travelswithalice

April 23, 2022

Florence

Friday, April 22.

We’re slightly damp when we check in at the Hotel Santa Maria Novella

having walked the few hundred meters from the train station, wheeling our suitcases through a light rain.

The room is pretty and has a great view of the basilica and the square.

Saturday, 23.

In the morning the rain had gone. Buon giorno, Firenze!

Breakfast in a beautiful room is a lovely way to start the day!

But is this any way to be on holiday?

Not a lot of people here bother with masks, so, away with masks!

Now, how did that tree get up there?

We don’t usually eat lunch but walking has made me hungry. We just happen to be standing outside this cafe so it has to do.

Lucky choice. Food is good. Tuna poke for me and avocado toast for Stuart. Nice jazz music too- they even played our song!

A Casa Ca.Fe at Via della Spada 47.

Dinner is always in the restaurant in back of our hotel. Trattoria Marione al Trebbio at Via delle Belle Donne 49.

Our menu choices include spaghetti alle vongole, porchetta, risotto al lampredotto (similar to tripe), and pappardelle with cinghiale (wild boar), spaghetti with baccalà and roast beef.

We first discovered our all time favourite dessert cantucci e vin santo here several years ago.

Sunday, 24.

Too early in the day to be in the Bar?

No, we haven’t fallen off the wagon completely. The breakfast room is full so we’re having ours here all by ourselves.

Intermittent rain. After walking around for a while trying vainly to dodge puddles on Floremce’s beautiful stone slab streets, ruining my blue Loewes in the process, there was nothing else left to do but get out of the rain and eat.

Found a quirky little restaurant called Quinoa.

I had what looked very much like one of Laura’s meals: fried eggplant patties on a thick bed of red and white shredded cabbage. She wouldn’t have had the tzatziki sauce though.

Stuart had the roast chicken.

In the evening…

It’s cold and wet outside and I’m much too comfortable in bed to even think of dinner so Stuart got take away from Morione. They were full but they rushed our order of ribollita and ricotta ravioli. They even included a spoon for the soup- a proper one, not plastic!

Monday, 25.

Having booked a 2:45 walking tour, we thought we’d take it easy and walk around a little before then. Well, that little walk was enough walking for me. We had a snack of canneloni with roasted zucchini and capsicum.

The hotel’s sitting room has a cozy fire.

Stuart went on the walking tour. I stayed and did my laundry.

I always look forward to dinner at Trattoria Marione. Stefan as always the good host made sure we get a good wine. He also let us sample their ham and desserts: cantucci e vin santo for 2 and a grandmother’s pie- milk custard with pine nuts- for me.

Tuesday, 26.

Lunch at the roof top restaurant of Rinascente.

At the Uffizi.

My personal favourites.

Ceiling fresco depicting the Basilica and Square of Santa Maria Novella, our present day view from our hotel room.

Dying Alexander.

Marble, Roman, late C3 or early C2 BCE.

Leda and the Swan. Two versions.

Francesco Melzi, 1505-1507.

Andrea del Sarto, c. 1520.

Bacchus.

Caravaggio, c. 1596.

And finally, Caravaggio! Spectacularly staged in a near- empty room.

What a gift from fabulous Florence as yet not fully populated early on in a post-pandemic world.

Dinner as usual is at all-time favourite Trattoria Marione. Stefan made our last evening in Florence extra special by starting dinner with prosecco. Vin santo came later. Then limoncello too! Even our wine was from a premium wine he opened specially for us.

I’ll miss coming to this restaurant. It’s a very special one. Good simple food, unfussy, always delicious.

But it’s the staff that makes coming here such a pleasure.

With Stefan and Veronica.

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # April 23, 2022

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