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Published: October 16th 2011
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Note: All events in this entry occurred back in late February 2007. For more updated entries and trips, please refer back to this blog at a later date. An updated trip or entry will NOT include a note like this. Thanks and enjoy!
I wake up early, around 8 AM GMT because Natasha and I had last minute plans to explore another site before she took the train out. Unfortunately we ended up getting lost, however nonetheless about two hours later we said goodbye and parted ways. I decide to visit some of the churches discussed in my guidebook for the remainder of the day. The first I visit, is one about 4 blocks away from my hostel, which contains frescoes and also the coffin containing the remains of Donatello. Apparently he was also a parishioner at this church which is why he is buried here and also contains his work. His very colorful and bright frescoes make this church worth a visit. I then head to another church which also has a monastery connected to it. This church also had frescoes however I don't remember who the artist was.
I then make my way towards Il Duomo
in order to go inside. Unlike the other churches I visited, which were filled with stalls and kneelers, Il Duomo was empty. It also was not as decorated as the churches that I had seen earlier with frescoes and statues, however it was much larger inside. I did not get a chance to go up to the top, but instead decided to get lunch at a local pizzeria. My pizza was topped with chicken, eggplant, onions and green bell peppers. I got it at a place where pizza was sold by the slice with a drink for about 1 euro! It was very good actually-the crust was thin and crispy, the chicken was very tender, diced breast meat, and the eggplant, onions and green bell pepper pieces were large in size and fresh in flavor. Afterwards, I began a 2 hour conversation on the other side of Il Duomo with this very talented yet gregarious local artist. She was a classically trained artists who was inspired by her beloved Tuscan region. She had paintings of San Giovanni and other small towns, as well as of Tuscan hill and vineyard landscapes and also of her beloved Florence. I began to tell
her about my travels and life in Europe thus far, and she about her past living in Southern Italy and of her return back to Florence. "I love my language Italian, and Italian history is told in the most exquisit way when written and/or told in it," she said to me. Her primary medium was water color, however she did do some oil painting. Out of all the paintings I saw, hers were the most colorful, most realistic and also innovative since she combined impressionism with realism and abstraction in her works. I bought two of her paintings and I must say she was also a wonderful human being to speak to.
After lunch, I make an effort to look for Santa Croce, where Michelangelo was buried, however I got lost. However, it wasn't for naught because I got to tour Ponte Veccio. According to my guide book, this used to be the location of a market place, however this changed I think during the Medici period because of health concerns or something. I think the Medici family or at least one of the family members used to live there.
After wandering around and taking a few pictures,
I decide to visit a local gourmet food seller and also the indoor market I had visited during my first day in Florence (for more information, please refer to my blog entry entitled "Leather Jackets, Cappuccinos and Gelato in the Rain.") I ended up buying a two huge bags, one of dried, local porcine mushrooms and of sun dried tomatoes, as well as a cookbook and some local olive oil. The indoor market as mentioned earlier in my blog was huge; it has two floors, the first filled primarily with restaurants and boutiques selling balsamic vinegar, olive oil, wine and popular deli items. The second floor contained spices, dried and picked vegetables and fruits, butchers, bakers and fish mongers. I remember taking part in a free balsamic vinegar and olive oil tasting in its relevant boutique by trying some straight and others with a small piece of Parmigiano Reggiano. I learned during this tasting that olive oil is sweeter depending on how many times it has been pressed, the age of the olives and also whether modern or traditional equipment was used. I believe first pressed olive oil is lighter and sweeter than second pressed which is more concentrated. Balsamic
vinegar, which is only supposed to come from Modena, becomes sweeter as it ages. The sales clerk demonstrated this by having me try one aged for 2 years, a second for 5 years, a third for 15 years and a fourth for 25 years. The first had a strong tangy flavor to it, closer to what I'm used to buying in the grocery store back in the US. The second, was more viscus and sweeter but still had a fermented, vinegar zip to it. The third was closer to the consistency of syrup, but was still liquid enough to resemble vinegar, but was noticeably much sweeter. The eldest was the exact consistency of syrup, and tasted closer to a maple syrup/molasses hybrid. I did not purchase my olive oil from her sadly because I had already purchased mine through the gourmet store I had visited earlier.
I ended my day by going back to the hostel, eating my humble dinner of bresciola and pecorino toscana and drank the last of my moltapulcino, packed my things and talked with my roommates until I was ready for bed.
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