Florence, Italy
We spent a big part of our European adventure in Italy. The food, history, and sites kept us very busy. Florence was the perfect central location for exploring in the city as well as venturing off on day trips. While we didn’t get a chance to visit Pisa or Cinque Terre they are perfect full day trips form Florence. Here are some of the highlights from our stay in Florence.
The Ponte Vecchio bridge is a medieval stone arched bridge over the Arno River, it still has shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. This bridge was once the only bridge across the Arno River until 1218.
About a block from our accommodations was the Museo Galileo. This is right up Tim's Alley. Museo Galileo owns one of the world's major collection of scientific instruments. The museum is full of telescopes and the framed objective lens from the telescope with which he discovered the Galilean moons of Jupiter, thermometers, and a collection of terrestrial and celestial globes. We spent a large part of a day exploring this museum and the surrounding area.
David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture, created in marble between 1501 and 1504 by the Italian artist Michelangelo. David is a 17.0 ft marble statue of the Biblical figure David. It was really neat to see the unfinished statues before seeing this one.
Let’s talk about our favorite topic: Food and wine!! We spent about a month in Italy and tired to find accommodations with kitchens so we didn't have to eat out for every meal. Most days we would head to the local bakery and grab a loaf of bread, then head over to the local deli for meats and cheeses. We lived off sandwiches for most of our Italy stay. Everything was always fresh and delicious.
We went all out for our last meal in Florence! Traditional Florentine steak and potatoes. Oh. My. Word. Pear ravioli in the best cheese sauce ever. Buffalo mozzarella to the next degree - creamy inside! And an amazing chianti. Florentine steak is best enjoyed with a glass of Chianti.
I will always take a cooking class if I can. This one was great. We shopped the markets before the class. Then we learned how to make so many different types of pastas! My favorite was the ravioli with deep fried zucchini flowers as a garnish. We also enjoyed bruschetta, tiramisu, and wine! Learning to make pasta was great...learning to make ravioli was even better.
You can't go to Florence without a visit to wine country. We joined a bus tour to Chianti region and not only enjoyed some amazing wines but also tasted many different types of olive oils. We must of enjoyed our time tasting the wine and oils and forgot to take pictures. We did purchase the most amazing bottle of balsamic vinegar. And just a few weeks ago finished the last few drops.
