My Fatty Fortieth - The Firenze Edition

Panoramic view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo Square)

Firenze?  That's what I asked myself the first time I saw it listed as the destination on our train ticket.  It's Italian for Florence, and that's where we spent the second half of our Italy vacation a few weeks ago.  Just as phenomenal as Rome, only a little more low key and laid back.  I liked Florence a little bit better than Rome.

We took the high speed rail from Rome to Florence, and it was classy travel, to say the least!  I don't know why we don't get on board with high speed rail here in the U.S.  It was downright pleasant.

High speed rail from Rome to Florence - And snacks!

It was basically sit back, recline in your practically La-Z-Boy chair, & watch the Italian countryside whiz by the windows.  And they had train attendants come around with snacks and drinks.  Can't  beat that!  I was loving all the rambling fields of sunflowers we passed by on our way.  They were so vibrantly yellow and it was hard to believe how far the fields sprawled across the landscape.  Ahhhh, Tuscany!

Sunflower fields as far as we could see

We arrived in Florence after about an hour and a half or so on the train, and checked into
The Grand Hotel Baglioni, which from then on we called the Grand Budapest Hotel.  If you saw the movie, it makes sense.  If you didn't...moving on.

The front of the Grand Hotel Baglionil & the square with Santa Maria Novella church in the front of the hotel

Now this is a city that's made for wandering.  Every corner we turned, we discovered something new.  Either a piazza we hadn't seen yet, a fountain, a church, a statue -  we seemed to bump into something interesting every time we went exploring.  We also got lost about 75% of the time we left the hotel and had to yank out the phone to find our way back.  But the beauty of getting lost all the time is that it creates the perfect scenario to experience things we never would have seen otherwise.  Win-win.

Some of the piazzas, fountains and street art we saw

The heavy hitter in the center of Florence is the Duomo.  It's the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, and it's the main church. This was one we marveled at every time we walked by it.  How could you not?

Il Duomo di Firenze

What a gorgeous basilica

We loved the Central Marketplace, too.  It had the freshest, most diverse selection of vegetables, meats, fish, wines, olive oils, spices...you name it, the Central Marketplace had it.  And that was just indoors.

The outside of the marketplace was corridor after corridor of booths selling all manner of leather goods, jewelry, clothes, etc.  It was fun to explore, and I may or may not have walked away with a few souvenirs.

Hubby haggling for high quality olive oil and the wares of the central marketplace

We had our first dinner in Florence at the rooftop restaurant at the hotel we stayed at, and the view was spectacularly jaw-dropping.  We walked up the stairs and casually glanced over the balcony without having any idea of the view we were about to be blown away by.  It can only be described as the city of Florence at its best:  Bathed in that perfectly warm sunset light that highlighted all the shades of amber, auburn and orange from every rooftop.  It was stunning.

This night won the prize for most beautiful view at dinner. 

One of the main squares in Florence, the Piazza della Signoria, (and so many of the other areas we strolled through) didn't leave you hanging in the gawking at historical beauty department:

About the only statue I recognized was Perseus and Medusa's head, which of course
made me think of the 1981 version of Clash of the Titans.  "Release the KRAKEN!!"

I mentioned this in my Roma post, but it's worth repeating.  One of my favorite things about Italy is the ubiquitous piazzas.  They're everywhere, and everyone seemed to gather there, especially at night - sitting on benches or steps, chatting, eating gelato, and relaxing for the evening.

The orchestra was set up under these arches, in front of all the statues

There was one night after dinner in Florence where we stumbled upon a full orchestra performing at one of the main piazzas, Piazza della Signoria.  We heard the music wafting through the night air, and when we turned the corner, there they were performing for a huge, appreciative crowd.

It was so memorable - strolling the piazzas, eating gelato, and then unexpectedly discovering a live orchestra playing!  Might have been the perfect Italy evening.

Another great piazza moment:  We were sitting on the steps at the Duomo right around sunset, when I glanced over and saw a man get down on one knee and propose to his girlfriend right in the middle of the piazza.  At that moment, when the crowd collectively realized what was happening, a huge burst of applause and cheering erupted from all the people milling around.  What a memorable moment for that couple, and it was kind of fun for us to witness.

Hubby buys gelato, part 8?

All throughout our trip, I found myself snapping pictures of anything that struck me as noteworthy.  The building and statue designs, art & renaissance architecture are all so unique and interesting. - So as you can imagine, I took a lot of pictures.  Almost 500, to be exact.  I know, overkill.

And have I mentioned the gelato?  Good Lord, the gelato.  We had it every day.  Full disclosure, sometimes twice a day.

My favorite was Pistachio, and hubby was digging the berry flavor, but we branched out and experimented with all different flavors during our many gelato runs! Combining the melon and the coconut?  Magic!

One of the structured tours we did in Florence was a winery and vineyard tour through the heart of the Chianti Classico region.  That was a fun day!   A driver took us about a half an hour outside Florence into the heart of Tuscany to two different wineries that produce Chianti Classico. - Fattoria Montecchio and Casa Emma.  Such beautiful countryside and exactly what you would imagine the Tuscany region would look like.

Fattoria Montecchio

The grounds of Fattoria Montecchio

This was where we ate dinner at
Casa Emma.  Not too shabby!

We learned all about DOCG wines, which stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita - it basically just means the producers followed the strictest regulations possible to make that wine.  The sommeliers explained what goes into making Chianti Classico, and of course we enjoyed the best part - tasting the wines.

At Casa Emma, we had a traditional Italian dinner overlooking the vineyards right around sunset.  It was spectacular!  From the food and wine to the gorgeous view, to the Tuscan sunset, you couldn't ask for more.

Our Tuscan sunset at Casa Emma Vineyards

Now I realize I'm once again teetering into "this post is way too long" territory, but I can't leave out the statue of David!  We saw him on our last full day in Florence, and he was beautiful.

Hubby and I debated whether his expression was determined, slightly fearful, or a combination

I have a distinct memory of walking into the room where David was, turning to the left, and checking out all of the unfinished statues Michelangelo carved that were on display. - I didn't realize I had walked into the area where David was, and when I turned around and spotted him at the very far end of the room from where I was standing (at the perfect angle and perspective) I lamely said, "Wow." But sometimes I think that's the perfect response to something that truly does wow you.  He really is quite the specimen. 

Mandatory here's me with David...no wait, here's ME with David photo ops.

We did a lot more during our time in Florence, but it's just too much to share here.  I'll leave you with a Firenze food porn collage.  It was all as delicious as it looks!

All right, here goes starting at the top, from left to right:  Roasted eggplant stuffed with fresh mozzarella, spaghetti carbonara, Chianti Classico, bruschetta and salami, pork shank, steak fillet, pear ravioli, assorted salami, proscuitto, bruschetta, artichoke & olives, another steak fillet, more bruschetta (that was my go-to snack, the tomatoes are unbelievable there), Peroni, orchiette with eggplant, beef carpaccio over bruschetta with mushrooms, raspberries, and some kind of kick ass cheese, and last...a chocolate tort on one of those rare nights that dessert wasn't gelato.  Whew!  I did say it was fatty, didn't I?

Ta-ta for now.

The Duomo at night

The bridge over the Arno River

My Fatty Fortieth - The Roma Edition

"Let's take a walk, see what we see."

That's basically how every day started on our vacation in Italy last week.  It was a phenomenal trip to celebrate my 40th birthday, and I won't soon forget all the amazing meals, wines, architecture, history, art, and Italian nonsense we experienced!

We didn't do a whole lot of scheduling, we kind of wandered around and discovered each locale on our own terms.  Except for a few structured tours, we pretty much flowed the whole time.  Oh, and we ate.  And drank wine.  And ate.  And drank some more wine.  And ate some more.  Hence the "Fatty Fortieth."  My kind of vacation.

Fontana del Tritone (Triton Fountain) in Rome

First of all, everyone in Italy smokes.  Okay, not everyone, but it certainly seemed that way.  Apparently the smoking causes cancer lesson hasn't had much of an impact over there!  Italian Surgeon General, anyone?

And the men are huge fans of the skinny jean.  And loafers.  We joked and said:  "Hipster, gay, or Italian?  You decide."  Obviously, we're joking around, for any sensitive Nellies out there.  It's also the land of the tiny car.  Mostly Fiats.

I guess I should move on from my social commentary and get to the fun stuff.  Italy is amazing.  We started off in Rome and stayed there for 3 days, and then took the train up to Florence.  Rome was all hustle and bustle, with the most stunning old world architecture to gawk at around every corner.  Rome?  One word:  classy.

Moses Fountain in the Piazza San Bernardo was across the street from the hotel where we stayed

Fountain near the Coliseum

One thing that struck me was the sheer size of all the historical buildings, statues, basilicas, etc.  Everything is freaking enormous.  So larger than life that it starts to mess with your sense of perspective.  Especially at the Vatican!

We hit all the usual suspects while we were in Rome:  the Coliseum, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, The Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and a big chunk of all the piazzas and fountains that dominate them. And that's not even scratching the surface of all there is to see there.  You'd have to live there for a while to really get it.

One of my favorite parts of both Rome & Florence was the piazzas and fountains.  Piazza is essentially Italian for square, and most traditional Italian cities and towns are laid out with them all over, usually with a big fountain or statue of some kind in the center.  They're like little mini-town centers, dotted all over the city.  And they were the place to be after the sun went down!

Our nightly routine didn't take long to establish itself.  Dinner at the late (for us) hour of around 10PM - way out of the normal five-thirty, six-ish dinner time of non-vacation world - and then getting gelato and strolling around the piazzas at night.  One of my favorite piazzas in Rome was Piazza Navona.  I just loved the fountains, and it was such a large open space.  This picture below is a collage of the fountains in Piazza Navona:  Fontana del Nettuno (Fountain of Neptune), Fontana del Moro (Moor Fountain), and the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers).  They were all so grandiose, and stood in front of a huge, ritzy looking former palace, but the palace now houses the Brazilian embassy:

The nightly gelato-piazza wandering routine begins!

The Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica and square were pretty memorable too.  Talk about impressive.  I can't even begin to share the amount of pictures I took (way too many) - especially at the Vatican, but here are a few good ones:

 

The picture above is the ceiling that ran the entire length of the hallway in the Gallery of Maps in the Vatican Museum.  It was so ornate & detailed, you couldn't even fathom all of the scenes depicted.  All you could do was stare up in awe.  Which is pretty much what you're doing the entire time in Rome anyway.  It's spectacular on all levels.

Vatican Church, inside and outside

Just to give you some perspective, check out the photo above on the left side.  It's the tall archway near the altar inside the Vatican Church.  That archway is 10 stories tall.  And it's inside.  Crazy.  St. Peter's Basilica and Square conformed to the whole "everything is enormous" theme Rome's got going on:

St. Peter's Basilica.  How 'bout that zoom on my new camera?  I was in love!

St. Peter's Square, Vatican City

St. Peter's Square, Vatican City

The fun little Osteria we found to wait out the rain.
See?  Everyone smokes!

After we toured the Vatican, we unexpectedly got caught in a torrential downpour with no umbrella, and ended up trying to seek shelter in a little archway down one of the streets around Vatican City.  Didn't really work out very well!

Eventually, all soaking wet and squeaky shoes, we found our way to a little Osteria (Italian for tavern, I learned) and ordered a few beers and some snacks.  It was a perfect way to (sort of) dry out and wait out the storm. 

During our few days in Rome, we also spent some time checking out the Coliseum, the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon.  All impressive! 

Hubby & the Coliseum and the Arch of Constantine

The Pantheon was one of the highlights of all the historical buildings we saw in Rome.  I mean hell, everything was a highlight!  There isn't anything we did that I wouldn't recommend or didn't like.  Except for the Trevi Fountain.  I was looking forward to seeing it because it's the largest & grandest of all the fountains in Rome, but unfortunately, it was under construction.

The sad, under construction Trevi Fountain

It was covered in scaffolding and didn't have any water in it - basically a construction site.  I was a little bummed, but what can ya do?

According to one of our tour guides, Rome is in a constant state of refurbishing and restoration of the ancient ruins.  So I guess it's inevitable that some of the sites will be in the middle of restorations during a visit.  Oh well.


Here are a few shots from the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon:

The Pantheon was yet another enormous structure, and my first thought was that the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. was obviously inspired by it.  Probably obvious to some, but it only occurred to me once we were standing in front of the Pantheon!

Another memorable experience in Rome was wandering across the bridge over the Tiber River to explore an area of town called Trastevere.  It was a winding, cozy little section of the city that had all sorts of hidden alleyways and streets.  Now's about time for a few Trastevere photo collages:

I LOVED the bookshop in the main picture of the above collage.  Of course, all the books were in Italian, so we didn't go browsing, but I just loved the whole feel of it.  It just screams Italy to me.  The other pics are of the hubby crossing the bridge over the Tiber River into Trastevere, some very Italy-ish street scenes, and lunch at Papa Re Trattoria Pizzeria.  Giant Peronis & the best bruschetta I had the whole trip!

We also wandered around Piazza Di San Maria in Trastevere:

This is the oldest fountain in Rome

Rome's oldest bar

I'm teetering into the realm of way too long of a post, but hey - we saw a lot!  Alright fine, it's already way too long of a post.  I'll try to wrap it up!

One last fun experience to share. - We went to Rome's oldest bar, but it looked more like a parlor than a bar.  It was called Antico Caffe Greco.  We had a little pre-dinner glass of Chianti and checked out some of the decor before we headed out for yet another off the charts meal.

There wasn't a single bad meal the entire trip.  Italians know what's up in the kitchen!  I haven't even shared the extent of all the scrumptious food we ate.  I could go on and on about all the deliciousness, but I really need to wrap up this monster post.  Here's a little sum up some of the delicious food we had in Rome:

Pasta and tomato theme, perhaps?  Hubby was so happy with his
Proscuitto & melon dish.  Sounds wacky, but it was fantastic.

I'll try to be less long-winded in my next post about the Florence part of our trip.  More food, more wine, more wandering...and more wine.  Stay tuned for the Fatty Fortieth Part Due!  See how I did that there? 

Ta-ta for now.