A few short weeks ago, Lara came to visit! She arrived on a Friday morning and our afternoon was spent taking a pleasant, explorative stroll through Florence. Friday evening we went to the synagogue for services and to Chabad for dinner. It was all very nice and exciting, but the fun really got started on Saturday morning. We got up to head to Cinque Terre, five lovely towns on the coast of Italy. When our train went through a tunnel right before we arrived, Lara and I both gasped in amazement when we saw the view. Photographs don’t quite do it justice, but here are two attempts at capturing its beauty:
There are trails in between each of the towns where you can hike for five or six hours. The path in between the second and third towns is currently closed due to a landslide, but there is a train that operates in between all of the towns. We decided it would be nice to take a relaxed approach to the day, and therefore to get in as much as we could without rushing to finish it all. Our first stop was in the town of Riomaggiore, where we walked through the pleasant and serenely peaceful town. We sat down for a wonderful lunch and ordered the unpronounceable but scrumptious local raisin wine, the sciachetrà, which I recommend highly (and I’m not a wine lover at all). After purchasing some strawberries and grapes for a potential picnic, we began walking on the trail to the second town, Vernazza, which was supposed to take about 25 minutes. The path is literally right on the coast, and it’s so wonderfully pleasant and amazing. We actually stopped about two minutes in to go down on the rocks towards the water and just lie down for an hour or so. It was completely and entirely relaxing. Our picnic occurred at this point, which was perfect. Once we started up again, we got a little further along and stopped at the rest area to get an ice cream sandwich (Lara) and an almond cake (me). After we finished our little snack, we made it to the second town, which we explored until the train for the third town came. Lara had her first gelato in Italy, and I found some good gelato. The third town was fairly abandoned, but this is really the most stress-free place on earth. We purchased some raisin wine to bring back to Florence. For any who are in or ever plan to visit Italy, make sure you stop at Cinque Terre. It’s simply incredible.
Sunday morning we got up and went to Angels American Brunch, the fantastic place which Lara found online a month or two ago. My friends from Italian class, Drew and Caitlin, were both there waiting for us even though we hadn’t made official plans – they were just ready for a weekly standing brunch appointment at noon. My main course of French toast was accompanied by the massive buffet of muffins, yogurt, fruit salad, and milk. Quite delicious! We spent the afternoon apart while I was catching up on work, but reunited for another meal. For dinner, we went to Caffe Italiano, the excellent pizza place my roommate Dan introduced me too. We arrived five minutes before it opened for the evening, which was really cool since there was already a line outside the door. The moment it opened, everyone rushed in and we just sat down at a table. The waiter hadn’t yet arrived, so the pizza chef took our order before sitting down to start making pizzas. It was a very fun, truly Italian experience. We also ordered completely in Italian, since the chef does not in fact speak English. Another terrific restaurant that I highly recommend for those visiting Florence.
As Abe caught up on work, I had a fabulous afternoon exploring the streets of Florence. Not only was the entire area poetically luminous, but the people were also of the ‘classic Italian’ variety. Everyone walked around, exchanging excessive hugs and kisses and engaging in wild hand gestures. I spoke to and befriended many individuals in the street, including an Italian merchant in Piazza San Lorenzo named Stefano who, after a long conversation and a friendly hug, sold me a leather jacket for a mere 5 euros!
The next few days I was in class, so the bulk of our activities together took place in the evening. Monday afternoon, we went for a pleasant stroll over the Ponte Vecchio, getting slightly lost purposely and ending up ultimately at Acqua al Due, yet another superb restaurant in Florence. We began with some red wine and first courses of pasta, farfalle ai funghi porcini (bow tie pasta with mushrooms) for Lara and maccheroni alla vodka for me. Our main courses were the signature steak dishes, blueberry and balsamic. Somehow, we even managed room for dessert. This was my second time at Acqua al Due and I do hope to go back at least once more before I depart this country.
Each morning, I would take a stroll to the river and sit in the middle of Ponte Vecchio for 15 minutes before starting my day. My activities varied. One day brought art galleries and walking tours. Another brought lunches with family friends. My favorite ‘solo afternoon moment’ was most probably listening to a classical guitarist in the vicinity of the Ufizzi play songs that my mom plays at home on the piano.
Tuesday night we went to Chabad for the student dinner, where a number of other visiting NYU students on spring break joined us. The later evening was spent with some non-food activities, beginning with some relaxing at the NYU dorm Ricasoli and ending with Bebop, a Florentine club with a Beatles cover band. Wednesday night, we went on the search for Trattoria da Benvenuto, a restaurant my parents ate at when they were in Florence 23 years ago and where they say they had the best meat of their lives. We located it by chance on our walk (we were of course looking for it, but we just happened to come upon it, which was convenient). We ordered the veal steak and the veal chop, and both were quite good. The place was small but had a very nice aura. After dinner, we went looking for gelato, and on our travels ended up near the Palazzo Vecchio, where there was a singer performing Simon and Garfunkel songs. Once we found gelato, we sat down on a bench in Piazza Reppublica and just enjoyed the scenery and energy. Our last stop that night was The Jazz Club, which is exactly what its name suggests. It’s located only two blocks from my apartment and several fellow residents perform there regularly. Yet another fun experience.
Thursday, Lara came up to NYU’s campus and explored the gardens. After a lunch where Lara encountered the many people she knew from home and met here, we walked down Via Bolognese back towards the center of Florence. We came across a lovely park where we spent some of the afternoon until rain threatened to pour down on us. We thought we’d be adventurous that evening and try to locate the intersection of Inferno and Purgatory, two streets in Florence, where we had heard there was a really good restaurant. There were two options once we arrived, one of which had Mediterranean food, so we opted for the other. It was a truly Italian experience, which wasn’t quite as exciting as perhaps we had expected. We decided on some veal entrée, but were told that we could only order what was being made that day. We chose the roast veal, which was immediately served to us. It consisted of five relatively flavorless thin slices of veal which clearly were not great. We finished quickly because there was barely any food. We left soon after, and the disappointing, over-priced experience was made not as bad due since they forgot to charge us for the wine. In order to save the night, we wandered back a different way and returned to Piazza Reppublica and that singer near the Palazzo Vecchio. Once we made it back to San Lorenzo, where Lara was staying, we went out for a second dinner. I had heard a lot about Zaza, which is right near the Mercato Centrale. The ravioli Lara got and my tagliatelle ai funghi porcini were pretty good, but I don’t think it’s the best restaurant in that square (I’ll get to that in a moment). Overall, it was a successful night and the second dinner also consisted of some pretty terrific dessert.
Near the Ponte Vecchio
At BebopNYU’s campus in at La Pietra is truly magnificent. Not only is there a grand villa, but they have their own olive groves and a landscaped sculpture garden! While Abe was in class, I was given a lovely tour by Laura Krule. I can’t imagine how any of the students there manage to get work done amidst such beauty.
For Lara’s last day in Florence, we had originally planned to go to the Boboli gardens for a nice picnic. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t hold up. Regardless, we went to the Mercato Centrale and found the elusive second floor where the fruits and vegetables are sold. We bought some rock-hard bread, cheese, tomatoes, kiwis, and dried fruit, including apricots, strawberries, mango, and three different types of raisins. Since the weather wasn’t what we had hoped, we used Lara’s hotel room as a base for our picnic. I got my first real taste of the San Lorenzo market as Lara purchased souvenirs for friends from home. Hotel Giada is in a perfect location, so close to the San Lorenzo market and the Mercato Centrale. Check it out if you’re coming to Florence! Lara’s trip was concluded with our return to Amor del Vino, the restaurant in the Mercato Centrale where he had dined previously following our return from Cinque Terre. On Saturday night, we ate outside in the tent area, and Friday night we ate inside in the very nice indoor room. Both were equally lovely. Lara tried two ravioli dishes, both of which were great, and I had a delicious penne al salmone and my token favorite, tagliatelle ai funchi porcini (each time, respectively). It was a perfect ending to a wonderful week. It was the most wonderful trip I could have hoped for.
A lot has happened since Lara’s visit, and I still have a few more weeks in Italy, so keep an eye on this blog for some much-delayed updates!
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