Museums and Steaks, and Stairs, oh my!

Scenes from Florence and our day 1 map.

Firenze (Florence to those of us across the pond) is an amazing city. A historic and cultured town with an acclaimed University and cosmopolitan attitude. We arrived in the late afternoon at our apartment in Firenze after a 90 minute drive back to Grosseto, a 3 hour train ride on two trains and a confusing bus ride where once again we could not purchase tickets on the actual vehicle. The apartment was modern marvel in an old building in the heart of the city a few blocks from the famed Duomo. It was a loft style flat with high ceilings and a bed overlooking the living room below a remote controlled skylight. We spent the next few hours settling in and planning our itinerary. Everything requires a reservation and before dinner we had booked entrance to the Uffizi gallery, Opera tickets, and a wine tour. It became immediately clear that the 3 nights we chose was not enough. Our list of activities was far too long but we tried to squeeze in as much as possible. After getting settled in we treated ourselves to a nice meal at a contemporary Italian restaurant called Taste.

Meal from Taste

The tasting menu for the night was not speaking to us and instead we chose our own courses. We ordered two glasses of rose and started with stuffed squash blossoms and beef tartare. The beef tartare was tasty and curious. For the second time this trip, meat was served with an ice cream, this time one flavored like the gin and vermouth cocktail Negroni. The idea is that the ice cream is a cool creamy and refreshing apertif intended to open the palate. We decided to pair the rest of our meal with a bottle of Bolgheri Rosso DOC. For our primi we split two pastas (the kitchen was kind enough to split the fettuccine for us) a fresh house-made fettuccine noodle with foraged mushrooms and an eggplant gnocchi with aged Parmesan and fresh burrata. The foraged mushrooms in the fresh pasta was the perfect combination of thick meaty texture and umami flavor. The noodles were chewy (as all good fresh pasta should be) but supple. The gnocchi was light and fluffy. The burrata cheese melted into an ooey gooey cheesy substrate that added the perfect richness. The main courses were a fresh sea bass fillet with ribbons of roasted eggplant and duo of lamb (crispy pan-fried chops and a juicy tender lamb filet). This was another incredible preparation of lamb. As usual we were too full for dessert and instead took in a long meandering stroll through the city. We walked by the famed Duomo and through the bustling University area then down to the river. The night air cool and crisp. The cobblestone streets echoed the sounds of the city.

Photos from the tower climb

The next morning we woke up bright and early to head to the Duomo. Unfortunately you need a reservation to climb the cupola and no times were available for the day. Instead we climbed the 417 steps of the Campanile (bell tower). Steep narrow stone stairs go nearly straight-up. Every hundred stairs or so there was a platform with a view until you reached the top. It was a blood-pumping climb but totally worth it for the view. Doing it first thing in the morning meant we didn’t have to jostle anyone on the way up and only a few on the way down. After our climb we earned ourselves an Italian breakfast, a cappuccino and pastry.

Scenes from the Duomo Museum. Including Saint Jerome's jawbone (Left center)

Climbing the cupula required a reservation and getting into the free Cathedral required waiting in a very, very, very, long line. Instead we went to the newly opened Duomo museum included as part of the Campanile, Duomo, Baptistery ticket. The cathedral is full of replicas as all the real statues and relics are in the museum. We got to see the jaw bone of my favorite Saint, Saint Jerome. He is my favorite because he is often shown in paintings with a lion or skull, there are like 900 million paintings of him, and he is the patron Saint of librarians, archeologists and students. Seeing his jaw bone forever immortalized in a tiny treasure chest was not at all creepy. Although as I remember seeing Saint Jerome’s final resting place in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City is the skeleton missing the jaw (and possibly other bones scattered across the world in various reliquaries)? 

One of the cool parts of the museum is seeing the logistical process of building the church and the impressive feat of engineering it was to make the cupula. They actually solicited bids for the church design and had models built at the museum showing the various proposals. In addition to architects for the ‘prettiness’ of the structure they also had to hire engineers as no one had built anything like the cupula before. They actually had to make scaffolding and a wooden crane pulled by oxen to get the building materials hoisted up for the upper parts.

Florence is famous for their giant steaks. Naturally we couldn’t leave without having one. We settled on a restaurant called I’Tuscani3. The upper part of the restaurant is an informal salumeria and down a set of stairs into a cavernous wine cellar looking restaurant is where they serve the giant steaks. The restaurant prides itself being both farm to table and sustainable (only compostable plates). The waiter spoke very good English and was exceedingly friendly and polite. The menu is simple all designed for 2 people to share. The options came down to how much food you wanted. Having seen photos of giant steaks we settled on the simplest option that included water, wine and, a giant steak with potatoes and roasted veggies. They offered a complimentary salad in a bowl made of crackers to start while they prepared our cut. They asked us if we wanted T-bone or tenderloin. We opted for the more flavorful T-bone steak. The meat came out with the bone in the center and the steak sliced around it. Whole roasted potatoes buttressed the meat and a bounty of vegetables. It was so much meat. Easily a 1.5-2lb slab of T-bone steak from the Tuscan Maremmana breed of cattle. The steak was juicy, marbled and perfectly cooked. Each bite rich and flavorful. It was a lot of food but with only a cappuccino in us we were confident we could finish it off.

T-bone steak and tenderloin from iTuscani3

We made our way through the platter of meat and potatoes. Finishing it proudly when the waiter returned and asked us if we wanted some tenderloin. We told him we were good but he insisted it was on the house and since we had the T-bone medium rare suggested we get the tenderloin rare. We caved. After all he was insistent we try the tenderloin and who is going to pass up free bonus steak? He refilled our carafe of wine (also on the house) and had the kitchen fire up the tenderloin essentially giving us and entire front rib of the cow. The tenderloin came out 10 minutes later with three more potatoes on a carving board. It was by far the most flavorful tenderloin I have ever eaten. Usually filet is tender and juicy but lacking big bold steak flavor that comes from being marbled with fat. Instead this was a tender cut of meat that tasted rich and beefy. By now we were all but groaning in pain. The waiter returned again this time asking us to take shots, on the house. Neither of us were going to do at shot in the middle of the afternoon but he explained he was offering one of many local digestive liqueurs. His insistence again wore us down until we were drinking tiny compostable cups of Amaro, a bitter herbaceous digestive with a hint of orange.

At this point we desperately needed to get out of there before he came up with something else to offer us. We paid the bill and attempted to stealthily waddle up the stairs to the door. I have never been so painfully full in my life. As we approached the door past the salumeria the upstairs employees approve of our pained slowness and confirmed we were full. I hate to think what would happen if they thought otherwise. I am also thankful we didn’t spend the extra 10 euro for an antipasti of salted and cured meats or I might be dead on the floor there right now. They would have to bury me under the stone tiles and put one of those creepy carved outlines of a body you seen on the floors of churches.

Select works from the Uffizi Gallery including Botticelli's Birth of Venus (Center) and Primavera (Bottom Right)

After a long walk and a nap we were ready for our 5:30pm entrance to the Uffizi Gallery. Evenings at the museum have worked well for us this trip as they tend to be less crowded and can fit in at the end of a day with other activities planned. I was really looking forward to the Uffizi but I have to say the collection left a lot to be desired. The museum again had a linear layout which consolidated the small crowd making each room busier. The rooms are organized by artist so you see a lot of similar pieces in each room and the timespan of the gallery is very narrow (only 200 years of history). Of course there are some incredible pieces that made it totally worth it but I expected it to compare to some of the top museums in the world. Frankly, I preferred the collection at the Villa Borghese.

Photos of Florence

Florence is a beautiful city. It is a great place to walk around. The streets are narrow with large black cobbles. The smell of freshly worked leather lingers in the air. The city is bisected by a river with quaint bridges that cross it. It is a small city and yet each time we went for a walk we seemed to discover a new part of it. Luxury shops and five star hotels. Swanky embassy buildings protected with stationed guards. Hookah bars doors down from American sports bars. Walking along you hear English spoken by tourists and visiting students alike. It is an easy city to like. Small, cultured, and personable.
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On our second full day in Florence we went on a wine tour. Sean and I have never been on a proper tour while traveling and didn’t know what to expect. We are confident exploring cities on our own but in Europe most wineries only have tasting by appointment. We crossed the river in Florence to meet at “Tuscany in a Bottle” a tour company ran by sommeliers with English speaking tours. The tour was great. A mix of American and Canadian tourists in their late twenties/early thirties. We visited three wineries in the Chianti Classico region and in the process learned a lot about wine.

Everyone has heard of the Medici family. They are responsible for a lot of the art, architecture and culture of Italy. It turns out they are also responsible for the wine. The Medici family started the first vineyards in Tuscany importing the Sangiovese grape from Emilia-Romagna and developing the original Chianti Classico region and blend. The Chianti region has expanded beyond the original territory set out by the Medici’s but in order to be considered Chianti Classico the grapes must be grown and made into wine in the original section selected by the Medici.

https://italianwinecentral.com/evolution-chianti-classico/

Most Italian wines are not named for the grape but the region of origin. This is where the DOC designation comes into play. DOC wines represent designated regions with prescribed instructions for producing specific wines. To be a Chianti Classico DOCG it must be 80% Sangiovese and 20% another approved red grape still grown in the Chianti Classico region. The vineyards cannot be irrigated. They must only use the water from the rain which this years was a very hot and dry summer. There were days it reached over 110F in Tuscany. The crop this year will be small but very good. However during our tour they had not yet harvested for 2017 yet as the grapes were too concentrated and would therefore not meet DOCG alcohol standards (it must be 12% with a maximum allowed residual sugar). The wineries were waiting for the predicted rain to come and offer some last minute balancing before harvest.

Many wines in Italy are DOC - the G in Chianti Classico comes from the fact this particular wine has a governing body that guarantees the wine meets the standards. In Italy there are a lot of rules and there are a lot of rules that are simply not enforced. In this case the industry wanted to ensure the DOC was being upheld by all producers and they inspect the process at each step of the wine-making.

The tour was incredible and organized in such a way we could see a small boutique traditional producer making the same blend the Medici originally created as their family wine. The tour guide claimed the Medici wanted a wine that was bloody in color and “rough and wild” in taste. The original Medici blend only allows for two grapes to be blended with the 80% Sangiovese and they are both local varietals (most vineyards use French Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for the 20%). We also saw a medium and large producer. Each winery also made its own olive oil we were able to sample.

Photos from the wine tour

In addition to Chianti Classico we were able to try some “Super Tuscan” wines. Basically these wines don’t have a DOC but they are top quality winemaker’s choice. The only stipulation is that the grapes must be grown and the wine must be produced in Tuscany. Otherwise it is totally open. They tend to make “Bordeaux Blend” style reds using Italian grapes. They are not allowed to term them Super Tuscan as the name is trademarked to a wine journalist who coined the term but there are lists dedicated to which wines fall in this category. We were able to sample these unique blends as well.

In addition to learning about Chianti Classico we also learned how to smell wine for defects, how to taste wines, and a bit about the history of wine making in the region. It was a good day and included a nice lunch at a family run restaurant with incredible views.

Scenes from the newly built (2012) Florence Opera House. View from our seats.

If the wine tour wasn’t enough we had tickets that night to our very first Opera together. Sean had never seen an opera before and I had not seen one since I was a kid. We talked about going in Seattle but the cheapest tickets are $80. We were able to see Madame Butterfly (a classic Puccini Opera) at the newly built 1800 seat Opera house in Firenze for 20 Euro each. The seats were incredible. Much to our surprise the sung words appeared in both Italian and English in electronic banners above the stage so we were able to intimately follow the story (although we had prepared by reading the Wikipedia synopsis). The production quality was second to none. The sound quality in the theater was incredible and it was an amazing first Opera together. We felt lucky to be able to catch it. Before we left, we had looked into seeing a show at either the famous outdoor Verona Opera house or the Venice Opera house but neither were in season.

Our time in Florence was painfully short. I think we would have liked another day or two to explore more. The city has so much to offer and if we venture back to Italy in the future we would certainly include Florence on our itinerary.

Our time in Florence

My favorite photo of Sean possibly ever. He just looks so pleased with himself. Also he was not smited.