Florence

For the first time in (what felt like) forever, we turned off all of our alarms and let ourselves sleep in. When we woke up, we took our time getting ready and getting ourselves organized before heading out. We got a late breakfast at a really cute cafe nearby which surprisingly served iced coffee (probably just to cater to tourists but it was hot so who cares). We also had read reviews that said they had the best cannolis so of course we also had to put them to the test. Everything we tried was amazing and we were excited to hear they open early so we might come back for breakfast before our train tomorrow. 

After breakfast, we set out to wander through the market which turned out to be mostly a leather market with shops selling belts or purses or jackets. It was really cool to see but not the market we were expecting. We had been hoping to find some fruit to add a healthier component to our brunch, so we headed into a grocery store and got a large container of melon which we ate in a nearby square. 

We headed back to the same bus stop as yesterday to meet our guide for a Chianti wine tour that visits 2 vineyards. We had a very interesting guide who spent most of the bus ride telling us fun facts about Florence, Chianti, wine classifications, olive oil classifications, and information about different places we were passing. 

The first vineyard we visited was Sant Appiano which is a very cute place that was originally owned by the Pitti family (like the Pitti Palace in Florence). We tried the following five wines…

1. Spumante “brut”
   • Floral and somewhat fruity 
   • We both really liked this one 
2. IGT Toscana Rose Secretum 
   • Very light with the body of a white and flavor of a red, hints of red fruit
   • We both loved this one and ended up buying a bottle 
3. Vin Santo del Chianti DOC 
   • Strong dark red fruit flavors like blackberry and lots of tannin 
   • We both agreed that we liked this less than the previous two even though this one is much fancier 
   • This was probably our least favorite of them which is good because it was going for about 98€ a bottle. 
4. Cottaccio 
   • Very acidic and tannic 
   • Might be better with food but neither of us liked it much alone 
5. Supertuscan Syrah 
   • Less acidic than the other reds but similar tannin level 
   • You can taste the flavor from the French oak barrels it aged in
   • Hints of berries like blackberries and maybe some caramel 
   • Isabel liked this one more than Stephanie 

The next vineyard was Tenuta Torciano which has been in the same family since 1720 and we learned that the original owner had 18 kids which we were told was because of the aphrodisiac qualities of their truffle olive oil. They make high quality wine, truffle oil, and balsamic vinegar that can only be purchased directly from the vineyard (so we had to buy some balsamic). The atmosphere was amazing and we could feel the family values in the hour we spent there. In addition to 2 truffle oils and the balsamic vinegar, we tried the following 4 wines… 

1. Veranaccia S Gimignano 
   • Very sweet with hints of pear, green apple
   • We loved this one and were very tempted to buy some
2. Morellino di Scansano DOCG 
   • Very light and not very tannic
   • We also both really liked this and it was definitely our favorite red of the day 
3. Baldassarre Super Tuscan wine 
   • Good balance, more tannic than the first two wines here with flavors of dark chocolate and cherry making it very rich 
   • We both liked this one, it was probably our second favorite red 
4. Rose (forgot to write the specific name)
   • We both liked this one but definitely liked the rose at the first vineyard better (so we were happy with our purchase) 

Overall, we both agreed that this was one of the best days we’ve had so far and this was one of the top excursions we booked (it was a belated birthday present for Stephanie and she said it was the best birthday present)!! 

After the second vineyard, we headed back to Florence just in time for dinner. We took the suggestion of someone on the vineyard tour and went to a very local Florentine restaurant, called Trattoria Da Giorgio. Stephanie had been hoping to get a Florentine steak and this restaurant had the option of a fixed price menu with the steak, a side, water, and wine, so Stephanie got her steak with a salad, lots of water, and more wine, They also had a different fixed price menu with a first course, second course, side dish, water, and wine which Isabel ordered. She had gnocchi, Turkey with lemon, farro salad, lots of water, and more wine. It was all delicious and we were so happy to have gotten the suggestion. 

We don’t love waking up at 6am, but we were sure that today would be worth it. We quickly got ready and then sleepwalked to the meeting point and boarded the bus to La Spezia. When we reached La Spezia, we were hurried off the bus and onto a train to Manarola. 

Manarola is gorgeous and, after getting coffee and croissants at the only cafe open, we wandered along to water to look at the gorgeous buildings from the coast and then wandered up their Main Street to see the water from higher up. 

The second town we visited was Monterosso which had a lot more to see but was slightly less pretty. We wandered along the water for a bit and got a gelato to share before heading back to the meeting point to go to lunch. On top of the food, the meal included bottomless wine and water which was a major plus. The first course of lunch was a seafood salad which had an impressive variety of seafood over a bed of lettuce with olives and tomatoes. The seafood was amazing and very fresh. It was also very cool to get to try small amounts of all different local seafoods including octopus and mussels cooked 2 different ways. The second course was homemade pasta with a pesto sauce (the pesto here is amazing) which was even better than the seafood salad. The final course was panna cotta which was the perfect end of the meal before we rushed out to explore the rest of the city before the meeting time. 

Instead of a train, we changed it up and took a boat from Monterosso to Vernazza which gave us a gorgeous view of both cities but also was so shaky that we both ended up getting a little nauseous (especially because it was right after lunch). It was a lot of fun to be on the water but the boat was tilting almost 45 degrees from side to side. 

Luckily, it wasn’t a very long ride and we arrived in Vernazza to another beautiful town. The temperature had been rising all day and we still hadn’t been in the water so we decided it was a good stop to wade into the water to try to cool off. We were a little disappointed that none of the stops gave us enough time to really swim (and then dry off) but we had a good time sitting on a rock with our feet in. We also got some time to stroll through the town before we had to meet at the train station. 

The last town that visited was Riomaggiore. We didn’t get to see Corniglia, but we didn’t mind too much because it is primarily (if not entirely) the national park so we wouldn’t be able to see much without the park ticket and we wouldn’t have time to explore the park if we did have the ticket. In Riomaggiore, we started by wandering down to the harbor and taking in the view of the water. We decided it was too hot to spend much time there since there wasn’t much shade so we headed over toward the old town instead and wandered in and out of shops until it was time to meet back at the train station. The tour was very no nonsense about the meeting times and even left one woman behind who didn’t make it on time (which is good for those of us who were on time). From Riomaggiore, we took the train back to La Spezia and then boarded the bus back to Florence. 

Overall, the trip was amazing and we really liked the style of it. It was nice to have someone help us with the transportation, provide a few details about each city, and organize lunch, but we also loved getting to explore the cities on our own. The only thing that would’ve been better was a longer stop in any one town to be able to take some time to swim and cool off. 

When we got back to Florence, we headed directly for a pizza place that was recommended to us. We were tired and getting hungry so we wanted something quick, easy, and on the way. We arrived to find it closed (even though google thought it was open- when will we learn to not trust google for restaurant hours) so we went to a different pizzeria across the street. We ordered a four cheese pizza which ended up being delicious and we left happy and fed. Back at the hostel, we quickly got ready for bed and fell asleep almost immediately. Luckily, there were no more doorbell rings!

We said goodbye to Naples with another early morning rushing to the train station. The metro didn’t seem to be running so we ended up taking a taxi to the train station and then enjoying the ride to Florence. Again, our tickets were first class (even though we booked second class), but this time the conductor didn’t let it slide so easily. We showed him our receipt for second class and explained that we tried to change it and he eventually let it slide, but told us he was supposed to charge us the difference in the prices. When we made it to the Florence train station, we decided we didn’t want to risk it anymore so we changed the rest of our Italy tickets to second class.

Once everything was sorted out, we walked to the hostel to see if we could check in early or at least use their washing machine. They wouldn’t let us check in but they did let us use the laundry, so we got that done while we were waiting to check in. After we were done, we brought our bags up to the room and then headed out to find lunch. At that point, we were starving and wandered into a pizza place and shared a margarita pizza before going across the street for gelato.

Our next stop was Piazza di San Lorenzo which was the starting point for our walking tour. We waited on the steps of the church until our guide arrived and began the tour. We learned that the church we were sitting at was originally a Roman temple and most of the materials from the temple were used to build the church when the Romans were conquered in Florence. Also, the castle on the opposite corner was the first home of the Medici family and it’s style was copied in many other castles throughout the city.

After leaving the Medici castle, we walked over to the Duomo and learned about the history and symbolism of the cathedral, the bell tower, the dome, and the baptistery. After leaving Duomo, we walked over to the square that marked the city center and then walked over to Uffizi to hear about Leonardo and more about Michelangelo. Overall, the tour was very interesting but it felt more like a lecture than a walking tour (we only walked about half a mile throughout the 2 hour tour).

It was still a little early for dinner (at least in Europe) so we took our time wandering along the river and into some of the shops as we made our way back toward the less touristy restaurants that were in the direction of the hotel. We heard about a Chinese restaurant that was supposed to be really good and decided that halfway through our time in Italy was a good time to try something other than Italian, so we headed that way. It ended up being a great decision, all the food was amazing and very reasonably priced. We started with spring rolls and steamed dumplings and then had vegetable fried rice and a hot plate with rice noodles and shrimp and then finished with chicken with cashews and chicken with fresh pineapple. We loved it all and left very happy with the decision.

On the way back to the hostel, we stopped at a cafe for cannolis and ate them in a park near the hostel. When we got back, we took some time to relax and got to know one of the other girls in our room before getting ready for bed. The beds were comfortable, but we didn’t get as much sleep as we hoped because someone started ringing the doorbell (yes there is a doorbell to the dorm room) at about 2:30am. Nevertheless, we still woke up on time and are now on our way to Cinque Terre!