Viva Italia - Day 6 (Florence)

MONDAY, JANUARY 18TH

Rise, put clothes on, walk. 

Stop, get cappuccino, walk. 

Walk, walk, walk........ Eat. Keeping walking. 

Today we definitely got our steps in! It is still chilly, but the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It made for a perfect "walking around" day! If we were to have only one day in Florence, I think we crushed every possible historical sighting we could have. With the exception of David, but that was not due to a lack of trying. Apparently the Galleria dell'Accademia was closed today, so we are going to have to squeeze that in at some point tomorrow before we leave for Venice the next day. So much to see!

Because we checked so many sites off of our list today, it may be easier to communicate just how much ground we covered via visuals:

For reference, in order of appearance:

• Palazzo Di Vecchio
• Duomo & Campanile di Giotto
• Basilica di San Lorenzo 
• Basilica di Santa Maria Novella
• Palazzo Pitti & Gardino di Boboli
• Forte Belvedere (Kim and Kanye's wedding venue!)
• Piazzale Michelangelo
• Basilica di Santa Croce

We made it through one site before stopping for some cappuccino. A very tiny, cute little cafe that is near the university. I sat down at an open table after we ordered, but was immediately asked to move. I was at a table for 4, but the workers knew that class would be letting out soon and the students would start piling in. I respected their business savvy and moved to the only two topper available - pinched between the wall and the opened cafe door. We slammed our drinks and were on our way. We didn't have time to sit today anyway!

After the fourth site, we broke for lunch at Trattoria 13 Gobbi. We had a young waiter who did not speak much English, and seemed so embarrassed by it. How shitty to be an American and make a native to the country we are in feel guilty for US not being able to communicate with him. We are kind of the worst... He knew enough to easily communicate with us, but the sense of humor was definitely lost in translation - our jokes flew right over his head. It wasn't long before an English speaking man made his way over to chat us up. Turns out, he was born in Canada and his family moved back to Florence when he was 18. He wanted to stay in North America to go to college, so he didn't move back to Florence to join his family until he was 35. Definitely interesting! 

We were feeling the need for some greens, so ordered a spinach salad with lemon vinaigrette to start. I really hate to admit it, but it felt good to have something without carbs or cheese. Have no fear, we didn't go too far astray for the main dish - Brandon got a traditional pappardelle with pork ragu and I got a "light" and spicy pasta dish, which totally hit the spot. Spaghetti in olive oil with pecorino, black pepper and red chili pepper flakes. We passed on dessert for once, I guess all the walking had us motivated to watch our waistlines today! 

After lunch, we walked through the gardens at Palazzo Pitti which lead us up a gradual incline. Atop the hill at Forte Belvedere (wedding venue of Kim and Kanye for all you pop culture fanatics) was the exit point, and we proceeded down a long and winding vertical decent. Along the trek, which is clearly the road less traveled as we were walking blindly down an actual road, Brandon discovered the olive trees to our left and decided he wanted to try one. Big mistake. Without being salted for days, the taste is extremely bitter. Needless to say, he did not have a second.

Once we found a street with sidewalks - back to ground level, we soon realized the next site required a vertical incline. We had no idea the day would involve such adventures in urban hiking! A little winded, we again found ourselves atop a massive hill - this time with the most incredible views of all of Florence. Totally worth it, but now to get back down...

It was getting late in the afternoon, and we knew we would be losing sunlight soon. Trusted Google Maps found us a trail that cut through from the top of Michelangelo's mountain, all the way back down to the river. We felt very "local" having found a short cut! Soon enough, we were at the last stop of the day. We sat for a minute and enjoyed the very English lyrics of Let Her Go by Passenger, as interpreted by our Italian comrade in the surrounding square. Brandon did not enjoy it as much as I did...

With really only enough time to hop in the shower and get ready to leave again, we quickly freshened up and headed out to dinner. We were super excited to see what tonight's dinner locale had to offer, as it was supposedly a super local hole in the wall that Rachael Ray had raved about in a number of articles I found - La Cucina Del Garga. 

Rachael and I definitely have differing views as to what constitutes as a hole in the wall, but home girl does know good food. That we cannot deny. We had really worked up an appetite with all the cross training we had done today, so we went big tonight on the food front (plus two bottles of wine, but really who is keeping track at this point?!). 

We didn't order it, but the "on the house" offering of fried polenta with buratta to start was a-mazing. Had we known that was coming out, we probably would have skipped the antipasti order of creamy polenta with Tuscan kale and pecorino cheese, but it was delicious as well so we didn't mind. 

For the main course, I was boring and went with the tagliatelle a sugo (more or less a bolognese), but Brandon was adventurous and went with the brandy citrus pasta. It was super different, but really good! Like the true Italians we are becoming, we ordered a secondi of Filetto - a chunk of lean meat, slow cooked in herbs. It's pretty fantastic.

We were so stuffed after the meal, and had totally agreed to forego dessert once again. That was until we saw our waiter convince the older couple next to us to at least split something. I wasn't going to fight with an elder Italian man, so we selected the "healthy" option. Some sort of mascarpone mousse with berries. It sounded the closest to tiramisu to me, so that's why I ordered it. I saw no complaints from Brandon once we dug in either, so all in all a solid choice. 

After we ordered, we ended up talking to the couple a few tables down - the other sugar junkies in the room. They were an interesting couple, the wife from Wales and husband from England. She made sure to note there is a big difference between the two, and I believe they were likely in their 60's. We talked travel and various things with them. It was kind of funny actually, we've been to so many of the same places in the world and had a lot of shared experiences! 

Once desserts came, our respective focus shifted back to our own tables. Brandon and I busted out the markers they have at the table side so guests can doodle. We did not draw, instead we acted like 12 year olds and played MASH. I think I came out ahead this time around....

We settled the bill and walked back to the hotel - albeit very slowly because we were STUFFED. Another Florence observation - in comparison to Rome, the city gets so quite at night. It's really kind of nice. There are still people here and there, but the walk back was nice and relaxing. A great end to another amazing day! 

Viva Italia - Day 5 (Travel to Florence)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17TH

After Brandon's late night excursion, I think 7:45am came rather quickly for him. We rose, got packed up, and headed to Rome's Termini train station to hop the line to Florence. The train ride was only about 90 minutes, which flew by as we both tried to squeeze in some shut eye. Trains are probably my favorite form of transportation, especially in Europe. It's just so easy, mindless really, and quite frankly pretty relaxing.

Pulling into Florence, you got a sense that it was very different than Rome. A city vibe, but somehow less chaotic. Almost like NY vs. Chicago in a way - you love to be in NY, but living in Chicago is the only option, for me, between the two. Rome is more of the bustling metropolis, whereas Florence is on a smaller scale. Less intimidating, easily walkable, and there were blue, sunny skies upon arrival. A very welcomed welcome!

We were happy to learn that we were able to check-in to the hotel right when we arrived. Only downside, Brandon had booked a single room. As in - twin bed. Doh! It was no issue, since we are not traveling during peak season, and they got us set up in a room for two instead.  Compared to our Rome hotel, which was boutique in nature, but very modern, this had more of a rustic feel. The only negative was that to walk to our room (which is tucked away a bit), there is a long hallway that reeks of sewage. Luckily our room has no such stench... 

We unpacked, changed, and decided too much time had passed since the Nutella croissant was consumed in the train station. Without a real plan, we just figured we would walk around a bit until we stumbled upon a local delicacy. On a back street, we were presented with two restaurants side by side. Both menus looked good, both had customers inside. We chose the one on the left. Our rationale? They had more people inside than the one on the right. Best. Decision. Of. Entire. Trip. 

Tratorria Nella. A family run operation where wine is ordered by the liter and the pasta is so clearly homemade. We never learned their names, but the father, mother and sons were all present. There was not a lick of English being spoken by any of the customers, we were the only tourists. This is what we had been longing for - a true, authentic style meal that the locals partake in themselves.

We ordered a liter of the house red, which came in a wonderful ceramic jug. Our only mistake was the pate toast. Apparently Italians do not mess around with their pate. Oh no...they lather that shit on in dollops and serve it piping hot. Even Brandon was grossed out! I was so taken with the environment that I didn't want to offend the owners. I proceeded to choke down as much as I could without gagging, chasing it with big gulps of red wine. Seemed like the best option!

But the main course..... May prove to be the best pasta dish of the entire trip. Brandon went off menu and ordered a pappardelle special, inclusive of truffles, and I ordered the tagliatelle in a braised beef ragu. Both were DIVINE as individual dishes, but when you combine that truffle sauce with the beef ragu?! HOLY GRAIL OF PASTA DISHES. Seriously, this dish will haunt my Italian dreams until the end of time. 

We devoured the entrees, and one would assume we would forego dessert after carb loading, but then that person wouldn't know me very well then, would they?! One of the very first things I noticed about this heaven on earth was that every single person was ordering a giant plate of pasta, and every single person was also ordering tiramisu for dessert. My ultimate favorite dessert ever. Finally - a traditional tiramisu in Italy! None of this bullshit "reconstructed" tiramisu in gelatin form like at Antica Pesa, a real espresso/mascarpone treat. It was the perfect end to the best overall meal we have had thus far. Bene!

As has become the Italian theme, we walked around for the rest of the afternoon, finding our bearings in Firenze. Because we had ended up having a feast for lunch so late in the day, we decided to cancel our dinner reservation at 7pm. We were slated to have another top tier meal at Alle Murate, but we decided our bellies, and wallets, had been ruined by the authenticity we had experienced earlier in the day. So instead, we waited until about 8:30pm and then tried our luck at stumbling into greatness once again.

Ristorante Toto definitely did not disappoint. We saw another table with bruschetta and decided we needed to have that in our lives. We started there, and then went our separate ways for the main course. The restaurant is known for their wood fire cooking, so Brandon went with a pizza - mushroom and sausage again - and I couldn't resist the homemade lasagna, slow cooked in the wood fire oven. Both were very good, but I think I edged out Brandon ever so slightly. To top off an already great food day, the tiramisu was on point. Better than earlier, which was a really tough act to follow! 

It was getting late by time we wrapped up dinner, and we were in a food coma anyway, so we headed back to the hotel to call it a night. Tomorrow we are planning to hit up all of the city's main attractions and have a lot of ground to cover. We need all the rest we can get! 

Viva Italia - Day 4 (Rome)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 16TH

Only about 7 miles today, mostly because we "slept in," not allowing enough time for a leisurely stroll AND coffee prior to our tour. We clearly needed the latter, so cabbed it straight to our meeting point and grabbed a cappuccino in the square nearby. 

The weather was cloudy today, a bit chilly without the sun shining, but that did not halt the outdoor tour plans. At least there was no rain! 

After our coffee stop, we met our guide for the day - Fabio. He was young, energetic, and had a good sense of humor. Definitely made the day enjoyable! The first stop of the day was the Roman Forum. There is so much to "see" in what little is left of the original city. Having Fabio there to not only explain things as they once were, but physically show us through renderings he carried in his man bag really made it possible to imagine what these fallen structures used to be. This area of Rome is difficult to explain, truly just ruins of what once was, but something that must be seen for oneself to really appreciate and understand its beauty. Super powerful...

Following the Forum, we headed to the Colosseum where we were greeted by a private guide. In reality, she was a cranky young girl, noticeably annoyed with Fabio, but she did grant us VIP access to the dungeons below the main stage as well as the upper ring - all of which is not accessible to the public.  For a brief moment, Fabio managed to ditch her and our group snuck into the elevators to avoid a steep climb - one of many, yet the only one we successfully dodged!

In the dungeons, which is very misleading and not at all housing the Game of Thrones dragons or skeletons a plenty like I had imagined, we got to appreciate the extraordinary engineering and creation of a concept that still exists today. Think about your favorite sports team, or a theatre show, for example. Everything is back stage or in the locker room, below main level, before the game/show begins. The same holds true for the purposes of the "dungeons" in the Colosseum. This is where the gladiators came to both prep and, sometimes, die with dignity. It is also where the animals were stowed, just before being tricked into a cage and hauled up by a system of levers and pulleys - a manual elevator, if you will... Despite the lack of human remains I had my heart set on, this was still a very cool experience. Even crazier, back when the early Romans would have been experiencing the Colosseum in all of its glory, this area would have been completely pitch black in darkness. Tucked away, underground, this would have been rather terrifying to wander around in...

Last on the Colosseum docket took us to the very top, in the third ring. The structure in itself is a work of art, but those steps to get to the top? Uh, hell no. They were insanely steep! We carefully made our way to the top, and boy was the view worth it. There was not much else to do other than look around and take it in, snapping some pictures in the process. Probably the highlight of this experience was witnessing a middle aged couple attempting to use a selfie stick.... They were apparently unaware that to properly use said stick of ridiculousness, you must take a photo as if looking at your phone. Poor fools, they were using the stick as an arm extension, not clicking the reverse camera button to see what the photo looked like as they took it!

Fabio concluded the tour while atop the Colosseum, and we were left to find our way down and out. Ahem... Sounds easier than it actually was. Brandon and I snapped a few last shots once we were outside and then quickly hailed a taxi. It had been far too long since our last feeding, so we headed back to the Trastevere neighborhood to walk around and find a good lunch spot.

We stumbled into Voglia Di Pizza Snc. Much to our surprise, it was both gluten free (don't worry, we did not order from the gluten free menu, because...it's Italy - duh!) and also run by an Indian family! Further proof that there are NO other acceptable cuisines in this country. I went for some local fare, ordering a suppli and bruschetta, and Brandon a pizza with Italian sausage and mushrooms. One very important item to note - Italians DO NOT share pizza. When you order one, it's like three personal pan pizzas all to yourself. I'd say he was in heaven not having to share.

Nothing too exciting the rest of the afternoon, just a long walk back to the hotel to prep for our 2-Michelan Star dinner later tonight! We relaxed, took our time getting ready, drank some full bodied red wine....and once the clock struck feeding time again, we called for a cab.

Two things to note: 

1. When you travel the world in a carry on, it's very difficult to bring many bulky or high end items like shoes, blazers and hand bags. And for Brandon, dress pants are out of the question. 
2. When you travel in the winter, space is even more limited. 

Needless to say, we were under dressed for our high end meal, but really gave zero shits about it. We had indulged in wine earlier, remember?! We got shuffled to our seats and appeared to be among the first to dine that night, so I'd say we dodged most bullets of judgment.

Brandon and I were given our menus and were astonished to discover we had a choice of water. As in, what region do you want your water to come from? What. The. Hell? I'm guessing the one draw back to our attire was that they did not in fact give us the option to choose when we asked for water. Jerks. 

Another interesting observation, my menu did not come equipped with the prices listed for any of the menu items, only Brandon's! Super sexist, no?! It was only when I mentioned a certain wine looked good, and Brandon laughed, that we realized this interesting piece of information. For I had obviously chosen the most expensive wine on the menu. What can I say, I have good taste in reds?! 

Once the important items were sorted - like why they don't offer wine pairings (people would get too drunk. America's tasting menus would disagree), confirmation of their wine recos for the tasting menu as a whole, etc. - we moved to the main event. 

Wine #1 - Gorgona white wine. I usually despise whites, but this one was exquisite. The waiter did not steer us in the wrong direction, definitely off to a great start! 

Wine #2 - must not have been memorable, because I failed to write it down. Oops! It was a smooth red, but perhaps I've grown so accustomed to all of them being that smooth here in Italy, that it didn't jump out at me the way the white did?! 

Tasting Menu:

• Pumpkin mousse with tomato "biscuit"

• Steamed bread bite and yogurt beef gelatin mousse (square)

• Deep fried ravioli with mascarpone mousse and tofu/escargot/anchovy taco

• Breadstick, Flat bread with rosemary

• Baby shrimp, bean paste, crispy chicken skin and black carrot

• Oyster with beet and coffee sauce, frozen buratta and radish disc

• Dark spaghetti with sea snails and sea urchin 

• Homemade ravioli stuffed with Osa Bucco in a beef broth

• Turbot with fried chard, cauliflower purée with green tea sauce and lemon drop

• Pigeon breast with liver mousse, endive and pigeon leg broth with chocolate sauce

• Goat cheese ice cream with sage dried compote and diced pear

• Lime sorbet with rose water gelato 

• Apricot biscotti with yogurt cream and apricot sorbet with burnt caramel 

• Coffee and truffles

Tasting menus are always a funny thing. Any food "issues" are seemingly thrown out the window, but I really don't know why?! I guess because you realize you are dining for the experience and science of it all just as much as the taste. As grossed out as I am at times, knowing what's on my plate, I'm always pleasantly surprised at how good everything is - the tastes are totally transformed into deliciousness. Dinner at Il Pagliaccio was definitely worth the experience, but I'm kind of mad at myself for wasting a dinner in Rome on something we would easily have experienced in the States. I fully understand how snobby that sounds, but.... SPAGHETTI! When in Rome, a pile of carbs on a plate would have made me equally as happy. C'est la vie!

As we are scheduled to travel to Florence tomorrow, Brandon decided we were running a bit low on Euros and set off to find an ATM once we were back to the hotel. I, however, chose to put on my pajamas and jot down the notes you see above. A solid 45 minutes later, Brandon returned. Euros in pocket and gelato in hand....and steam blowing from ears. He had walked 1.5 miles in search of said ATM! Oh, and the gelato? My husband knows me so well... He must have sensed I was feeling quite cheated on the dolci front following our high end dining experience. Tiramisu and Stracciatella gelato as a night cap?! Grazie!