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The morning started as any day we move on to the next city does, get up, have Nescafe in the room, shower and head for the train station. We got to the station a little earlier than we needed, but that just meant we had time to figure out where to stand, you don’t have a lot of time to get on and off the train when it is not originating in the city you get on. Our train this morning started in Torino and was ending in Naples. This mean we needed to get on and of quickly with all of our luggage. The train trip from Bologna to Florence was a quick 35 minutes through a lot of tunnels and some nice country side.
When we arrived in Florence the station was packed, most people seem to be leaving Florence for the weekend. We had to weave and bob our way through the crowd. Jerry went to the bathroom and I went to luggage for the luggage storage location for Tuesday. I will explain on Tuesday. We typically would have walked to the hotel from the train station, but there are three of us and we have a
lot of luggage between us. I know we should learn to pack lighter, but as hard as we try it never seems to happen. Anyway, we got a taxi and were off to the hotel.
We were fully expecting to just store out luggage and head out for our first day of sightseeing. To our surprise both of our rooms were ready and we were several hours before check in time. This is a three-star hotel, but it is every bit as nice as the hotel in Bologna and that was a four star. It is a very small hotel 9 rooms total. It was originally a monastery, in fact part of the building still is a monastery and shares the main entrance. You do need to walk up a short flight of stairs to get to the elevator, but it wasn’t that bad.
After unpacking and a quick freshen up, we were off for our first day. First stop was lunch, Christina had a specific place she wanted to go, so we walked there first. The line was a little long for Jerry and me, but Christina really wanted to try this place so she stayed and
we went to a small hole in the wall recommended by the woman at the front desk at our hotel. The panni were phenomenal. Only two brothers worked the counter, hence the name of the place Il Fratellini, it has been there since 1875. They could certainly pump out the panni. I had a Finocchiona e crema di formaggio e rucola (Tuscan Salami with fennel and cream ricotta cheese and arugula). Jerry had Salame e Carciofi (salame and artichokes he added a tomato.) They were both served on a nice warm crunch focaccia bread. They were the best panni of the trip. While we were eating our panni, Christina texted us and said she was just going to head back to the hotel and then do her own thing. She did not want to climb to the top of the Duomo.
After, the panni we walked to the Piazza del Duomo. This is the main square of Florence where the famed Duomo is located. The actual name of the church is the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Our mission for the day was to clime the 463 steps to the very top. You have to reserve a specific
time ahead of time, you cannot just show up and get to make the climb. It was hard work, and I did need to stop a couple of times, it ended up not being as bad as I thought it would be and the view from the top was worth every drop of sweat.
The first part of the assent is not to bad lots of steps but not narrow. This takes you to the inner circle of the church dome, so you then walk around the base of the dome before you start the harder part. When you make the climb to the top, you must walk up a narrow and tight spiral staircase and it isn’t really possible to take a break because there are people directly behind you and you can’t let them pass. If that isn’t bad enough when you get to the final approach, people are coming down as you are going up and it is very narrow and very steep, you are actually walking the curve of the top of the dome, you’re in the attic so to speak. The last 10 steps are almost straight up and very narrow. When you come
out into the daylight you are staring at a beautiful view of all of Florence below you and beyond in to the Tuscan hills. I was tired but we made it. Then I saw a woman in her 70’s with a cane, if she could make it I sure as hell better make it.
We spent about 15 minutes admiring the view and taking pictures, then made our descent. While we were climbing Christina found her way to the San Lorenza market and was doing some shopping. We did not connect with here again until dinner.
After we came out of the Duomo, we walked around the rest of the piazza, we were not up for another climb to the top of the campanile (bell tower) but we did go in to the Battistero, a smaller chapel dedicated to baptism. From there we walked to Piazza della Repubblica, the roman center of town in ancient times from there we walked through Mercato Nuovo (new market) this is a market under the open-air loggia built in 1551. But it is really known for the bronzed Porcellino (little pig). We didn’t see it so we kept on our tour.
The next walk by was the Piazza della Signoria where the Galleria degli Uffizi is located. We went to this museum the last trip and opted out this. It is a huge museum and takes quite a while to get through, one section is dedicated to Leonardo Divinci. We did admire the replica of the David which is out side and the Loggia dei Lanzi which has several statutes including Cellini’s famous Perseus holding the head of Medusa.
Continue on we walked by the Palazzo Vecchio the building of city administration now and then. Between the Palazzo and the Uffizi is a walk way up high, this is the Corridoio Vesariano, the Medici’s not wanting to walk among the common folk, had this build so they could get from the offices to their palace across the river.
That concluded the day’s walking tour. We headed back to the hotel, stopping at a store to stalk up on water and wine for the room. Upon returning to the room, was as the person at the front desk for ice and wink glasses, it took him some time to find the ice but the wine glasses were easy.
Jerry knows were both are so we won’t need to ask in the future.
Aside: As I am typing this entry the bells of the city started ringing for a solid 5 minutes. They seem to love to ring the bells here, more so than any other city we have been in.
Back in our room, we relaxed had some wine and got ready for dinner.
Il Latini
Dinner for the night was at a place Jerry and I ate at on our first visit to Florence. That time, there was no menu, they just brought you food, you only had to choose your entrée. This time they had a menu and then to family style options a 40 euro or 60 euro per person. We went with the 60-euro family style menu. Follows is all we were served:
*Tuscan Ham, Salami, prosciutto
*Crostini with chicken liver pate
*Caprese
*Vegetables and bread soup
*Tomato and bread soup
*Penne with meat sauce
*dish of the day – Gnocchi with a rabbit sauce
*roasted vegetables
*roasted potatoes
*Florentine Steak
*Ricotta cake
*Biscottini
*unlimited Chianti
*limoncello
We did not go hungry. Some of the dishes that deserve commenting on further:
Gnocchi – This tasted like your grandma’s chicken and dumplings but it was gnocchi with a rich rabbit sauce, the gnocchi itself was fluffy like a pillow.
The bread soups, were not really soup as they were very thick, but so favorable, just imagine soup with a bunch of day old bread added to soak up all the flavors. Dishes with day old bread are a very Tuscan style of food.
The Florentine Steak was wonderful, it comes medium rare to rare (so it isn’t for everyone, we made sure Christina got the more cooked pieces.) It just was so well seasoned and had the best flavor, it is cooked bone on and was caveman size. It had a wonderful crunchy char on the outside. We ate it all.
We also polished off three bottles of the wine. The experience wasn’t quite as good as Jerry and I remember it, but it was still worth the visit, may not need to eat there again when we return on our next visit. When we were done we
basically rolled back to the room Actually, we walked along the river Arno and by Ponte Vecchio.
Back in the room, we had a night cap and went to sleep.
Tomorrow is a full day of the sights and walking tours.
Dish of the day, this is hard, dinner was amazing, but it is going to go to the panni Jerry and I had for lunch.,
Step count 643, most of which were the Duomo.
Site of the day: The top of the Duomo.
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Connie Craddock
non-member comment
Love the view
I love the photos from your clump. I commend you both, I am not sure that I would make myself climb in what appears a very confined space towards the top! Your lunch sounds wonderful! Dinner looked like a small feast or banquet how do you enjoy more than a few bites? It looks like a wonderful day!