Even though we intended to sleep very late, we were wide awake at 8a, so we decided to venture out for a coffee and maybe a little breakfast. When we went upstairs to go downstairs (🤣😅) we learned that our hotel has a complimentary continental breakfast. In true Italian fashion, it puts our continental breakfast to shame, because the hot food is made fresh and to order, and it comes with a delicious charcuterie board. And cappuccino. Also, it's served on a terrace with a view of both the dome of the Medici chapel and the Duomo. So eat your heart out, Comfort Inn...
After breakfast we wandered around a little-- checked out the aforementioned Medici chapel where we got in trouble for touching the walls (Oops). They have a lot of first class reliquaries there, which are ornate cases to house relics of saints. A first class relic is a piece of the saint... That's right, a body part. There are a LOT of body parts in this chapel. One of them, which happened to be the most beautiful reliquary I've ever seen, also housed the biggest relic I've ever seen-the femur of St. Casimir. Sometimes we Catholics are weird. Lol
We also visited the Officina Profumo - Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella to get some soap and lotion (we purposely only brought enough for a day or two just in case, and intended to buy some here, and since we were in the area why not get it where they've been making it for 800 years?).
I got the Rosa Novella scent, which is a very light, flowery scent with an after hint of rose), and Frankie got tobacco. It's definitely not a cheap place-- one bar of soap, a bottle of lotion, and a bottle of shower gel were €105-- but I bought a tube of hand lotion the last time I was here two years ago and I still have some, so a little goes a long way and the quality is outstanding. On a whim I tossed in some lip balm that was at the register and Frankie was incredulous when we found out it was €20, but I was sitting here earlier thinking how my lips haven't felt this soft since high school, so I'd say it's worth every penny so far. They also had an immersive art exhibition there, you know, as perfume shops/pharmacies are wont to do 😅... It was all about flowers and it was gorgeous.
We stopped in to a trattoria for lunch and shared a margarita pizza and a couple of glasses of wine (because, Italy), then headed to a Gelato place Miriam recommended. I had two flavors-- mango and chocolate hazelnut-- and Frankie had a walnut /fig flavor. All were delicious.
While we were eating the Gelato I mentioned to Frankie that I was disappointed we hadn't yet had any Pici (a type of pasta native to Tuscany that's like a very thick spaghetti and my absolute favorite) or any bistecca. He reminded me that we've not even been here two days yet 😂, so if you're wondering if I've learned any patience yet, you have your answer.
At some point in our walking I looked over and saw a very interesting mural on the wall. No surprise it was the entrance of an art gallery. Definitely a modern art gallery... Yikes. 😂
By then it was about 2pm and the temperature was up to the mid 80s (Fahrenheit) and humid, and Mr. Jetlag was knocking on the door and trying to be our best friend again, so we decided to head back to the hotel and honor the ancient Italian tradition of riposo (after, of course taking showers with our new soap so we could smell like Florentines while we slept).
We ended up sleeping a little later than riposo typically lasts, but we needed it, and no one was here to see it, so we probably won't get deported for it (so if you're reading this and we're still here, mum's the word okay?).
We had reservations at a steakhouse that Frankie has found in his research called Regina Bistecca (Queen Steak). It's right near the Duomo, so we got to see her again on our walk. Man, that sight never gets old, or less awe-inspiring.
On the way we heard what sounded like native-american music and came across this man who was dressed like Tonto. I thought maybe I should be insulted on behalf of native-americans, but the more we watched/listened the more it seemed very possible that he is, in fact native-american. At any rate his music was lovely, but it and he seemed so out of place we concluded he must have gotten lost and should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque. 🤣
The restaurant had a special with an appetizer, bistecca, a side, and dessert for €69/ea, but I told Frankie that I didn't want to waste stomach space on an appetizer, and all I wanted for dessert was cantucci & Vin Santo, so we just got bistecca and grilled vegetables. The waiter asked if we wanted one or two sides of grilled vegetables. Frankie asked if it was a small serving or a large serving. The waiter said medium, so we decided on just one. They brought out two steaks for us to choose between and we went with the bigger one. We also had the option of learning the lineage of the cow (like with wagyu), but we declined-we know that it must be a chianina breed, castrated, a virgin, only ever cut with a smooth blade- preferably one that is hand made in Scarperia- and of course always served "rare, bloody, and delicious".
Now some of you may think this a bit harsh/stringent, but 1- you've clearly never had bistecca fiorentino, because if you had, you wouldn't care, and 2- they've been doing it this way since the 16th century, so clearly it's a well oiled, fine tuned process that has the most delicious results and perfectly captures this old Tuscan proverb: che non carniggia non festival (those who don't eat meat, don't know how to celebrat.
After we selected our steak, they brought us out 6 steak knives and we were instructed to pick the knife we wanted, so that was kind of cool, but also kind of old school, duel, pick your weapons-ish.
I asked Frankie if he was prepared to take me on, and he thought he was, but... While I don't have any combat experience, I'm pretty sure if I have to fight over good food (especially the best steak in the world), I'll cut a bitch for sure. Nobody comes between me and a good steak...
Luckily the steak came out shortly thereafter, was cooked perfectly and there was plenty, so we didn't need to resort to violence.
The grilled vegetables were also tasty, but by US standards, I'd say it was a small serving, not a medium. They definitely under exaggerate when they estimate meat servings and over exaggerate the size of vegetable servings. That might bother some people, but I'm a meat and potatoes Irish girl all the way, and the estimates here always come out in favor of meat or potatoes, so I don't mind one bit.
The cantucci è Vin Santo were delicious, and of course we finished the dinner with due espressi - but now that I know, I always get mine corretto con sambuca.
After a delicious dinner, we paid the tab and headed out. I had to hit the restroom, so Frankie went too and when I came out I learned that he'd gotten in trouble while I was gone. Our waiter Valentina was waiting for him outside the bathroom door, and said "Francesco, come here!" she pulled him aside and held up his credit card. Apparently he'd paid the bill and forgotten to put his card back in his wallet. Once she realized it, she waited for him to make sure he got it back. So sweet of her to make sure we got it. Florentines are such lovely people 😍😍.
We sort of wandered after that- first we went to the uffizi, hoping for a violin player but found no musicians. That was kind of sad--the acoustics there are perfect for music, and frankly it seems a damned shame to ever not have someone playing or singing there.
Since we were just around the corner from Santa Croce, where we'd stayed last time, we walked over to our old neighborhood. Il franvescoBaldivino still had a few people there, so we popped in and were disappointed to learn that our friend Zac no longer works there. They were pretty much all closed up, so we asked them where we might get a nightcap, and they referred us to the square. This was kind of a novel concept for us, because while we adored this neighborhood when we were here before, there was nothing open on the square after about 11pm. We were happy to find there were a few places, so we settled on one and ordered a round of drinks and 2 espressi. It was gorgeous outside, so we sat out front and quickly learned that the table we'd sat at was actually for the place next door, not the one where we had purchased our drinks. The waiter was very gracious, and simply asked us if we weren't going to order anything to move, but I said to Frank "why don't we order something?", so we ordered a sambuca for me and Amaro for him and then they were happy to let us stay in our seats. We sat there for about an hour and enjoyed our drinks, and enjoyed the fact that the square which we fell in love with last time but had been virtually a ghost town for a lot of the time we were there was now alive and thriving. It was wonderful to see others enjoying the area we absolutely adore.
We finished up our drinks and started to meander back to our hotel. Our route found us near Piazza della Republica, and there was an Irish Pub still open and very busy. We popped in and found it a bit amusing that they had English karaoke downstairs, but upstairs out on the street it was mostly aitalians. We sat upstairs with the Italians for a while and visited with some people, and then headed home to our hotel.
I'm not sure the proprietors of our hotel like us very much, as after a certain time the past two nights they lock the doors and we have to be buzzed up. Last night he buzzed us up and clearly got dressed to greet us, but tonight he was in his undershirt and pants. Then, we were in our room talking, visiting, laughing and he came and knocked on the door, asking us to talk quietly because it is very late. Oops... Guess we're definitely not pensione people, we need a place with more space or thicker walls between us and others. Lol
Tomorrow is our anniversary, so to bed we go. Buona notte firenze our love.
Things we forgot:
- The toilets here are deep and a weird shape that Frankie refers to as a runway for excrement (he uses a different word, obviously, but there's pictures and descriptions of food above, so I cleaned it up)
- These chocolate bars, which is some of the best chocolate I've ever had, and it's the generic, store version...
- Every time Frankie tells someone here his name, they say one of two things(and sometimes both): a vero? (really?) or oh, you're Fiorentino! Given that in the states no one ever seems to be able to pronounce his name, let alone know where in the world his lineage originates, it makes him giddy and he feels so at home right away. ❤️❤️❤️
- Caffe corretto here is less espresso with a splash of liquor and more liquor with a splash of espresso. Which is fine, but you've got to be careful when you order that you're not on the cusp of being drunk, because that will send you right over the edge for sure.
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