Italy, Day 5

Day five in Italy would have been our first day in Florence, but the tour group had planned a side trip to Pisa located 75 miles west of Florence. Jim and I contemplated sitting this day trip out and hanging on our own in Florence, but we would have an extra two days in Florence at the end of our vacation and would likely never make the special trip to Pisa in the future. We said what the hey, and went to Pisa.

Once we arrived to Pisa, we boarded a small tram that took us through the markets and to the Piazza del Duomo, where we found the top three attractions: The Duomo, the baptistry and the campanile (the bell tower of the church that leans.)

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this sign. It says, "The song that you are hearing are sung by the driver of this treeno. His CD's are sold on board for E10 each." The music sounded like soft classical songs recorded in a bathroom.

Pisa reached it's peak of power in the middle ages as a maritime republic before being overtaken by Florence and Genoa. If you want to get a Pisan all riled up, mention Genoa - I thought our local tour guides head would explode as she talked with such passion about that city.

It was hot here! It was hot everywhere, but in Pisa I felt I could fry an egg on the concrete. Not that I would have wanted to, there were thousands of tourists and street vendors lining the road that leads to the Duomo(church).

Everyone has to take a picture in front of the leaning bell tower. This is ours. It's proof that, yes, we wasted half a day to travel to this little town and look at the tower and say to ourselves, yup it's leaning just like everyone said it would.

We had a local guide take us into the Battistero (Baptistry) and point out the hexagonal pulpit (1255-60), and then the baptistry keeper came to the center, all the doors were closed, and he cooed into the rafters and we sat in silence as his voice echoed around and around the circular building. It was a bit of a bone chill.

We were told most baptistry's were square or hexigonal, but this was the only baptistry that was round. I couldn't find anything in my books that backed this up, but I didn't want to call our local guide a liar - I told you how heated she became while talking about Genoa.

The cathedral was designed in 1063 and errected in the 13th century. There was a terrible fire in the late 1500's that destroyed a lot of the original building.

Left from the original building are three bronze doors at the entrance and a spectacular lamp hanging from the ceiling over the pews. According to tradition, Galileo, a Pisa-born astronomer used this hanging lamp to formulate his law of the pendulum by timing how long it took to swing from side to side.

Although I've always assumed Pizza came from Pisa, it isn't so. We did have some darn good pizza in Pisa at Ristorante Maiori in Piazza Arcivescovado. They have a great flash website, although it isn't all translated in English.

The restaurant, owned and operated by chef Andrea from Naples, produces some ridiculously delicious Neapolitan pizza.

The pizza was not as thin as the pizza we ate in Rome. The pizza dough was covered with tomatoes and mozzarella and was cooked to perfection.

Jim and I had our evening free in Florence. We were very excited about our chosen dinner spot, although known to attract tourists, we wanted to go anyway. Of course Italians do not eat dinner until really late in the evening, so we decided to hit a few wine bars along the way and sample appetizers to help us make it to our late dinner time.

I didn't catch the name of this wine nook, but we certainly had a great time. Our server spoke perfect English, as well as six other languages! Six! I was ashamed that I only spoke one. He was so nice, and knowledgeable about wine. We sampled from a few bottles, before we chose what glass we wanted to enjoy. I tried to get a picture of this really nifty pour spout they used, but he moved SO fast, all my pictures came out blurry.

I decided to have this Le Masse Di Greve made by Lanciola.

Trying to be adventurous, we ordered an appetizer of lard and honey. I know, what were we thinking? When would we be able to order something as absurd as lard and honey anywhere else?

Jim decided to have a glass of this Le Masse Di Greve Chianti Classico 2004 Reserve made by Lanciola

I didn't care too much for the appetizer, and discovered lard isn't my thing. But I did really enjoy the wine and the small dish of black olives they served us.

While searching for our dinner location we rounded a corner and I stopped Jim and asked, "Do you hear Alan Jackson?" We stood motionless until we could hear the faint country music wafting towards us.

We followed the sound of "Don't Rock the Jukebox" until we found this little Guitar Club.

We didn't return to this live country music spot, because there was no way we would have found it again.

This is what we looked like the entire time in Italy. Confused with the map, standing on a corner searching for a street name and LOST. I was always completely lost and lucky for me Jim was only lost 75% of the time. We laughed about it (most of the time) and enjoyed our adventures exploring the back streets of Rome, Florence and Venice.

Our first dinner out in Florence (the first night we ate at the hotel) was at La Giostra, a popular fine dining restaurant. Upon entering the restaurant the walls surrounding the hostess stand are covered with no less than 50 autographed photos of famous people (Brad Pitt and Ron Perlman to name a few) posing with the executive chef. 

Because we knew a lot of food was going to be brought to the table, we decided against ordering an appetizer - although this plate was brought to the table anyway. It was an assortment of canapes like toasted bread with liver pate, and sliced meats. We sampled a little bit of everything but really tried to hold off until our handmade pastas arrived.

I ordered the Risotto con asparagi e zucchine (rice with fresh asparagus) and I thought it was beautiful, but lacking in flavor and the rice was undercooked with too much "bite."

Jim's pasta course was the Tortelli di crostacei pomodorini e gamberi (tortelli with crustaceans cherry tomatoes and shrimps.) It looked and tasted great!  I had the Ravioli with pear and pecorino cheese for my entree, although I didn't get a good picture of the dish. The restaurant was lit by candlelight and a few strands of twinkle lights overhead, making it incredibly romantic but near impossible to take good photos.

For Jim's entree he ordered the Ossobuco (knuckle of veal ) florentine style (with beans in tomato and sage sauce). This picture looks like a complete mess, and actually the plate did look like a mess - however Jim said it tasted great.  

I was excited to see that that Ristorante la Giostra has its own web site and a page of recipes. Their original recipe for Ravioli with pear and pecorino cheese was in Italian and the web site also give the english translation. I don't know about you, but I find this difficult to follow. 

Ravioli with William’s Pear and Pecorino Cheese
(I did not make any edits, this is copied straight from the web site.)

There are few people who really prepair the handmade pasta by their self. So, Liliana, who do it for La Giostra (she cames from Emilia Romagna, a very famous shire for pasta), is really gelous about her recipes. We hope the following is right and we think is the best we could have from her...


You need to prepair a homemade sheet pastry with eggs and wheat flour (one egg for person from a minimum of four). The secret here is that when you have finish to knead the pastry it needs to rest for a while. Than you will stend it and here something about the machine. If you do it with the machine who has the rolls in metal the pasta will be very smooth and silky. This is not a merit because the sauce doesn’t fasten with the dish. You must use the wood’s roll and “tend” the pastry very slim.

The stuffing is prepared with William’s pear and Pecorino Cheese. The choise of first is difficoult because you need some fruits a little bit unripe for the less water inside and ligther aroma, than a good and not aged Pecorino. Here, Liliana who prepeared at La Giostra doesn’t confirm but I think she puts one “red” of a egg to fasten the stuffing...

For the sauce is something very delicate like a good butter with a bit of aromatic herbs.

For the wine with, try a Pinot noir from Alto Adige (blauburgunder) if you like red; with sauvignon blanc Conte della Vipera Antinori, if you prefear a whiteone.

Probably an easier recipe to follow would be this one I found on the Williams-Sonoma web site.
Pear & Pecorino Ravioli with Walnuts

The Williams-Sonoma recipe is inspired by Italian Chef Lidia Bastianich. Her original recipe for Ravioli “Cacio Pepe e Pere” (fresh ravioli stuffed with pear and pecorino cheese) can be found on her site.

Italy, Day 4

Honeymoon, Day 4 in Italy began by boarding a bus and traveling 75 miles north through Umbria and Tuscany. The countryside to Florence was truly picturesque, although I must admit to napping through most of the drive. Our first stop of the day was Orvieto, looming over vine-covered hills from atop a volcanic plateau.

The people who founded Orvieto were drawn to it because of its good defensive possibilities. If I were attacking the town, I too would have turned around after the first 15 minutes of walking up hill. The cliffs rise starkly from the valley below, although once Jim and I reached the top, we found the town to be relatively flat.

In the center of Orvieto is their world-famed cathedral, known for its elaborately adorned facade, rich statuary, marble bas-reliefs and mosaics.

Lucky (or unlucky) for us we arrived on a VERY special holiday for Orvieto, the Feast of Corpus Christi. I was honestly asleep during the explanation of this celebration on the bus. Jim was kind enough to paraphrase for me, and I am going to paraphrase for you.

Way back in the day, a priest was performing communion and was doubting the transubstantiation (the incarnation of Jesus Christ - His body being bread and the blood becoming wine) and when he broke the bread or cracker blood dripped out. Some other crazy stuffed happened, something about the alter being carried out and breaking. I may be completely screwing up the story, but in the end - the people of Orvieto celebrate the miracle. Every year they reenact the miracle and everyone in the town dresses up and parades around. The festival was quite a site to see. The downside - for us - everyone in the town was in the parade and not a lot of places were open on the day we visited.

The views from the city were breathtaking.

We took a guided tour to explore the honeycombed tunnels and Etruscan caves under the towns cobblestone streets.

Some of these tunnels were VERY tiny and although I'm up for an adventure, my tiny bit of claustrophobia kicked in a little here.

This subterranean city corresponds to the city constructed on the cliff almost three thousand years ago. These tunnels and caves are carved into the "tufa" (lava ash/rock.)

Whheeeeh. Thank goodness we arrived at a spot with a window. I pressed my face up against the iron window guards and took a deep breath of that valley air. Okay, I'm ready to go back under for more exploring.

Jim is loving exploring these tunnels, they have relics and structures that date from the Etruscan, Medieval, and Renaissance periods.

Lunch was on our own in Orvieto. We took our travel guides advice and found Trattoria la Grotta.

Franco Titocchia, the proprietor of La Grotta, is exuberant, confident and proud of how he runs his trattoria, which is regularly visited by the inhabitants of Orvieto, Ital­ian and foreign tourists, and food enthu­siasts and experts. His reputation rests on his experience and his trattoria is something of an institution since he's been in the business since 1945.

The antipasti include mixed crostini and bruschetta with Orvieto oil, ham and cured boar. Then you can choose from umbricelli or tagliatelle with duck ragu or all'arrabbi­ata, tagliolini with artichokes or zucchini, and excellent dishes made with locally grown chickpeas. The chicken in tegame with black olives is just one of many main courses, others being pi­geon in salmi, Iamb cutlets, grilled meats, wild boar stew or rabbit in pars­ley sauce. To end your meal you can choose between the cheese board, which assigns pride of place to local Pecorino, or a selection of home-made desserts: tiramisu, panna cotta, zuppa inglese and tozzetti with Vin Santo.

The wine list features an exhaustive range of Orvieto labels, as well as a good showing from the rest of Umbria and Italy. Although Orvieto is known for it's white wine, Jim and I chose this local Sangiovese to pair with our lunch. It was excellent, as was all the wine we drank in Italy. We loved the vino!

Ravioli al tartufo (truffle)

Tagliatelle with wild boar ragu

Tiramisu

Of course we ended our meal with an espresso. This would not be the first or last espresso of the day.

The trattoria was small and charming. The wait staff was slow to bring the check (even when we asked several times) but this didn't take away from the amazing food we enjoyed here.

We made it to Florence! I can't wait to dive into all the wonderful meals we ate while in Florence. We stayed at the Grand Hotel, a very luxurious hotel with a beautiful lobby and truly grand lounges.  The guest rooms have a refined elegance meant to evoke 15th-century Florence, with silks, brocades, frescoes, and real antiques.

I love touring hotel rooms, which is why I took pictures of all the places we stayed while in Italy. This is taken from the front door to our room. As you walk down the hallway the bathroom is on the right.

The large bathroom was beautiful, adorned in two types of Italian marble.

And look at all these amenities! I love it when a hotel has nice bathroom products. Here we have bath salts and bubble bath, and a nail care kit.

Oh! And a gift from the hotel because of our honeymoon. It was a great surprise and a welcome refreshment we enjoyed by the balcony.

Two double doors opened up and Jim and I could enjoy the fresh air and our great view of the Arno River.

Our view from the room.

Our first site to visit in Florence was the Galleria dell' Accademia. This huge building has the form of a Latin-cross church. The side wings and the Galleria dei Prigioni are located in what was formerly the medieval Hospital of San Matteo, while the Tribune was built between 1873 and 1882 to house the statue of David.

We were there to see Michelangelo's majestic sculpture of David. As you walk down the long gallery, David stands at the end. On either side of the gallery hall are Michelangelo's quartet of Prisoners or Slaves. It was absolutely amazing to look at these unfinished sculptures to help put into perspective what it was Michelangelo could do with a piece of marble. Although unfinished, each one was a dramatic representation of their struggle to free themselves from stone. Michelangelo worked on these for 40 years and sadly was never pleased with them.

Cameras were not allowed in the museum, so these pictures are from the Academia's web site. This picture was obviously taken before a madman vandalized David and damaged one of his toes with a sledgehammer. No, I can't see David's toe in this picture, but when we visited the David, there was plexiglass protecting him and surrounding him on all sided.

These pictures do not even do this sculpture justice! I was completely awe struck when I looked at him. David first stood in Piazza della Signoria but was moved to the Accademia in 1873 (a copy now stands in the Piazza as a substitute) and placed beneath the rotunda of a room built exclusively for its display. Michelangelo began working on David when he was just 29. We debated if this sculpture depicts David just before he went to face Goliath or if the sculpture depicts the moments after Goliaths defeat.

Seeing David was one of my favorite moments of our trip. I could have stood there for hours admiring his beauty and contemplating what Michelangelo gave to us, and the meaning of it all. By the way, I believe Michelangelo sculpted David in the moments before he went to face his opponent Goliath.

Dinner this evening was provided at the Grand's contemporary fine dining restaurant, InCanto.

I was particularly impressed with how creative each dish was prepared and presented. I didn't make notes on the menu, but I did take a picture of all our food.

The open kitchen offers diners a glimpse of Tuscan born, internationally trained Chef Fabrizio Innocenti as he flawlessly fuses contemporary European cuisine.

The hotel was brilliant at night. After dinner Jim and walked down the Arno to find an after dinner drink.

The original Harry's Bar is in Venice, but this chain has popped up all over Europe and can even be found in the US. The bar was made famous by Hemmingway back in the early 1950's.

Jim and I ended Day four in Florence with two Limoncello, sitting outside Harry's Bar on the bank of the Arno.