We started day 3 of Florence with a quick stop at the café Riviore for a cappuccino and brioche (although Olga’s is called a B&B, it’s more of just a B, with tickets for a free B around the corner.) We walk across the piazza for our 10AM reservation at the Uffizi Gallery. (thanks Rick Steves for the note about getting reservations!). The Uffizi is a U shaped building with an open courtyard in the middle where it seemed like several thousand people were anxiously trying to figure out where to go and how to get in. There are three gates. Gates 1 and 2 are for entry, and Gate 3 is for picking up reserved tickets so you can bypass the lines at Gates 1 and 2. However, there was a line out the door of Gate 3 that didn’t seem to be moving much. Candice and I went to the front where there was a guy working the door – occasionally letting in about 15 or so people at a time. It was now after 10AM, so I asked him about it and he says to stick around up near the front – which we did - and we eventually got our tickets and could now go right in one of the other gates. Wishful thinking. Turns out, at each gate, there were two lines – one for people with reservations/tickets (us) and one for those without. There was no zipping by everyone in the line (need to update your tips in your book, Mr. Steves) (edit: Candice says she heard there was a strike that day by some of the Ufizzi employees which caused a lot of confusion). Even so, it was good to be in our line, even if the wait was about 40 minutes, as the other line was at least 2 hours long – maybe more.
It is hard to tell, but the pictures above show two lines in each direction – the people next to the building and about 4-5 people wide are those in the non reserved ticket line – that line goes all the way to the end of the building. Our line was only about 2-3 people wide and went about 20 rows behind us and 20 or so in front of us at the time the picture was taken. I’d hate to not have a reserved ticket! Even though in the shorter line, many people were upset to wait at all – and the atmosphere was a little tense. Some Spanish lady kept bumping into Candice even after a few annoyed looks. Finally Candice told her in Spanish to quit touching her. Problem solved. Then there were others who would cut the line looking to ask the gate keeper what the deal was. Once told, they would try to play ignorant and just stay in the place where they entered the line. Annoying!
Once in – we were very happy.
The Uffizi is, well, the Uffizi. It’s awesome – filled with some of the greatest pre-renaissance and renaissance art from the mid 13th century to the mid 17th century. However, they don’t allow pictures, so I’ve got nothing to show you – except half way through, during a transition between rooms of art, they have this view of the Ponte Vecchio:
Others were taking the same shot, until the photo police started warning, “No pho-to, No pho-to.”
OK, so we saw some pretty great things there – for instance, the main hallway is lined on either side with busts and statues of great Roman leaders from Caesar through Constantine. The rooms are organized chronologically at first, so you can get a sense of how art changed through the years. It was really interesting to see how almost all paintings up to about 1450 were all two dimensional. The people in the paintings were usually religious figures like Mary, Jesus, or various saints, and the colors were dominated by gold and red backgrounds. Most of the expressions on the faces were very grim and serious. The transition into the renaissance period of paintings was glorious! The colors, 3D realism, perspective, subject matter, and beauty display the reawakening of the renaissance. Good times were here! Repression, poverty, death, disease, and despair were in the past (well, relatively).
There was a Botticelli room including the famous Birth of Venus, some Leonardo Da Vinci drawings, Lippi, Giotto, Durer, Michelangelo, and others – if you go to Florence, this place is a must.
We spent a long time at the Uffizi – about 4 hours including the lines we had to endure, so afterwards we were about museumed-out. We found an Irish place on our square that had free Wi-fi and thought it would be fun to hang out over there. Well, the Wi-fi was free, but the Guiness was 6 Euro and the pizza was microwaved. Enough said about that. Here’s a pic so you’ll know what to avoid:
Time for dinner at the place we tried to get to the night before – we had been looking forward to this all day. We left a little early so we could check out a pottery shop near the restaurant – but it happened to close a little early that day (seems to happen a lot in Italy).
Anyways – I’m about to describe the best meal Candice and I have ever had. I hope I can do it justice!
Cantina della Giostra:
has two rooms – the first is located just off the main entrance – the second is in another building about 25 yards down the street. Both rooms are beautiful – we were in the second room (both pics below):
The menu started with a 2 page description and philosophy of the family run restaurant – which can be summed up in two words, “Slow Food” – cooking and eating meals slowly over several hours to enjoy not only the food, but the company and the experience.
The menu items were all in Italian, but our waiter did a great job at answering questions and providing his thoughts on each item and he helped select the perfect bottle of wine – a Tuscan Red called Gaja Magari 2002 – and it was excellent. The waiter decanted the wine, which was a great show for each of us - as neither of us had seen it done at the table before. I wish I had a picture of that!
Candice enjoying the wine:
Soon after completing our order, a woman appeared with a plate full of anti pasti – which we hadn’t even ordered. The plate was huge and contained about 6 different items – there were two slices of a special bologna, celery roots in a white sauce, pickled red peppers, a potato-based item in the shape of a small ball, a pickled eggplant item (which I didn’t touch, but Candice loved), and one other I can’t remember at the moment.
Next for our primi piatti: spaghettini taormina pomadorini crude e basilica for me (a spaghetti with tomato sauce and balsamic vinegar with slices of toasted Italian bread) and Candice had ravioli di Pecorino e pera william fatti a mano danoi (a ravioli with pecorino cheese and pears).
Secondi was Tagliata di Chianina aglio olio e rosmarino – sliced steak with olive oil and rosemary. Candice had filetto di branzine di mare al vino brunello - sea bass served under a bed of cooked tomatoes that were cut to look like roses. Mine came with a bunch of cooked rosemary on top of the steak and was very aromatic and delicious. The steak was cooked perfectly and had just the right amount of seasonings to go with the rosemary and oil. Pan cooked sliced potatoes came with the steak and were delicious as well.
Candice’s main course:
Both of us overheard the next table ask what was best for desert – and the response was tirimi su! The menu had it as "Tirimi Su...Su...Su!") The guests at that table raved about it – so we were hooked – and it was fantastic – and was made with something other than marscaponi on top - whatever it was, it was the best I’ve ever had.
The highlight of the evening was seeing and talking to the owner of the restaurant, Soldano D’Arburgo Lesey (his son, Dimitri was there too). He’s dressed in chef’s traditional clothing and has wild long silver hair. Apparently he personally shops for all of the nights food at the local markets every morning. He milled about the restaurant talking with guests and was more than happy to take a picture with us:
Overall, from end to end, the best meal and experience of the entire trip.
After dinner we wandered over to the Ponte Vecchio for a nighttime view:
Not too exciting – lots of people and that’s about it. All the shops were closed for the evening.
1 comment:
Good words.
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