Florence | Italy | A Tuscan Dream
Where: Florence, Italy
When: August 16-19
Hotel: Berchielli 5/5 stars
Day 3
Another day, another Italian city. Arrived at Firenze Train Station and grabbed a cab to hotel. This was super easy- the cabs were right outside the station and so much less chaotic than Venice/Rome. We were too early to check into our hotel so we dropped our bags, and walked over Ponte Vecchio for food at Palazzo Tempi.
· Our first pizza in Italy, burrata/truffle slapped so hard.
· Caesar salad was ok nothing special, croutons and big slices of Parmesan were really good but lettuce was curly and a little weird.
After our lunch, we checked into the Hotel Berchielli, got settled in. Beautiful hotel with a lot of charm. Gorgeous breakfast spread, lovely staff, location was perfection right by the ponte vec bridge. The hotel even had a little bar in the lobby that we enjoyed because our bartender Claudio was a precious gem of a man with fabulous recommendations. He did, however, laugh at me when I said the “Florence Wine Windows” were a must do on my itinerary. What can I say, I’m a slut for instagram cliches.
Crossed over the bridge looking for our first wine window, was a line of about 45 people because ~tik tok rules the world~ so we tried another- Via Belle Donne. Got 2 spritz and 2 wines. My finger got slammed in the little wooden window but I was brave about it because I was being photographed.
Had dinner reservations at Trattoria Zaza- it was packed. They can fit over 600 people in that place- insane. We had a bottle of Riserva Chianti Classico. Shared beef tartare ( Michelle and Steve not a fan ) and an antipasti board that was recommended by the waitress. Other meals- eggplant parm, lamb chops, wild boar papparadelle, white truffle veal escalope, TERRIBLE bread in Florence because they don’t use salt, but it did fix the wobbly table. On our walk home after dinner, we walked past the duomo at cathedral at night- unreal vibes.
Day 4
Buffet breakfast at hotel was delicious, gorgeous cappuccinos with our names written out in chocolate. After breakfast we walked along the river to our Tuscany tour of the day (Walkabout Chianti Food and Wine Tour). Our tour guide, Sara, was lovely. She was knowledgeable about the Tuscan region and especially had a love for Tuscan wine. She was informative, funny, clear and to the point. She took very good care of us and loved using the word “APsolutely”.
· First stop was at Poggio Torselli; a stunning Italian villa that is still a private residence of the owners family, believe there’s over 60 rooms and only 4 people live there. After a tour through the vineyard, fermentation and aging rooms, we passed through the entryway and garden of the residence to be seated for our tasting. The tasting included 3 wines, a young wine Bizzario, Chianti Classico Annatto (entry level), Chianti Classico Riserva (middle grade) all paired with different cheeses ricotta, pecorino and another really good soft white cheese on a cracker that I can’t remember the name of. Purchased a bottle and olive oil (why is it spicy) to take home with us.
Fun fact- the black cock image on the wines in Tuscany is like the stamp of approval for Chianti wines
· Next stop was at Rignana Winery which included an outdoor restaurant for lunch. Very remote location with a bumpy ride in our giant safari vehicle. Passed a castle where the monks live and where the Tuscan wine originated. Drunk as a monk will now be my new fav saying. Started off with Rosatta wine followed by a blind olive oil tasting of a good and bad oil. Bob and Steve failed the test- they thought the shit oil was better lol. Tasting was down on a large picnic table on the field with spectacular vineyard and hills view. Rignana Lunch was family style meal with our tour group. Starters of crostini, bruschetta, cannellini beans, liver, and lardo which is another Italian cold cut, slimy and fatty but tasty at the same time. Pappardelle with wild boar ragu, very tasty and on par with Zaza’s we had last night but this did have bigger chunks of meat. Black truffle ravioli with cream sauce, very delicious and we lucked out because the girl at our table didn’t eat truffle.
Had some free time to explore after lunch so we bought a bottle of 10 euro rose at the shop and drank it back on the picnic table where we did the first tasting. Perfect for a 97 degree day with zero breeze. Not playing victim- just saying we were brave about it.
· Back to the bumpy roads as we headed to our last stop @ Villa le Corti, tour of the more traditional underground tunnels, fermentation tanks and aging barrels, contrast to the fancier new winery in the morning. Tasting was done in loft above fermentation tanks and shop where they served us yet another board of Italian salted meats. How much prosciutto is too much prosciutto? The limit does not exist. Tasted another Rosatta followed by Chianti Classico Riserva and grande finale of Gran Selezione the highest quality Sangiovese grapes.
Tour Recap: a great experience and would highly recommend, each vineyard was unique in their own way and all the wines and food were delicious.
After the tour we popped around a few more shops as I continued the hunt for a perfect leather wallet at a reasonable price. After about the 30th leather cart, we began realizing these items were infact not real leather and just had a little stamp saying it was. I was getting discouraged and Bob was getting annoyed. Marriage.
We checked out La Petite Cocktail Bar for aperotivo’s before finding a place for dinner, this was very different from the traditional Italian bars and was more trendy like an American upscale bar. Incredible espresso martinis, corpse reviver cocktail (gin, lillet, lemon I believe)
We had no reservations for dinner, initially sat down at i-Tuscani2 but weren’t impressed by menu and prices were much higher than what we were looking for so we continued on. Stumbled across I Ristoranti Tre Merli with a much more laid back atmosphere, outdoor seating and very affordable priced. We weren’t starving so each of us split a spaghetti carbonara, Greek salad, and a 4 cheese pizza that Bob ate 95% of. Carbonara was the highlight of the meal, very rich and creamy taste and of course homemade pasta! The pizza had great flavor from the sauce and cheese but the crust still hasn’t wowed me (Bob). Steve and Michelle shared a fried fish platter which we all tried some of, very light tempura like breading very different from the thick greasy American fried batter. We were exhausted from a long day so went straight back to hotel after dinner.
Day 5
Another great breakfast at hotel early before heading out for our day of museums/sightseeing.
First stop was Duomo Museum, very cool learning about the years and years of planning and work to build. Wild that those people in the 16-17th century committed their entire life purpose to building a church & I can’t commit to a job for more than 3 years.
Walked to Mercato Centrale (all local merchants selling their goods) shopped around and got some spices as well as fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil and tomatoes for caprese picnic (and by picnic I mean sitting on a bench and eating ball of mozzarella with a single plastic fork stolen from a place setting at the market, while shoving pieces of basil in our mouths after a bite of cheese).
Fun fact- did you know that buffalo mozzarella isn’t actually spicy like buff sauce? It’s just made with the milk from water buffalo. Rookie mistake.
Back to Duomo to climb the 416 steps to the top of Giotto’s Bell Tower. We were already drenched in sweat from standing in line but made it all the way up without dying. Very impressive structure with great views of the city, tiny stairs not meant for 2 way traffic made it a little hectic with the crowds and hundred degree temps but still worth it. Line was insanely long to get into the main cathedral of Duomo so we didn’t make it in (free entrance). Briefly popped into the less popular smaller baptistery for a few mins which is really all you need.
Interesting fact- you had to be baptized in the duomo baptistery before being allowed to set foot in the cathedral.
Our passes included access to Santa Reparata but that line was also very long and I was already fighting for my life after all those stairs so we didn’t wait.
Made our way over to Uffizi, we bought tickets ahead of time directly through the official site(30€ each) which allowed us to avoid skipping ticket line, avoid 3rd party sites which offered essentially the same thing but for like 47€. Opted for the 6€ audio guide instead of full guided tour, we were still a bit lost and wasted way too much time early on in the first exhibit as we didn’t really know how big it was. Tons of sculptures and paintings, very intricate ceiling paintings throughout main corridors and some viewing rooms. Spent about 3 hours in total, woof.
Needed a bite and drink after being on our feet all day, stopped by a very casual place called Bar Uffizi for snacks and a drink.
· Melon and Prosciutto which was surprisingly a very good combo with the contrast of sweet and salty.
· Filled Focaccia, basically a sandwich with Speck (another Italian cold cut we had never heard of, pecorino cheese and super yummy sun dried tomatoes.
Took our bottle of wine from first winery visit to Poggio Torselli up to Piazzale Michelangelo for the sunset which was beautiful and great panoramic view of city. A woman dropped her beer on Bob so we got up and left, conveniently right after sunset. F that B.
Walked back towards civilization while continuing to work through our jumbo bottle of wine, stopped along the River to chat and drunkenly argue probably. Made our way up to La Giostra in hopes of a table without reservations, we looked earlier and the only available res was for 10:15 PM and we said that was way too late but funny enough by the time we made it there it was exactly 10:15 and we were the last table sat for the night and THANK GOD because when I tell you this was THE BEST MEAL OF THE TRIP.
· Split another Chianti Classico bottle with dinner
· Complimentary starter plate brought out including liver pate crostini, and these spinach cheese little balls
· First plate of pear and pecorino raviolis were a mouth watering flavor combination surrounded in amazing homemade pasta
· Main dish the famous Fiorentine steak served rare (they don’t even ask you how you want it cooked), not even exaggerating it is a 3 inch thick, 1.5kg cut of meat and words can’t even describe how tender and delicious it was, served with carrots and roasted potatoes
FYI: Sting ate here two nights before and I could still feel his presence <3
Bob embarrassingly left his leftovers in the hotel mini fridge the next day. We considered going back after we checked out, because it was so good- but alas we had a train to catch and how awkward to ask the hotel to let us back in for our leftover steak?
PROS
Tons of shopping
Very walkable city
THE FOOD… I truly had a religious experience having the Florentine steak
CONS
Lines galore for everything, but to be expected
Scammers with gold and leather
One bartender didn’t put 3 espresso beans in my espresso martini and that will stay with me
RECAP:
Florence was the shit. The fashion was unmatched. The views were incredible. The history was historying. Our hotel location was great- we felt close to everything which made things a lot easier when heading out for the days. I’m so happy we decided to do a day trip out to Tuscany, it was nice to be away from the hustle and bustle a bit. I think that 3 days of exploring the museums/churches/etc. was plenty. I would have even preferred taking an additional day to explore another close-by town in the Tuscan region. I will never not go to sleep at night again without thinking of that florentine steak we had at Giostra . I think that’s very important to note. Florence, we will most definitely be back sis. Miss you already.
