Firenze, Italy 1
Perhaps because it was during the school holidays after Easter, the city was packed with so many tourists, especially around the Duomo.
Still there were some places with less people. Within just a minute walk from the Duomo, there was Chiesa di San Michele Visdomini, a 14th century small Roman Catholic church. The inside was very quiet and only a few people who seemed to be locals and have come there for a quick pray during their lunch break.
Our destination for the lunch was located within less than a minute walk from the church. Housed in a 18th century building, Osteria Giglio d'oro is a small restaurant specialized in traditional Tuscan cuisine. I simply picked it up based on tripadvisor's reviews while I was looking for a place that serves authentic Tuscan dishes.
We ordered two dishes to share. One was tagliatelle with truffle. The other was veal scaloppine with tomatoes. Both were classic and delicious!
For a dessert, although the restaurant's tiramisu looked interesting, we decided to go to a gelato shop. I have several gelato shops on my must-go-in-Firenze list. We walked to La Strega Nocciola Gelateria Artigianale, which was the nearest from the restaurant. It was a small gelateria but about a dozen of flavors were available. I chose yogurt and another something light and milky. Yum. I forgot what flavors J had...
I didn't know gelato was first invented in Florence in the 16th century, more precisely at the Court of Medici, a family that had ruled Florence for several centuries and became one of the most powerful families of the Renaissance in Europe. After the gelato time, we visited the Medici Chapels, the main mausoleum for the Medici family, which was by chance.
The mausoleum was connected to the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the oldest church in Florence (4th century!), which is considered as the official church of the family. The outside of the building looked modest especially comparing with that of the Duomo. It tricked me. With the huge dome and the marble and hard stone interior, the 17th century main room of the mausoleum, called the Chapel of the Medici Princes was amazingly lavish.
The room called Sagrestia Nuova (The New Sacristy) could be the highlight of the Chapels because the room including the alter and the tombs with sculptures were one of Michelangelo's masterpieces.
While we explored around the Medici Chapels, we found an indoor food market, the Mercato Centrale.
On the ground floor you can find so many kinds of local meat, produce, cheese, wine, etc. It was a place we should come back on the last day to fill our luggage up with Italian goodies.
The first floor was a large food court that offers varied food options. Mainly local and other Italian dishes, such as Tuscan Steak or Bistecca alla Florentina and pasta with truffle.
There were some International twists like Chinese steamed "ravioli" dumplings, which looked nice. The food court was so popular. The dining space with 500 seats were covered with crowds at that time. We just walked around the food court and left there.
We resumed our city walk. Eventually we came to Ponte Vecchio, the most famous bridge in Florence. It was the only bridge across the Arno River in the city until 1218 and survived through the second world war. Ponte Vecchio is not just an old bridge. The store buildings lined upon both side of the bridge make itself look unique.
Those stores are exclusively goldsmiths and jewelers. Many of them are still owned by descendents of the more than 40 artisans settled on the bridge in the 16th century by Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who wanted to create a more pleasant corridor between his home and his office. Interesting.
We walked around the other side of the river and found a cafe to have a break. I had a glass of mix fruit juice. I guess it had only orange juice and lemon juice in the glass but it was refreshing. Just what I needed.
We walked more in the neighborhood and crossed a different bridge to see Ponte Vecchio from a distance and go back to the other side.
We stopped by Biscottificio Antonio Mattei on our way to B&B. Antonio Mattei is a biscotti maker since 1858, based in Prato, a city in Tuscany, located northwest of Florence.
The blue paper bags of biscotti were arranged in a row on the shelfs in the small shops. It was still our first day of the trip. We decided to come back and get biscotti later. On the other hand I was curious about the baked goods on the table. We bought two slices of candied cherry loaf, which looked pretty and interesting, for our early evening tea time.
We also picked up a cup of tea at a bar and finally came back to our B&B. Since we flew into Florence in the morning, I felt we have already done a lot on the first day. By the way the loaf tasted good!
To be continued...
