A 3 Hour Tour

We started this morning with a 3-hour tour, no not that three-hour tour, we expected to return from this one. Stefania met us at 9am in the lobby of our hotel for a walking tour of Firenze, starting with Ponte Vecchio. Ponte Vecchio is a bridge in Florence and a symbol of the city. It was originally built in 1345. It used to have butchers on both sides of the bridge, all the way across. But, luckily for us, the Medici family took exception to the smell and decided to kick all the butchers out and replace them with goldsmiths and other jewelers. I am personally much happier with the current residents of the shops on the bridge. Not that I don’t like charring some animal flesh, I just don’t have anywhere to cook meat. More about the goldsmiths later.

Stefania walked us through the most recognized parts of the city and we received many details about each location. Outside of the City Hall, there is a gallery, Loggia dei Lanzi, containing several original sculptures including Benvenuto Cellini’s 16th-century bronze sculpture of Perseus with the severed head of Medusa and Giambologna’s impressive “Rape of the Sabines (1583).” That wasn’t the latter’s original name, Giambologna had created the work to demonstrate his ability to create a sculpture with multiple, intertwined figures.

We wound through the city and eventually made our way to the Accademia Gallery, the home of Michelangelo's David. Before we saw David, we toured the museum and enjoyed many beautiful works of art and the gallery of musical instruments, including a prototype piano made by the inventor of the piano and an original Stradivarius that is unique because it is all original. In the gallery leading up to David, there are several sculptures from Michelangelo called The Prisoners. These sculptures are complete even though the figures in them have not been fully ‘freed’ from the marble in which they are contained. At the end, of course, is David. It really is amazing to see this masterpiece work of art. The last gallery we walked through was a collection of plaster sculptures that were used as templates for the final pieces in marble. It was not unusual for wealthy families to have their family members carved in marble, and these plaster pieces were used to determine total size for the selection of marble blocks and were drilled in multiple places to gauge depth.

Stefania toured us back around, detailing several important buildings along the way. Around noon, we were left to figure out how to best use the next two hours before our next scheduled event. We had a quick bite to eat at Gilli’s and then bee lined it back to Ponte Vecchio and the goldsmiths.

The process of finding jewelry is pretty straight forward. First to look in all the windows and then you go in and buy all the pretty stuff. At least that is what all my girls told me was how it was done. The first part is accurate, the second not so much. Melissa did see a really pretty frog bracelet in the window of a shop and told me to go in there and buy it. So, being a good and dutiful husband, I went in and gently inquired about the price. I knew I was in trouble when the shop keeper said ‘you pick one of the most expensive pieces in the case’. When I saw the asking price, I knew it was a no go. I told him so, but he very kindly explained to me why it was worth the asking price. The bracelet consists of about 18 interconnected frogs, that are all handmade, have shifting leg positions, and emeralds for eyes. Did I mention it was made from 21 grams of 18K gold? Well it was! All these things together made me believe it was worth the asking price, but it was too rich for my blood, so I thanked him for his time and moved on to the next shop. All of the shops were full of beautiful items but the family had some specific goals that needed to be met, and they were. You will hear more about that on tomorrow’s entry. Goals met, we hurried down to our meeting point to hook up with our driver, Massimo. Massimo had a great drive through the Tuscan countryside planned for the Flatt Family.

After a brief pause at the American WWII Memorial, we stopped in Greve. Greve is a typical town from the Medieval times, with a main square as the primary geographic feature. Here Massimo took us on a quick tour of Antica Macelleria Falorni, a butcher shop founded in 1806. This is the biggest provider of the Florentine Steak from the previous post. We were also treated to a quick tasting of some of the different meat selections. They were absolutely delicious. Apparently, Chianti is suffering from an infestion of wild boar and the butchers of Antica Macelleria Falorni are commited to turning the nuisance animal into some of the most delicious cured meat products I have ever had. Both Ryan and I are right there with them in the commitment to eat our way through the wild boar population of Chianti--enjoying a nice vino alongside the main course.

The last stop in this breathtaking landscape was a tiny village that is the home of an annual wine festival and dates back about 800 years. The buildings in this area cannot be torn down, only gutted and modernized on the inside. That makes for an incredibly picturesque landscape that 100% meets our expectations. On the ride home Massimo made a call to his friend and secured us a reservation at a fantastic restaurant, Ristorante Accademia. Following a respite at the hotel, we took the short walk to dinner.

Two last take-aways, extra virgin olive oil means the oil is pressed the same day the olives are picked, and a large meal should be followed by grappa. More on that later…