Firenze Fabulous

I am paying 11 Euro to use this computer for 1 hour. It comes with a fabulous view, overlooking the lush, hilly Tuscan countryside in the town of Pienza, so I suppose that makes it a bit more worth the price. It is also used to writing in Italian, so it currently is underlining all of my words in red (indicating that they are mis-spelled) so please pardon any true mis-spellings- you know me, I count on spellcheck to help me clean up the mess that I typically make when storytelling!

Nevertheless, I was eager to sit and share experiences thusfar in Northern Italy.

After a cancelled connecting flight and an unexpected 5-hour layover in Frankfurt, we arrived in Florence around 5pm on Monday. We quickly freshened up and headed out for dinner in the Piazza della Santa Maria Novella. Over a basket of bread and a bottle of red wine (ironically, from Argentina) my eyes began to close right there at the table. It came as no surprise once we figured out that we had been awake for 31 straight hours! When we got back to our hotel there was American Country music (Johnny Cash & Shania) blaring from the piazza below our room, which just cracked us up!) We thought it would be charming to sleep with the windows open, but between Garth Brooks and Chad getting eaten alive by mosquitos that was the last night of that.

Anyway, after a decent night's sleep we prepared for day one in Florence- aptly nicknamed "Chad & Kellie's Day-of-Art!" (Friends, anyone?) Quick funny story from breakfast before I continue...Chad and I were enjoying our breakfast and yummy Cappucinos when we overheard the following interaction: A couple sitting next to us (English) was chatting with the husband of the couple who owned our hotel. The English man said to the Italian hotel owner, "they are calling for rain today" and the Italian man said in a loud skeptical tone "Who?" It was one of those giggle-inducing language barrier moments.

Moving on, our first step was at La' Accademia to see The David. We took a fabulous tip from one of my co-workers and downloaded Rick Steve's free audio tour of The David from iTunes and we fired up our iPods once we entered this small museum. I highly recommend doing this- we got great commentary, history and directions around the small museum which we could pause and restart at our own pace. The David is simply amazing. He is an absolute must-see masterpiece! I was moved by Michaelangelo's "Prisoners" which lined the hallway leading up to The David. It is amazing to think of Michaelangleo looking at a large block of marble and carving these incredibly realistic human forms. Also, since I am a tad bit claustraphobic, The Prisoners got my heart racing- I felt like I wanted them freed from the heavy stone that still encased the rest of their bodies.

After La' Accademia we had a fabulous lunch on a small side street in Florence at i Fratelli (The Brothers), a sandwich shop that we saw highlighted in a Rick Steve's TV special on Florence. The line went down the block but moved quickly. You ordered your sandwich and glass of wine by number, stood in the street and enjoyed it, and then set your empty glass on a little shelf attached to the brick exterior wall before you left. It was charming and delicious! (I ate a sandwich with peccorino cheese, truffles & arrugella for only 3 Euro!)

We had a 4pm reservation for the Uffizi gallery (all Renaissance art) so between lunch and Uffizi we walked all over Florence (and we began to understand why Rick Steve's referred to the city as the "Renaissance Treadmill"). Our walk through piazzas and neighborhoods included a stroll over the Ponte Vecchio. While there were approximately 870 things that I wanted to buy on this charming little bridge of jewelry heaven, Chad kept me grounded and reminded me that it was only our 2nd day in Italy and I certainly wouldn't want to blow my entire budget of spending money on the 2nd day of the trip. I didn't believe him at the time, but now I suppose he was right. :-)

In the Uffizi we once again listened to a free and fabulous Rick Steve's audio guide and learned about many significant pieces in the Renaissance movement. It undoubtably was a beautiful and fascinating time to live in Italy. By the end of this giant museum we were feeling a little tired, as was demonstrated when Chad pointed at a portrait near the exit of the museum and said "that guy looks like Dr. Fraiser Crain." I cracked up for about 20 minutes.

"Chad & Kellie's Day-of-Art" wrapped up with a walk through the Loggia of the Piazza il Signoria (which has amazing sculptures and fountains all out in an open forum) and dinner at Al Acqua al Due (Giada's favorite restaurant in Italy). While our meal at Acqua was delicious (I had a 5 pasta sampler that was like Italian-style Tapas- yum! Chad had a blueberry filet that the restaurant is famous for, and he also loved his dish) we were seated with a Mother-daughter couple from Atlanta who were less than ideal. I will spare you the racist remarks and complaints that they shared with us, thinking that we were "like-minded Americans." Yuck. Il conto per favore! (Check please!)

Day 3 in Florence was full of wonderful surprises. It started with us sleeping in and missing breakfast, so instead we grabbed a slice of pizza and enjoyed it at La Piazza del Duomo, overlooking the massive and beautiful church, tower & dome in the center of Florence. There was fabulous people watching. I was especially taken by the dressed up Italian men and women zipping around on their bicycles (Italian fashion observations to be featured in a future blog post). We spent the day touring churches (yes Mom, I lit candles inside of every one!) and then we hiked across the river and up a large hill to the Piazza del Michaelangelo. The views of Florence from this point were breathtaking. The energy on the other side of the river was very different. There were fewer tourists, more authentic shops and less English spoken. We really enjoyed our afternoon there.

Our evening contained the greatest surprise of the day. We asked Louise, the charming Aussie ex-pat married to the Italian hotel owner, to make us reservations for dinner at a restaurant that was recommended to us by 3 friends. She looked at us and simply said "No. You should do this instead" and then she planned out our evening. Chad and I just shrugged at each other and said Va Bene (Ok). She made us reservations for a new program in Florence called Art Viva which features a lecture by a local artist and a local aristocrat, intended to give visitors a sampling of life and culture in Florence. The first speaker of the night was sculptor Robert Bodem who was from the east coast but relocated to Florence 12 years ago to start the sculpture art program at the Accademia of Art. He showed us a number of his pieces and talked about his creation process (he focuses on life-sized nudes that are sculpted in clay but then bronzed). The second speaker was Count Sebastione Capponi of the Capponi family which dates back to 1200's nobility in Florence. He had wonderful stories of his family history and his current business of running 20 family villas and a Chianti Classico winery. He was smart, witty and did I mention he was a Count!?! We ended the evening chatting with him about his family, my family and what it means to be Italian (and he asked Chad "how does it feel to be IBM?"). He gave us the phone number to his winery and an autographed bottle of his Chianti. On our way out, the 3 women running the event complemented my outfit and told me I was the best dressed attendee that they had seen at Art Viva. (I was wearing my Anthropology map sweater, Philip Lim leather skirt, JCrew necklace & Chie Mihara heels- all accessorized with a "when in Italy" hip sway). Needless to say that was the icing on the cake and we left the event grinning from ear to ear and eternally grateful to Louise for the recommendation. A delicious dinner at La Decima Musa (also a Louise recommendation) followed. It was a great day and evening!

Which brings me to our final day in Florence which was short, but made very sweet by a quick little shopping spree. That morning we profusely thanked Louise for the wonderful recommendations and enjoyed our final breakfast with her and her husband. We then headed to the train station to drop off our bags and buy our tickets to Siena. We had 2 hours to kill so we walked back through some of our favorite neighborhoods. I was lured into the Missoni store by a small sign reading "outlet" posted in the front window. The merchandise was spectacular, but it was not really "outlet priced." Nevertheless, I left with a charming little coral colored dress that fits like it was molded for me by Michaelangelo. I also induldged in a feminine Doctor-style bag in cream, buttery soft Italian leather. I must say that I thought my shopping was incredibly reserved considering the abundance of beautiful shoes, bags, jewlery and clothing available in this amazing city.

So after just 3 days and a few hours, our time in the lovely city of Florence ended and our adventures in the Italian countryside began. I will follow up with posts about our night in Siena and our time in the stunning little town of Pienza (where I sit today).

Ciao for now!

Photos from Florence: