Fiorentine

I had been to Florence several years ago.  It had been a different type of trip and I still thought back to that time fondly.  I was far less experienced with Italian travel and being in Italy, let alone Florence was still a very novel experience for me.  Everything Italian felt sophisticated and special.  I didn't feel like I needed to search for anything specific or unique, because as far as I was concerned it was all amazing.

This time I wanted to be more selective with my exploring with meals.  I felt privileged to have the knowledge to take Veronica around the city in a more effective manner and I wanted to make sure I made the best use of our time.  Before we arrived, I made sure that all the tickets were booked for the museums and the Duomo.  There would be no lining up for us and we would go straight into each location.  With limited time, the additional costs for the skip the line tickets are in my opinion entirely worth the price.  We went to the Uffizi and the Academia without the delays of waiting.   We stood in front of the great works of art and marveled at Michelangelo's David quickly and efficiently.  

Each location was lovely.  There was a refinement to the city that had stuck out to me when I last visited and I still felt it now.  We went in and out of all of the great museums and churches, but for me what I enjoyed the most was the beautiful city itself.  I remembered back to how much I had been impressed by the city.  For all the different museums we visited, nothing seemed to compare to the beauty of the city itself which was effectively an enormous open air museum.  Veronica said it felt like many parts of Rome but put together better.

More than anything else, I enjoyed walking the streets and just soaking up the lovely atmosphere and surroundings.  We had been to the key sights that we needed to visit for Veronica, but there wasn't a great rush to see as many things as possible in the time we had.  I knew we were fortunate that this wasn't our first trip to Italy.  It took away the pressure some may have of maximising the time they had to visit as many locations as possible.  Around us, there were others who clearly didn't have the same luxury and they seemed to be a state of constant motion as they rushed and ran from location to location.  I understood why they were doing it, as it was something that I had done many times in the past as well.  We were very fortunate though to be able to take the more relaxed approach to everything, and this was a joy I tried to embrace.  

Inside the museums and the cathedrals, we took our time.  We wandered in and out of rooms at a leisurely pace and when we found something we liked, we would walk back and gaze again.  

We stopped frequently to look at the stores and shops that lined all of the beautiful old streets of Florence.  Through our walking, we found the classy part of the town full of the jewelry and the high end stores.  We went in and looked.  Inside the Pomellato store, Veronica sat and looked at the lovely rings.  Her eyes shone as the bright coloured jewel flashed in the light.  It seemed like the perfect present for her.

For our last meal in the city, we booked a restaurant to try a Bistecca all Fiorentina.  It was a touristy thing to do, something that many visitors to the city will try once.  These enormous steaks are expensive, so it's usually a one of event on the trip.  The hotel was kind enough to recommend a good restaurant and we walked to the far end of the old town.  It was a part of town I had never been too, far away from the Duomo and the train station at the "other" end.  It was still part of the old and historic part of Florence, so it had the beautiful surroundings and lovely old buildings, but it felt a bit more rugged and rough.  A bit more lived in compared to the clearly tourist parts that I had become accustomed to.   

The restaurant was warm and friendly.  Inside there were locals and tourists alike.  The waiters walked briskly, carrying the enormous plates of food to the tables, but were all kind enough to linger and explain to us the different options available.  We of course ordered the steak, but added a few starters at their recommendation.  When the enormous steak arrived, we were a little taken aback by its size.  We knew they were big, but having the enormous platter take up most of the table puts it all into perspective.  Happily, this was not an instance of expectations ruining the reality.  The steak was incredible.  Crusty, yet soft and full of flavour.  It was the best steak I had eaten in years.  Veronica insisted that she would only eat the end pieces and wouldn't be able to each much at all, but after a few bites she seemed to ignore her own previous declarations and began to enjoy the meal with gusto.

I was glad to be back in Florence.  The touristic nature of the town is undeniable and it really does at times feel as though it is merely a preserved museum to be wandered through with a degree of reverence and distance.  But there is a lovely life to this city, a beautiful life that I was glad to have been able to enjoy once more.