A Few Days in Florence

Quote: When we got off of the train in Florence there were about a dozen people asking us if we needed a hotel. We ignored all the advice we had heard that you are not supposed to accept an offer from one of these people and went with one of the guys who spoke good English and was very friendly. The decision turned out to be just fine.

He worked for Hotel Veneto which is a 2-3 star hotel about a 10 minute walk from the train station. The walk would not have been bad had it not been about 90 degrees out with 100% humidity in mid afternoon...that made it a little rough. He took us to the reception area in the main building and a woman gave us a triple room for about 100euro a night which was about $120 at the time. Our room was not actually in the main part of the hotel but rather in another building at the end of the block and around the corner. The building was old and nice with a small elevator (only fits one person and their suitcase at a time) and a spiral staircase that led up from the foyer. We were on the third floor. According to their website this is the "Hotel Veneto B&B;" building. We're not sure if they just own some of the rooms in the building or what but it was very apparent that people lived their as permanent residences as well. We saw people bringing in groceries and could smell cooking in the halls but all of the residents we saw were old and very quiet and courteous.

The room was adequate for what you pay for. The beds were clean and comfortable and the room had a window looking into the street. You could see the Duomo straight down the road. The building felt very safe and secure and the housekeeping staff was quite friendly (we ran into them on the first afternoon when we arrived. They were just cleaning our room and were more then happy to leave us extra towels) The only weird thing about this room was the bathroom. I have never seen a bathroom like this in my life. The toilet was literally in the middle of the shower floor, both of which were right next to the sink. There was no divider between anything. Everytime you took a shower the whole toilet and toilet seat would get soaked. The showerhead was just up on the wall and there was a drain in the middle of the floor. The toilet seat was also broken off so needless to say after the shower had been running things would get rather slippery if you tried to sit down. I think two of us actually fell off the toilet but we quickly learned from experience to just brace yourself and move slowly when taking a seat.

The hotel is very centrally located to everything and is a great value. The Duomo is right down the street and we walked everywhere the whole time we were there. There was never a need to take any public transportation...although we took a cab once more out of laziness than necessity. One thing to note about this hotel is that you need a key to get in the front door if you are staying at the B&B.; The door is huge and made of wood with no windows so if you get split up from your party at night and only one person has the key they will literally have to wait outside for you to get back because if they go in there is no way they can hear you from the rooms and you will be stranded outside all night.

Quote: This is arguably the best meal I have ever had in my life. Considering that this place is ranked among the top restaurants in all of Europe (they have the framed ranking on their wall) it is really not that expensive. The head chef/owner is quite a charater and personally comes to each table at least once throughout your dinner. He served as our somellier and spend at least 5 minutes explaining our wine selection to us, decanting it and the serving. The walls are covered with pictures of him and his satisfied clientele and includes at least a hundred pictures of him and celebrities who have dined at the restaurant.

Compimentary water and bread are not the standard here. They bring you a free glass of champagne as you sit down and a complimentary appetizer sampler platter that is a VERY generous portion. There will be one piece of each appetizer for each person (i.e. there were three of us so there were three of everything on the plate) The free appetizers consisted of caprese, bruschetta, marinated mushrooms, marinated peppers, stuffed zucchini, salami with some sort of fruit, crostini with pate and some sort of dumpling looking thing that appeared to contain pesto. Everything was very very good.

For an appetizer with got prosciutto with bufalo mozzarella. Everything was incredibly fresh and flavorful and tasted much better then what you can get in the states. For dinner I got tortelloni bolognese and veal scallopini with mushrooms. Both were excellent. My two friends both got pasta dishes as well that they raved about. For dessert we got a sampler platter that contained tiramisu, gelato and a cubed pineapple wedge with fresh strawberries. Again, all excellent.

The restaurant is relatively small so reservations are very important. We only made our a couple of days in advance for three people and they were able to squeeze us in but I wouldn't recommend just showing up at the door. The other thing is that the restaurant is fairly hard to find. It is down a small alley and the sign is very small. I recommend walking by it during the day before your reservation so that you are sure you know where it is. The night after we ate there we saw no less then three families wandering around in the street trying to find it. You could always tell people that were looking for it because there would be a family just wandering around the street in nice clothes looking at addresses so we pointed a few people in the right direction. Bring a map with you.

Going to Florence and missing out on eating here would be a huge mistake. For three glasses of champagne, a bottle of nice wine (about $40), the appetizer platter, the prosciutto y bufalo, three pasta dishes, veal scallopini and the desert platter our bill was about $140usd. VERY GOOD DEAL for dining at one of the worlds best restaurants. Make sure you stop by this place and take your picture with the owner!

Quote: To quote my friend who told me about The Oil Shoppe "I have dreams about this place". The place is fairly well known among the study abroad crowd and offers a very cheap and extremely delicious lunch. I was almost reluctant to post this out of desire to help keep this place off the beaten path and stop it from becoming a tourist zoo. What saves this place from having a huge line is that almost no one knows about it. It is fairly difficult to find and despite our frined trying to give us directions we had to ask about a dozen local before we even found someone that had heard of the place.

To get there from the Duomo, head down Via dell' Orilio away from the Duomo for a couple of blocks. You will run into Piazza Salvemini. When you hit the Piazza look to your left and you will see Via S. Edigio (dell' Orilio and S. Edigio meet triangularly at the piazza). Head up S. Edigio and it will be on your right not far up from the piazza. The sign over the door is quite small so pay attention or you might miss it. Incidentally this is about 100 feet away from La Giostra (see my other review) which is right around the corner on Via Borgo Pinti.

This place has what are easily some of the best sandwiches I have eaten in my life if not claiming the title outright. We were in Florence 3 days. We went there for lunch our first day because my friends raved about it so much. Needless to say we went back again the second day. And the thrid day. I almost got one to go on the last day to have for dinner on the train ride to Rome. As in most delis you pick your meat, cheese, bread and toppings. Unlike most delis everything here is fresh made in Tuscany and the surrounding regions and unbelievably flavorful. Toppings include your usual veggies as well as marinated mushrooms, olives and other Meditteranean items. The vegetables all taste like they came fresh picked out of a garden. I got turkey and salami with veggies the first day and a meatball sub the second day. To get the meatball sub or other hot sandwiches you go to a little window off the kitchen in the back of the store. They came fresh out of the pot they had just cooked in with homemade sauce and parmesan. I also ordered a side of fries back here which were fresh cut wedge potatoes deeped in oil and mixed with Italian seasonings that were also great.

The store, as the name implies, also sells a wide variety of olive oils and balsamic vinegars collected from all over Italy. They will ship anything home to your address in the states for a very reasonable price. The guy that owns this place speaks great English and is very friendly. They also serve salads and can get fairly busy at lunch time. They are not open for dinner and I believe they close around three or four so get there early. We just caught them the first day we went and were actually the last sandwiches served. DO NOT MISS THIS PLACE. Sandwiches are about $5

Quote: Going to the top of the Duomo is one of the highlights of visiting Florence and definately something that you should do while you are relatively young. We are in our early 20's and were sweating by the time we got to the top. I would not recommend this climb for the elderly or anyone that is really out of shape.

Entry to gain access to the top of the Duomo is on the north side of the large cathedral, just look for the LONG line, you can't miss it. The line probably took about 45 minutes when we were there which didn't seem too bad. There are a ton of cafes surrounding the Duomo so one of us just left the line for 10 minutes and grabbed some waters and gelato for everybody and came back which made the time pass a little quicker. Might be best not to at high noon as the line is out in the sun so if you are there in the summer it probably makes more sense to try and get there in the morning or later afternoon. Be aware though that the line stops about an hour before they close as far as I remember.

The entry fee is 6 euros and grants you access up the STAIRS to the top of the dome. Having been built hundreds of years ago there is no electronic apparatus too take you to the top. The only way to get there is to walk and parts of the staircase are VERY narrow, VERY steep and can be a little dangerous. About halfway up you will walk around a little catwalk on the interior of the building that affords you a great view of the painted cupola from closeup as well as the vast open space below. After the catwalk is where the climb starts to get really tricky. It is particularly awkward in certain sections where people going up are trying to pass those going down and vice versa. In certain sections there are two separate paths but there are a number of parts where there is only one shared route.

Once you get to the top the view is incredible. You can see all of Florence and the surrounding hillsides of Tuscany in every direction. The observation deck can get pretty crowded but it is a great spot to take some pictures and just enjoy the sights for 10 or 15 minutes. Those who are not fond of heights may get a little uncomfortable up here. Both my friends that I was with started feeling a little uncomfortable after the first 5 minutes or so and just wanted to go back down but I was fine. This is definately something you should do in Florence even if you only have one day. It's the heart of the city and by far the most prominent building.

Quote: Piazza Michelangelo offers one of the best view of the city of Florence. The Piazza is slightly removed from the main part of the city so if you are crunched for time it might make sense to take a cab. We had a dinner reservation and were trying to make it there in time for sunset so it was actually the one time we utilized a mode of public transportation in Florence other than walking but it is definately nearby enough to walk if you feel like it. From the Ponte Vecchio bridge walk east along the Arno River along Lungarno Torrigiani. The street name will change a couple of times but just stay along the riverbank until you see signs on your right. You have to walk up a fairly large hill to get to the main part of the Piazza but it only takes about 5 minutes.

The main Piazza is a sprawling expanse up on the hill above a park. There are a number of coin operated telescopes lining the edge of the piazza that afford great magnified views of the city and the surrounding hillsides. Drop in a coin and check out some of the huge Italianate villas in the hillsides north of the city. Some of them are massive. There is a large statue in the middle and some vendors selling drinks and light snacks. The highlight of Piazza Michelangelo is the expansive staircase that descends from the west side of the Piazza. The staircase has a totally unobstructed view of the entire city of Florence in the direction of the setting sun. Before you come here you should stop in town and pick up a few bottles of wine (DON'T FORGET A CORKSCREW...we learned this lesson in Paris and came prepared this time...and actually ended up lending it to about half a dozen people who had made the same mistake) and some snacks to bring with you (cheese and fresh deli meets or olives are a good bet) and have wine and cheese while watching the sun set over the city. This is a popular tourist spot and you will not be alone but it is one of the best ways to take in the city and it makes for a truly Italian experience.

If you keep walking up the hill from the Piazza you will arrive at a small outdoor cemetary. It is attached to a church and open to the public. The cemetary provides some great views of the hills with Tuscan style homes off to the southwest of the city. The walk DOWN the hill was a welcome relief after hiking up and we actually ended up walking in the other direction instead of taking a cab. It probably took us about 20 minutes to get back. This was one of our favorite experiences in Europe and again should not be missed.