My life often feels like a movie.  And yet, it’s real.  I wake up each morning to a sunny view of the Piazza della Passera, venture out my door to the Caffe degli Artigliani across the street for my morning cappuccino as I stand at the bar like a real Italian and drink it within 2 minutes.  Then I’m off to stroll the cobblestone streets of Florence.  Sometimes I wander through the museums, sometimes I sit on a bench with a cup of gelato (GROM is heaven), sometimes I wind up back in my apt and listen to the man on the accordion below my window in the piazza pipe out Italian tunes.  I’ve grown to love the music of Ludovico Enaudi, and I am always happy with a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino.  The food here….well….it’s the best in the world.

Sunny day in my apt.

This pic is taken from the loft above, where the bedroom is.

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View from my window, Caffe degli Artigliani on right!

I live in the Oltrarno neighborhood of Florence, which is the south side of the Arno River (it literally means “across the Arno”) and it is my favorite area in all of Florence.  It is the “true” Florence, where the locals live, where the shopkeepers are real and the craftsmen work, and the restaurants are less expensive and much less touristy.  Most people who visit Florence fall in love with this area and delight in its less-than-touristy ways, but they booked hotels in the touristy areas because that’s where most of the hotels are.  I got lucky, what can I say.  I live a 5-minute walk from the Ponte Vecchio, a 5-minute walk from the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, and anywhere from 1-10 minutes to a multitude of great trattorias, restaurants and whatever else I desire.

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I have made friends with many of the local shopkeepers here, and they have only confirmed my love of the Italian people.  There is no other place on earth where the people are warmer, friendlier, more helpful, and just all around heartfelt and genuinely good!  On one of my first days, I ventured into a shop (Domi Textile & Design) as I was looking for some pillows to spruce up my sofa.  The owner, Ariel, and I began a conversation about designers from America and the state of the economy in Italy…after an hour, he was writing down phone numbers for me and telling me, in all honesty, that I should consider “this”, meaning, him and his store, a place where I can always come if I need anything or have any questions.  As he said, “like family!”.  And he meant it.  I went to him when I needed help translating a message in Italian about a replacement to my broken Kindle and it being stuck in customs.  He didn’t JUST translate for me – Ariel picked up his phone, made a bunch of phone calls to UPS, to the customs office, and helped solve it.  I consider the 3 young owners of Toscani, my corner gourmet shop, Sabrina, Brunilde, and Simone, my friends too.  They are always happy and smiling and make me light up each and every time I walk in there. They practice my Italian with me and we laugh at my progress – or rather, my mistakes.  They are full of life and love, and I could sit in their shop all day and just watch them interact with their customers and with each other.  And Aldo and Sonia, the owners of La Pelle, a fabulous leather store just steps from the Ponte Vecchio, have also been lovely to me. They’ve been there for 30 years – they are truly wonderful and honest and have beautiful leather – and python!!

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So let’s talk about food.  For starters, Italians don’t eat breakfast.  They have a cafe (espresso) and that’s it.  IF they eat anything, it’s sweet – dolce – a pastry of some sort, be it a croissant or a doughnut, or a creme-filled something. There are no places to get eggs of any kind, except maybe a hotel that is catering to the traveler.   We Americans have been trained to believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so god forbid we skip it!  I’ve gotten used to buying my own fruit at the market – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and bananas – and that’s what I eat everyday.

The next meal of the day, lunch – pranzo – is the most important one here.  It’s why all the shops close for 3 hours each and every day without fail.  They could care less if you are shopping – they’ll throw you out at 12:30 and tell you to return at 3:30 – and if they lose the sale, whatever.  Trattorias all serve some form of what we know as a ham and cheese sandwich.  Proscuitto, Brasaola, Speck or Salami are the main meats, and Pecorino or Mozzerella are the main cheeses for this “panino” which is usually made on a thin Italian bread called schiacciata, which is like a thin foccacia.  It’s delicious, but usually needs some olive oil and salt drizzled on it if eaten alone. The thing about Florentine bread is that it is made without salt – something that started back in the Middle Ages when salt was heavily taxed, but continued due to Florentine pride.  Dante wrote about it, so we know it goes wayyyy back and was notable! Many of Tuscany’s foods are already heavily seasoned so unsalted bread is actually a better compliment!  For those who want to dine, there are always soups – Pasta Faggiole, of course, or Ribolitta which is a Tuscan bread and vegetable soup made with day-old bread. Yum!  Florentines are famous for their “Bistecca” – a thick cut of T-bone steak, perfectly seasoned, crispy on the outside, and rare on the inside.  Just like Peter Lugar’s, but maybe less butter?  And as far as pasta goes…..I could cry from joy each and every time I eat it, which is practically every day. I’ve never had perfect pasta until I came here.  We Americans overcook everything!  My favorite is probably Pappardelle with Duck Ragu from Il Santo Bevitore.  Or maybe Spaghetti Arrabiata from Trattoria del Carmine.  Although the ravioli at La Giostra was unreal…do I really have to choose?

Dinner here is either eaten very late, or not at all, and is replaced by “aperitivo” which, in Italy, includes a drink and a help-yourself buffet of samplings of food.  At local trattoria’s, these could consist of platters of proscuitto, salami, cheese, bowls of risotto or pasta, vegetables, roasted or in salads, bite-sized pannini, bite-sized pizzas, bruschetta, or a multitude of other things.  The aperitivo is customary here and lasts from approx 6pm – 9pm.  Who needs dinner after this?  Of course, you are always welcome to order dinner, which is basically the same menu as lunch.

At my fave local corner store…ribolitta in the copper pot

Always a massive selection of cheeses and meats.

Proscuitto and pecorino with pesto on schiacciata bread. Molto Buono!

Gnocchi in a blue cheese sauce.

Amazing pizza!!

Best martini – made with crushed blackberries, vodka, and shiraz. At the Excelsior Hotel.

Best bruschetta! At Cafe degli Artigliani

Of course, I could write for decades about the food here.  And the wine.  And the beautiful people.  And the beautiful countryside.  And I plan to!  But maybe for now, my pictures will do my words some justice.

View of Ponte Vecchio

Walking on the Ponte Vecchio

Walking down to the Ufizzi

Piazza Vecchio

Piazza Vecchio

Copy of David at the entrance to the Uffizi

The one-hand clock tower at the Piazza Vecchio

The Duomo

Inside the Duoo

Very cool marble striping

The Duomo doors

The bronze doors at the octagonal Baptistery at the Duomo

Inside the Baptistery

Straight up at the gold ceiling.

Another day, another walk in the Boboli Gardens

Piazza Michaelangelo seen from the Boboli Gardens

Castle on the hill

This is called the coffee house at the Boboli Gardens but it’s not open!

Getting kinda French in garden design, no?

Santa Croce

Bridges from the top of the Excelsior

Sunset on the Arno

Just strolling…

This doesn’t get old…

Ciao, for now.  Aperitivo time.