Rain, rain, go away!

May 15, 2011, Day six


As we headed out for our "Best of Florence Tour", it started to drizzle.  Darn.  We hadn’t checked the weather forecast at all because every day had been beautiful (hi 70 lo 80s during the day, and 60s in the evening).  We returned to the apartment for warmer clothing with hopes that the rain would stop soon.  Suddenly, a ton of street vendors selling umbrellas were out and about…this wasn’t a good sign.  As we got closer to our tour’s meeting point which was at the center of Ponte Vecchio, it started to pour so we knew we had to give in and purchase umbrellas because this was going to be a 3-hour walking tour. Our purchase was timely because literally two seconds after, the policia had raided and confiscated the street vendor’s supply of umbrellas.  

The tour guide talks about the bridge and its history and she points our attention to the strand of locks along the gate of Benvenuto Cellini’s bust.  She explained that these “love padlocks” originated from a romance movie based on the novel "Ho Voglia di Te" (English: I Have Desire of You) released in Italy in 2006 which started a ritual now wildly popular with young couples. In the movie, a teenage couple writes their names on an ordinary padlock and locking it with a chain around a lamppost, then throwing the key into the river. Both the novel and the movie were 
hugely popular with Italian teenagers, who began to imitate the practice as a gesture of undying love.  Apparently, this trend goes throughout Italy and now all over the globe.  Ah, giovane amore…young love!

As the tour continued, so did the rain which was non-stop the entire time and I wish I could’ve stopped by our B&B to change into something warmer. 

We visited the Uffizi Gallery courtyard where she introduced several statues of Great Florentines, including:

The greatest artist and sculptor before Michelangelo

Amerigo, for whom America is named after, played a major part in exploring the New World

Famous Italian poet who authored the Divine Comedy, one of the greatest of literary classics.

the first of the Medici political dynasty that ruled Florence during the 15th century

Classic Renaissance Man who was a scientist,
inventor and artist. ..and a vegetarian!

The supreme master of representing the human body,
Michelangelo excelled in poetry, sculpture, painting and architecture.

Palazzo Vecchio ("Old Palace") aka Palazzo della Signoria is the town hall for Florence where the Medici family once lived.

Odd thing, our tour included a stop at Le Perigine Gelateria…in the morning…in the rain!  Who am I to argue?

Among Florence’s landmarks, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo) with Brunelleschi’s magnificent cupola (dome) stands out the most. Next to the cathedral stands Giotto's Bell Tower (Campanile di Giotto).  In front of both the cathedral and bell tower sits the Bapistry of St. John or Battistero di San Giovanni with its beautiful bronze doors including the gold Gates of Heaven by Ghiberti…the original ones are preserved inside the Opera del Duomo Museum located to the back of the cathedral.  The Baptistry is one of the oldest buildings in the city and it stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza di San Giovanni.  It used to be that people couldn't enter a duomo unless they were baptized so typically, separate baptistery buildings are located next to the duomos. The Italian poet Dante Alighieri and many other notable Renaissance figures, including members of the Medici family, were baptized in this baptistry.

the Bapistry is at the left, the Duomo in the center and the Bell Tower at the right

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore…the famous Duomo (too huge for my camera)

Campanile di Giotto

Btw, piazzas are city squares or public plazas where people congregate to relax or socialize.  Most piazzas typically have restaurants, cafes etc which makes it a great spot for people watching.


On Sundays and during religious festivities, tours inside the Duomo are restricted which we were forewarned about, and since we heard that while the outside architecture of the Duomo is simply astounding, the inside is understated, so we were willing to pass and visit the inside later on our own.


In lieu of the inside tour of the Duomo, we visited Orsanmichele Church or "Kitchen Garden of St. Michael" because the building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michele which is now gone.  This church was originally built in 1337 as a grain market but 50 years later it was converted into a church. 

Hanging from the ceiling are the original hooks used to keep the sacks of grain off of the ground.  Our guide joked that they’re belly rings.  Lol!

The last stop of our tour was the Galleria dell’Accademia where we marveled at Michelangelo’s Statues of the Slaves and his original, magnificent 17 foot marble masterpiece, the David, which were all absolutely remarkable! Unfortunately, photos were not allowed in here either.  Despite of the "no photos rule" at most museums, including the Sistine Chapel, there are many people that were sneaking snapshots, and while I was tempted, I did honor their rule.  I kinda regret it now.  :(

The tour guide left us to enjoy the Accademia on our own and shortly thereafter, we were ready to move on.  We went back to change into warmer clothing and with stomachs growling, we were off to Da'Vinattieri for schiacciate panini!  This time, we wanted to try their porchetta, another regional specialty, which is a savory, meaty and moist boneless pork roast.  The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, stuffed with layers of of garlic, rosemary, fennel and other herbs; it’s then rolled, spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood.  The second panino was the #4 with Tuscan ham, paté and artichoke cream…we had to have it again. :)  Both were great! 5 stars

We got lucky and grabbed the empty stools under the shade outside Da’Vinattieri!

After lunch, the skies cleared up and the sun came out…yay!  We decided this would be the best time to walk over to Piazzale Michelangelo which is located on a hill on the south bank of the Arno River, just east of the center of Florence.  This is the best place to get a stunning panaromic view of Firenze. It was breathtaking!

We heard that this place typically gets overly crowded by buses of tourists, however, the rain brought us some good fortune since the crowds had probably made alternate plans so we had the place all to ourselves…well, and a few dozen others.

Another copy of Michelangelo’s David…this one in bronze.  Sadly, he looks like he crapped all over himself.

On our walk back down to the center, we walked past Forte di Belvedere or Fort Belvedere, a fortification in Florence.

Although the sun was out, it continued to be windy and chilly.  While heading back to our B&B, I started to feel a cold coming.  We decided to stay in for a couple of hours so I figured a nap might help. I woke up still feeling blah but it was dinner time and the weather the way it was I knew it was time for some ribollita!  Ribollita is a famous yet simple, traditional Tuscan soup made with stale bread, cannellini beans, carrots, cabbage, garlic, onions, and cavolo nero (Tuscan cale). Its name literally means "reboiled".  I was concerned that we wouldn’t find it because it’s considered a winter dish but we made a mental note of Gusto Leo Ristorante which we noticed the other day because for one, the restaurant was busy with locals (mixed with tourists) and two and more importantly, ribollita was on the menu!  


The ribollita was hot, hearty and delicious but not enough cuz Brad kept digging his spoon in it...totally hit the spot! 5 stars.

ribollita toscana

Another local specialty we wanted to try was the cinghiale (wild boar) ragu so we ordered the parpadelle.  The cinghiale was not gamey at all…it tasted like a richer flavored beef.  The pasta was freshly made and cooked perfectly al dente.  5 stars

pappardelle al ragu di cinghiale

Brad had a calzone stuffed with mushrooms, prosciutto, artichokes, olives and Würstel (hotdog, which he opted to pass on).  3.5 stars 
Würstel is available in many eateries in Italy…not at all the influence of America but of Italy's northern neighbors, ie, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

calzoni capriccioso (capricious) with funghi, prosciutto, carciofi, olive, würstel   

Brad was extremely happy when they served his coke with ice!  It's my understanding that Italians generally don't like their beverages as cold as we Americans do.  Some servers would give us a strange look when we requested ice.  Ghiaccio (ice) is one of the Italian words we had to learn since we used it quite a bit.  Ghiaccio per favore! :)

After dinner, Brad took me home because I started to feel worse.  My hero dropped me off and with his handy Italian phrase book at hand, he got me some meds at a Farmacia along with some sweets from the Pastricerria to cheer me up.  What a guy!

cherries with ricotta tart, choc chips with ricotta tart,
almond cookies, marzipans and jelly candies

I took the meds, including some oscillococcinum which I packed for the trip because this stuff has previously helped me nip in the bud flu symptoms.  I had some 'sweets' and prayed before going to sleep that I will be feeling 100% by next morning.  Boo!  I can't get sick…it's my birthday tomorrow!