Florence Central Market | Piazza della Signora
Florence: We woke at 4 am, but managed
to doze through until 7 o'clock. Hopefully we will get on Italy-time by
tomorrow. Our room includes breakfast, so we went downstairs to the dining
room to check it out. I had read the "included breakfast" usually means
croissant and cappuccino - but not at the Hotel de la Ville. While it is a
buffet, the tables have white linens and fresh flowers, a waiter brings your
coffee or cappuccino and the warm buffet consists of scrambled eggs, eggs
with cheese and sausage. The main spread consists of several juices,
yoghurts with granolas and cereals, a platter of salamis and assorted cured
meats and several types of cheeses, fresh fruits (melons, grapes, kiwis,
peaches, oranges) sliced/diced and ready to eat. There is also a fabulous
bread basket with rolls, sliced breads, croissants, brioche and sweet
pastries. Our coffees were divine and though we didn't sample much, the food
was quite good.
Either quaint... or an ally: the view from our room
We loaded up our cameras, grabbed our guide book and maps
and headed out to the Florence Central Market -
the main shopping market for Florence. It wasn't too crowded
and it was interesting to watch the Florentine homemakers
purchase the ingredients for their evening meal. Here are
photos of our walk through the market - the shopkeepers are
more than happy if you photograph their goods. We didn't buy
a thing, yet we each came home with souvenirs - mosquito
bites! Dang!
This mushroom stall smelled divine - the dried tomatoes are
soft and chewy
The owner of this vegetable stand invited me to photograph
his goods - it was easily
the prettiest stall on the second floor and he had gorgeous
produce
Olives for sale in the Florence Central Market
Flowers Market
Florence Central Market (dt)
Most of the shops sell meat - cured meats are especially
popular and there are several stalls selling
only offal - tripe, tongues, hearts, livers, intestines and
all other sort of entrails
- See this guy in National Geographic Traveler Magazine -
Cured meats of all sorts (dt)
Beautiful, huge, butterflied chickens and this little guy
ready for your grill.
Pecorino cheese is one of the most famous products from this
area.
It is sold fresh, and then in various dried stages.
Delicious and tart.
Added later: After a quick rest, we headed
out again. This time we went east, towards the Arno River.
The walk to the river down Via Tornabuoni
passes by Gucci, Versace, Ferragamo, Prado, Hermes, Louis
Vuitton - to name a few. This is good street to just
window-shop! We crossed the Arno on the Trinita Bridge,
then continued up the river to the Ponte Vecchio
- the only bridge in town not destroyed by bombs during
World War II.
Trinita Bridge at the bottom of Via Tornabuoni
The Arno and Ponte Vecchio from the Trinita Bridge
Beautiful Florence from Ponte Vecchio
About a zillion jewelers line both sides of the Vecchio
bridge. There were also about a trillion tourists from about
100 different countries on the bridge, yet it did not
crumble into the Arno. Though I did a little window
shopping, I did not make a purchase on the bridge. Instead I
bought a can of mosquito spray at a pharmacy. There were
several from which to choose and I bought the one marked
"STRONG CHEMICAL SPRAY" and doused my ankles with the
anti-bug treatment.
We found a little trattoria that did not have an English
menu - thinking it would not be a touristy place. It wasn't,
but it wasn't really that good of a restaurant.
Trattoria Antico Fattore on Via Lambertesca did offer
several luncheon specials. About 15 seconds after our
(forgetful and a bit surly) waiter took the order, the
plates appeared on our table! When a group of men arrived
and sat down near us - food magically appeared at their
table before they even ordered. We decided this was a local
lunch spot for the nearby offices and no one wanted to
linger.
Lunch at Trattoria Antico Fattore
I had a caprese salad (photo above) and it was quite
tasty. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe. (I realize it looks
like a fried egg on the photo, but I assure you it is only
the bottom of a tomato sliced off and placed on a giant
half-ball of fresh buffalo mozzarella. And it is grated
carrot - not cheddar - sprinkled over the salad!) DT had
penne with mushrooms and he also ordered bruschetta
pomodoro, but it never appeared and was not on our bill when
we left. I bet we were not in the restaurant 30 minutes!
After lunch, we walked to Piazza della Signora.
Described by our guide book as a "unique outdoor sculpture
gallery", this plaza has been the hub of local politics
since the 14th century.
Piazza della Signora (dt)
Piazza della Signora (dt)
Piazza della Signora
In this plaza, Michelangelo's David was
placed. Today, a replica holds the spot and the original was
moved indoors to the Academia in 1873 to protect the work
(we visit museums tomorrow). There are many fabulous statues
in the plaza.
Persus with Medusa's head
Celllini (1554) |
David
Michelangelo (1504) |
Hercules and Cacus
Bandineli (1533) |
David (dt)
Crowd Control: the shirt reads "Vigilanza Ambientale". He
went all around the
loggia dei Lanzi asking people sitting on stairs to move,
shooing-away lingering
teens and warning tourists hovering too near the edge of the
balcony.
The Neptune Fountain by Ammannati (dt)
Gelateria Perseo
It was time for a gelato! We each had a teeny try of
gelato from Gelateria Perseo on the square. DT
had coffee flavored gelato and I ordered Creme Caramel.
Creamy and delicious.
Fruit market (dt)
Next we visited The Duomo. Built from
1334-1359, the church is the largest and tallest structure
in Florence. The dome, designed by Brunelleschi, was built
with bricks of varying size and is self-supporting. In fact,
the dome was built without scaffolding. The interior of the
church is simply massive and the dome is lined with frescoes
by Vasari - The Last Judgment.
The Duomo and Hebrew carving on a door
The Duomo
The "Gate of Paradise" bronze doors to the Baptistery at the
church, Lorenzo Ghiberti (1401) tell the stories from Old
Testament. Above are close-ups from "Moses receives the Ten
Commandments. The doors are copies; the original doors are
now in the Duomo museum.
Mosaic floor and ceiling in the Baptistery
Another look at the Duomo, the Campanile
(tower is 20 feet shorter than the dome)
and the Baptistery to the left
Duomo Tower (dt)
We were in church and beauty overload. DT wanted to go
for a jog, so we walked back to the hotel. Here is a photo
of two Smart Cars parked near out hotel.
Easy parking in Florence
Added much later: While we were out today,
we found a restaurant near our hotel we decided would be
nice to try to dinner. I slipped their card into my purse
and tonight we tried to recreate our steps to
Trattoria la Kadia. We walked around nearly every
street in the core of Florence the past two days and yet
still could not find a trattoria 200 feet from our room! The
streets in Florence are not exactly laid-out in a grid. The
streets are hundreds of years old and wind around each other
in an amazing configuration. It is good to have a stroll
before dinner!
When we finally did locate Trattoria la Kadia
we were ready for a cocktail and a meal. The wine menu
promised my Poison of Choice: Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio
for only 20 Euros per bottle. It was like I had died and
gone to heaven in Florence! DT placed the order. The waiter
smiled and returned with some sort of white
Tuscany-something, but not My Santa Margherita. "Would this
be okay?"
"No." Dang it anyway.
I ordered a gin tonic with lemon. Then the waiter made the
Big Mistake of telling me that Santa Margherita was also his
favorite wine in the entire world. "Except for tonight...
when we are out of stock." He made up for his lack of
inventory by giving me a gin and tonic that would have taken
care of several people. The glass was so tall; I had to dip
it down around waist-level to tip it for a toast. It was
filled to the top with gin. The server included a bottle of
tonic - I would say about a 6 oz bottle - and only about a
few sips had been added to my monster-sized glass of pure
GIN. It was a PITCHER of gin & tonic.
The chances of me contracting malaria tonight are slim.
DT's Kosher Dinner: Fruita de Mare at Trattoria la Kadia -
He LOVED it
I had a perfect veal cutlet and my husband devoured pasta
with shrimp, mussels, clams and shrimp.
After dinner, we walked the few blocks back to our hotel and in the lobby DT
was assigned the task of photographing a family making a pilgrimage. We have
already met several families on this trek: taking Mom or Pops back to Italy
- one last time. It is a big tourist niche to be sure, but interesting to us
just the same. "We are hoping to find her Aunt in Umbria." "There is a
chance he will know a Priest in Sorrento."
Our World is shrinking. Today I spoke Japanese, German and Mandarin. In
Italy!