Piazzale Michelangelo

  On our final morning in Florence, before heading to La Accademia to view the David that afternoon, we trekked south across the river and climbed up to Piazzale Michelangelo. Apparently it was to be a Michelangelo-themed day, purely by accident.
 I'd been warned that the piazzale would be quite crowded with tourists, so we were pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't all that bad on this particular morning. Plus, the weather was pretty good, so it offered a wonderful view of the city! Definitely worth the effort, whether you go on foot or by bus.
 Besides the great view, you can also amuse yourself by looking at the gaudy souvenirs being sold, and there's a chance for photos with Pinocchio and a big green copy of David. Free fun for all!
  Next post: the real David, and yet more food!


                                                       Climbing to the top

                                       Piazzale Michelangelo

                           View of Florence from Pizzale Michelangelo

                              No idea how this giant Pinocchio got up there. We asked but couldn't get the truth out of him. Go figure.

                                                         Tiny David in my hand! This place inspires bad jokes, apparently.

                            Florence's Duomo as seen from Piazzale Michelangelo

Restaurant Review: La Bussola in Florence

   For our final dinner in Florence, we decided on La Bussola, a restaurant that my guidebook describes as having a 'rustic setting with a relaxed friendly service'. They were also purported to have some of the best pizzas in town (cooked in a traditional wood-burning oven), along with serving great seafood dishes.
 Now, I'm not really sure where the authors of said guidebook tend to dine, but I would hardly call La Bussola 'rustic'. Not by a long shot! Honestly, had I not merely been passing by without the guidebook's recommendation on hand, I would've assumed that this place was way too expensive to take a baby into and just kept on going.
 However, when we called to make a reservation (definitely a good idea for this place; they were packed!), the maitre'd assured me that they'd have a high chair waiting, and sure enough, it was. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the midst of all the other couples and groups out drinking and dining, but nobody seemed to bat an eye other than to smile and exclaim over how cute Keila was. And luckily for us, Keila slept through half of the meal anyway, giving us some time to relax and enjoy the truly good food.
 Dishes aren't as cheap as at Marione (http://teatimeuk.blogspot.com/2012/01/trattoria-marione-in-florence.html), but they're quite tasty and the pizza was indeed excellent. I think the only issue we had with La Bussola was choosing which pizza to order--they have a TON on the menu! No worries about translating from Italian, either--the menu is in both Italian and English, other than tiramisu, which 'needs no translation'.
 Dessert (we split the tiramisu) was also the best we'd had at a restaurant in Italy, although I would still probably recommend just hitting up Perche No! and devouring their tiramisu gelato instead. But not because La Bussola's was bad; Perche No!'s is just that good.
 All in all, a great restaurant: good service, great food, and wonderful atmosphere! Oh, and there's a Trip Advisor award sticker on the door. I'm only throwing that in because La Marione also has the sticker, so it's probably a safe bet to try a restaurant sporting one if you're out and don't know where to eat!
  La Bussola, Via Porta Rossa 58r  phone 055 293 376
www.labussolafirenze.it

Merry-Go-Round In Florence

  Just a quick post tonight:
   After returning to Florence from a long (and wonderful) day in Siena, we decided to do a little something for Keila, seeing as she'd been great about being carted around all day in the Bjorn. While walking through the Piazza della Repubblica that evening, we spotted a gorgeous merry-go-round and let her have a go on it. We'd actually seen it before during the day, but the lights at night made it truly spectacular. Plus it's a relatively cheap way to keep kids happy while touring the city: I don't remember the exact price offhand, but Keila and I rode for maybe 2 or 3 euros total, possibly less. She was thrilled, and admittedly, so was I! A child is a good excuse to ride, but by all means have a go on your own if you happen by it one evening!
 Just a few more posts on Florence to follow, then our Italy trip will finally be wrapped up!

                                       Keila also got some vanilla gelato after her enchanted ride

Day Trip From Florence: Siena

      On our second-to-last day in Tuscany, we decided to head out for Siena, a lovely little medieval town about an hour away from Florence.
 It's fairly easy to grab a bus from the SITA terminal near Florence's train station; the ride is only about an hour long. I've heard that this is one of the rare cases in Italy where the bus may be preferable to the train, since the bus will drop you off quite close to the city center in Siena, whereas the train depot is a ways away from the main part of town. 
 If you do decide to take the bus, make sure that you get to the SITA terminal at least 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time: we barely made the 9-something bus, and we were about 5 minutes early. Apparently the bus will just leave if it's full, plus Yuki and I weren't able to get seats together since we'd arrived a bit too close to departure.
  I won't go into the history of Siena, mainly due to lack of time, but if you get the chance do look it up a bit. It's quite an interesting town.
 My personal favorites of this beautiful UNESCO site include: Siena's Duomo (cathedral), the Piazza del Campo (town square), the Museo dell'Opera dell Duomo, and of course, the food!
 First off, if you see only one thing in Siena, then make it the Duomo. We saw quite a few cathedrals on our trip, but there wasn't one that inspired as much awe as Siena's did. Simply amazing, both inside and out! I'll post a few pictures of it below, but they honestly won't do it a bit of justice. It is rather overwhelming inside when one is confronted with the sheer amount of frescoes, carvings, etc; I guess that this abundance would make sense seeing as the cathedral was originally intended to be the largest in the world (money unfortunately ran out, go figure).
 The Museo dell'Opera dell Duomo, located right next to the cathdral, is pretty cool too. Remember that this statement is coming from someone who doesn't last very long in museums. There are lots and lots of beautiful works that used to be in the cathedral itself. But, the great thing about this museum is.....drumroll.....from here, you can climb up to the top of what would have been the facade of the new nave of the cathedral! Yep, poor Yuki got roped into another climb, this one unexpectedly. We both had no idea that you could climb up to roof, but when we got to the top floor of the museum and saw a bunch of people waiting in line in the 'Hall of Vestments', we simply joined them. Assuming that there must be something worth waiting for if there's a line, right? We did ask the 2 guys in front of us if they knew that it was, but they'd had the same idea as us. Smart Americans.
 It was quite a pleasant surprise to find out from a museum guard that we could climb up and get a great view of Siena. The reason for the line was that only about 20 people at a time are allowed up, since the walkways and staircases are so narrow.
 Once our time to climb arrived, we went up the spiral staircase (claustrophobics beware) to the first walkway. From there, you could continue up another even narrower staircase to the very top, which of course we did. The view was well worth battling my fear of heights for. Although I did feel like hugging the walkway once or twice! Tip: Never look straight down. I'm telling you this from experience.
 Quick aside: You can also climb the Torre del Mangia in the Piazza del Campo, but we refrained due to lack of time. Plus, while I can't remember the price offhand, it seemed a bit steep compared to the combined Duomo and Museo dell'Opera ticket (12 euros). I'm pretty sure that either climb would suffice if you want a great view, although if you're only in Siena for the day then go for the facade climb so you can fit the museum in too.
 In between visiting the Duomo and touring the Museo dell'Opera, we took a lunch break at a great family-run restaurant near the Piazza del Campo. (The Piazza itself is great for pictures and as a reference point. Also, be sure to buy a tourist map of Siena from the tourist information center located on the Piazza. It's 50 cents and will save you a lot of trouble).
 Anyway, back to lunch. In this case, we took a tip from Rick Steves and headed down Via Giovani Dupre, just off the Campo. Locanda Garibaldi Restaurant is located at number 18, quite close to the Campo but far enough away that one won't confuse with the over-priced tasteless tourist traps directly on the square.
  Locanda Garibaldi is a family-run restaurant that serves incredibly tasty and very reasonably priced food. We were the first ones in for lunch on that day, but it started to fill up after about a half hour. The menu is all in Italian, but our server (I'm guessing the son) of course spoke English and was able to answer any questions we had. We also asked him for his recommendations; he's got excellent taste.
I think we paid cash for our meal, and I'm pretty sure that credit cards aren't accepted. While we were eating, several locals dropped by for a quick lunch, and we also chatted with a couple who were bringing their children to eat; they had originally visited Locanda Garibaldi years ago while traveling Italy as a couple. Obviously the place had made quite an impression!
 If you're looking for romance and high-class dining, then this probably isn't your restaurant. But if you want good, authentic Tuscan food in a semi-rustic setting, then this is the place to go. Only drawback in my book was the lack of a high chair, but familes are very obviously welcome and thankfully we had no problem holding Keila.
 I'd love to write more about Siena but have promised myself that I'll wrap up Italy by the end of this month. So enjoy the pics, and the next post will be back in Florence!


                                  Torre del Mangia in Piazza del Campo, Siena

                                            Siena's spectacular Duomo

                                              Inside Siena's Duomo

                            Lunch break at Locanda Garibaldi Restaurant

                              They have some amazing home-made noodles!

                            Views from Museo dell'Opera dell Duomo

                                     Siena's Duomo as seen from the Museo dell'Opera

                                       I actually did lie down on the walkway to take this one

                                             One of Siena's side streets

                                              A final picture of Siena's Duomo.

 

Florence: The Duomo and Campanile

        On our second day in Florence (before hitting up Perche No!), we visited the famous Duomo and then climbed its bell tower (the Campanile).
 The Florence Duomo, the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiori, was actually built on the site of a 7th century church, Santa Reparata. The current cathedral was built in the 13th century, although the world-famous dome wasn't added until the 15th century, its facade being finished in the 19th.
 The separate bell tower, the Campanile, was started in 1334 and completed in 1359. Giotto was involved in its design, Andrea Pisano did the second floor, and Francesco Talenti completed the tower. Don't ask me who these people were, but I'm assuming they're somewhat famous or else they wouldn't have been mentioned in my guide book! Really should look them up but am kind of doubting I'll get time to any day soon.
 The outer surface of the Campanile is decorated in the same marble at the Duomo: pink from the Maremma, white from Carrara, and green from Prato. The carvings along the bottom are actually copies: the originals have been preserved in the Duomo museum.
   You can climb both the dome (463 steps) and the Campanile (279 feet high), although we opted to just do the Campanile. I'm not sure how many steps 279 feet high equals, but let me tell you, it feels like about triple whatever the actual amount when you're climbing up narrow old curving steps with a cute chubby baby strapped to your front!
 The climb was well worth it for the view in the end, although I must admit to saying at least once or twice 'Really?? MORE steps??' at every level. This even though, as Yuki discovered the hard way on our trip, I REALLY like climbing things! I was actually all for climbing the dome the next day, but we were told it was basically the same view as from the Campanile, so we skipped it due lack of time.
  Touring inside the cathedral of the Duomo was free, and I think the Campanile climb was something like 8 euros. You have the option to buy a combined ticket, which I'd highly recommend if you're there a few days and want to climb everything and tour all the related buildings/museums. Even if you don't get to do everything, fork over the cash to climb the Campanile. It's definitely worth the money (and a great way to burn off some of all that food/drink you'll be eating while there)!


                                                The Duomo cathedral

                             
                                       The inside of the Duomo is rather stark

                     Climbing the Campanile. We must've just started, as I have yet to look winded

                                           View from mid-way up the Campanile

                                     View from the top of the Campanile

                          If you look REALLY closely, you can see people near the top of the dome

                                View of the city... not sure what church that is. I want to say Santa Croce but don't think that's really it?

                                The way down was a bit terrifying. Steep narrow steps and couldn't see my feet!

                                               Safely on the ground looking up

Keila's 15 Month Update

   Another break from Italy in order to do Keila's monthly update. I've also just realized that it's now February and I'm still posting about our trip in December! Hopefully I can find the time to wrap it up soon, otherwise it might be Christmas-time again before I'm on to other topics.
 For now, all about Keila.
1. Speech. We are talking A LOT now. Much, much more than even a month ago. Problem being, I can't figure out what everything means, but I'm trying since Keila so very obviously is. Words that are recognizable include: WaWa (for Wasabi), Baby (which I count as her first official word), Oliver (sounds more like 'Ah wa ba'), and David (Da--id). Why the male names, you ask? Well, Oliver is one of her close friends, and David....hah. David is Michelangelo's David, the magnet of which happens to be on our fridge.
 2. The tooth count is now up to 14! Her canines have finally popped through, ouch. I'm seeing more drooling though so maybe we have more on the way? Kind of hard to tell lately since Keila hates it when I try to stick any fingers in there and group around. Not that I blame her.
 3. Sleep is still not what it could be, but now Keila will go right to bed when I put her down for naps or in the evening. It's the wake-ups that are still the issue. Less than 2 months until the big move and Keila's own bedroom, though!
 4. I was dead wrong last month when I said that Keila probably wouldn't walk much any time soon, even though she took her first steps. Within the past 2 weeks, our little speed demon has started toddling around all over on her own. It's a little disconcerting to glance up and see her waddle by a doorway, actually! She'll probably start running right around the time I get used to her walking everywhere.
 5. Food. No other apparent allergies, but I confess I haven't given Keila a ton of new things to try lately. She did eat some prawn crackers last week and loved them, no signs of allergy either. She's got a slight cold at the moment and hasn't really been wanting much of anything in general besides things covered in marinara sauce. Hopefully her appetite returns soon.
 6. New actions. Keila LOVES brushing her teeth with the baby toothbrush we (belatedly) got her. Up until last week I'd only been using a cloth to wipe her teeth after meals, oops. Not sure which is more effective though, since she tends to just chew on the toothbrush instead of actually brush with it. And nobody is allowed to help her! I've had to make sure the toothbrush is out of sight in between brushings, since she'll otherwise throw a fit and point at her mouth until she gets it.
 Keila will also blow a kiss if we ask her to, and she's loving taking out her blocks and then putting them all away. Lids are also fascinating right now; she can't get enough of taking them off and putting them back on to containers.
 7. Keila's around 10.5 kilos? Maybe? I really need to check the growth charts to make sure she's on track....she sure looks fat (ie healthy) enough, though!
  Ok, that's all about Keila until March 6th!

Perche No! Florence's BEST Gelateria

           On the Wednesday of our trip, we were finally able to hit up Perche No! after lunch. Once I tasted their gelato, I was really wishing that we'd just skipped lunch and gone straight there instead. Pure bliss in a cup. If ever there was life-changing gelato, then this is it.
 Again, don't ask me all the flavors that we got, but I definitely remember some sort of chocolate holiday cake gelato (with real bits of apricot and cake in it) and of course their tiramisu flavor. If you go to Perche No! and can only get one flavor, get the tiramisu. Honestly. Amazing. It was better than any other actual tiramisu we ordered on the entire trip! So good were the chocolate cake gelato and the tiramisu that we scarfed our first 2 cups and went back in for a third cup to share! The workers behind the counter kind of laughed at us....and then kept laughing in amazement as I appeared again the next day, and finally 2 times on the Friday before we left. Too bad I didn't know how to say 'hollow leg' in Italian. And I wasn't about to admit to them that we'd visited another gelato on Friday afternoon, making 3 large cups of gelato in one day. 3.5 if you count the kiddie cup that Keila wouldn't eat. Crazy baby obviously didn't inherit her mother's taste buds.
 More on that final gelateria later. For now, Perche No!'s stats: Fresh, amazing gelato made on-site daily. Closed Tuesdays. Open every other day 12 pm to 8 pm. Via dei Tavolini 19r, just off one of the main shopping streets heading toward Piazza della Signoria, the Via dei Calzaluoli. And don't by the imposter gelateria in the exact same location as Perche No!, only one block north.

                                    Perche No! Paradise in a cup

                               The real deal. Beware the imposter storefront one block over

                                                      This might've been cup #3

       
                                     Keila liked the vanilla ok. The orange...not so much

                                 Judging by the amount of tiramisu on hand, I'm not the only one in love with it