Our third day in Firenze started as usual: hit the café in the morning for some goodies, walk through the piazza, look at some shops, pop into a church, and photos around town. Hey, why not some gelato? Let’s go to La Carraia early! We made our way across the Arno and arrived at the gelateria minutes after they opened their doors at 11am. The newly made gelati looked inviting with full bins of creamy, delicious goodness. We were met by Eleonora. In her 60’s, nicely dressed, and with a deep tan, she was apparently the owner. I told her that we were here 7 years ago and their Schiacciata alla Fiorentina con Crema di Limone was the best in all of Italy. She said that they haven’t made that one in a while, but to let her know the next time we’re planning on coming to Firenze and she’d make a batch of that along with Almond Cream – another favorite. La Carraia also makes a number of cakes made with gelato – all look amazing. These top a Carvel cake any day.
We wandered over to Santo Spirito where they had a small market in the piazza. Cinzia saw some nice lion door knockers. They’re beautiful, heavy, and expensive – plus we’d need a thick new door to properly accommodate them. We then walked by Palazzo Piti with its huge façade made of giant stones and decorated with a number of lion heads – each one different. Then it was back across the Arno via the Ponte Vecchio with its many gold shops. It’s good to see them selling gold. When we were here in 2011 they were mostly selling silver as the price of gold, along with the economy, made gold costly. Cinzia got her wedding necklace at one of these shops in 2001 and I got my bracelet here in 1997.
After all the walking I was ready for a café. We headed into the heart of Firenze to Piazza della Repubblica. Here again we have our own name for this piazza. Back in 2011 we were here when some creepy old guy, dressed like a clown or child performer, was lurking about. This piazza has a beautiful merry-go-round in the center and families mill about as street performers and balloon makers delight the children. Cinzia spotted this guy during multiple trips to the piazza and said something along the lines of “child molester plaza”, but I heard “Charlton Heston plaza”. So, ever since we’ve jokingly referred to Piazza della Repubblica as Charlton Heston plaza. Sorry, Charlie.
As the skies looked like it might drizzle, we spotted a Bialetti shop across the street. They sell the iconic moka pot used in every Italian household. Cinzia bought a silver one in 2011 and a red one in 2014. The store was running a sale: 20% off your entire purchase of 3 items of more. She found a nice blue moka pot and picked us a few accessories to earn the discount. We must have been in the store long enough (it has 2 floors afterall) that it had rained and since stopped. We decided to sit for a drink. There are expensive cafés lining Charlton Heston plaza. An Aperol Spritz can go for €8. Cinzia spotted a sign for €7 aperitivi, so we had a seat inside Caffe Concerto Paszkowski. Large cushioned chairs looked out over the piazza and waiter in jackets and ties served cocktails. She ordered her Spritz and I added a Coke Light and a couple pasteries. When we got the bill is was €27! The €7 ad was only for non-alcoholic drinks, like a Coke Light. Oh well. The fig and walnut tart was fantastic, as was the ricotta cream and pine nut tart. The pizza had a crew digging up the stones with a small backhoe. We noticed that along with the crew there were 2 women from some sort of archeology society. The hoe would scrape away a thin layer of soil, and then one woman would inspect the contents of the freshly scooped earth while the other would inspect the newly revealed patch of dirt. We saw then pick out a piece of two and set them aside for further inspection. Once they were satisfied they would signal the backhoe operator to continue. You can imagine how tedious a process and underground construction project can take in Italy.
As we sat enjoying our apertivo, in came two gentlemen, dressed in casual suites. They sat next to us and were clearly on their cell phones conducting business. Small talk ensued: Where are you from? How long are you in Italy? What do you do for a living? These usually require some explanation, so a simply answer of: Florida, 3 months, and play poker usually get things rolling. It turns out that Paolo owned the leather shop on the other side of the piazza. He gave Cinzia his card, asking us to stop by if we had the opportunity and he’d give us a nice discount. After a while we departed after thanking Paolo and saying our goodbyes. We casually strolled across the piazza and found his shop. As soon as we entered, he appeared behind us and asked one of his employees to show Cinzia a number of light leather jackets which would be perfect for Florida weather. The smart, reversible, purple, goat skin leather jacket was listed as €1.680, but Paolo would discount it to only €615 for us. Nice guy! Cinzia was not interested in buying a leather jacket, but she tried on a few and thanked him before departing.
As the skies looked like it might drizzle, we spotted a Bialetti shop across the street. They sell the iconic moka pot used in every Italian household. Cinzia bought a silver one in 2011 and a red one in 2014. The store was running a sale: 20% off your entire purchase of 3 items of more. She found a nice blue moka pot and picked us a few accessories to earn the discount. We must have been in the store long enough (it has 2 floors afterall) that it had rained and since stopped. We decided to sit for a drink. There are expensive cafés lining Charlton Heston plaza. An Aperol Spritz can go for €8. Cinzia spotted a sign for €7 aperitivi, so we had a seat inside Caffe Concerto Paszkowski. Large cushioned chairs looked out over the piazza and waiter in jackets and ties served cocktails. She ordered her Spritz and I added a Coke Light and a couple pasteries. When we got the bill is was €27! The €7 ad was only for non-alcoholic drinks, like a Coke Light. Oh well. The fig and walnut tart was fantastic, as was the ricotta cream and pine nut tart. The pizza had a crew digging up the stones with a small backhoe. We noticed that along with the crew there were 2 women from some sort of archeology society. The hoe would scrape away a thin layer of soil, and then one woman would inspect the contents of the freshly scooped earth while the other would inspect the newly revealed patch of dirt. We saw then pick out a piece of two and set them aside for further inspection. Once they were satisfied they would signal the backhoe operator to continue. You can imagine how tedious a process and underground construction project can take in Italy.
As we sat enjoying our apertivo, in came two gentlemen, dressed in casual suites. They sat next to us and were clearly on their cell phones conducting business. Small talk ensued: Where are you from? How long are you in Italy? What do you do for a living? These usually require some explanation, so a simply answer of: Florida, 3 months, and play poker usually get things rolling. It turns out that Paolo owned the leather shop on the other side of the piazza. He gave Cinzia his card, asking us to stop by if we had the opportunity and he’d give us a nice discount. After a while we departed after thanking Paolo and saying our goodbyes. We casually strolled across the piazza and found his shop. As soon as we entered, he appeared behind us and asked one of his employees to show Cinzia a number of light leather jackets which would be perfect for Florida weather. The smart, reversible, purple, goat skin leather jacket was listed as €1.680, but Paolo would discount it to only €615 for us. Nice guy! Cinzia was not interested in buying a leather jacket, but she tried on a few and thanked him before departing.
We had dinner plans that evening. Our good friend from Torre Orsina, Lucia, works in Firenze at Galleria dell'Accademia (home of Michelangelo ‘s David) with her boyfriend, Alessio. Lucia’s brother, Maurizio, is the one who made us those beautiful copper sottobottiglie. (I had since learned that her father, Celestino, met with my Uncle Eugene during his trip to Torre Orsina last month and gave him some Masserini family history gathered from local church records.) We were to meet them outside dell'Accademia at 7:30pm when they got out of work and go to eat. We decided to skip lunch and rest a bit. We set out early. Our apartment in 2011 was on the same street at dell'Accademia and we wanted to check out the area. In one of the leather shops, a door or two down from our old apartment, guess who we spotted? Mr. Suave! Remember him? He was the guy who would recline on his Vespa on the weekend as a younger woman, we assumed his mistress, would serve him caffè and trim his eyebrows as he sunned himself. It’s good to see that some characters are still around.
Lucia and Alessio emerged at 7:30pm and we made our way back across the Arno to a pizzeria where one of their friends worked. Lucia looked happy as she chatted with Cinzia en route. Alessio and I discussed food – what else? We were greeted with cold glasses of prosecco as we order pizza and pasta and spent hours talking and talking. They make a great couple. Truly a lovely evening. We walked back to piazza Signoria before parting ways. Hey, what about some gelato? La Carraia 2 is a short walk. One last gelato before we leave Firenze in the morning. I think I’ll go with a classic combo: limone e fragola.
Lucia and Alessio emerged at 7:30pm and we made our way back across the Arno to a pizzeria where one of their friends worked. Lucia looked happy as she chatted with Cinzia en route. Alessio and I discussed food – what else? We were greeted with cold glasses of prosecco as we order pizza and pasta and spent hours talking and talking. They make a great couple. Truly a lovely evening. We walked back to piazza Signoria before parting ways. Hey, what about some gelato? La Carraia 2 is a short walk. One last gelato before we leave Firenze in the morning. I think I’ll go with a classic combo: limone e fragola.