Gothic style and seamlessly tell the Sacrifice of Isaac story. Ghiberti, who was my age at the time (which is crazy!), won the competition because his style was more Gothic and more easily told the story. Many years later, Ghiberti was, again, commissioned to created a set of doors for the North entry. He created a slightly different style of door, creating 10 panels (rather than 28) to tell stories from the Old Testament. These doors were such a masterpiece that instead of being hung at the North entrance, his first pair of doors were moved there, and these doors were hung at the honorable East entrance- "The Doors of Paradise." Unfortunately, the doors hanging today are replicas because the originals had flood damage and are in the Museum of the Opera del Duomo, but the craftsmanship is brilliant, anyways.
From Duomo we walked to Piazza Santa Maria and sat in the square reading and writing for 30 minutes or so. Then, at 2:30, we walked to the bus station because we booked a wine tasting in Chianti (I can't break my stupid English habit of pronouncing it CHEEanti, instead of the proper KEEanti), an area in the Tuscan region! We paid a pretty penny, but we couldn't be in the Tuscan region and not do a wine tasting! We chatted with a group of 3 Australian retirees traveling Europe for 7 weeks. They had just come from the Almalfi coast, which they raved about, and also told us about getting pick-pocketed in Naples- my nightmare. By the time they were able to cancel their credit cards, the pick-pocketer had already gotten $6k out of their accounts. Ugh!
As our bus with 15-20 others drove through the Tuscan region, the landscapes opened up into rolling hills covered in olive trees and vineyards. It was a gray day (the only one we've had in so long) which was a bummer while we were out in the countryside, but gorgeous none the less! We arrived at our first stop, Riseccoli Vineyard, where our host taught us about the family business, which is 100 years old this year, and brought us into a nice tasting room. An extra visitor joined our group- one of the twelve cats they have on the property to hunt the mice that like to eat the grapes!
I was a little distracted as the host taught us about the wine because I was vying for the cat's attention, but we learned all about Chianti wine. In order to be considered a Chianti red, it must be 75% Sangiovese, then it can have the black rooster symbol. Mike and I loved the Chianti Classico red (which has to be more than 75% Sangiovese) that we tasted paired with salami and cheese, so we bought a bottle to later enjoy. Before we hopped back on the bus, we enjoyed exploring the grounds and getting attention from our cat friend.
Next, we went to Molino Vineyards. Unfortunately it was so gray and the sun was already setting by 4:00 that the beautiful view wasn't captured to its full potential. We went inside where our next host gave us the same lesson about Chianti red wines, then raced through the tasting. Everyone was essentially chugging their current taste to keep up with her pouring the next wine. Mike and I were a bit disappointed by the tasting portion of the excursion and wished we had done more research on which wine tasting to do, but it was worth the price just to get out into the wine country of Tuscany.
Our final stop was visiting the small town of Greve, which was a charming small square with one or two cool shops, a handful of restaurants and a couple cafes. "It would be cute dressed up for Christmas," we agreed, but spending 45 minutes in this tiny square was a bit too much.
Back in town we got to-go burgers at the central market where a three piece band was covering the band Florence and the Machine (ha! While in Florence!), and went back to the room for an early night after a long day of touring and another on tomorrow's agenda.
DAY 4
November 12th we did a day trip to visit Pisa and Lucca. As we walked to the train station soldiers were parading through the streets, which we later realized is because November 12th is Italy's version of Veterans Day. We took an hour train ride to Pisa on a beautiful fall afternoon. When we got into the city, we were confused why Pisa has a "skip it" reputation because it's really pleasant! We wandered down the quiet and lovely streets on our way to Pisa's obvious main attraction.
The leaning tower is actually REALLY leaning. The typical tourist shot doesn't do it justice. When standing in front of it, you look to the left and the base has one or two foundation stones showing, and to the right 6 to 8 are exposed. Around the tower are beautiful green lawns, which during this amazing blue-bird day, are a beautiful contrast to the white buildings. It's probably one of the most beautiful Italian piazzas- Piazza Dei Miracoli/ "Field of Miracles"- due to the grass versus concrete grounds surrounding the gorgeous architecture. But, like most beautiful European lawns, no walking/ being on allowed, so our wish for a lawn nap was out of the question. Just as you would expect, all of the tourists (us included) are standing at varying distances posing as if they're holding the tower up. We felt like complete and total silly tourists, but you have to take this classic picture! The tower is literally defying gravity! The tower actually began to lean not too long after construction started in 1173 because they didn't account for the weight of the tower on the soft ground they were building on. Construction paused twice due to wars, the first pause lasting 100 years, and if construction hadn't paused the tower would have fallen. But thanks to the 100 year intermission the tower was able to settle. Unfortunately, we didn't climb it because it was too expensive, but we heard from a fellow traveler that the final leg is a bit sketchy and tight as you swirl up to the top.
The building next to the tower is the duomo/ Cathedral of Pisa (which the leaning tower serves as its belfry) and next to that is the Baptistery. Both buildings, which were built in the late 1000's and early 1100's, dwarf the leaning tower, and actually both the cathedral and baptistry are leaning, too, but not as evidently. All the buildings in this piazza are made of white marble, so they are all impressive and gorgeous in their own way. The baptistry is a round building that has tons of arches and pillars with crazy details. The grounds between any cathedral and a baptistry are considered 'paradise'- like Florence's Duomo and baptistery.
We were only in Pisa for an hour or so because, truly, there isn't much to do or see besides the monuments in the Field of Miracles. In this sense I can understand the "skip it" reputation that Pisa has obtained, you wouldn't need to stay overnight, but these monumental buildings in the Field of Miracles aren't only beautiful, but so unique! And if you enjoy aimlessly wandering around pretty streets that resemble Floridian or Portuguese architecture, then I think you would enjoy Pisa as much as we did.
On to Lucca! It was a half-hour train ride to Lucca from Pisa, so in no time we were transported into a completely different-feeling city. From the station you walk up to a massive brick wall that contains the city. The circular wall is just over 2.5 miles long, and cozily held within it's circumference is the cutest medieval town.
You can't walk more than 60 feet down a tight cobblestoned alley before finding yourself in another adorable piazza. Unfortunately, due to the Veteran's Day holiday, almost all of the shops were closed and the people of the city were home, so we weren't able to truly understand what Lucca's energy is like in full-force. But, at the same time, it was really cool to feel like two of the only people in this old, medieval city. We finally found an open pizzeria and shared a pie, while being charged a cover fee, a splitting fee, and a sitting outside fee.. What was supposed to be a €7 "cheap lunch" turned into an expense. Regardless, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon strolling through the empty streets and along the city wall's edge, which was the picturesque fall scene. We sat on the wall under golden falling leaves until our 4:30 train back to Florence.
DAY 5
Our final day in Florence went from having no plans and kind-of boring into one of our most fun and silly days! We walked through the city's streets, which we've become familiar with at this point, and ended up finding our way to Pilazzo Pitti.
We unexpectedly bought tickets to view the palace's costume gallery and Boboli Gardens. On our way to the costume gallery, we walked through the unbelievably grand hallways of Pitti Palace. With wide hallways, extravagant stairways, and glittering chandeliers we finally reached the costume gallery. I thoroughly enjoyed the costume showcase; beautiful women's clothing from the late 1800s to early 1900 time periods. Such intricate, handmade detail; all outfits I would LOVE to try on!
After the clothing show, we headed to the palace's "backyard"/ the Boboli Gardens, which are a maze of Cypress trees, fountains, and gardens. As we walked through the empty garden passages listening to Norah Jones radio, Adele's new single "Hello" came on and we organically began videotaping a music video. When we realized how hilarious and fun this activity was, we started looking for the perfect scenery for each 10 second segment. We concluded my cover of "Home" and not long after, Michael Buble's song "Everything" came on, which was perfect for Mike's music video debut. By the end of our hour of filming music videos, dancing and singing through the gardens, we were crying with laughter. 100% a memory that we will never forget. We shared our musical masterpieces with our friends via SnapChat (shameless plug: follow @Mikesilv for live video updates). Such an amazing pick-me-up from an otherwise average day of touring.
The night was spent at- guess where?!- Signorvino enjoying the view, wine, and a scrumptious plate of apertivo treats- a romantic and relaxing final evening concluding a wonderful stay in Florence.
***
11/24/15
Since we last posted, Paris experienced devastating terrorism attacks on November 13, 2015. It's really hard to wrap our heads around. I can't imagine the fear, sadness, and anger that Paris, the witnesses, and the victims friends and families are experiencing. It's absolutely heartbreaking. And now, there is a worldwide travel advisory. We want all of our friends, family, and readers to know that we are being vigilant and aware of our surroundings. Tomorrow we travel to Nice, France to celebrate Thanksgiving and Mike's birthday before heading towards Spain. We've absolutely noticed heightened security, and we expect to have our tickets and passports checked at the border. We have no intentions to change our travel itinerary for our final month of travel, and we still like to believe that amongst all of this ugly news that the world is a beautiful and safe place.
With all of the unfortunate news the world has been experiencing lately, it's important to remember everything that we have to be thankful for. As Mike and I took the train from Rome to Genova (where we're currently catching up on blogging...), we had a moment to sit and reflect. We feel so thankful for our safety, our health, and our ability to be on this amazing trip. It has been such a life changing, fun, and eye opening experience. We get to wake up and see incredible places, meet wonderful people, and learn and grow both individually and together.
We may not be able to share this Thanksgiving holiday with our loved ones (one of our favorite holidays) at home, but this year we feel especially thankful for our absolutely amazing friends and our incredible families that are unbelievably loving, supportive, and generous. We have so much to be thankful for all the time, but especially right now: our travel dreams have been coming true and unfolding each day, our health and happiness is at an all time high, and for the good health and happiness of all those that we're so lucky to have in our lives.
Wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! If you're reading this, we are thankful for you and your support and love you lots!
Cheers!
Em and Mike
