Italy: Florence, Monday 3/18/24
First full day in Florence. We found out that Lucia got up in the middle of the night and polished off a package of prosciutto in the fridge. We started off with breakfast at I Dolci Di Patricio CosÃ--coffee and pastries--and then went to another cafe, Forno Ghibellina, for a second round. We aren't wasting any opportunities for food. We really liked Forno Ghibellina; I had a cornetto with pistachio cream. Greta has been having a cappuccino each morning with her pastries.
As we walked around, Lucia and Greta enjoyed finding funny/grotesque statues or artworks and photographing them, then taking an unflattering picture of one of us, then showing us both together and taunting, "Spot the difference!" They thought this was hilarious.
Our morning activity was the Duomo Museum and Baptistry, which we'd reserved in advance. The museum was fantastic--beautiful art, including the Doors of Paradise and a Pieta that Michelangelo, dissatisfied, destroyed; and history about how the dome was built. The baptistry was underwhelming since all of the murals are under renovation. We stopped at a bookstore so Greta could buy a couple of kids' books in Italian, a souvenir she really wanted from the trip.
After a stop at the apartment, we went to lunch at Trattoria Sergio Gozzi, a place we'd read about before the trip. Lunch only, and no reservations accepted--we got there right at opening time and got a table. Lucky us, because it was delicious. We had:
Drinks: carafe of house red wine
Me, Andrew, and Lucia - tortellini with truffle sauce
Side of fried meatballs
Greta and Dad - ravioli
Mom - tripe in tomato sauce
The tripe was difficult to look at. To my shock, Lucia, Greta, and Andrew all tried a piece and even thought it wasn't bad. Tripe is everywhere in Florence--in sandwiches, on menus. It is a line I cannot cross, but Mom counts this as one of her favorite meals of the trip.
As always, Lucia and Greta found many reasons for high hilarity during the meal. I love seeing them so carefree, just having fun together. I love traveling for so many reasons, but this is a big one. One day I'm going to collect all the pictures I have of them cracking up over restaurant meals during our trips.
After our lunch, we went to the Mercato Centrale to explore. Mom bought some spice mixes and the girls picked out some pastries. Then we all had gelato at Il Gelato E Il Cioccolata, in the upstairs food hall--some of the best we've ever had. We followed the snack with a visit to Santa Croce to see some famous tombs, then did a little exploring and shopping. While Lucia and I looked at purses in the leather market, Greta rubbed the nose of a bronze boar--the Fontana del Porcellino--that's supposed to be good luck.
Later in the day, we went to the Palazzo Vecchio. This was a much larger museum than we'd expected, with so many ornate ceilings and murals and floors. Every room was stunning. We saw Dante's death mask, which Andrew and I were familiar with from watching the movie version of Dan Brown's Inferno before the trip. Next time we'll book a secret passages tour.
Despite all these lovely events, it rained for most of the day, and none of us had really packed appropriately for such weather. Mom had an umbrella; the girls had hoods on their sweatshirts; Andrew bought me an umbrella from a street vendor. By dinnertime, we were ready to be warm and dry, and our chosen restaurant, Osteria San Fiorenzo, was a perfect spot to recoup. We had:
Drinks: bottle of chianti classico
Me - ribollita soup and pici cacio e pepe
Andrew - pacchari with burrata and sausage
Lucia and Dad - cacio e pepe
Greta and Mom - spaghetti with clams
A shot of limoncello rounded out the meal. Lucia wanted to try the limoncello, and just put the tiniest bit on her lips, declaring it delicious. Then she took the tiniest little sip, winced dramatically, and wailed with absolute confusion, "Why did it change?!" She was also sitting in front of a large cooler of giant Florentine steaks, which she enjoyed posing in front of for selfies, because teens.
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