Firenze, Italy 2
Day 2 began with a wonderful breakfast at the oldest cafe in Florence. Founded in 1733, Caffè Gilli was originally a pastry shop, located on Via Calzaiuoli, near the Duomo. It was in the early 1900s when they opened their cafe at the current location in Piazza della Repubblica, becoming a popular social and cultural meeting place.
As the first guest of the day we were able to choose the best table next to the window. With wood-paneled walls, chandelier lights, and marble top round tables, the interior was lovely.
We both had freshly squeezed orange juice and caffè d'orzo, or barley coffee. Caffè d'orzo is a relatively new conventional coffee alternative, originated in Italy. I have been interested in the roasted grain drink but I haven't seen it in Germany and didn't have a chance to look for it in Rome. When I saw caffè d'orzo on the menu, I was excited! It tasted like coffee. Very smooth coffee with sweet aftertaste. I liked it very much. It's caffeine-free. I could enjoy it after dinner.
The cafe's pistachio croissant wasn't in a croissant shape. Anyway the filling of pistachio cream was nice. The pastry part was lovely. It would have been perfect if it was bigger. J had avocado toast with smoked salmon. It looked nice but a little small. Elegance means petite in the cafe, I supposed.
We walked to the Duomo. There were much less tourists in the early morning. We slowly walked around the cathedral, observing several different angles and feeling how big the cathedral was.
Perhaps the must-see in the baptistery was the 13th-14th century multi-colored gilded mosaic decoration, covering the entire dome and the apse. Unfortunately the entire dome was under restoration and we couldn't see it. The work just started this February and it is expected to last six years.
At least we were able to see the medieval mosaics in the apse.
Next we climbed Giotto’s Bell Tower. The 14th century bell tower doesn't have an elevator. You have to use the long, narrow and dark staircases with 414 steps. It was a lot of steps.
There were a few platforms that allowed us to take a break, see the outside view through the open windows and check our progress.
Finally we reached the top of the tower. The great views of the iconic orange rooftops of Florence waited for us! Somehow the sky was suddenly getting cloudy...
You can also climb up to the cupola. 463 steps, no elevator. Climbing up both sounded too much. I chose the bell tower because we could see the dome better and it had less steps.
The building of Caffè Gilli was down there.
The Medici Chapel we visited the day before was over there.
After the heart pumping exercise in the bell tower, we entered the cathedral. The inside of the 15th century cathedral was simple in contrast to the detailed exterior.
I was more interested in the discovery under the cathedral, including remains from Roman times and the 5th century basilica of Santa Reparata, one of the first Christian temples in the history of Florence.
Next we visited the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, located just behind the cathedral. Since 1891, the Museum has been housing the works of art which had been removed from the Duomo and the Baptistery through the course of the centuries in order to protect them from, for example, air pollution. The museum was much more interesting than I expected. We spent a good amount of time there.
We could have spent more time in the museum but we didn't want to miss a lunch time. We walked through the city, crossed Ponte Vecchio again and arrived at Osteria Santo Spirito shortly.
Luckily we were able to get a table next to the window again. There was a paper bag on the table. First I thought it was a doggy bag that someone forgot, but we found out the inside was a bread for us. The bread was hearty and tasty, not like a typical Italian loaf, which is often plain and dry. Olive tapenade was served instead of olive oil or butter. Actually I don't remember if I have seen butter on the table in Italy.
The restaurant serves home-style Tuscan dishes. We ordered two dishes to share. One was Truffle Gnocchi. The dish was super hot! Bubbling truffle cheese sauce covered lovely pillowy gnocchi. Wonderful!
The other was Rigatoni al Santo Spirito. Large tube pasta tossed with fresh tomato sauce topped with ricotta salata (dry ricotta). Pretty good!
J picked the lovely place for lunch. Well done, J!! When we left the restaurant, their outdoor tables were busy. Glad we got a table in the small but cozy inside.
After the lunch, we thought it would be nice to walk in a park, avoiding crowds while the weather was nice. Boboli Gardens, located near the restaurant sounded perfect. The 18th century public park was originally designed by the Medici family to be the "Italian Garden," which later would become a model for many European courts.
Boboli Gardens were located behind Palazzo Pitti. The entrance to the Boboli Gardens and that to Palazzo Pitti were the same. We decided to visit the palace first. Palazzo Pitti was originally built in the 15th century for the wealthy Florentine banker Luca Pitti. Cosimo I de’ Medici purchased it in the 16th century as the new Grand Ducal residence. The palace soon became the new symbol of the Medici’s power over Tuscany. It also housed the Court of other two dynasties: the House of Habsburg-Lorraine in the 18th century and the Kings of Italy from the House of Savoy in the 19th century.
Today the Palace houses five museums: the Treasury of the Grand Dukes and the Museum of Russian Icons on the ground floor; the Palatine Gallery and the Imperial and Royal Apartments on the first floor; the Gallery of Modern Art and the Museum of Costume and Fashion on the second floor, which was closed at that time. We mainly walked through the first floor that was heavily decorated with pieces from the collections of the Medici, Habsburg-Lorraine and House of Savoy.
It was time to explore the Boboli Gardens! We didn't know the gardens were so hilly and forced us to do more exercise in addition to the morning bell tower climbing.
We took a break at Neptune's fountain upon the hill.
I found a cute little thing swimming.
There were more!
We further walked up and climbed some more staircases to the top of the Gardens' slopes, where we found a beautiful half-walled garden.
The view of the south from the hilltop was also pretty.
We took a path to walk down through the east side of the Boboli Gardens to the exit. The Boboli Gardens was huge. We explored probably only a quarter of the entire property. It's good to save some for the next time, which J always tells me.
It was a gelato time! We stopped by at Gelateria Della Passera, a small gelato shop near the Pitti Palace. J chose banana and mint. I got pistachio and strawberry milk. Superb!
It was another pleasant day!
To be continued...
