Is one palace and one cooking class enough for a weekend in Florence because I feel like I didn’t do enough? Ok also a couple great parks and about 50000 steps, 2 great meals, and tons of culture. I know I’ve been in Italy for over a month but I still usually feel rushed and like there isn’t enough time in a day, a week, a month.
Florence is a lot. So international so easy. So glad it’s Feb. and not summer.
Found My B&B on “B&B italia” app. after 3 “applications”. These people don’t take just anyone! You have to apply to get in. I convinced this lovely lady to take cash when I arrived because I couldn’t figure out how to do a wire transfer. (Also it sounded sketchy). The room is a lovely spot in her home (I think). It’s the first B&B host I’ve ever met that talked more than I felt I had time for. She made a very long pitch for her favorite sites. So long in fact that I totally lost track of my priorities and wandered aimlessly as I always do, and ended up in the food market, as I always do.
For those who haven’t been here. It seems almost every tiny ancient winding street is the nicest and most interesting with the best handmade shoes and leather and antiques and cashmere on sale. If I were even a little rich I’d be poor by the time I left Florence. On the downside. It is undoubtedly over-run by tourists. But it’s still lived in and feels real this was best exemplified on Sunday morning when I wandered into a few “Flea” markets. All filled with locals chatting and kvetching. There were no fake leather or souvenir hawkers. All were authentic antiques, handmade goods, cheeses, and vintage clothing. Uber cool
The one official tour I did was of the Uffizi Palace and the Vasari Corridor. The city (and all of Tuscany) was dominated by the di Medici Family (bankers- invented the credit and debit accounting system) for 100 to infinity years depending on how you count.
The Uffizi Gallery is dripping with Old guy paintings and statues and lots of religious relics but also some fun and interesting pics and stories. The real reason I wanted to go was the Vasari corridor. It’s over 1km long and goes from the palace ACROSS the Arno River above the Ponte Vecchio and into a Cathedral and then into the Pizzi and drops you in the Boboli gardens. All private passageway basically through the whole city. This route was being renovated for the past 8 yrs and just reopened in December so I felt pretty lucky to get to go. The pictures can’t impart how special it felt walking those hallways.
My cooking class had 14 English speaking people. That alone made it worth the 50€. We made ravioli, tagliatelle and tiramisu. 2 Scots, 2 Brits and 4 amazing college girls from Creighton University made me laugh the whole
(Idk why the photos inserted here. Very frustrating, but I’m too impatient to replace it at the end. Nine photos is the limit on this post format so I’m doing another one shortly with just photos. One of the girls is waiting for me to take her to the park…)
time. We drank too much Prosecco and still made delicious food. I think that’s the key.
I’ve run out of time for more details. But for sure Florence is one of this great cities of the world,like London, that exceeds your expectations at almost every turn.
We are saying goodbye in Fano tonight with a pizza party and some special carnivale pastry. They’re like eclairs with red sugar on top. Also light-as-air fried dough cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar. Both delicious.
I’m sorry I’ll miss the big Carnivale parades that are every Sunday for a month! I’d have planned to stay through the weekend if I knew.
Random:
I taught the girls how to make their own whipped cream and flatbread.
You can’t get cash at the Conad. (THE grocery store here)
So annoying
New thing this week:
I did laundry at the laundromat because I needed a dryer before I could pack. The machines have the soap built in. Or I think that’s what the lady helping me said. You get tokens like at the arcade. It cost me 11€ (finally found the euro on my phone).
Did I mention that the gelato place here had whipped cream with toffee like crunchiest in it? A treat all its own.
Heading to Lisbon tomorrow with my big bag- wish me luck!
Here are my upcoming travel plans )visitors are approved for any/all locations!)
2/13-3/13
Helena’s house near Alvaiazere Portugal. https://maps.app.goo.gl/oywpvXEj6gT21gjJA?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy
90 day will be up so I Have to exit the Schengen.
3/13-4/2 -not sure. Make me an offer. 🤣Hopefully a beach. Maybe Madeira or Azores.
4/3-22Dogsitting near Ipswich, UK
4/23-4/30 Dogsitting in Manningtree, UK
5/1-5/7 Dogsitting in Bantry, UK
5/7 Possibly visiting with some of Jeans family in Liverpool and Isle of Man
5/7-7/6- need a plan. Hopefully another work away in Albania or Montenegro.
7/6-? Sweden with Malin 😍
Love reading these! I wanna be you when I grow up! Everything sounds so interesting and fun. Enjoy! If I didn’t have the wedding, I’d be joining me somewhere along that route.