Day 11: The Hills Wander Again!

 Day 11

Another free day! We loved all our tours, but it sure was nice to have some lazy days, too. We had pretty much seen most everything we wanted to see, so today was an especially lazy day. We started off walking by the Duomo and were, yet again, amazed. 

The building in front is the Battistero di San Giovanni, the Baptistry of St. John. In the towns we've visited, there is a church with a dome attached. The main church in every city is called the Duomo, and most have a dome on top. Then there is a baptistry, a separate building usually facing the front of the church. This one is one of the oldest buildings in Florence, consecrated in 1059. It was used for all civic and religious baptisms, including all members of the Medici family. 

We were a little hungry, so we decided to stop for Apperitivi. We found a cute little place where they served coccoli, one of our favorite appetizers. We had to see if the Florence coccoli were as good as the ones we get at Parma Trattoria & Mozzarella Bar in Louisville. Of course, the answer was yes! It was every bit as good, which tells us Parma is doing something right. We've never had a bad meal there! Below is a picture of our Florentine Coccoli. It's Tuscan bite size, lightly fried dough balls. They are served with stracchino cheese and prosciutto. Stracchino is a very light and creamy spreadable cheese that is heavenly! In Florence and Rome, every meal is served with a basket of bread and a bottle of home-grown extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Benisimo!

For lunch, Bryan ordered pici cacio e pepe with truffles on top. Pici (pronounced pee-she), is a traditional, really fat spaghetti noodle. He loved them! I ordered Ribollita, another Tuscan tradition. Tuscans don't waste anything! If it's food, they mix it into something else. Long ago, when bread went stale, Tuscans would mix it into a soup with whatever they had - ragu, marinara, beans, spinach. This Ribollita was made with cannellini beans and spinach. Most every dish seems to start with the holy trinity - carrots, celery, and onions sauteed in olive oil. They sometimes use a broth and that dry bread. It doesn't look like much, but it was absolutely delicious! I'd get it again in a heartbeat!

We decided to go into the Medici Chapel, but our shoulders and knees need to be covered. Bryan didn't qualify, so we sadly sat on the steps to regroup.

As we walked, it was fun to take in city life, which included watching the chalk painters on the streets and a variety of musicians. There are several street performers throughout the city. We found this band playing in a piazza and sat and enjoyed them for a while.

It's funny how many stores we have in the US that we've seen around! 

• Gap
• Crocs
• Birkenstock
• Sephora
• Aveda
• Foot Locker
• North Face
• Apple
• Pandora
• Ray-Ban
• Claire's

And American restaurants:

• McDonalds
• Burger King
• KFC
• Five Guys
• Smashburger
• Starbucks

And that wraps up another lovely day in Florence! 🩷