A week in Florence

 

I was fortunate to travel with good friends to Florence this October. This was my third visit the first  in the  late nighties was mostly focused on the citys artistic heritage as the birthplace of the  Renaissance. At that time I visited some of the major churches but also the famous Uffizi gallery, and the San Marco museum with a history as a monastery and a convent. Tourism has developed rapidly and now after the Pandemic the number of tourists even in mid October was higher than one could wish. Florence is a beautiful city and a visit is always a great experience.  

In addition to Florence we had booked a full day with a visit to a wine producer  with an excellent lunch and wine tasting. The tour was a way to experience the beautiful Tuscan landscape and to visit Sienna, San Gimignano and Pisa. The wine from Fattoria Poggia Alloro was excellent especially the white Vernaccia Di San Gimignano DOCG

The visit to Florence was motivated by our common love of art and food. It is also a good idea to shorten the period of often dismal weather we experience in Southern Norway during October and November. We were fortunate regarding the weather ;  sunshine throughout the week. Italians commented on this and that it was quite unusual for mid October. 

Prices are high due to the current exchange rate for us Norwegians. But we still enjoyed some excellent meals. Tuscany is traditionally not famous in Italy for its cuisine. Bistecca alla Fiorentina is an exception. I have eaten this type of steak several times before in Tuscany before. On this visit we visited La Buchetta one of the restaurants that is well know for Bistecca. The meat was quite tasty and prepared rapidly but even for me somewhat too rare. At home I most often prefer braised beef and we should all reduce our consumption of beef both as regards health and global warming. 

I ate alone for some meals, one was at the restaurant Trattoria Dall Oste which was right next to our hotel  Abasiciatori. A half bottle of Chianti Classico with a very good lasagne and a truly excellent pastry were served by the competent staff. This pastry a Mille-feuille is a distant relative of the Norwegian napolenskake. 

One of the last days in Florence was unseasonably hot and I stopped for an outdoor beer along the River Arno. This establishment was Dabarba Lugarno which also has excellent food. I ate a special of the day which was a seafood risotto. Grappa and a cappuccino was a pleasant way to end this meal whilst the sun went down over the river.