169 Florence

Day 25, 24-07

Early start today as we said a sad goodbye to Cinque Terre. We decided not to stop for a photo in Pisa and head straight to Florence. Thankfully the stars and trains aligned today and we managed to get to Florence without too much hassle, after a super quick no second transit at Pisa. We are staying at a hostel here which is interesting! So far so good though, I recommend Plus Florence hostel for any travellers after some good cheap accom, and wifi. It’s even decked out with its own pool, disco bar (ha ha ha) and roof terrace bar. We arrived around midday, but since check in wasn’t till 3pm we ventured into town, about 15 mins walk. The piazza close to our hostel is a massive stretch of leather goods markets – it’s absolutely amazing, lines and lines of locally made bags, jackets, hats, as well as a few souvenir and jewellery stalls too. Sneaked a peek at the Duomo (Brunelleschi’s Dome?!?!) which was rather exciting (although my essay from 2 years ago has been long forgotten), the surrounding plaza had a few souvenir stalls but was surprisingly rather peaceful.  We walked up to the Arno River and around the main town centre. There is a larger shopping district here which at a glance looks very appealing… First impressions of Florence – I love! It is a fantastic mix of old and new architecture, and although you know there are lots of tourists here, the main vibe is not that touristy – in comparison to something like Venice, the buzz of international travellers and tourism is toned down a notch which allows you to breathe in the foreign surroundings without getting too distracted. Came back to the hostel and met a new inmate… then went out to dinner – I had found a place with raving reviews but unfortunately we couldn’t find it (fail) but we later found out it was shut on Sundays anyway so that was ok. What wasn’t ok was Gusto Leo’s and their rip of 4 pieces of ravioli main! It was pretty ok… but so teeny. I got a massive gelato afterwards…

Day 26, 25-07

New inmate had been snoring all night (worst. thing. ever) so unfortunately the night was not well slept… we had been planning to see the Dome first thing this morning to avoid long lines (and the lines were LONG) but because of shit sleep we didn’t get up till 9. I had been so excited, I even found my old essay in my emails and read up on it… Anyway, we set off to discover beautiful Florence. Around the Duomo plaza we accidently found a massive indoor market in the neighbouring building! I think it must be the Mercato Centrale. Beautiful set up of pastries, dried cured and fresh meats, pasta, fruit and vegetables – reminded me of amazing times at La Boqueria last year in Spain. Wandered into town to see a couple of famous piazzas – Palazzo Vecchio which lies inside Piazza della Signoria. Piazza Signoria is famous as a sculpture ‘park’, there are many famous sculptures in the square including a rip off of the statue of David (Michelangelo). We made our way to the famous Ponte Vecchio – the bridge across the Arno river famous for housing many fine and pricey jewellery shops. After a quick lunch (Florentine hot dog? Like a sausage roll but the outside is pizza dough, mmm) we kept walking along the river to visit Piazzale Michelangelo – a square higher up which is famous for having a fantastic view over Florence. It was a lot more peaceful on this side of the bridge, a lot less people and smaller roads. The walk up was a lot of stairs, but we are stairmaster 2000s now! And it was truly worth it – such a beautiful view over the river and the city, peering down on the terracotta roofs that define Florence’s style. From here we could see over all of Florence but also to the rolling Tuscany hills beyond. And to top it off there was a fascinating one man band playing. Came back through town and did a bit of shopping, bought the most outrageously colour and priced heels from an Italian brand called Casedei. Also found a cool Italian brand sunglass shop called Bongi! We came back to the hostel for a wee rest up and met our 2 new girls from USA, then set off for dinner again after a pre-snack amazing looking apple pastry, to find the failed restaurant of the night before! We had high hopes. Osteria Ganino’s is in Piazza Cimatori, a wee hidden one a bit off from the main town square Plazza della Repubblica. It is a small cosy homestyle looking restaurant with close seating out in the little square and a few tables inside too. We had a short wait for a table but it was well worth it! I immediately became obsessed with their mustard/brown paper which was used for everything from table clothes to their menus, the ordering sheets and the grease paper under some of the entrees. Me and Nush shared deepfried zucchini flowers (a Tuscan specialty, they are literally the flowers from the vegetable!), she ordered Osso buco (Italian stew with lamb and tomatoes), and I got the home made fresh pasta with mushrooms and truffles. HOMG YUM. Best meal in Italy so far (Gambero Rosso in Cinque Terre second). The zucchini flowers were delicious large morsels, they had a great crispy batter reminiscent of a local fish and chip shop, slightly salty, and the flowers had the slight bitterness of a courgette. The truffle was a pungent aroma and intense and rich taste that flavoured every mouthful. The mushrooms literally fell apart and melted in your mouth, and the pasta was fresh and tasty. Nush’s osso buco was melt in your mouth amazingness of a lamb shank cooked in fresh tomato. Yum yum yum! We decided to go all out and end this fun and expensive day with a fun and expensive meal. Dessert was tiramisu and their specialty cheesecake – which was the most unique and fantastic cheesecake I’ve ever tried! Think Fraser’s New york baked cheesecake, then transform that into an insanely light and fluffier texture – not dense at all, with no citrus flavour but instead a mouthful of cream cheesy or ricotta tinged goodness in every bite. Topped (bottomed) off with the most delish buttery biscuit base and strawberry sauce oozing over the top. HOMG so nom and special.  The tiramisu was also surprisingly light, you got chocolate, a slight  alcoholic whiff and a velvet smooth cream/mascarpone layer. All I can say is, going back tomorrow night!!! What a lovely day.

Day 27, 26-07

Got up early today to try attempt number 2 of the Duomo, solo! After a slightly wrong turn (embarrassing) I made it, and by 9am I was up the top of the tallest building in Florence this time taking in a more close up bird’s eye view of the beautiful city. It was a tough wee climb at 463 steps, but rather exciting. For a bit of it it was just spirally madness, but it was exciting to be climbing inside the actual dome because the brick ceiling was curved in right above your head. The view was amazing from the top, it was different from the view from Michelangelo as this was a lot more close up, right in the middle of it all looking down. I could see the markets and little dome down the road from where we were staying, and also the Santa Croce where Michelangelo’s tomb lies. Met Anushi down the stairs afterwards to join the MASSIVE queue for the cathedral. It is very impressive from the outside, but the inside wasn’t too exciting… Went home through the leather markets and bargained 2 bags down, woop woop! I then had a moment of serendipity (fantastic) – Nush went to this other store while I went back to the hostel to book Uffizi tickets, but unfortunately they had sold out for the day! As this was the last day I was a bit peeved. On the up side I found out there was one night a month which was free, and tonight was the night! Went back into town to meet Nush where she bought a fabulous colourful ring… comforted her with another 5 euro fruit… went home to lazy. Just before 6 we left for Uffizi, perhaps Italy’s most famous art and sculpture gallery. Didn’t have time to read up on it so… but it was pretty impressive, it was started by the wealthy Medici family built in the 1400s and now holds the most important and famous collection of Italian classical sculptures. Afterwards we awkwardly went back to Ganino’s which was pretty awkward. The waiters are a bit weird there. But it was delish all the same. I recommend you all to go there!