In Florence, it's all about the food

July 18-21, 2014

(Edited: now with more pictures!)

So, life has taken over completely and I still haven't posted about our last two cities on our July Italy trip. It is now almost 2015 and we've since taken another week-long trip to Hawaii and have plenty of life updates to blog about, so I guess it's time for a little catch up. (I certainly can't leave Florence and Rome un-blogged and I couldn't possibly blog out of order, either.)

Florence started with a whirlwind. Instead of a hotel, we'd booked a 3 bedroom flat through homeaway.co.uk. After the disastrous flat we'd gotten in Brussels, I was extremely nervous about how this one would turn out. Luckily, it was a hit! I bit of a further walk from the central sites than I'd expected, but the exercise made us feel a little less guilty about all the pasta and gelato.

On the first evening, almost as soon as we arrived, my mom and I broke off for a pizza and gelato cooking course while the others searched out the newly-opened Brewdog Firenze.

so delicious, I couldn't resist a bite before I remembered to snap a picture

The next morning we had our only planned event: a walking tour that included skip-the-line entrance to see Michelangelo's David and il Duomo di Firenze, Santa Maria del Fiore. I've been to visit David three times now and my favorite part is getting up close (and personal) for the details: the veins on his hands and feet, the individually chiseled hairs, the finger and toe nails. David is magnificent as a whole, of course, but I am absolutely fascinated by the details.

The Duomo, in my opinion, is much more impressive outside than it is inside. For such an intricate exterior, the interior is very plain.

On my last visit to Florence I climbed the famous dome with my students and teacher friends. It was exhausting and a bit claustrophobic, so Joe and I decided to take on the famous bell tower this time. Because of the open windows and stairs that wind around the exterior of the campanile instead of the interior like so many others we climbed, Giotto's bell tower was actually much easier to climb that we'd expected. It also allowed for a pretty spectacular view of the city.

from the bottom, feeling accomplished

The rest of our time in Florence was spent mostly on three things: visiting the newly gentrified San Lorenzo market, drinking and hanging out at Brewdog Firenze, and playing games at home. The weather switched drastically from humid and hot to pouring rain, both of which drove us in doors and made wandering the city unappealing. We ate a total of 3 meals at the market in just under 3 days.

When I came to Florence in 2008, I fell in love with the beautiful displays of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, nuts, and other goodies sold at San Lorenzo market. Since then the upper floor has been transformed into a modern foodie heaven. You can order full meals or go tapas-style. There are vendors for every course and every type of Italian dish, plus grocery stores and a cooking school. There's a wine bar and a beer bar and even a store for Fiorentina FC soccer club.

On Sunday, Mom and I made our way to the market because we knew we'd loved wandering the stalls before. When we discovered the changes that had been made, we brought the rest of our party back for dinner. On Monday, when the pouring rain ended our desire to wander the city by foot, we returned to get dry and stuffed ourselves with treats again.

Joe, Janis, Julie, and Val also visited the Uffizi Gallery on an afternoon tour one day. This lead to what Julie refers to as Joe and Val's "Disney Princess moment." You may decide for yourself:

They made friends with a little birdie.

Visiting Brewdog felt a little bit like going home. The bar in Camden became our go-to hangout in London and we always felt welcome, included, and surrounded by supportive friends. Even though we didn't know anyone at the other locations, we got the same feeling of comfort in the Edinburgh and Glasgow locations when we visited Scotland. It was no surprise really that Florence felt the same. Italy was our last stop on a year of travel and Joe and I were both slowly adjusting out of our London life. We were back with family and heading home to California very soon, but hanging out at Brewdog felt like one last chance to say goodbye to London and ease ourselves out of the life we'd made there during our first year of marriage. In Florence, it was a home away from home (London) away from home (San Diego).

games, a Brewdog staple

looks like flirting

The benefit of our flat was that we got to hang out together in a communal environment instead of sitting on beds in someone's hotel room. That meant games. And wine.

bedets are for feet washing, right?

Monday morning we'd intended to walk across the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace and wander the Boboli Gardens, one of the Florentine sites I still have yet to see. Sky-shaking thunder and street-flooding rain changed those plans. Instead, our morning looked like this:

And with that, we bid farewell to Florence and boarded the train for our final stop: Rome.