Florence: Where Art, Food and History Collide!

This city oozes with culture. With a population of about 400,000 and more than a million tourists visiting each year it really is the centre of Tuscany and a great place to base from if you want to get a feel for Italy’s cultural roots and renaissance history. It’s cool and it’s hip, and really has been that way since the middle ages. Since 1982, the city centre has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site. Michelangelo, Dante, Galileo, Botticelli all chose it as their home. Their work and influence are felt almost everywhere. The city has also a major European impact in music, architecture, education, cuisine, fashion, philosophy, science and religion. Much of that is thanks to the affluent business minded Medduci Family in the 1400’s who through successive generations commissioned art, buildings, statues, and sponsored artists.

There are lots of vespas zipping around the narrow streets, but for the most part it is a pedestrian ruled city centre and there is a ton to see. You literally come around a corner and whap! You are in front of another towering architectural cathedral or statue. Our guide Giuseppe had prebooked our passes for the World renowned Uffizi Museum and this was an amazing opportunity to see one of the world’s largest collections of renaissance masterpieces up close and personal. For less than 10 euro for a ticket it was unbeatable value. Don’t miss it, and definitely book ahead.

                                                                                                                                                        

        

                                                                 

Food in Florence...
Oh my what can I say, but it’s edible art! Not foo foo, just beautiful local, organic, fresh ingredients, made simply and offered affordably in a casual atmosphere. The streets are lined with deli style restaurants with their fresh pizzas, soups, stews and pastas displayed in their glass deli cases enticing you as you walk by.

For desert? You need to hit the streets again and walk abit to create room for Gelato.

The gelato shops beckon from every corner. Pear and Lemon gelato are my new favourites...

Our evening dinners in Florence were highlights. We hit small local trattorias later in the evening when the locals are settling in for food, music and conversation.

The wine flows from refillable house bottles and the menu is focused on what’s fresh and what’s in season. Period. Big portions, home cooked flavours, reasonable prices..

Bert and I ordered the Bistecca Fiorentina one night to share.

1.2 kilos of‘porterhouse’ style steak. The cut of meat is incredibly tender and full of flavour. It comes from the regions Chianina breed of cattle. The steak is a minimum 2 inches thick and cooked on searing hot grill or charcoal, no more than 10 minutes.

Melts in your mouth. A vegan’s worse nightmare, but one of our best dreams!