Our Time in Florence - Deborah Dishes

I know I teased everyone with a post about our Florence food tour and then… nothing. So sorry, but helping to organize a vow renewal, birthday party, two cakes and various meals for 40 people kept me a tad busy. But more on that later, let me first recap our amazing time in Florence.

We decided to forgo the hotel scene and opted for a VRBO. Let me warn you that Italian apartments are charming but small, and to be wary of a listing that says “2 bedroom” as it may actually be a one bedroom with a fold out couch in a living area with no privacy. We were very lucky to snag an actual two bedroom in Oltrarno, across the river in a lovely and quiet area across from Parco Bardini, “the garden with the best view of Florence”, which indeed it was.

It was also quite near the Church of Santa Felicita, which houses the great work The Deposition of the Cross by Pontormo. The colors are indescribable.

We were also quite near the Pitti Palace, eventual home of the Medici, and a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio. We also had a small grocery store with a fresh blood orange juicer right as we walked in the door! Heaven.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was teaching Mark how to use an espresso pot for the first time. He became a master, maybe even a convert, by the end of the trip. And some people with us who had never seen them before were actually buying them to take home.

The four of us had been to Florence before and had hit the highlights, so this was more of a pleasure cruise through the beautiful city vs. a see-everything-important-in-two-days event. So the foodie in me woke everybody up early (too early according to Jan) so we could hit the Mercado Central while the vendors were still fully stocked. Fish, meats, vegetables, olives, cheese, flowers, dried mushrooms, truffle cream, wine… Definite foodie heaven. I came away with a restock of truffle cream and vacuum-sealed dried porcini mushrooms. We had a lovely lunch inside the Mercado amid the vendors, not in the noisy but delicious looking food hall upstairs.

Just outside the Mercado was a kitchen shop where I procured a beautiful new charcuterie board from a woman salesclerk who spoke no English. I held the board to my chest and said, “Mine”. That she understood.

And the streets are lined with leather goods shops and stalls, scarf sellers, aprons and Italian mementos. Steve is the owner of a gorgeous new black lambskin jacket. I got an apron and all my other food goodies, which probably made me just as happy.

There were a couple of things I did want to do and see while in Florence. One was to taste the hot chocolate at Caffe Rivoire, which faces the Piazza della Signoria. We breakfasted on French Toast with smoked salmon and avocado, omelets, and the amazing hot chocolate. Nothing I’ve ever tasted compared. It is dark, rich and intense. Thinner than you’d expect but jolting in its decadence. Skip the whipped cream if you go. And be like Steve; order a second one.

The other thing I wanted to see was the high water marker in Via San Remigio, which marks the difference between the floods of 1333 and 1966. This old photo below shows the 1966 flood. I’m pointing up to the marker for scale. The entry below, from intoflorence.com sums up the history of floods in Florence:

“November 4th, 1966 a flood hit Florence that submerged the city under several meters of water and claimed the lives of 101 people. It wasn’t the first time that the river Arno overflowed its banks and inundated Florence, since the Middle Ages another 3 devastating floods hit the city, but never before that disastrous night of 1966 had the water reached a height of 6 meters (19’ 7”).

Yet the most recent flooding is not known as the greatest catastrophe in Florentine history, that spot is reserved for the flooding of November 4, 1333 when even the Ponte Vecchio was washed away.

Yes, spotted correctly, again November 4th. The biggest floods in Florence took place on November 4, 1333, September 13, 1557, November 3, 1844 and November 4, 1966. Spread throughout the city you can find markers that indicate the height of the water level.”