Florence and a little Pisa

FLORENCE, ITALY  – Nov 5 –  12
If you ever ask someone where to go in Italy, most people including us will say Florence without skipping a beat. Everything awesome about Italy exists here – Food, Wine, Fashion, History, Art, Peace, Energy. It’s just one of the coolest cities I’ve ever experienced. And Siena, which is considered even cooler to many is close enough for a day trip if you’re short on time.

Every city has it’s rock star and in Florence it is The David. The sculpture is based on the ancient story in which the young boy, David, defeats the giant, Goliath with a sling and stone. The sculpture was started by two other artists before Michelangelo completed the final piece about 80 years later. And it took him four years to do so. It is without a doubt one of the most spectacular pieces of art ever created. At 14 feet tall, David symbolizes the giant that he became for outwitting Goliath. And it also parallels the massive human achievement. Hard to imagine this was a big block of marble at one point. The original can be viewed at the Museo di Academia but there is a replica in the Piazza where he first stood.

Our apartment was a couple miles from central Florence in a nice little neighborhood. There was a grassy area out front that was shaded by trees. Local kids would play pick-up soccer games and elderly couples would stroll through on their evening walks. “Buona Sera” (good afternoon/evening) they would say. On days that we were on a schedule, we would take a short tram into town. Cost was 4.80 euro for 4 tix (Jett is free). A couple times we walked along the Orno river enjoying the waterfalls and Ponte Vecchio bridge as we approached town centre. Florence is magical at night. Tons of people out strolling, shopping, eating, drinking – great energy. One evening we stumbled across a vintage carousel in the center of a piazza.

 

When Mike and Myla were here 15 years ago, we discovered a wonderful little family run restaurant called Il Latini. We stood in line in an alley talking to another American couple while wine and cheese were tray passed. Inside, we forewent the menu and just let the waiter bring course after delicious course and all the wine we could drink. It was amazing. So we did it again with the kids this time and ended up so stuffed nobody could move. Worse than Thanksgiving food coma. But the service and environment were perfecto!

Mid-week we took a day trip to Pisa. We were hungry upon arrival and the tower is a good 20 min walk from the station. So we stopped and each had a ‘Piece of Pizza in Pisa’ just so I could write that in the blog. 🙂 We first saw the tower from about a quarter mile away and it is crazy how much it leans. Apparently it began leaning during construction and was later straightened slightly and stabilized so that it won’t continue leaning. But once there it was exactly what you’d expect if you’ve ever googled it. Dozens of tourists looking hilarious as they pose in front of the tower. And we did as well – I mean that’s why we were there. So we spent a good hour taking pictures and making videos for World School. We grabbed some cafe and gelato afterwards then caught the train back to Florence.

Later in the week we spent an afternoon in the Uffizi museum. What was great about this is that we finally found the Rick Steves audio guides and listened to this as we walked the museum. Highly recommend this as he explains everything in basic terms, inserting human as well. Kicking ourselves for not doing this at The Louvre. There is some outstanding art here including tons from the renaissance and many interpretations of Venus including one of my favorite’s The Birth of Venus.

Since we blew our food budget at Il Latini, we decided to cook at home the rest of the week. There was a local supermarket about 10 mins walk so we went there often. Made crustless quiche one night. One of the benefits to staying at Airbnb’s is the access to a kitchen. It saves money, is a creative outlet for Mike and gives us a sense of home, no matter where we are. On the last night, Mike ran out to grab a bottle of wine and stumbled across a little fresh wine market called Ortofrutta Grassi. Gianluca Grassi greeted me with smiles and a booming “Buona Sera”. I grabbed a bottle each of bianchi and rosso and he then said “I also have these” pointing to 10 tap handles of fresh, local Tuscan wine. “Si!” I said with a grin. So he filled two bottles for me. He was excited to hear I was from California and that he would like to visit. I said Italians all want to visit California but Californians want to come to Italia. We laughed, it’s so true.

Florence is pure awesomeness. And now we head to Siena.