My 3 Days in Florence
April 28 — May 1, 2016
DAY ONE:
We arrived to the Florence train station and promptly looked for a bus to take us to our Airbnb in San Niccolò neighborhood (south of the Arno river). Seeing nowhere to get tickets, we bought them ON THE BUS (please note the foreshadowing here).
Our Airbnb: Exiting the bus, we walked passed a green park and down a narrow stone street toward our new “home.” The studio apartment was inside a larger building where you entered one door from the street, another to a small hallway shared by two tenants, and a final door to the actual apartment — needless to say, we felt very safe and secure locked in by all those doors. The place was fully equipped and cozy, just like the pictures. The kitchen was stocked with thoughtful snacks, the “bedroom” (separated from the kitchen by a partial wall) had big windows with shutters that opened to views of the street below, and the whole place (though small) was perfect for us.
We shortly found out how very small the bathroom was (tiniest room I’ve ever seen to contain a shower, toilet, bidet, sink, washing machine, and heater). The shower door was retractable to make a little extra space when the shower was not in use, but it’s “functionality” also caused shower-water to escape to the entire floor of the bathroom when it was in use (haha, oh well, still a genius use of space).
After settling in a bit, we decided to check out Piazzale Michelangelo (since we were in the neighborhood and it came highly recommended by our hosts).
The road to get there inclines up, up, up, until you reach a staircase to continue up, up, up. Not sure how long it took us to get there, but it was more than worth it!
Wow.
We had no idea how amazing the lookout would be. No idea!
So many people were gathered there for the live music, with little picnics they had brought, sharing bottles of wine, sitting on the steps, and waiting for sunset. Countless photographers lined up along the wall to capture the last moments before the sun disappeared.
We were awestruck. We had not even been in the city yet, and we were already blown away by the beauty. An older couple next to us offered to share the rest of their little bottle of white wine with us. So, so sweet!
The sunset was unbelievable. We watched til the very last bit of sunlight dropped below the horizon. And, still stunned and amazed, started our walk back down from the lookout to find a dinner spot.
We ended up finding Zeb just as they were opening, and scored a spot by the window! *It’s a small family restaurant with limited seating, so we were very lucky! They turned away everyone (after us!) who did not have a reservation.*
The food was DELISH and their whole set up was very cool, but the service was a little high-pressure/scary at first (granted, we were sensitive Americans, who didn’t fully understand what was going on). We couldn’t really decipher the menu, so we mostly followed our server’s suggestions (hoping to gain his respect? Don’t think it worked…) We ended up with a pesto pasta to share (amazing!), a rabbit dish, and a beef dish. The meal also came with Tuscan bread, a traditionally salt-less bread which is common to the region (think, blank canvas to soak up the flavors of the various sauces). Would 100% go back to this place!
Next order of business was obviously gelato, and lucky for us, Il Gelato di Filo was right across the street! Ah, so good!
We were planning on venturing into the city after dinner, but decided instead to retire to our room and finish the laundry, since it was already getting late.
On laundry: I was running out of clean clothes, but had not been able to figure out how to use the (tiny, tiny) washer earlier. So, I had to message our host for help. She was super sweet, helped me figure it out, and kept checking back with us to make sure everything was working properly!
To hang things out to dry, there were clotheslines on a track that went out the bathroom window (just don’t lose anything below, or it’d be trapped in the space between apartments forever)! A fun fact: our laundry in Florence took much longer to dry than our laundry in Paris…can you guess why?
A) no drier
B) humidity
C) everything takes longer in Italy
D) all of the above ;-)
Also, going to bed with the windows open made sound sleep rather difficult at times (good thing we were so, so exhausted!). Our apartment was positioned right over the street, so we could hear EVERYTHING— all the people at the bar down the street, all the cars passing by, and some kind of trash collection in the wee hours of the morning (which sounded like hundreds of glass bottles falling from above into a dumpster and being crushed; a terrifying sound to wake up to!!!). But besides the noise out the window (and the soaked bathroom floor), we had no complaints at all! Overall, it was a lovely place to stay!
DAY TWO:
Gabe made a little breakfast for us with the supplies in the kitchen, complete with coffee (Moka-pot for the win!), and then we were off on our next adventure.
Wanting to see some of the city on the way to the train station, we walked rather than taking a bus. Why the train station, you ask? Well, we had set up a visit to the La Marzocco (espresso machine) factory, which required a small bit of train travel. And, for some reason, online tickets were unavailable for our journey, so we had to get to the station early enough to buy tickets from a machine.
Unfortunately, the train station ended up being a bit further away than originally estimated. So, our walk became more brisk than leisurely, and there was little city to been seen after all.
There was a lady “helping” at the ticket machine, but she was having trouble grasping where we were going. She was also very controlling with the ticket machine in Italian, and pushing the buttons sooooo slowwwwly. I just wanted her to LET ME DO IT ALREADY! The lady waiting behind us even had the nerve to ask if we were in a hurry, because SHE WAS. To make matters worse, paying with a card didn’t work (whyyyyy?), so then we had to start THE WHOLE THING OVER to pay with cash (thankfully, we had cash).
By this time, we were in serious danger of missing our train!
Finally getting tickets in hand, we started running. And we ran and we ran and we ran. But we didn’t know where our platform was…so we ran down and back, and around, and finally asked for directions (me, panting, dying). Confirming we were going the right way, we finally ran in the direction of our train — Gabe being much further ahead and repeatedly stopping to wave for me to go faster (we were down to less than 5 minutes). I was physically maxed out and angry! This was NOT the way I wanted to start my day — OR ANY DAY! Ugh.
We made it with only a minute or two to spare. And I spent most of the ride trying to catch my breath, coughing, and drinking the rest of our water. Not our finest moment. Honestly, I hated this moment. *Sometimes this is how travel goes — you might look back on it with fondness and laughter (because you know it worked out in the end) — but the moment itself SUCKS!*
Once we arrived, the guys from the factory were easy to spot (they were the only ones there, plus drove a clearly marked La Marzocco van). I don’t think they spoke English since they said less than 2 words to us the whole ride (glad the van was labeled or I might have worried we were being kidnapped). Thankfully the receptionist at the factory spoke very good English, as did our tour guide.
It was all very official, actually. There was a sign welcoming us, we were given badges, and we were greeted with shots of espresso (is there any better greeting in the world?!)
In the course of a couple hours, we learned the history of the company, saw the evolution of their old machines, and toured the factory to see every single stage of production (hand-making espresso machines of all shapes and sizes). Seriously impressive! We even got little La Marzocco goody bags with our own espresso cups and saucers at the end!
And, every single bit of this tour, including our ride from the train station, was 100% free of charge! The pride in their product strongly shines through everything they do! This experience made us La Marzocco believers-for-life!
Knowing our time was limited, we headed back to Florence and chose Trattoria Za-Za for lunch. I got a Tuscan soup sampler and Gabe got a salad. This restaurant was very near touristy sights, so was probably not super authentic (we were given 3 different menus, all in English, if that’s any clue), but we were actually very pleased with our food choices. Soup and salad was the perfect lunch!
Next on our agenda was to find the Accademia Gallery to see David. The line was not too long to get in, but actually took quite some time. And, it was hot…And some of us were getting grumpy… *In our defense, this was day 14 of our Grand European Tour, and we were losing a bit of steam.*
But once inside, we put on our podcast audio guides and got into museum mode to learn about the great Michelangelo! Even with all the people milling about, the Hall of Prisoners was pretty epic! Lining the walls on the way to David, are Michelangelo’s unfinished “slaves” (in various stages of progress); and then David stands under his own dome and skylight!
After spending an hour or two here, we had to recharge with some gelato! Then we started our stroll around the historic center, to see the very large Duomo, the famous gold baptistery doors, the bell tower, the Palazzo Vecchio, and the Loggia del Lanzi.
When I think of Florence, I think of sitting in the Loggia del Lanzi (essentially an open-air art museum). This was my favorite; the perfect place to take it all in and appreciate the history of Florence and the great talents of the Renaissance! So surreal.
Sadly, we did not have time to tour the Uffizi Gallery, but we did walk through the Loggiato of the Uffizi (the semi-enclosed courtyard space between the galleries of the Uffizi), to see the oh-so-many famous Tuscans in their niches: Da Vinci, Dante, Michelangelo, Donatello, Vespucci, Galileo, Machiavelli, and many more!
It was also cool to see local artists selling their work all over the city, even if most were generic Italian landscapes for tourists.
Next, we walked over the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace. We landed for dinner at the cute and casual Ditta Artigianale (restaurant and coffee shop), where we had some delish fried cheese, some kind of lima bean ravioli, a tuna burger with fries, and a caramelized apple pie for dessert with coffees. A modern/fusion menu, and all very good!
That concludes day 2 in Florence.
DAY THREE:
We went back to Ditta Artigianale for our morning coffee and pastry fix (different location, though)! And then it was time to find the Walkabout Tours meeting place, for a day-long cooking class!
To start, our guide led us on a walking tour of the downtown, talking us through its history, and gathering ingredients for our meal along the way. We learned about the old city walls, the little wine doors in many of the buildings, the origins of tomatoes (they came from the Americas!), and the origins of Italian food culture, in general. *Because Italy was not a unified country until very recently, warring tribes and city-curfews caused families to be at home — cooking and eating — together.*
We stopped for coffee as a group at Cantinetta dei Verrazzano (where we also got the bread for bruschetta), then walked to Mercato Centrale to get our cheese and meat. We met up with the other half of our group there, and all got on the bus for our short drive to a Tuscan farmhouse. We were in for an afternoon of cooking and eating (what could be better?)!
Upon arrival to the farmhouse, we took off our coats and bags, and put on our aprons! Let the meal prep begin!
We started by dicing veggies for the ragù meat sauce — which must simmer for at least 2 hours. Then onto bruschetta! We prepped all the bruschetta, then went back to add the wine and tomato sauce to the ragù sauce. When we turned back around, the bruschetta was ready to be served/eaten and it was oh. so. good. And so simple too:
Vine ripe tomatoes, garlic, EVOO, basil, and sea salt — perfecto! Oh, with glasses of Chianti classico, of course!
Next up: pasta tutorial. Carmela (head chef)showed us how to make the dough, and then all of the pasta shape variations (i.e. tortellini, farfalle, ravioli, lasagna, etc.), then we were given our own little stations to try our hand at making some! The rolling hurt my hands, so I think I rushed mine…Gabe’s, however, turned out quite perfect.
After we finished up with our pastas, Carmela showed us how to make pizza dough that we could bake in our home ovens (not quite as simple as I had hoped). Then, we got to chopping herbs to season the pork.
Shortly after this, our pizza chefs arrived! It was time to make our own Napoli pizzas! Each pair was given their own dough, to add their own toppings. And each pizza went in the oven for 90 seconds total.
Different from the dough we made before, this dough fermented? for like 15 hours, and was meant for a wood-fire stove. I think this was the best pizza of our trip and my life…might have had something to do with making it ourselves!
We took our beautiful wood-fired pizza up to some picnic tables, and sat down for a quick lunch. It wasn’t long before the rain started and we had to run back inside, but YUM! Already so worth the money we spent on this “excursion”…and there was so much more to come!
Next it was time to prep our desserts (not one, but two!): tiramisu and gelato!
After this, our work was done, and it was time to eat (again)! We took off our aprons to discover that the table (where we had made our pastas) was now set for the meal.
Pasta to start was really really good (though we suspect they didn’t use the pasta we had all made — it looked much too perfect). Pork and potatoes were also very tasty.
We were already so full by the time of dessert, but it was the best tiramisu ever! I ate it all (+my gelato and coffee) despite my stuffed belly.
Then the ladies told us how well we did and called each couple up to get a certificate of completion signed by Chef Carmela.
After a few minutes collecting our stuff and taking pictures, we headed back to the bus and were dropped back off at the Mercato Centrale. Wow, what a day! Absolutely no regrets! The tour was such a good decision!!!
I was hoping to find some souvenirs at Mercato Centrale, but the whole bottom section of the market had closed for the day, and the top was essentially a food court. After wandering around the market for a bit, though, we decided to try some truffle spreads on toast (because, where else could we try such a thing?)
And then we got some final gelato at Gelateria del Neri. What can I say, it was a day of gluttony…I got a fig and cheese flavor with some kind of berry, while Gabe got the mango with chocolate.
To top off our night, we saw another one of those tiny trucks and stopped for a picture (little did I know we’d see these all over our next destination too — Rome!)
DAY FOUR: Leaving Florence…
If I thought our ordeal getting on the train to La Marzocco had been bad, it was about to be blown out of the water with a much worse start to a day…
In order to save $10 or so, we decided to catch the bus (rather than a taxi) to the train station. We nervously waited at the bus stop (not 100% sure it was coming), and then it did (though late), and we got on with relief!
We didn’t have tickets, though. We still needed to buy them from the driver, as we had done before (remember the foreshadowing?). When approaching the driver about this, though, he wouldn’t sell us tickets.
My impression at the time was that he was in a hurry to get to the next stop, and we could just pay him when we got there…
I have never been so very wrong in my assumptions.
Once we started moving, we saw a sign saying the driver wouldn’t give change when buying tickets, so I was like CRAP! I only had a $20, and tickets were only supposed to cost $8! The thought of losing $12 for no reason was eating me up…
THEN, the bus-police got on.
At first, I was glad to see them, thinking maybe they would have change for my $20…
…until the policeman took out his ticket pad and I fully understood our situation. Ohhhh.
We explained our intentions, pleaded, and begged for his understanding…but to no avail. If we were without tickets, no matter the reason, we were essentially screwed. End of story.
And it was not going to be one fine for both of us either (which we had the cash to pay); it was going to be a 50 euro fine — each! Hands down worst moment of the entire trip!
Thankfully, the second police guy spoke better English and had a more empathetic attitude toward us. He is the one who got out with us at the train station, and humilating-ly escorted us to the ATM to pay our fines.
I held it together until we paid our fine and he left, then broke down in demoralized tears. I am not usually a crier, but I felt so, so, so, so stupid. It was such a stupid, unnecessary, unfair thing!
::Deep breath::
It’s only a minor disaster. It could have been so much worse! We could have lost our passports, gotten mugged or pick-pocketed, or one of our flights could have lost all our luggage…
But still…dang it!
Waiting for our train to arrive, Gabe got us some coffees and pastries to try and cheer me up. Then, we got on our train — seated across from some rambunctious kids — and we tried to get excited for our next destination: Rome!
CONCLUSION…
Looking back on our 3 days in Florence, we had some truly amazing and unforgettable experiences, mixed in with a few unfortunate and stressful ones. We also had too little time in the city/surrounding area. So, for anyone planning a trip to Florence/Tuscany, I have some recommendations:
Make sure you plan for 3+ days
Do a little refresh on the significance of the Renaissance — this will go a long way in appreciating the city of Florence and its museums!
Don’t miss Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset! The views are absolutely breathtaking!
Book a tour with Walkabout! Ours was called “Cooking class at a farmhouse in Tuscany.” It included a tour of downtown Florence, fed us for a whole day (7–8 hours), and we left with all of the recipes! It remains the most amazing value we’ve ever gotten out of a tour!!!
Eat all of the things! Please, I beg of you… this region of the world is known for some of the most delicious, indulgent things you can put in your mouth: cheese, wine, steak, extra virgin olive oil, gelato, etc. — with recipes and processes passed down from generation to generation! Honestly, 99% of the joy of visiting Tuscany is the consumption of these locally sourced, “made with love” products!
Consider renting a car to venture outside of the city of Florence to also explore the many beautiful Tuscan towns! Visit a family cheese maker, a local butcher, a winery, and/or the restaurant of a famous chef! Lots to see, do, explore, and (best of all) eat!
And, for goodness’ sake, buy/validate your bus tickets ahead of time!
