Italy Trip Day 3

In case you missed Day 1, Day 2.

May 6 - Eric and I woke up really early to take some pictures of the Duomo and streets around it before anyone was out. It was kinda cool to experience Firenze like that. It was really just shopkeepers getting ready for the day, the occasional passerby and us.

I haven't gotten around to cropping and changing settings on any pictures we took but I think there will be a few neat ones from then once I do.

That morning the 4 of us set off for our Accademia museum reservation time (kind of in the direction of the market and opposite of the Uffizi). Again no pictures were allowed inside :(  I liked this museum better than Uffizi mainly because of The David. It really was mesmerizing and hard to even put into words how impressive it was. We were there for about an hour.

Keith then suggested we go to the Galileo museum since we had more time before we wanted to go back to the apt for lunch. This was back over near where Uffizi is. Surprise surprise they did not allow photos either but we took a couple of shots by the river again.

anyone know what this sign means??

Then we went back to the apt for a late lunch of more food leftover from the market. We did a little bit of relaxing since we had decided to take the Duomo tour and climb the tour that afternoon at 3:30.

The Duomo was simply beautiful and more expansive that I imagined. The floors, the ceilings, everything. 

The sun clock

A guide gave us a tour of inside and then took us up a few flights of steps to the upper level for some pretty good views. I did a good job of listening to her inside but once we were outside all I wanted to do was snap pictures so I didn't catch much of what she said out there. 

And we look so colorful

And we still have a long way to go to the top.

Eric took over the camera for a bit and captured some artistic shots. Way to go babe!

And now for the rest of the climb. Almost 500 steps to the top. And we're not talking wide easy walking steps here. These were old steep very narrow steps. We were all questioning our decision to climb a freakin bazillion steps... especially those spirally ones... instead of just eating gelato. Don't let our faces fool you, it was a deep burn.

Then finally we reached the top and the view was just AMAZING! Completely worth the workout.

And then we realized we had to climb 500 steps back down... yowsers!

At which point we made our way to the nearest gelato place for a well deserved treat. It wasn't the best gelato we had since it was in a touristy area right outside the duomo but it was still good and cold. I know you like my one raised eyebrow... I didn't even think I could do that :)

Then we went back to the San Lorenzo market (that I mentioned on Day 2) a little before their closing time. I figured it would be easier to bargain with the sellers then... the negotiations went pretty well and we got some gifts we needed to get... such as a leather purse for a very important family member.

Then it was time for dinner. We had our first pizza in Italy and it definitely lived up to our expectations. The boys had calzones. I highly recommend Trattoria Nerone.

This was my dinner. I couldn't eat it all... I know, I know. But that is what the beauty of staying in an apt is for by having a fridge to keep it and a microwave to heat it up for leftovers.

Eric's

Oh and they serve their coke in giant wine glasses haha. Keith looks so stoic.

After dinner we went on a stroll and back to the apt to prepare for the next day. That concludes Day 3. Hope you are enjoying our journey!

Spicy Hummus Avocado Dip

I found this at Recipe Girl where I have gotten many wonderful recipes in my repertoire. And I've already made this for 2 get togethers this year - a cookout at our place and I took it to a cookout at a neighbor's in May per her request. People congregated around this stuff and ate it up.

Spicy Hummus Avocado Dip
From Recipe Girl, Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients:
10 oz container of prepared hummus
16 oz of picante sauce or salsa - recipe calls for hot but I have used mild and medium because I don't like really spicy
2 avocados, diced
tortilla chips

Mix hummus, salsa, and avocado in bowl and chill until you serve it. I like to save the avocados to mix in right before putting it out instead so they are nice and green and I can put some on top but either way will taste the same :) Serve with chips.

Seriously takes 10 minutes to make and it is wonderful. I personally like the chunky salsa over picante sauce. Make sure to get some or it will be gone!

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Italy Trip Day 2

In case you missed Day 1

May 5 - Our first full day in Firenze!

In the morning we walked about 15 minutes to Mercado Centrale. Along the way we spotted the San Lorenzo market too that we would come back to. Mercado Centrale was HUGE but they were renovating part of it. They have all kinds of meats, cheeses, fish, produce, spices, etc. We wanted to buy some lunch food for the next couple days.

We tasted various cheeses and finally picked out 3. Most of them were very good so it was hard to decide.

picking cheese is a very intense decision

We picked up olive oil, bread, tomatoes, apples, grapes, and oranges and this spice packet thing to mix in the olive oil. We later realized it was seasoning for soup... whoops.

Right near the market we saw Zaza's. This restaurant had been recommended to me by a few different people and a couple of guidebooks. We determined we were destined to return there that night!

On our way back we strolled along the San Lorenzo leather market to get an idea of prices.

Our yummy lunch from the market. Seriously some of the produce there tastes much better than produce here... so fresh! The tomatoes were some of the best I've ever had.

Then we went to our 1:30 Uffizi gallery reservation time.. only 10 min walk from the Flora (everything is very walkable there). I am so glad I made reservations because the line was at least an hour long and we just picked up our tickets at the building across the street and walked right in... well worth the small extra fee.

We used the Rick Steves free audio tour... it was good and a little humorous in certain parts to keep it interesting. We spent about 2 hours there looking at the Renaissance Art etc. They did not allow photos (flash or no flash) so that was a slight bummer. It was a mix of paintings and sculptures, heavy on the painting side. Many were of the Virgin Mary or Venus.

Right out a few of the gallery windows you could see the Arno river.

After we finished at the Uffizi, we walked across the Ponte Vecchio (bridge over the Arno) for lots of picture taking... and this isn't even a fraction of them.

On the other side and down the river a bit, in the process of looking for a gelato shop from the guidebook we found another tiny shop, Cantina Del Gelato, that looked good plus our uffizi's were tired haha.

We sat along the river wall and ate gelato. Eric and I split pistachio and yogurt. Megan got cheesecake and Keith got cookies. Everyone really loved their gelato!

We walked back to the apt and split up near the Duomo so Keith and Megan could find a place to print our Tuscany tour vouchers and Eric and I went back up to the apt to relax.

Side story: While at the internet point, the man told Keith it was 50 cents use the printer and K got into a little language barrier problem with the man by first saying he did not have American cents and could he just give him 1 Euro... not realizing in Italy they call it cents too. The man kept saying "no, just 50 cents" which K replied to with "no American cents!" Megan said she was dying laughing over by the computers but finally K figured it out. I'm glad we weren't there or this funny Keith moment might not have happened. I'm sure that guy is thinking yep no American sense whatsoever!

Then that evening after much anticipation we went to dinner at Zazas. It definitely lived up to our expectations! They have delicious truffle sauce... not that any of us had truffle sauce before to compare it to but it sure was amazing! Megan later said it was her favorite meal of the whole trip.

Day 3 coming up soon....