Reading and Roaming
On Monday, we had a fascinating tour of several of the remaining artisan workshops on the Oltrano, or other side of the Arno River. Here are fewer tourists, quiet streets, the Pitti Palace, and the Boboli Gardens. At one time, there were more than 6,000 artisans working in Florence. Today, the number is a small fraction of that …
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MICHELANGELO’S DAVID First off, a detour from the Medicis to Michelangelo. The Chief Penguin got us tickets to the Accademia for Saturday to see David. Saturday morning was lovely, but it poured in the afternoon, which resulted in a long soggy walk there. Our tickets were for 4:45 pm, but at 4:30, we weren’t sure we …
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MAIN SQUARE & DUOMO We’re re-discovering Florence and loving it! Our first and only previous visit here was almost 50 years ago. We wonder why we’ve not come back sooner. Elegant and lively, not as overwhelming as Rome, and with its bridges, architecture, and marvelous art, it’s a gem. Plus there’s a plethora of great small restaurants. On Saturday, …
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PASTA If you like pasta and/or pizza, you’ll never go hungry in Italy. We have been enjoying the pastas in particular and the fresh truffles. The Chief Penguin is truffle-obsessed; I’m just very fond of them. Consequently, we have both had tagliolini (the thin spaghetti-like pasta) with black truffles and a couple times with some early white truffles. The …
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