Last term, in November, I was feeling a little homesick having been away from home and family for the longest amount of time in my life. Thank goodness, then, I had a long weekend in Florence with my dad and step-mum to look forward to, and it couldn't have come at a better time!
Full of excitement, I hopped on the fast train from Bologna to Firenze on the Thursday afternoon. The journey only takes 30 mins and oh my word the trains! They are like (what I would imagine) first class on a flight. Huuuuge squishy seats and plenty of room. If you can, splash out the cash for a trip on one, it's worth it :)
Tip: by all means travel with trusty
TrenItalia but,
Italo is another great option and is often cheaper!
My dad and step-mum greeted me on the platform and after a long overdue hello, we wondered off to find our hotel and get our first look of this beautiful city.
As you walk down the main road out of the station, you start to catch a glimpse of a building beginning to come into view, covered in bright colours and an eye-catching design. Then turn round the corner and bam!! This BEAUTIFUL building in the middle of the piazza appears.
It's called the
'Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore' and I have to say, this has to be my favourite building in Italy so far.... I don't think I could ever tire of looking at it!
It also gives a pretty great first impression of Florence, and meant I couldn't wait to get exploring!
As it was early evening by the time we had checked into our hotel, and the weather was so nice we decided to climb the 414 steps up
'il Campanile di Giotto'. Typically, it wasn't long until the sun went down so we pretty much had to run up the tower. We eventually made it to the top and just in time to catch the sun dip behind the distant mountains, and turn the sky pink.
<< Pretty as a painting.
After all that running up stairs, we felt that we had definitely deserved something to eat. We had done a lot of homework in terms of restaurants, my dad had asked friends at work and I had some recommendations from my friend Henry who is working in Florence for his Erasmus.
We decided that we would walk through the fashion district to
La Martinicca, a traditional Tuscan restaurant. The restaurant is quite basic inside but the staff were very friendly and it was full which is always a good sign.
We decided to share a few dishes as we just couldn't decide what to have!
In the end we went for:
- Pomodoro mozzarella di bufala e basilico (tomato and mozzarella salad)
- Taglierini al tartufo bianco (white truffle pasta)
- Fagottini di pasta fresca alle pere in salsa di gorgonzola (Balls of pasta stuffed with pear in a gorgonzola sauce)
The Fagottini were amazing, and although I wasn't sure about pear and pasta, I have now been converted and will order it next time I see it on the menu.
Of course, the white truffle pasta was also yummy, but how can you go wrong with truffle and fresh pasta...?!
We skipped on pudding and instead went back to the hotel for a nightcap before heading off to bed, the first night in a warm, cosy bed for 3 months and it was bliss :)
The next day we decided to go for a walk, which is a habit of any Seaton family trip. There'll never be much sitting around involved.
The walk took us over
Ponte Vecchio and along the river Arno to the bottom of the path up to
Piazza Michelangelo.
It is 100% worth the walk as you get an amazing panoramic view of Florence below, to see how far you've walked and point out where you've been!
recommended route! >>
Also, if you're feeling up for it, you MUST walk up a little higher to the
'Basilica di San Miniato al Monte'. This church has the most amazing setting and I think it has the better view of Florence below.
Basilica di San Miniato al Monte >>
On the way back down, we stopped off at a restaurant at the old city walls.
Fuori Porta is fairly hidden but at a great spot for a break after all that walking! The interior is dark but cosy and they don't have a huge menu but you will still struggle to chose! There is also a great beer and wine list, very important!
What we ate:
- Insalata siciliana (Sicilian salad)
- Carpaccio di manzo di nostra lavorazione (Beef carpaccio)
- Patate arrosto (Roast potatoes)
They also do crostoni (grilled, open-faced sandwiches) which we didn't try but looked great.
The food was fresh and clean, a perfect light lunch to set us up for the afternoon!
We then carried on with the walk, which took us to the
Boboli Gardens and
Palazzo Pitti.
The weather was lovely and sunny and with the golden autumn leaves and blue skies, the gardens were beautiful and well worth a visit if you have a few hours spare. We didn't make it into the Palace but I would like to go back next time!
That evening we made our way to Santa Croce as there was a Christmas market going on. After finding the essential mulled wine stand we had a wonder around only to find a 'British' stall. Selling Cheddar. Result!!!!!!
That was an early Christmas present to myself sorted!
We then met up with Henry and after a couple of cocktails, went to
La Giostra for dinner.
Word of warning for this place, you MUST book. It was crazy busy when we got there, with a queue spilling out the door and even though we had booked we had a loooong wait for our table. This was only made better by complementary glasses of Prosecco and nibbles. Eventually the waiter took us next door (there are in fact two separate restaurants but they both do the same food/wine) and finally we sat down to eat!
What we ate:
- Carpaccio di Carne Chianina, Parmigiano, Rucola (beef carpaccio)
- Carpacio di Carciofini Morelli e Parmigiano Reggiano (artichoke and parmesan salad)
- Spaghetti di Mare alla "Versiliese"(seafood spaghetti)
- Ravioli di Pecorino e Pera William Fatti a Mano da Noi (pear and Pecorino ravioli)
- Pennette Gorgonzola Pera e Pistacchi (penne with pear, Gorgonzola and pistacchio)
The food was amazing and it felt like the ingredients were of the best quality! I had the Pennette and as I had eaten so much of the starter, I couldn't manage to eat all the pasta. It was very strong with Gorgonzola and I was already nearly full from the starter :/
The wine list is also amazing and the waitress basically put on a performance when pouring our drinks. Lots of swilling and waving about of glasses!
Apart from the long wait, and the lack of table for ages before our meal, I would say definitely take a trip here for a modern twist on classic Italian food.
The next day we took a trip to the
Uffizi Gallery for a bit of culture. This gallery is always a must on any list of what to do in Florence as it has a vast collection of important Renaissance art and sculpture. You will need to give it a couple of hours to visit! It's also better to book your tickets in advance, especially if you're visiting in busy periods as I've heard that the queues can get extremely long.
The museum was really worth a visit, they have some amazing paintings including Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus'. If you're looking for Renaissance art, this gallery will not disappoint!
We then went back to the main Duomo and climbed the stairs once again but this time up the dome of the cathedral. This is probably the better 'tower' one to go up if you only want to do one. Although it gets a little claustrophobic, you get to see the amazing painting inside the dome up-close and at the top you see the dome beneath you. Not good for people who are afraid of heights...
The baptistry has the most amazing gold interior of mosaics so make sure you don't miss it out!
To do all these, you can buy a card for 10€ which gets you in the Cathedral, Tower and baptistry for free as well as a couple of other churches/museums. There's more information on the card
here and you can buy it from any of the ticket offices in any of the mentioned attractions.
We also made a trip to the
San Lorenzo market where you will find leather stalls and gift stalls in abundance. Off to the side of the main street there is an indoor food market and if you're a food lover like me, it is heaven, even just to wonder around.
That evening we went to a restaurant called
Il Borro which is a fairly new restaurant.
They say
'The Tuscan Bistrois a real real concept shop halfway between restaurant, wine bar and store, an innovative space that has as primary essence, excellence, in all its various forms .Small, subtle fragments capable of giving colour to our journey.
A lunch, a cocktail or a simple breakfast, go to Il Borro Tuscan Bistro, sit back and try what is our vision of emotion.'
Our waiter was really friendly, having lived in England for many years and the interior is really bright and modern with the kitchen at the back on full show.
We all decide to have the 'Chianina arrostita, serivita con patate al sesamo ed insalata' (roasted Chianina beef with salad and potatoes with sesame) which was really nice, if not a tad dry.
I then decided to go all out and opt for the 'Torta di cioccolato' (chocolate cake) for pudding as it was the last night. It was more of a trio of chocolate truffles but it was amazingly rich and definitely hit the spot :)
Really great atmosphere in this restaurant, make sure you book though as it's not big.
The next morning my dad and step-mum left to catch their flight home but I thought as it was a s
Sunday and I didn't have any plans I would stay for the day to make the most of it.
Henry and I went to the
'Giardino delle Rose' which is a little public garden just below Piazza Michelangelo and a lovely place to wonder round and was a lovely end to my weekend in Florence!!
Florence is an amazing city. It is not as big as, say, Rome, but it has so much to offer and so is the perfect place to spend a long weekend, soaking up the Italian culture!
I will do another post with all the essential information on the restaurants/attractions I have talked about.
I hope if anyone does take a trip to Florence, this is helpful and gives you some idea of what to see and do.
Buon Viaggio! :)
Add the nutmeg and/or cinnamon.
