Today's theme is spoiling Krista, and that's just what happened....
Went for my cappuccino e Cornetto, and was treated to a chocolate heart in it (Frankie and Claudia may be right about this guy, lol). Then, we had to move apartments. We had to be out of the original one by 11am, and the new one wouldn't be ready until 3pm, but the owner allowed us to drop our stuff off and get the keys at 11 so we didn't have to lug it around for 4 hours.
This place is awesome. It's twice as big as the other, and while the view is a bit less, it's still a great one. She showed us around, gave us all the instructions on wifi, buzzing someone up, etc. (would have been helpful at the other place), and sent us on our way! Simple, helpful, and efficient!
Since we had some time to kill, and we'd been sick on the day we were originally supposed to go, we headed out for the Boboli Gardens. There are multiple entrances to them, and Frankie led us up a steep hill to the Fort Belvedere entrance. I'm not gonna lie, the walk was a bit tough in a few spots (my quads got a hell of a workout, lol), but oh my, the views we were treated to... Ah-mazing!
Unfortunately what we didn't know until we got there is that due to covid, only the entrance at the Pitti Palace is open, so we had to walk back down the hill and enter at street - level, but it's ok because I never tire of a gorgeous view, and we've done a lot of eating and not much walking over the past couple of days, so I could use the workout.
The Palazzo Pitti is a museum itself, and there are actually several museums housed at that location, which seems insane until you get there and realize the palace is over 100,000 square feet and the gardens, which are behind the palace, are on 11 acres... That's a big back yard!
Because it was Monday, only the gardens were open to tourists, which suited us just fine. It was an absolutely glorious day out, and we couldn't think of a better way to spend it than wandering through a centuries-old garden.
This place is gorgeous. I've seen pictures, you've seen pictures, so I know I'm not telling you anything new. However, what didn't resonate with me before, and maybe that's because no one focuses on it or maybe I just missed it when they did, is how much of it is allowed to grow wild. There are manicured areas for sure, and these are really lovely and beautiful in their own right- with sitting areas, fountains, and statues galore. But there are also a lot of areas that are just wild, where various walking paths are laid out, but otherwise the naturally occurring flora is allowed to just grow as it might. In some places the paths are lined and framed with trees that have been cultivated to form an arch over the path, providing a canopy of shade for your walk. In other places, they're made to look like footpaths through the forest that could have been made by man or beast, and the only way you know they're intentional is that they are lined with moss-covered stones, and occasionally there are stone benches for people to sit and rest and contemplate the beauty of the nature that surrounds them.
The gardens offer free admission to residents of Florence, and if I lived here, I would come every day. We wandered for hours, and I doubt if we even scratched the surface of all there is to see. There are areas where you are treated to amazing views of the city; places where you can see the Tuscan hills for miles and miles; spots where you can sit and enjoy the sound of a fountain or the wind through the trees, watching ducks swim on a pond while looking at beautiful statues; and acres of forest to wander through. With the exception of food, I really feel like this one garden (which is actually 20+ separate sections that could be gardens in their own right) personifies everything we've seen of Tuscany thus far - be it cultivated or wild, modern or ancient; this place is a perfect symphony of seeming contradictions that together create a masterpiece worthy of the awe, reverence, and respect it inspires. And regardless of who created it - God or man - the entire region appears devoted to one singular theme - appreciation of and devotion to beauty.
After about 3 hours of walking through the gardens, we'd worked up a decent appetite. We still had a few things we wanted to see - namely the Grottoes - so we popped in to the cafeteria on site for a snack. They only really had snacks, so we shared a few finger sandwiches. I'm not going to regale you with tales about how good they were, because they weren't all that impressive - except for the fact that they were in a museum cafeteria. I've eaten in a couple of these and if I'm comparing, this one comes in second only to the one at the Uffizi, and in fairness to this one, the one at the Uffizi has a full kitchen. This one does not. So, I wouldn't say you should go out of your way to eat here, but if you find yourself in need of a snack while visiting the Palazzo Pitti or Boboli Gardens, it's a viable choice. What you can also do (which we did not know until we were already there about 2 hours), is grab yourself some food on the way and bring it in with you (to the garden, not to the museum. Just to be clear). Then you can have a little picnic somewhere. That would have been better, so that's what I'd recommend. The cafeteria saved us from starving, and I don't want to discount that, but it would have been much cooler to have a picnic in a centuries old park by a fountain...
After seeing the Grottoes, on the way out we came upon a bit of an odd-looking fountain. From afar it looked like a fat baby sitting on a turtle, but as we got closer, we realized the baby had a full beard. So, it's a statue of a very naked, very rotund man sitting on a turtle. None of the other statutes (and believe me when I say, we saw at least 50, and we didn't get through more than 1/2 of the place) in the entire place are like this one. Most are of men or women, gods and goddesses, and a few children-all of which are fit and tall, and none of which are short or fat. So, this one stuck with me and I had to look into it.
The name of the statue is Fontana del Bacchino, which right away seemed odd to me because Bacchino means little or small Bacchus. Bacchus is the Roman god of agriculture and wine, and nothing I've seen of him has him depicted as a short, fat man. Upon further digging I found that the model for this was a dwarf who was one of 5 buffoons/court jesters in the court of Grand Duke Cosimo I. His given name was Braccio di Bartolo, but he was nicknamed "Morgante", seemingly as a joke/ironically because that's the name of a giant in a famous poem from that time.
So, then I got a little cranky, because I felt like this statue was mocking a dwarf that had already been mocked enough in his lifetime. But I figured they really had to hate this guy to make a statue of his mockery, so I did a little more research and it turned out to be quite the opposite.
This guy was apparently the original Tyrion Lannister- yes, he was a dwarf and a court jester (he even had to fight with a monkey to entertain the Duke and Duchess. Cringe...), but he was also very smart, well spoken, strategic, and a trusted advisor to the Grand Duke. So much so, in fact, that he is depicted in several works of art honoring the grand Duke, including the bronze statue of him on a horse located in the Piazza della Signoria. So, this fountain was actually commissioned to honor him, and he was depicted in God-like form not as a mockery, but to capture the respect and status he had. There's a link to an article about this guy below if you want to learn more about him. #themoreyouknow
After being spoiled by the perfect weather in a perfect garden all afternoon, Frankie was apparently just getting warmed up... We walked back toward our flat, crossing the Ponte Vecchio as we went, and doing a little window shopping. Frankie has a ring his father gave him that belonged to his grandfather. It's 18k gold with these beautiful flowers engraved into the sides and a sapphire inlaid in the top. It is exquisite, and it was purchased about 100 years ago (not an exaggeration) by his grandfather right here on this bridge. When he was here 20+ years ago, he brought me back a small, delicate, gorgeous gold ring with finials on top and a small inlaid sapphire, so we would both have gold and sapphire rings from the Ponte Vecchio. I loved this ring - partly because of all it symbolized, and also because it's the first jewelry he ever bought me. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago, it was stolen.
In one of the shop windows, we happened upon the same exact ring, without the sapphire. We went in to ask if they had any with the sapphire, and unfortunately, they don't make those anymore. Frankie wanted to buy me that one without the sapphire to replace it, but that made me very emotional. Not really sure why, but it just didn't feel right to replace it with close-but-not-quite.
The guy who worked there is a genius though, because he caught on to everything that was going on and brought me this beautiful ring that's similar enough to capture the spirit of the gesture, but different enough that it doesn't make me sad, so Frankie bought it for me.
As if that wasn't enough, we were walking over near the Duomo and Frankie insisted we go into the Pandora store that Maria Pia bought my bracelet in a few days ago. They have an Italy charm collection, and Frankie bought me the Florentine charm for my bracelet to remember the trip by (like I could ever, ever forget a trip like this). So, yeah. I'm a very lucky, very loved, very spoiled girl, and I'm totally ok with that.
After heading back to our new flat, getting settled in, and relaxing a bit, we headed out for dinner. I had mentioned the night before to Frankie how much I loved the burrata we had in Rome and how much I would love to have burrata again, so he found a place that specializes in it. We were headed that way, when another place caught our eye. We've passed it several times since we've been here (it's just up the road from us) but haven't really noticed it. It's called Bacco Matto, and it's a cool place with a mix of ancient and modern in the decor, so we stopped in for a couple of drinks. I was curious about the name, so I translated it, and it means crazy Bacchus-so that must be the secondary theme for the day. I had no idea who Bacchus was, so I asked Frankie and he just rattled it off the top of his head like he'd just read up on it or something, only here's the thing - he hadn't. Up to this point we hadn't really looked into the statue I told you about, so that was just something he pulled out of thin air. It was only after that, when I called shenanigans and had to look it up to verify for myself that he wasn't making it up that I learned all of that which I pretended to be so scholarly about earlier in this writing, and only much after that that I looked up the statue and learned all about Morgante. So, to put it in other terms, Frankie is a genius and there is no end to the wealth of information in that handsome head of his...
Anyway, we got to talking to the guy in charge (not sure if it's the owner or manager), and learned that the place is very local, that they like to be a little eclectic with their menu, and that the head chef is a woman, so we decided to cancel our other reservation and have dinner there. Now, I can't speak for the place we didn't go, but I definitely don't regret eating where we did.
We started with an appetizer of steak tartare which was absolutely out-of-this-world delicious. Then we split a pasta dish of homemade noodles that were cylindrical in shape, with a light sauce of creamed pumpkin, and drizzled with what they called cream, but was more like if you took heavy whipping cream and condensed it down to the consistency of a syrup (only not at all sweet - just the cream), and what they called basil olive oil, which I believe was just crushed fresh basil soaked in olive oil. Oh my goodness.. So freaking delicious.
For the main course, we each had our own. Frankie got grilled octopus with squid ink mousse. The octopus was cooked perfectly, and if it was seasoned at all it was only with a bit of salt. He said the ink mousse was delicious and the combination was too, but I didn't try it so we'll all have to take his word for it.
My entree was another example of today's theme... Those of you who know me know that I love a good hamburger. I don't mean a fast-food, poor-quality mystery 'probably made up of parts' meat hamburger, I mean a good cut of meat with the right amount of fat to make the outside crispy and the inside juicy, fresh and twice ground, perfectly seasoned and served medium rare to medium, eat it with a fork because the bun takes away from the flavor burger. And I don't eat them with a bun. I was doing that long before the low carb fad for exactly that reason - if the burger is good enough, the bun just gets in the way.
So anyhow, we have seen burgers here in a few restaurants and I haven't gotten them because in a land of bistecca, who wants a burger? But given the meal so far, I just had a feeling that this burger was worth trying, and boy was I right... I ordered it medium - rare, but it came more on the rare side. I found out burgers, as with pretty much all red meat here are served rare, so I went with it. Holy Moses, that is the best burger I've ever had. I offered Frankie several bites and he wasn't interested (he doesn't love burgers, let alone think of them as their own food group like I do). However, I told him I was full with about 3 bites left, so he ate those and now I think for the first time in 23+ years, he understands my love of a good burger. It was served with French fries, and as usual here, they were cooked perfectly. I'm going to have a hard time eating out when I get back home just in general, but I might lose my ever-loving mind the first time I eat a soggy French fry. They literally don't exist here. I've had them home made by Margi, and I've had them at at least 4 different restaurants and I've never had a single one that wasn't perfectly cooked.
I was too full for dessert so I just had my Caffe correto con sambuca, but Frankie ordered what turned out to be a jar of lightly sweetened, fresh ricotta with caramel and sliced figs. He said it was fantastic.
So, add Bacco Matto to your list. You won't be disappointed. And click the link below to learn about the OTL (Original Tyrion Lannister) just cuz learning is fun.
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