Next stop: Florence. . .

“Visiting Florence was like attending a surprise party every day.”

                        -- Jennifer Coburn, We’ll Always Have Paris

I’d like to tell you that we hopped off that train from Rome that we were on when I last wrote and walked straight to our hotel in Florence, our first stop on our week-long Tuscan getaway.

But I can’t. Because sometimes even seasoned travelers like us can get themselves turned around. Or  in other words, lost.

Sina Vill Medici Florence Italy

The Scout, had searched and selected the hotel, in part, because of it being easy walking distance from the train station. The other reason was that the Sina Villa Medici was housed in a magnificent once-upon-a-time family home in Florence; it one of those hotels that virtually ooze history as you walk their hallways.

Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy

It IS an easy walking distance if you don’t arrive after dark and take a wrong turn exiting the station as we did. Our rather long, circuitous route added a good 20 minutes to our walk but it also took us through some interesting areas like Santa Maria Novella and its expansive piazza, pictured above.

So with suitcases rattling on the uneven cobblestones we took turns asking for directions at two other hotels along our way. We finally arrived at our hotel with a much needed paper map in hand (given to us by a kind hotel desk clerk of whom we'd asked directions). I should note our cell phones don't work in Italy making Google Maps useless.

Bags in room, glasses of Italian wine in the lobby bar and it was time for the vacation to begin:

First stop:  David

Michelangelo's David at the Accademia, Florence, Italy

We visited Florence once – long ago – and didn’t waste precious sight-seeing time standing in the blocks-long line of people waiting to see David, Michelangelo’s marble creation carved between 1501 and 1504. By the time we made this trip we’d smartened up: from home we'd made reservations and purchased on-line tickets. We simply walked up to the door at the appointed time and entered. In fact, we arrived two hours early to pick up the tickets with a plan to return at the appointed time and instead they allowed us in early.

Another piece that caught our eyes - Accademia, Florence, Itay

It was as amazing as everyone over the centuries has said it would be.  But then we found much of the artwork to be amazing and always ponder why one particular item like David or Mona Lisa get all the press while other amazing pieces don’t.

Aimless Ambles

Street art near our hotel - Florence, Italy

With the one thing on our ‘to do’ list done, we ambled aimlessly through this city sometimes called the ‘Athens of the Middle Ages’, home to Dante Alighieri and the birthplace of gelato. 

Florence street scene

We walked past the city’s popular tourist destinations, the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio among them, but found just everyday street scenes to be more interesting than those tourist attractions which had already drawn thousands of visitors and were overrun with tour groups.

Street art Florence, Italy

Florence, while immensely interesting, isn’t what we’d call charming. We find its streets and architecture rather severe – and that isn’t a bad thing. It lacks the romance of Venice and the allure of Rome.  Serving as the capital of Tuscany, its metropolitan population back in 2013 was nearly 400,000 inhabitants. While rather stark, its many rather drab and mundane streets lead to piazzas, palazzos, and basilicas; many of which can take your breath away. Or as Jennifer Coburn says in the opening quote, a surprise party every day.

The Way to a Tourist’s Heart is via the Stomach

Cheese stuffed ravioli with zucchini blossom sauce, left,  and wild boar ragu on the right.

So much food and so little time, we told ourselves time and time again as we walked past tempting establishments offering some of the 120 varieties of pasta that exist in this world. We found them to be reasonably priced at less than 10 euros a serving. (Of course pasta here is meant to be just one part of the culinary feast, usually eaten between the starters and the main meat or fish course. Dessert follows - oink!). We had plenty with the pasta alone.

Free tidbits with purchase of a drink - an Italian tradition

What we’d forgotten about Italy was that bars often set out a mini-buffet of appetizers in the early evening that are served for free with the price of a drink (in our case an Aperol Spritz for 5 euro and a glass of wine for 4 euro).  This spread pictured included bruschettas, small sandwiches, pasta salad and pizza.

A Trip to the Market

Mercato Centrale, Florence, Italy

No trip for us is complete without a trip to a municipal market; those sprawling marketplaces that sell a bit of everything from food and drink to clothing and household items.  Florence’s Mercato Centrale has gotten a bit on the upscale side since our last visit with far more wine bars and restaurants than farmers and fish mongers hawking their food items. It still can send you to sensor overload within minutes of entering it.

Cooking school Mercato Centrale, Florence

What we hadn’t expected to find was a large, modern cooking school right in the midst of the market. Although when you think about it, it is a perfect fit.  And this school isn’t to train professional chefs, it is run by them to teach people like us how to cook Italian foods!  You can choose to take a class or watch a demonstration and then dine with the chef.  To learn more about this place check it out on their website, http://www.cucinaldm.com

Artwork above doorways was as interesting as in galleries, Florence, Italy

Had we  more time in Florence, I just might have signed up for a class but it will have to wait until ‘next time’ as we were heading to Cortona the next day. Made famous by Frances Mayes in her “Under The Tuscan Sun”  two decades ago, it is continuing to draw visitors like us to it. We hoped it wouldn't be over-run by book or movie fans. And we were hoping to see some of that 'Tuscan Sun' as it had been rather rainy in Florence. . .

But that's a tale for next week!  Thanks for being with us on this stop on our week-long Italian getaway.  As always your time and interest is most appreciated.  Safe and happy travels to you and yours~

Linking this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Best of Weekend