Castelnuovo di Garfagnana: best Italian meal ever in a beautiful Tuscan hill town

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Patty

George Emerson: “My father says there is only one perfect view, and that’s the view of the sky over our heads.”
Cecil Vyse: “I expect your father has been reading Dante.”
– Lines from the movie A Room with a View

Our last full day in Piazza al Serchio was to be spent on a short trip to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, which is 16km away. We had a leisurely Sunday morning, and then we hopped in the car once again for the winding but gorgeous drive to another Tuscan hill town. All I knew about the trip was that La Bottega del Frattore (Via F. Azzi 1/A – 55032, 0583 62179) offered wine tasting. I was up for that.

On our way to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, bales of hay in the fields of Tuscany.

Villas on the hill.

A view from the top of the area where the castle once stood and where a church still stands.

A charming café in Castelnuovo di Gafagnana.

A charming café in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana.

More charming shops.

A familiar type of establishment for me – a gelateria.

When we got there, most of the shops in the sleepy town were closed and the restaurants hadn’t opened yet for business. We found a gelateria to fortify ourselves once we got a quick tour of the church, which was in the middle of mass, and the remains of a castle. We walked around the quaint town and headed back to La Bottega del Frattore, which had a room in the building for wine tasting and its restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn’t time our tour of the town because the wine tasting bar had closed at noon. The restaurant had just opened, and our wonderful server Barbara said we could do the tasting with our lunch. One bottle of white, a Sauvignon blanc, and three reds, two Sangioveses and a Chianti. I was also up for that!

La Bottega del Frattore.

Our delightful server Barbara.

First wine tasting – a fruity Sauvignon blanc.

Although Barbara said that her English wasn’t very good and that she learned from the British tourists who come to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, in fact, her English was quite good. She told us that she wasn’t much of a wine drinker when she was younger, but her father, a wine merchant, told her at 22 that she’d better start drinking wine. And so she did.

Second tasting – a Sangiovese with frittata.

All of the dishes that were being served that day sounded wonderful. Four of us settled on the tortelli Bolognese while David ordered tortelli with truffles. We also ordered grilled mixed vegetables and a fried vegetable that reminded David and me of frittata, which his Aunt Shirley always makes at holidays. Barbara was very sweet and brought out the fried bread with cheese, which David’s truffle sauce (after he polished off his tortelli) made all the more heavenly.

Family-style platter of tortelli with Bolognese sauce.

David’s tortelli with truffles, which was very fragrant and delicious.

Grilled vegetables.

Third wine tasting – Chianti.

The last bottle of wine was a stronger Sangiovese, which was a little overwhelming for us. Barbara told us that this wine works well with cheeses, and so she brought a platter of hard and soft cheeses for us to try with the wine. Wow, that made a difference.

Last bottle of Sangiovese served with hard and soft cheese.

After all that food, we managed to save room for dessert – flan for Raissa and panna cotta for the rest of us. Mine was served with wild berries, while David got the chocolate version. The panna cotta was grittier than what I’m used to, but I liked it better. It tasted somehow more autentico for the region. But wait, there’s more. Barbara came out with a bottle of a very strong dolci liquor, not unlike limoncello, to finish off our meal.

Panna cotta with wild berries.

David’s panna cotta with chocolate.

We all agreed that this was one of, if not the best – I can say for myself that it was the best – meal we have had in Italy. We sat outside and the weather was pleasant in the shade. No tourists. When we arrived, we were the first ones to be served. By the time we left, the place was bustling. We had nowhere else to go, and so we enjoyed a leisurely nearly three-hour meal. We toasted our last day together. We head to Venezia early in the morning, while Raissa and Mike and their kids spend one more day in Piazza al Serchio and then head to Ravenna for the night and then on to Venezia. It was only fitting that our last day together on our Italian holiday be spent in Tuscany savoring a wonderful meal. Salute!

Finishing off with a strong liquor!

A fabulous wine tasting and lunch.

P.S. We all thought that Barbara was a wonderful hostess. I wrote my name, email, and blog address on a napkin and gave it to her. I told her when she comes to San Francisco, she must stay with us. I do hope she takes us up on that offer. Mile grazie, Barbara, for a memorable meal in a beautiful Tuscan town.

I leave this blog post with three variations of an amazing view. Here is mine with heavenly sky.

The next two are David’s photographs. Bella!

David’s amazing photograph of an amazing train bridge on our return from Castelnuovo di Garfagnana to Piazza al Serchio, with shadowy layers of mountains behind and villas and lush countryside on these beautiful, beautiful hills.

Lucca: strolling the walled Tuscan city

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Patty

A Chinese poet many centuries ago noticed that to re-create something in words is like being alive twice.
– Frances Mayes, American memoirist and poet, from Under the Tuscan Sun

David was giving me a hard time about spending so much time blogging (as usual, I’m just losing sleep over it – it’s not as if I’m taking up waking or touring hours to blog, in other words). I tried to explain to him that we have done so much in so little time that I’m forgetting the little gems, the backstories, from our trip. So finding this quote from Under the Tuscan Sun was perfect. This trip has been intense in so many ways – visual, mostly, but also dense with adventures – and putting my thoughts into words, trying to put pen to paper, so to speak, is making our trip enduring in my heart and mind, and leaving no stone unturned in terms of memories.

The walled city of Lucca.

Shady trees everywhere, with the sun creating light and dark patterns with the leaves.

Storefronts along the street that we descended upon after coming down from the walkway.

Today we got up early to make the 60km trip to Lucca, a fortress city that never tore down its Medieval walls and has preserved its ramparts. When we entered its walls, we headed to the top of the embankment that surrounds the city and walked about halfway around. The wall is 2.5 miles long and takes approximately 20 minutes to walk its entire length. Trees border this walking area on both sides and provide shade for pedestrians, bicyclists, and joggers alike. The shade made for a pleasant Sunday stroll, something many locals – or Lucchesi – and Italian tourists were enjoying. While foreign tourists were in sight, tour guides and buses were not, and in fact the tourism overall was understated, which was welcomed for us. It would have been cool to rent bikes to ride, but perhaps that’s for another visit. While cars are allowed within the walls, the traffic is minimal and many people get around on bicycles – both stylish and functional.

The Medieval town has built upon the ruins of its Roman amphitheater.

Part of the Medieval town has built its current buildings from the ruins of its Roman amphitheater.

Bicycles are all over Lucca.

Lucchesi scene.

Another bicycle…. I really love the style of this bright blue one.

We discovered later that the last weekend of each month local artisans set up their stalls to sell their wares. What a treat it was to wander among the stalls to see what these artisans had created – from wooden sculptures and glazed pottery to hammered metal, leather, and beaded jewelry. One guy was selling leather bracelets in single, double, triple, and more strands. I couldn’t resist. I also saw the leather purse I was coveting in Firenze here from the same brand, Pratesi – and it was 10 euros cheaper – so I took that as a sign that it was meant to come home with me. Lastly, in the shopping department, we came upon a small Vespa shop and I got a tin sign that I’m looking forward to hanging in our courtyard at home. The funny thing about this shop was that the shopkeeper was nowhere to be found, even as I poked my head over the counter and kept calling out, “Ciao!” – even though later I found that this means “pleased to meet you.” Determined to get the tin sign, I went to the shop next door and the guy led me to the Vespa shopkeeper who was chatting with the shopkeeper on the other side of her shop. Mission accomplished.

Leather artisan.

Luchessi leather bracelet.

We love vespas!

Lucchesi doors.

Storefront of an Italian eco-friendly clothing store.

Raissa stopped at a shop called Zazzi, which sold beautiful locally loomed scarves made of silk, cashmere, linen, cotton, wool, and modal. She befriended the owner Vladimir, who used to work for Gucci and then started his own business. He bought the rights to an 18^th century print of the city of Lucca to feature on the design of one of his scarves and also reproduced nine original paintings by Lucchesi artist Sibilla Stefani on scarves. Really beautiful work. Vladimir apologized for his English, although Raissa told him his English was very good. He sheepishly told us that his English was not so good for the tourists yesterday. While trying to explain to them that he had three versions of the same scarf, he instead told them he had “three virgins,” to which the English-speaking tourists smiled and told him he was “very lucky.” Raissa bought a beautiful pink version of the city of Lucca print.

Storefront of Zazzi and a scarf adorned with the 18th century print of Lucca.

Shops and restaurants line the inside of what used to be a Roman amphitheater.

Another bicycle photograph.

We stopped for lunch, which reminded me of the type of food you get as a tourist – okay but not great, but we made up for it by snagging gelato. David also found a quaint little shop that sold Porcini mushrooms and promptly bought two big bags, which he reported he got for a song. Back home, they are quite expensive. So he was very happy.

Gelato!

Happy after eating gelato.

Porcini mushrooms sold here!

Lucchesi doors.

By the time we got back, the day was nearly done. The boys jumped in the pool and we purchased groceries for another home-cooked meal – chicken cacciatore and fan-favorite sautéed fagiolini. The piazza was being set up for an open-air movie. I wish we had gone, but everyone was too tired by the end of our late dinner. I kept thinking of scenes from Cinema Paradiso. At any rate, we heard loud booms after midnight. Fireworks were going off at the square. We found out later that June 27^th is Piazza al Serchio’s Notte Bianca – White Night – a town celebration.

One last bicycle photograph before we leave Lucca.

Beautiful trees in Lucca.

This little respite in this beautiful region is just the thing everyone needed. If you are planning an Italian vacation, I highly recommend coming to the region and staying in a villa.

Two boys in Lucca, waiting for pool time.

Piazza al Serchio days 1 and 2: R&R at the Tuscany hillside villa

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Patty

“We residents sometimes pity you poor tourists not a little – handed about like a parcel of goods from Venice to Florence, from Florence to Rome, living herded together in pensions or hotels, quite unconscious of anything that is outside Baedeker, their one anxiety to get ‘done’ and ‘through’ and go somewhere else. The result is they mix up towns, rivers, palaces in one inextricable whirl.”
– E.M. Forster, British novelist, essayist, and short story writer, from A Room with a View

When I came across this quote from the movie A Room with a View, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We were wrapping up our Firenze part of our trip and everyone was exhausted. We saw as much as we could in the few days that we were here. Pisa was a huge tourist trap, though I am glad we were able to see it and it was along our intended route. I think we spent no more than two hours in Pisa. As we headed up the Tuscan hills on winding roads, I saw the most spectacular views of the Italian Alps in the background, ancient stone bridges for vehicles and trains arcing the valley and fume, or river, below, charming hamlets and villas jutting solidly from the hills, brightly colored villas with geraniums spilling out of window flower boxes in hot pink, orange, and red. I was also clutching my seat because the roads were narrow with little shoulder room to share with the many brave bicyclists who mastered the steep inclines of the mountainous roads. Hairpin turns. Those crazy Italian drivers again who would pass you on a near-blind curve. I appreciated David’s driving even more as we chugged up the mountain terrain in roughly two hours.

Piazza al Serchio, population 2,400, from the bridge. We saw many towns like this on our way to our destination.

We had to stop at Gallicano to get some groceries at the Conad superstore, the chain supermarket in Italy. While Piazza al Serchio has a small grocery store, bakery, and vegetable/fruit store a short walk from the villa, Conad had a bigger selection of items that we’d need for breakfasts, snacks, and dinners. One thing I have enjoyed drinking in the mornings here in Italy is pera, or pear juice. The directions to the villa were interesting as soon as we got to Piazza al Serchio – look for an old locomotive on your left, a petrol station in the center, a bar to the right, make a sharp hairpin turn left and cross over and go down this somewhat steep street.

Feeling like a local, getting groceries at the local superstore.

We drove up, with Mike in the lead car, and proceeded to drive into the driveway after opening up the automatic gate. Mike was greeted by a young woman and man in swimsuits. From our car, we could see the woman shaking her head and Mike pointing to a piece of paper. Raissa came over to update us. The girl at first said the house number was 38 or some such number and not the obvious 5 that was on a sign right by the gate. Then she said Rita, the woman who communicated with Mike and Raissa when they were booking the villa, was her grandmother, and her understanding was that the next set of guests would not be arriving until July 4^th. The grandmother apparently rented it out and didn’t tell the family. An older man was also on the property, and it turns out he is the caretaker. When all was said and done, the granddaughter, who was very nice but confused, and her group of friends vacated the pool, while we proceeded to unload our luggage and bring it into the house. Not unlike our Roma apartment introduction, our snafu at Piazza al Serchio was quickly resolved. Not only did Rita hurry over and apo

Firenze day 4 and Pisa: Arrivederci Firenzi and a quick stop in Pisa

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Patty

“Meanwhile, Florence was increasingly becoming, for different reasons that were not foreign to one another nor opposed – artistic and cultural on the one hand and political on the other – the Mecca of travelers and foreign residents.”
– Franco Cardini, Italian historian specializing in the Middle Ages, from A Short History of Florence

It always seems to be the case while traveling that you wish you could stay just one more day at every city or destination. Such was the case in Roma, Napoli, and now Firenze. Luckily, we did have a say in when we could leave because we had one quick trip to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and then on to our Tuscany villa in hilly Piazza al Serchio, which is 60km from the Medieval town of Lucca.

A panoramic view of the Medici Chapel’s interior.

The dome.

We were able to get to the Medici Chapels (Cappelle Medicee), which again was a short walk from the Hotel Giglio. Part of the Chapel of Princes was under renovation, but it didn’t take away from the splendor that the Medici family did not hold back on in terms of hiring the best artists and sculptors to create masterpieces in their name. The tombs of the Medici family members are scattered throughout the Church of San Lorenzo. According to Rick Steves, the architecture, tombs, and statues are almost entirely created by Michelango, who lived with them when he was in his teens. An exhibit on the main floor as you enter includes many “reliquiarios” of various family members. Upon closer examination, I realized what “reliquiarios” mean. Various parts of the body, mostly bones, are housed within these elaborate containers made of silver and other precious materials.

Somebody’s bone lies within this glass container….

One of the tombs in the main chapel.

Another tomb.

Intricate mosaic detail of a panel at the altar.

Michelangelo’s famous statues – Night and Day, and Dusk and Dawn – decorate the Medici tombs in the New Sacristry, located off of the Chapel of Princes. David pointed out that in Night and Day Michelangelo’s signature was the mask tucked under Night’s left arm. We got there just in time – as soon as we finished up taking photographs, a group of art students came in and other groups of tourists were lining up to enter. We were lucky in that we had the chapels mostly to ourselves.

Michelangelo’s Night and Day.

Michelangelo’s signature on Night and Day – the mask.

Michelangelo’s Dawn and Dusk.

Our next destination was the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, home of Lorenzo the Magnificent, which also includes the Chapel of the Magi. Renaissance art adorns the chapel and includes frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli. The Medici family originally occupied the house, which was built in 1444, but in the 1700s the Riccardi family took over and added its Baroque signature to the home’s style. I enjoyed the garden and courtyard. I especially was in awe of the Galleria, which features frescoes on the ceiling by famed Neapolitan artist Lucca Giordano and shows off the Baroque style, which interestingly I find too ornate, but the room was pretty spectacular.

The Palazzo Medici-Riccardo courtyard.

The garden with statues.

The Baroque-styled Galleria.

Painting detail in the palazzo.

Chandeliers hang from high ceilings that are ornately decorated.

On our way back from the last of our shopping in Firenze, I was determined to have one last gelato. But I wanted real gelato and not Americanized gelato, which is basically American ice cream. We were near a couple of corner gelaterias that showed off their mounds of “gelato.” When I spied a tiny obscure gelateria, I made a beeline, knowing that this place had to serve the real deal. And happily, it was real gelato! Both Jacob and Isabella admitted that they could taste the difference between today’s gelato and what we had been eating since arriving in Firenze. When I asked them to tell me what was different about this gelato, Jacob responded, “Intense burst of flavor.” I got almond gelato for the first time, and I, indeed, savored the intense flavor of almonds with every precious bite. I was quite content to leave Firenze, knowing that I had real gelato. A small pleasure, but nonetheless a pleasure.

The real McCoy!

We checked out of Hotel Giglio, which had taken very good care of us. Marco the morning clerk moved our cars and hopefully we won’t get any tickets two months from now. While Internet connectivity was really terrible, the hospitality, the charm, and even the Americanized breakfasts – meaning they consisted of more than just a hard roll – were worth high praise in their guest book. I was sad to drive out of Firenze, but I know I’ll come back – sooner rather than later.

A panoramic view of our room at the Hotel Giglio.

The drive to Pisa was perhaps an hour and a half at the most. We were warned that there isn’t much in Pisa other than the Leaning Tower. It was a very hot day and tourists and tourist buses were spilling into the area. We didn’t pay the 20 euros to walk up the tower. Instead, we were content with taking photographs and yes, doing the tourist pose of holding up the tower. It’s one of those things that if it’s on the way, you might as well see it, and then you can say, “Hey, I saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa.” We had lunch in one of the restaurants right off of the square, and then we hightailed it out of there. We made it to our Tuscany hillside villa of Piazza al Serchio while it was still light outside. But while reaching our destination happened Thursday later afternoon, I’m going to save that episode for the next day’s blog entry.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, the only thing in town worth seeing.

David’s artsy tower photograph.

The church, which sits in-between the baptistery and the tower.

Isabella and Jacob with the tower.

The tower is next to a church an a baptistery.

The tower is next to a church and a baptistery.

Yes, I shamelessly participated in the photo op of holding up the tower.

Beach Blanket Babylon-esque photo of Isabella and me wearing a Leaning Tower of Pisa “hat.”

Firenze day 3: Uffizi Gallery, Accademia, Galileo Museum, Duomo, mosaics, and more Clet

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Patty

“One doesn’t come to Italy for niceness,” was the retort; “one comes for life. Buon giorno! Buon giorno!”
– E.M. Forster, British novelist, essayist, and short story writer, from A Room with a View

Today, Wednesday, June 24^th, many shops were closed for Firenze’s holiday, which featured many events in celebration of San Giovanni Battista, the city’s patron saint. As we made a late start for the Uffizi Museum in the morning, we caught a parade where colorfully dressed ladies and men, some playing drums and trumpets and others waving flags bearing the city’s insignia, the fiorino or fleur-de-list, passed through the main streets of Firenze.

Pageantry on parade.

Colorful costumes on display.

Drummers and buglers.

Renaissance ladies, I think.

More colorful garb and flags.

Waving flags toward the end of the procession.

We didn’t have to stand in a long line to get in the Uffizi Gallery, which is next to the Piazza della Signoria and has its own Piazza degli Uffizi or courtyard, with wonderful statues of the great Florentines – Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, Dante, Vespucci. I only remember the major works from our first trip, but upon visiting the museum a second time I agree with Rick Steves that the museum “is not nearly as big as it is great.” Our goal in going again was to show Jacob and Isabella two things – that painting evolved from the flat Byzantine style to realism, which also included moving away from the religious focus to a celebration of humanism and Roman gods, and most importantly the famous paintings. We highlighted the characteristics of the Medieval period and then showed the kids the progression to the Renaissance periods. We pointed out Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Allegory of Spring, and Michelangelo’s The Holy Family, which is Michelangelo’s only surviving completed easel painting. We also brought to their attention a few other masterpieces by Raphael and Michelangelo.

Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.

Botticelli’s Allegory of Spring.

Michelangelo’s The Holy Family.

A beautiful room with sculptures.

Gerardo Delle Notti’s Adoration of the Child, circa 1619-1620, which David and I really appreciated. We were in awe of the painting’s luminous lighting.

Raphael’s Madonna and Child with St. John, “Madonna of the Goldfinch,” 1505-1506.

A sculpture that I really liked.

After the Uffizi, we ate lunch at a place not too far away from the gallery, Trattoria Bruzzino. David thought the food was serviceable, as did the kids, but I had a really delicate risotto (again al dente) with fresh and cooked-just-right asparagus.

Risotto al dente with asparagus.

The Galileo Science Museum is near the Uffizi, so after lunch we took the short walk to this museum, which celebrates the scientific inventions and the great minds behind them who flourished in Florence. From telescopes, clocks, and maps, to other fascinating inventions, this museum is definitely for the curious minded. What I found interesting was the exhibit, the Science of Warfare, which told the story of how science impacted military planning and strategy. The inventions and widespread use of firearms prompted a transformation of battlefields into “a field of geometric studies.” For example, mortars required the geometry of fortresses to be altered. Soldiers needed to know the ratio and the weight in range of cannonballs – or the precise measurement and computation operations. They needed to acquire basic mathematical principles for “the perfect management of military operations.” According to Galileo, who told noblemen who attended his mathematics lessons, a soldier should have a basic knowledge of arithmetic, geometry, surveying, perspective, mechanics, and military architecture. Interesting stuff. I ended up getting a book on the museum because trying to take in all that information was overwhelming. For a later read.

The room full of electromagnetic inventions.

Yup, that’s Galileo’s finger….

After the Galileo Science Museum, we still had energy and enthusiasm to go to the Galleria dell’Accademia, which is near the Hotel Giglio. Surprisingly, we didn’t have a long line to wait for the Firenze red card holders, either. Again, we’d gone here before, but we wanted to show the kids Michelangelo’s David, which never ceases to astonish and delight me, and his unfinished works, which provide a window to how the sculptor works but also how the subjects themselves are seemingly trying to free themselves from their stone prisons. Really amazing stuff. We also saw an interesting exhibit of plaster casts and watched a short video on the art of making the plaster casts.

The one and only David.

A closer look….

Michelangelo’s unformed sculptures.

The room of plaster casts, an exhibit I really enjoyed walking through.

On our way to the Accademia, we saw that the line for the Duomo was quite short. To boot, we didn’t have to buy a scarf to cover Isabella’s shoulders and Jacob pointed out that nobody stopped him for wearing open-toed shoes. Bonus. We walked through the Duomo, which was pretty as many of the church interiors are. The Duomo Musuem, however, is closed for renovations as was the Baptistery.

The dome of the Duomo from the inside.

The majestic Duomo.

Along the way, we saw more Clet, which has become an addictive game for our family of finding his traffic sign artwork:

Clet’s man in the stockade.

By the Accademia and San Marco Square.

The world on his shoulders.

Smitten!

Catching a ride.

Saw this as we were fleeing the bridge before the fireworks ended; quite appropriate!

How we felt at the end of the day.

And we also shopped. We passed by another mosaic shop, Scarpelli Mosaici (Via Ricasoli, 59r) near the Accademia, which is where we saw the same mosaic of the Duomo that we purchased 18 years ago (although the one we purchased years ago was outside of Pitti Palace). We figured it was from a template. And the price, actually, wasn’t much higher than it was 18 years ago, which is pretty amazing. We looked at ones that featured a Tuscan villa because we thought to get one to commemorate staying in a villa on our next stop. So we decided, after leaving the shop, discussing it more, and then returning, to get this one mosaic, which we are both excited to have in our home to remind us of this trip to Italy. We opted to have it shipped so nothing tragic like dropping it on the plane occurs. Later, we returned for a pair of exquisite earrings made of silver, marcasite, and ruby for me – a belated birthday present.

Our second mosaic from Florence – a Tuscan villa.

Drop earrings made by Scarpelli Mosaic.

We wanted to eat our final meal at Casa Lingua, which is where David and I ate a memorable Tuscan dinner on our first trip, but they couldn’t accommodate a party of eight, especially on a holiday evening. So we ended up at another restaurant that was on the same side of the Arno River. We forgot about the famous Medieval football game that was to take place at Santa Croce Square, but we were soon reminded as the winning team and its fans, a huge group!, loudly chanted and cheered along the winding streets of Florence. We fled in the other direction. At La Mangialoia, since it was our last night, I decided to order Florentine bistecca, which is well known in the region. My beef sirloin with arugula, pears, and balsamic vinegar seemed more rare than my usual medium, but it nonetheless was a deliciously fitting end to our stay in Firenze.

Florentine bistecca.

David’s spicy sausage and salad with fresh-made ricotta cheese.

Actually the fitting end was running to one of the bridges over the Arno River to watch the fireworks celebration after dinner. It was super crowded, which made me very nervous. We couldn’t really see much because we were on the wrong side of the bridge and should have been on the side of the river as opposed to a bridge. But nonetheless, we experienced Firenze’s big holiday and that was a special treat. We squeezed our way to the other side of the bridge, missing the big bang of fireworks that signaled the end of the show, but given the huge crowds, calm as they were, we didn’t want to spill out of the bridge and instead got ahead of the tsunami of people.

My lame photograph of the fireworks.

Running ahead of the crowd at the conclusion of the fireworks show.

Since our next stop at our Tuscan hillside village was roughly two hours away, we decided not to leave Firenze the next day until noon, giving us a precious half-day for more museums. We wanted to squeeze in as much time in this beautiful city as we could.

A familiar site coming from and going to our Hotel Giglio – an old entrance to a farmacia on Via Cavour.

Firenze day 2: Santa Croce, Bargello, Ponte Vecchio, Boboli Gardens, and Clet

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Patty

“But Italy worked some marvel in her. It gave her light, and – which he held more precious – it gave her shadow. Soon he detected in her a wonderful reticence. She was like a woman of Leonardo da Vinci’s, whom we love not so much for herself as for the things that she will not tell us. The things are assuredly not of this life; no woman of Leonardo’s could have anything so vulgar as a ‘story.’ She did develop most wonderfully day by day.”
– E.M. Forster, British novelist, essayist, and short story writer, from A Room with a View

We had our work cut out for us on our first full day in Firenze! We ended up purchasing a Firenze card, which gives you access to many museums in the city, gets you to the front of lines or at least to a shorter line as many people got those cards, and offered discounts for kids (European kids get in free) stateside. We tried to hit all the major museums on this visit because we wanted the kids to see the major works of art in Firenze. Maybe next visit we can hit the smaller museums and sites, as well as things such as the mosaic and leather schools that our friend Lori recommended to us.

Statue of Dante in front of Santa Croce Church.

The inside of Santa Croce Church.

More Santa Croce interior.

Our hotel, the Hotel Giglio, by the way, is close to Piazza de San Marco and the Accademia, which makes most points of interest within walking distance. That said, Mike wears a Fitbit, and we’ve logged some serious daily miles on this trip (the Coliseum/Forum, Pompeii/Vesuvius/Herculaneum, and today ranked as the days in which we’ve walked the most). The first stop was Santa Croce Church, a 14th-century Franciscan church that holds the tombs of the great Florentines, or as David says, the who’s who of Italian Renaissance. A statue of a stern-looking Dante stands before the 19th century Victorian Gothic façade. Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Dante, Rossini, Galileo, and other notables are buried in this church.

Tombs of famous Florentines every which way you look.

Michelangelo’s tomb. He lived to be 89 years old at a time when the average age of man was around 40 years old.

The domed ceiling of Santa Croce Church.

Right outside Santa Croce Church is a huge square typically filled with vendors in an open-air market type of atmosphere. This time, however, huge steel bleachers were set up for this famous match played on June 24th, which is Florence’s celebration of the festivity of San Giovanni Battista, the city’s patron saint. Our friend Lori, who spent a semester in Florence a couple of years back, told us that we could watch the Calcio in Costume final match, a Medieval style of football played in traditional costume. It’s apparently a violent sport to watch. Today, by the way, is June 23rd, so a day before the festivities. A description of the event conjured up scenes of rowdy crowds, so we decided we’d visit museums on the 24th instead.

At the Bargello, one of David’s and my favorite statues is this bronze statue called Fishing Boy (1876) by Vincenzo Gemito. Here is a detail of the statue. What we loved about it was the real-life pose of a boy struggling to hold onto the fish that he caught.

A detail of Michelangelo’s Bacchus (1496-1497).

One room or sala houses a series of Davids by the likes of Michelangelo and Verrocchio. Here is Donnatello's version (1440).

One room houses a series of Davids by the likes of Michelangelo and Verrocchio. Here is Donnatello’s version (1440).

Francis del Nora’s ethereal Placca di legatura.

The Bargello was our next step. It’s a small enough museum but dense with many statues. David and I had visited here before, but the building is pretty and I really enjoyed the statues. Once we walked through the Bargello, we settled for lunch and then headed over to the Arno and leisurely stroll over the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, which David told the kids was spared by the Nazis during the occupation of Italy because they thought the bridge was beautiful.

Lasagna lunch at Trattoria Palilottino on Via Iola dells Stinche.

Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River.

Family portrait on the Ponte Vecchio.

The DeMay family on the Ponte Vecchio.

Once on the other side, we went to the Pitti Palace (however, we didn’t have time to go through it) and walked around Boboli Gardens. I was so looking forward to going to the coffee house and ordering tartufo, which David and I deemed had the best tartufo among all the places we visited 18 years ago. Alas, the coffee house still exists, though we had trouble finding it, but they no longer serve beverages and dolci. This disappointment did not dampen our trip, however, because of the spectacular view from the top of the gardens. On one side you see the green hills and villas scattered across the countryside. On the other, the view of the city dwellings and, of course, the Duomo. As I mentioned, we didn’t get a chance to even blitz through the Pitti Palace, but we found time to stop at Pitti Mosaic, across the palace, where we bought a tiny mosaic of the Duomo on our last visit. There were some absolutely spectacular intricate mosaics, including a Tuscany villa scene and the Duomo, all for a mere 15,000 and 80,000 Euros, respectively. Sigh.

A view of the city and Pitti Palace from halfway up the steps of Boboli Gardens on a very hot day.

A view from the other side of Boboli Gardens at the top.

At the top of Boboli Gardens overlooking the Duomo and the city.

More spectacular views.

Coming back from the coffee house, we came upon more ways to show off the Duomo.

The fountain behind Pitti Palace.

We were scheduled to meet with Isabella’s friend Sophia and her parents, Charles and Lori (she who spent a semester here a couple of years ago), at the Piazza della Signoria, another area that I could spent hours simply gazing at the statues and taking in the Florentine experience. We finally met up after a case of mixed-up locations, and what a nice reunion it was for two friends who happened to be visiting Firenze at the same time.

Two friends from El Cerrito meeting in Firenze, Piazza della Signoria.

We walked to their favorite gelato place where they treated us to gelato. While we caught up in a nearby park, Lori told us about a French graffiti artist named Clet who lives in Firenze and cleverly alters street signs in the city. Thus began a game of locating his artwork. We found some but not as many as in a link that Lori sent us after our visit. But it was a fun thing to do and something your average tourist would know anything about. If you plan a visit to Firenze, see how many different ones you can find:

A Clet sign – bird pooping on a no-entry traffic sign.

More Clet.

After our visit, we wandered around, trying to find a good place for a Florentine meal. We settled on Caffe Italian Osteria, which had a Medieval vibe to it and very good food, which was only a few doors down from where we had a hearty lunch.