My dear friend in Tuscany

Paneforte and other Italian sweets

One of my dearest friends and a fellow art/food lover is currently travelling around Italy with her partner, J has been wanting to visit Italy for many years and I am so excited that her time has come and that she is getting to see the chaotic city of Rome and the beauty of the countryside. It also means that I’ll have someone else to talk Italy with and she hopefully won’t get that glazed look in her eyes that I see in others when I’m daydreaming aloud about my holiday.

Today J will be travelling through Tuscany and spending time in Florence, on my desk is a copy of her itinerary and it is great for reminiscing about our trip and the various cities and towns we visited. My first visit to Florence was in 1999, I was travelling alone so had signed up for a tour, not everybody’s idea of travelling but perfect for a shy, single girl who had mainly travelled overseas with family. The David was a highlight for me, at that stage photography was allowed in the gallery so I made sure I captured him from all sides, the rest of my (short) time in Florence was spent on the hunt for a leather jacket and eating delicious pizza in a restaurant near Basilica di Santa Croce. There was no time to rub the nose of the boar on the Ponte Vecchio, nor did I try the local gelato and the Uffizi was not even on my radar, however I did get to see the interior of the Duomo and Basilica di Santa Croce and began to appreciate the influence that religion had on art and architecture. Apart from driving through the countryside to reach our accommodation in Pontassieve and stopping for a quick visit at Pisa to see the Leaning Tower, there wasn’t a chance to really see much of Tuscany so I made sure that we spent some time in a Tuscan hill town on our last trip.

Last year we spent three nights in Florence and four in Siena, we could have stayed longer however I was keen to also visit a few towns in Umbria and didn’t want to waste time hopping from town to town each day. Florence the second time around was a different experience, we didn’t have a set schedule although there were a couple of things that were a must: The Uffizi, climbing Brunelleschi’s Dome, Boboli Gardens, a cooking class and the Ponte Vecchio. The aim was to also spend time just enjoying the city: walking along the river, drinking coffee or a glass of wine in a piazza, exploring the food markets and doing a bit of shopping. I am hoping that J is able to enjoy some of the simple pleasures and not spend all of her time racing from tourist attraction to tourist attraction, however, when you spend over 24 hours on a plane and several thousand dollars in plane tickets it is important to make sure that you see everything you want to see.

When thinking of Tuscany I had a particular image stuck in my mind, one of rolling hills, stone houses, cypress trees, fields filled with poppies and olive trees. Thankfully it wasn’t far from the dream, renting a car made it really easy to get around and there were plenty of places to stop for a break, have a bite to eat and take photos. In the four days we visited Volterra, San Gimignano and Pienza as well as spending time in Siena and it was a nice balance because we could take our time in exploring the towns without feeling pressured to move onto the next destination. Next time we will stay somewhere else and see a different region of Tuscany, if you have any suggestions I would be happy to hear them 🙂

View from Uffizi cafe

Tuscan countryside

San Gimignano Ceramics

 

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In love with Orvieto

Our accommodation in Orvieto

Our room at B&B Villa degli Ulivi, Orvieto

Our last day in Orvieto and after stressing about money all afternoon because we couldn’t withdraw cash from either of our accounts, we discovered that there was an actual limit of 250 euros on the bancomat machines in Orvieto. Problem solved, we’ll pay our accommodation with Visa and withdraw more money when we get to our next destination. The fees St George Bank charge us are killers – about $75 AUD in conversion and foreign withdrawal fees to withdraw about $2000 over the past 5 weeks. It is the little things that often drive us nuts, however it isn’t enough to spoil our stay in this wonderful hill town north of Rome.

Anyway, we walked into Orvieto at about 7pm this evening, our B&B accommodation isn’t far but it is all uphill, we walked to the nearest carpark and then made use of the escalators to take us to Piazza Republica. It is Saturday night and the town is packed with locals and tourists, the bars and streets are full, Italians think nothing of standing in the middle of the road while carrying out a conversation. We walk towards the Duomo and along Corso Cavour checking out the menus of several restaurants and trattorias, it is the Zeppelin Restaurant menu that gets our attention, variety of choice at a good price and not far from the escalators that brought us into the old town. Lunch had been an excellent selection of goodies ranging from peanuts and olives to panini, all free with the wine that we drank, it was cheap, tasty and we met a couple of wonderful ladies from Brazil and an English author currently living in Orvieto. Although good and filling, lunch had left us seeking a good solid meal of typical Umbrian fare and we found it at the Zeppelin on Via Garibaldi, not far from Piazza della Republica. The girls that served us at Zeppelin were from the US, friendly and helpful they sent us special help when we asked about wine. Our meal was superb, our waiter (Vito?) recommended several dishes, Marty ordered the wild boar with spaghetti and I the Ravioli stuffed with Asparagus and cheese and covered with a black truffle sauce and almonds, the wine recommended complimented our meals beautifully and it was probably the best service we had experienced since arriving in Europe. Our secondi (mains) were pork stuffed with prunes and rosemary and wild boar with olives, tomatoes and red wine sauce, another excellent choice guided by Vito (please forgive me if I’ve gotten the name wrong) and topped off by Grappa and Limoncello. Not once were we made to feel like tourists, it was a fabulous evening and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who appreciates good food and service. If you think it sounds expensive, think again, for a good bottle of red wine, a bottle of water, 2 first courses of pasta and 2 mains it was only 56 euros, the liqueurs at the end of the meal were ‘on the house’.

Orvieto has been an extremely wonderful and positive place for us to visit, our accomodation is among the best we’ve had in Europe, the rooms and breakfast are very good and the owners are delightful, very friendly and helpful. I booked online through expedia.com.au and the wonderful Bed & Breakfast Villa degli Ulivi is highly recommended through TripAdvisor as well. If you don’t want to walk up the hill (about 10 mins) you can drive and park near the escalators, it is a great location and the rooms are very comfortable – we wish we had booked for longer. Breakfast is an assortment of cakes plus toast, pastries, cereal, ham, cheese and boiled eggs, their coffee is so much better than the majority of places we’ve stayed that we usually have two or three cups.

In addition to the good food and service, Orvieto is a pretty and easy town to navigate, the facade of the Cathedral is one I could sit and stare at for ages, it is truly magnificent and it is a magical sight when the sun is setting and the light changes from bright to warm and golden. Underneath Orvieto is over one thousand caves and/or tunnels that have been used for keeping pigeons, as WWII bomb shelters and many moons ago, for the production or milling of olive oil. The short tour we did was worth the 6 euros they charged, the tour guide had a great sense of humour and was extremely knowledgeable, plus the caves provide a cool escape from the heat of the day. I didn’t make it into the Cathedral or any of the museums open to the public however, the town itself is worth spending time in without having to visit such attractions, we enjoyed people watching over a glass of Orvieto Classico and plate of nibbles/tapas/bruschetta and met the loveliest people while doing so.

If I sound as though I’m rambling I apologise, this is written on a belly full of wild boar, truffles, red wine, limoncello and a tiny sip of grappa so my senses are pretty much overloaded.

Ciao and good night!

Welcome to Florence

The Baptistery, Duomo and Campanile, Florence

Our time in Florence didn’t start in the best possible way, we misread the timetable (trains don’t run as regularly as thought from Vernazza) and missed the early train from Vernazza to Monterosso and  which also meant that we missed the train from Monterosso to Pisa. A little frustrated and cranky we caught the train from Vernazza to La Spezia, changed at La Spezia and hopped on a train to Pisa and from Pisa we caught a train to Florence, arriving about an hour later than expected. Better than not arriving at all and we were able to have a picnic lunch on the train. Before leaving Vernazza we stocked up on picnic supplies, fresh pane, huge slices of mortadella, a slab of cheese and locally produced pesto, roughly 13 euros in total which is no cheaper than buying a couple of freshly made panini but at least the pesto lasted for more than one use.

We were booked into the Hotel Castri, it had received reasonable but mixed reviews on TripAdvisor so I was a little nervous about what we would find upon arrival. Staying in Florence and Rome for budget prices can often mean old buildings, small rooms and furnishing requiring an update. As long as it is clean and secure I am happy to stay just about anywhere. As it turned out, we didn’t even get to see inside the room because it wasn’t ready, apparently there was a problem with plumbing/electricity or something similar, arrangements had been made with the Hotel Basilea around the corner so we were to spend our first night there.  I had read about similar happenings on a number of travel websites so it wasn’t a completely unexpected and I had thought that if this was going to happen it would happen in Florence or Rome. At the Hotel Basilea we discovered that our room hadn’t been cleaned and it would be an hour before it would be ready for us. Another minor glitch and although not completely happy we hit the streets of Florence in the hope that all would be okay.

View of Campanile and streets of Florence from the Duomo

The Duomo (cathedral) is a huge building that dominates the square, you don’t expect to it to hit you in the face as you walk around the corner but that is what happens. Open space is lacking in this part of Florence, the Duomo, Baptistery and Campanile (bell tower) consume the area and tourists fill the gaps, artists have their easels set up outside the Duomo and you can have your portrait or caricature done in a matter of minutes. For a view of the city you can climb the 463 steps to the top of the 15th century dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi or climb slightly fewer steps to the top of the Campanile, we opt for the dome, pay our 8 euro admission fee and take the claustrophobic path within the dome to the top of the Duomo. The interior of the dome can be admired up close during the journey, frescoes designed by Giorgio Vasari and painted by Frederico Zuccari depict the Last Judgement, looking down you can see barely see the faces of the people below as they look up at the frescoes. From the top you can see Piazzale Michelangelo, the Santa Croce church and the Arno river, even on a hazy day it is a fantastic sight and it is not surprising that getting a photo is difficult. Everybody who has made the climb wants their picture taken with Florence as the backdrop, elbows and minimised personal space are required.

Inside the Brunelleschi's Dome

Frescoes on the ceiling of the Duomo

Perhaps my recollection of Florence from 12 years ago is a little hazy or I’ve romanticised the beauty of the city in my mind, but it seems a little dirtier than what I remember. Only the facade of the Duomo is clean, the rest is blackened by pollution and the streets look grim and grotty. I have to remind myself that Florence is still a city and the majority of it is older than the Anglo history of Australia so you’ve got to expect a little dirt and grime.

The San Lorenzo markets are famous for cheap leather goods such as bags, belts and jackets, there is also an extensive selection of souvenirs, t-shirts and scarves. The leather jacket I had bought on a previous visit needed replacing, it was outdated and spent all of its time hanging in the back of my wardrobe. I don’t like being hassled or pressured into buying something and wanted to take my time in selecting a jacket, at Michelangelo’s store (not sure of full name) near the markets I found two jackets to my liking and whether they were a great bargain or not, the price was right for me so I bought both. I didn’t buy any handbags, surprisingly leather handbags were cheaper in Venice and I had already purchased a couple.

For our first night in Florence we dined at Antica Osteria Napul’e on via Guelfa, just down the road from Hotel Basilea. Very little english spoken and some of the menu items are a mystery to us, yet we were able to order and enjoy tasty pasta, salad and wine. We would soon discover that the ‘insalata mista’ (mixed salad) we ate that night was quite different to the ‘insalata mista’ we would be presented with throughout Italy.