frolicking fridays, round 5

Thank god I write this down. We adore Fridays, but 2 days later are asking ourselves: what did we do again? Don't you hate that? When someone asks what you did over the weekend, and it takes serious concentration for you to revisit the pleasures of down time achieved in the past few days... though you know it was good.

So here we log our frolics. (And already I am beyond the 2 day limit of remembering: wish me luck!).

Friday is the day James and I shove off, venture out and experience Florence (with license to branch out beyond Florence... just not yet). This Friday was a tiny unique, as we have a penchant for standing in lines and thought we might add that onto our Friday 'fun' list.... right. Thursday was Thanksgiving, and we spent the entire day in line at the police station/immigration office. All four of us, waiting. And waiting.

And waiting.

And around 4pm we received signature on our permits to reside in Italy. Which really was much to be grateful for (and the reason we took a 3 week segue to the states). And the footnote is: we have receipts, but need to go back again in one month to pick up actual cards. We have stood in so many lines, it was a case of taking it in stride.

Then Friday morning James and I---receipt in hand---went to pick up another official card (you need two, they are distinct yet related... one is permission, one is residence). We took a number, sat in line and waited a mere hour... at which point we set up our appointment to return the following week. So it goes with red tape.


It didn't take much from our day, and we wouldn't have spent the extra time out of our 'day of touring' to stand in another line BUT we are excited about obtaining requisite cards because it gives us license to explore more of Italy. And by license, I mean, literally license. If we are official residents, we qualify for car-sharing, which means for a small fee we can participate in renting a car to go explore cities for a few hours or all day (less expense and hassle than renting a car).

Lines aside, Friday we managed to visit: the Buonarotti house (Michelangelo plus family line), the Medici Chapel (see dome photo) and Laurentian Library (top photo), and a lovely little cafe---Mangiafoco Caffe---to enjoy wine and a pile of cheeses, salami and prosciutto (plus truffle honey and reduce chianti glaze...). Although I love absorbing the rich tiles on the floor of the library, there is something about closing your eyes to truffle honey and the lingering notes of Chianti that cements memories in my brain...

Anyway, the Medici Chapel (including a room with works by Michelangelo) is on the backside of the famous San Lorenzo Church (the church has an unfinished facade---a sort of tribute to Michelangelo, who had grandiose plans for the front of Lorenzo the Magnificent's church). There are basically 3 different entrances around this large church complex (with separate entrance fees): 1. the church and old sacristy, 2. the Library (which includes a famous staircase designed by Michelangelo), and 3. the domed Medici Chapel (includes sacristy and Chapel of Princes with 'mini-me' dome similar to that of the Duomo).

Nov weekend: long meals, soccer, friends' party and Montepulciano

Last weekend was a very full weekend, one that left us a little too tired come Monday morning... but in a good way.

Thursday was Caleb's birthday, which we celebrated by giving him little gifts during the day, special cookies and dessert, steak dinner, balloons for balloon fights and a new guitar. He is 13. Am I really old enough to have adolescents? Yikes---time flies. Which is why we are here, in Florence, to soak each other up before time gets away from us.

Saturday night Anthony went to a birthday party, at the home of a classmate some 30 minutes from Florence. James drove him there, and memories include long conversations for James in Italian, dancing and itunes for Anthony and fabulous hosts who sent them home with wine and olive oil. Caleb and I stayed home, set up our Christmas tree with lights, relaxed and watched a movie.

James and Anthony were in bed just shy of midnight and up again just after 6am. (Somewhere in here, we need to appreciate James riding a bike back and forth around town to rent a car. And I really do mean 'around' since you cannot drive a car in the city without a special residential permit... if you do, months later you will find unkindly tickets in your mailbox---compliments of the electronic police cams). James dropped Anthony off at an early bus, so he could ride with his team to a game in Montepulciano.

Caleb, James and I drove to Montepulciano for Anthony's game, then went out to lunch with the team. It was a classic Sunday dinner, where you sit and receive course after course until you are absolutely bursting. We did not anticipate this long meal and bursting stomachs... I felt like I had just eaten Thanksgiving dinner. No the Italians don't eat like this every day, but sometimes they do on Sundays. And we ate and ate and ate; I reached for my TUMS as soon as I hit the car.

Wine and water (coke for the kids) were the beverages; the meal started with bread and oil, then rounds of bruschetta: 5-6 different varieties served with a token slice of salami or prosciutto. I thought: this is nice, some bruschetta (tomato, white bean, artichoke, olives, another pate-like paste), sliced meat and wine. Perfect for lunch. Because that would have been just about the right amount for one or our midday meals. How wrong I was---and how I would have paced myself: bruschetta was followed by pici (pasta well-known in this region) with meat sauce, then ricotta and spinach stuffed ravioli with mushrooms, roasted chicken, sliced pork, potatoes, fries, salad... and espresso and tiramisu. And people finished whatever was on their plates. Halfway through I noticed whatever people took on their plate, they finished. So I began declining full portions by the end: too little too late. Wowza, Thanksgiving came early this year.

Aren't you full just hearing about it?

After the long lunch, we departed to take quick peeks at Montepulciano (a brisk walk around the city, inside the cathedral and a perfunctory purchase of 2 bottles of wine). We snapped some twilight pictures and promised ourselves we would return. We took [typical] narrow, curvy roads to Pienza, just 10k away. A tiny little town, with narrow stone paths, piles of stores offering tastes of Pecorino, a humble church and a restaurant recommendation (for next time: Bucca della Fate). It was late, so we bought some cheese, salami and bread and hopped in our car to go home (we were still far from hungry!).

Today really is Thanksgiving. Although celebrating with just our family of four, our table will be appropriately bursting with turkey, potatoes and gravy, rolls and apple pie. I will make a little stuffing and roasted brussel sprouts... and because we are in Italy, I am adding: squash risotto, wine from Montepulciano and fennel into my stuffing. We will no doubt, be bursting. And not just with food---but with thanksgiving. We feel so fortunate to have this opportunity abroad, to have all this time together, and to be filling our minds and hearts with countless memories.

frolicking fridays, round 4

For our Friday frolics (Nov 20), James and I took advantage of the late autumn sun and toured outdoor gardens. We were actually aiming for a late morning visit to Piazzale Michelangelo (the one up on the hill, that looks back at the city); but we changed plans. We were walking up a long stone-paved road toward Forte di Belvedere (which we later discovered was closed), when we saw an impressive entrance to what turned out to be Giardino Bardini. I was tickled, because every morning James and I take a short get-our-coffee and chat-a-bit walk---and peek across the Arno toward a beautifully terraced garden... and I had always wanted to take a closer look.

Friday turned out to be my lucky day. Not only was it sunny, but the ticket fare for the Giardino Bardini included entrance to the more-famous Giardino di Boboli (yes, we went there in late summer with Anthony and Caleb; this time we entered from a completely different angle and saw even more, including the Porcelain Museum and Rose Garden). The ticket fee (7 euros) also include entrance to 2 of the [less famous] exhibits inside Palazzo Pitti: the Galleria del Costume and Museo degli Argenti. In other words, fancy dress and expensive artifacts.

That was enough for one day. But we will return to Palazzo Pitti to see The Royal Apartments and famous works from the likes of Raphael, Pissaro, Boticelli, Titian and many more (these paintings and more are in Pitti's Palatine Gallery 16c-18c and Galleria d'Arte Moderna, 18c - 20c). But we were worn out from all the touring. I had heard that Pitti is a good place to visit, over the course of 2 days. I feel the same way about the Uffizi Gallery---there is so much to absorb.

We landed---hungrily---at a casual yet lively trattoria near Ponte alla Carraia (2 bridges west of the Ponte Vecchio). Cannot remember the name. Had a boring salad, the service was bleh, the prices good and the wine pours tiny... redemption came with the roasted chicken and rosemary potatoes (yum). We would go again, despite the apparent low marks (cannot remember the name of the restaurant, but note photo).

Until next Friday...