Arrivaderci Italy, you've been good to me. Early tomorrow, I begin the long trek homeward but I welcome the return to all people and things familiar. Thank you o land of sun, good food and drink for showing me your particular brand of hospitality and a way of further appreciating what I have back home.
Over and out.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
26 Sept - The Last Supper
For my final dinner in Firenze, I sat down at L'Giuggiolo. Started off with a tomato terrine on a bed of mozzarella strips doused in yoghourt sauce with a pine nut and basil topping. With it, they served a lovely savoury po-boy style deep fried dough that was a perfect companion to the yummy starter.
Then on to the house specialty, a tagliatelle made on the premises with a strong peppery sauce and a healthy serving of beef chunks. Hearty, filling, yumm.
My only complaint would have to rest with the wine. The actual Chianti itself was tasty enough but the volume was so miserly, I honestly thought it was the tasting portion and the waitress would return to top me up!
Called it a wrap with the warm pine nut custard tart. Respectable but not earth-shattering. All in all, a pretty decent last supper.
Then on to the house specialty, a tagliatelle made on the premises with a strong peppery sauce and a healthy serving of beef chunks. Hearty, filling, yumm.
My only complaint would have to rest with the wine. The actual Chianti itself was tasty enough but the volume was so miserly, I honestly thought it was the tasting portion and the waitress would return to top me up!
Called it a wrap with the warm pine nut custard tart. Respectable but not earth-shattering. All in all, a pretty decent last supper.
26 Sept - Ponte Vecchio
The "Old Bridge" is the last remaining vestige of its kind as all the other medieval bridges spanning the Arno were blown to bits in WWII. It used to house butchers, grocers, blacksmiths and the like until the late 16th C when Grand Duke Ferdinand I - of the mighty Medici line - found contemptable that his private passageway across the river ran atop such a plebeian collection of shops. He decreed that all the commoners be shown the door and the only trades permitted ever since have been goldsmiths and jewellers. That's one way of cleaning up the neighbourhood!
26 Sept - Lampredotto
I went off in search of some serious Florentine street food for lunch. The hunt was on for lampredotto, a panini of spiced - ummmm - tripe...yes, I did say tripe. Tried 4 different locations in the city but none of the carts were operating as it was Sunday. One shopkeeper told me it is a lunchtime favourite of working men so the carts rest on the Lord's Day. Also, it is very unusual for women to be seen eating lampredotto. Does this mean Florentines believe tripe is too strong for a woman's palette? I chalk it up to fate that my trip for tripe was foiled. Moohoooooo...
26 Sept - The David
Somehow it must be in their blood. I spotted a cabbie speeding down the street as he hollered with visible contempt into the cell phone he held in one hand while the other hand was busy waving frantically through the air. Minor deet but let me point out that no limb was anywhere near the steering wheel. Speaking animatedly with one's hands: nature or nurture?
What an achievement to jam so many serious works of art and architecture into a few square kilometres. There simply wasn't enough time to visit the Uffizi but the Galleria dell'Academia was a must. David with his gorgeous oversized hands, arms and head...Michaelangelo was no hack, he knew exactly what he was doing. The sculpture was originally commissioned at the height of the Renaissance to stand tall outside the Duomo where it could be spotted from afar. Michaelangelo knew he needed to make David's head and limbs disproportionately large so as to be visible from a distance. Anyway, these are the hands that grabbed Goliath by the Adam's apple, crumpled him into a little ball and spit him out in the gutter. It's only fitting those hands should be big, almost unwieldy.
In my humble opinion, the uncontested crown jewel of Firenze has got to be the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, better known as Il Duomo. The huge cathedral is an astounding work with the exterior built of a stunning pastiche of green, pink and white marble along with an enormous assortment of fantastically ornate tools from the Gothic vocabulary of architecture. Started in the late 13th C, its construction spans fully 6 centuries, as hard as it is to fathom. The two sets of bronze doors alone took Ghiberti over 50 years to complete, a feat that earned him kudos from a fellow artist known to be very stingy with his praise: Michaelangelo was quoted as saying they were so exquisite they could serve as the Gates of Paradise.
What an achievement to jam so many serious works of art and architecture into a few square kilometres. There simply wasn't enough time to visit the Uffizi but the Galleria dell'Academia was a must. David with his gorgeous oversized hands, arms and head...Michaelangelo was no hack, he knew exactly what he was doing. The sculpture was originally commissioned at the height of the Renaissance to stand tall outside the Duomo where it could be spotted from afar. Michaelangelo knew he needed to make David's head and limbs disproportionately large so as to be visible from a distance. Anyway, these are the hands that grabbed Goliath by the Adam's apple, crumpled him into a little ball and spit him out in the gutter. It's only fitting those hands should be big, almost unwieldy.
In my humble opinion, the uncontested crown jewel of Firenze has got to be the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, better known as Il Duomo. The huge cathedral is an astounding work with the exterior built of a stunning pastiche of green, pink and white marble along with an enormous assortment of fantastically ornate tools from the Gothic vocabulary of architecture. Started in the late 13th C, its construction spans fully 6 centuries, as hard as it is to fathom. The two sets of bronze doors alone took Ghiberti over 50 years to complete, a feat that earned him kudos from a fellow artist known to be very stingy with his praise: Michaelangelo was quoted as saying they were so exquisite they could serve as the Gates of Paradise.
25 Sept - Eating and Breathing Futbol
How disappointing when I discovered that the restaurant I'd settled on was closed weekends. What food biz closes weekends? So in lieu of haute cuisine, I began paying attention to the buzz about a big Milan-Genoa game this evening. I'd already overheard a few Florentines talk about it so had someone point me in the direction of a "futbol tavern" and settled in.
Not even 6.30 and the place was full...of men and me, the token woman. They didn't give me too much attitude, they were too caught up in the game. Whoa, soccer is some kinda religion for Italians. It was pizza or bust in that joint and even that was a lucky gambit. Well, the atmosphere and Moretti beer made the experience worthwhile.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
25 Sept - Sienna
Rained cats and dogs all night long but my little tent somehow held up. Magically, the clouds moved away at dawn just in time for me to pack up and hike the remaining 10km into Sienna.
If you had to pick a single unique thing about Sienna, it would have to be The Palio. Held in Il Campo, Italy's largest and most statuesque piazza, The Palio is a biannual bareback horse race in which each of Sienna's 17 neighbourhoods is championned by a horse and jockey. The riders proudly sport their hood's crest and colours and fiercely loyal residents slug it out with friends in adjacent neighbourhoods.
Anything goes in this race. It isn't unheard of to have a jockey ambushed on the morning of the race. Jockeys are even allowed to lash out at one another and their horses in mid-race. Animal activists have a hey day.
Hung out in Sienna over lunch at Trattoria Papei where I indulged in the hand-made spaghetti with duck and bacon. Mamamia, que belleza! Knockout dish with a glass of Brunello and very attentive service.
On a different note, I realize I have become an avid consumer of maps. I devour them, absorb their goodness then spit them out. Why I don't already have a GPS is simply beyond me. Note to self: early Xmas gift.
Firenze. At this point, all I cared about was a shower. Ahhhhh, to be reunited with clean, non-hiking clothes and latte on demand. After rubbing the grime off (wooohooo, no more filthy feet!), I devoted my day to a complete effort in cafe-hopping and people-watching. Perfectly respectable and exactly what the doctor ordered after my somewhat active pace.
If you had to pick a single unique thing about Sienna, it would have to be The Palio. Held in Il Campo, Italy's largest and most statuesque piazza, The Palio is a biannual bareback horse race in which each of Sienna's 17 neighbourhoods is championned by a horse and jockey. The riders proudly sport their hood's crest and colours and fiercely loyal residents slug it out with friends in adjacent neighbourhoods.
Anything goes in this race. It isn't unheard of to have a jockey ambushed on the morning of the race. Jockeys are even allowed to lash out at one another and their horses in mid-race. Animal activists have a hey day.
Hung out in Sienna over lunch at Trattoria Papei where I indulged in the hand-made spaghetti with duck and bacon. Mamamia, que belleza! Knockout dish with a glass of Brunello and very attentive service.
On a different note, I realize I have become an avid consumer of maps. I devour them, absorb their goodness then spit them out. Why I don't already have a GPS is simply beyond me. Note to self: early Xmas gift.
Firenze. At this point, all I cared about was a shower. Ahhhhh, to be reunited with clean, non-hiking clothes and latte on demand. After rubbing the grime off (wooohooo, no more filthy feet!), I devoted my day to a complete effort in cafe-hopping and people-watching. Perfectly respectable and exactly what the doctor ordered after my somewhat active pace.
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