Livorno Ferraris

This past Saturday Maurizio and I caught the 8:35 train to Milano, we then caught our 12:15 connection to Livorno Ferraris where we stayed with Maurizio’s parents. We were going to visit with the family, this was my first visit since December so it was well overdo.

When we arrived to Livorno Ferraris Maurizio and I had decided that I would go ahead and do my long run so I could get it out of the way before Sunday when all the family would be coming for lunch. I don’t know the roads very well at all near his parents’ house. Maurizio’s parents live in the country and there are just miles and miles of fields. They are famous here for growing rice.







Before we had left Firenze, I had already mapped out a route with Maurizio’s help. We weren’t exactly sure where we were going but in order to cover the full 12 miles we had to pass through 3 different cities (small towns). We started off and things were going okay. The roads were quite different here than in Florence and I had to run on everything from asphalt, to muddy trails, to grass, and on streets made of pebbles. It was quite treacherous on my feet. We had no problems finding our way with the map and Maurizio was, again, on bike so he could go ahead and make sure we were going the right way. By mile 8 things went DOWNHILL! We came to a street where we were supposed to cross the railroad tracks but they had recently put up a gate so you couldn’t cross. We had to go further down the road, and literally hop and hike over some small streams and muddy hills in order to find another spot to cross the tracks. Once we crossed the tracks we were already lost, we had to go a bit backwards and find the street we needed to take. After a little work, we found our street and we were back on our way for miles 9 and 10. We were doing fine again but we must have missed a turn because next thing we new we were already close to another city and near the autostrada (major highway). We had crossed a river and we could just barely see the town where Maurizio’s parents house was. We were seriously far away. We had come to the end of some trails and met the river again. The crossing was way to wide to jump across and we couldn’t find any way around it. We needed to be on the other side of the river. So, our only choice was to turn around and go backwards. By this point, I had already been running over 2 hours. I was getting exhausted and my feet were killing me since I wasn’t used to the terrain.





We started back and when my watch got to 2hr 15mins I just couldn’t take anymore and I had to walk. It took us another 30-40 minutes to walk the rest of the way to Maurizio’s parents house but we finally made it. Those country roads can be quite hard to find but in the end we were home and I still got my run in, even if it was a little disastrous. So, how many miles did I actually run, we have no idea. I am pretty positive it was over the 12 miles that I intended to do.


I made Maurizio hand over the bike at the end and do some running! :)

Saturday night we were both exhausted and we didn’t get back to the house until around 5:30pm. Thankfully, we planned to make pasta and I was able to get some good carbohydrates back in my body. Maurizio and made this awesome baked ziti, it was so good. Maurizio’s dad, who doesn’t eat much, even had seconds. I was pretty happy. After dinner and some much needed showers we went to bed early.

The hours just changed here in Italy and we totally forgot so, Sunday morning when we got out of bed at 9am it was actually already 10am and the whole family was to arrive at 11am. Whenever Maurizio and I go to his mother’s house we always have to cook the meals and plan the menus so getting a late start was really a bad way to start the morning.

We immediately got to work preparing the antipasti (appetizers) and secondo (main course). Rosanna, Maurizio’s sister, had planned to make the pasta, which was spaghetti with a salmon cream sauce. For appetizers we had toast points spread with herbed cream cheese and then half were topped with bresaola (cured beef) and half with smoked salmon. We also had plates of cured meets, carne tritata (which is raw ground beef to this we added lemon and garlic) and nervi (nerves) marinated in olive oil and spices. It might not sound so appetizing (the tritata and nervi) but they are seriously delicious!





After the antipasti we moved to the pasta that Rosanna had prepared. Even though I was reluctant to have salmon pasta and Maurizio hates Salmon, we both enjoyed the dish. For the Secondo, Maurizio made two beef tenderloins, one he simply roasted with herbs and the other he made beef wellington. For Contorni (sides) we had roasted asparagus and baked tomatoes.

Finally it was time for dessert and since we were celebrating the birthdays of my niece (Francesca, 18) and nephew (Davide, 10), we had birthday cake. Along with the cake we had fresh cut strawberries tossed with a little bit of sugar and lemon juice. It was delicious but too much food, as normal.



After lunch we proceeded in watching the two open their gifts. The 18th birthday here is a big deal. In the USA for the most of us, the first really significant birthday is 16 years because we get our drivers license but here in Italy, the first one is 18. Francesca was absolutely darling!! As soon as she read the sweet card from her grandparents she was already in tears and when she opened their gift, which was a brand new laptop computer the tears of joy just started flowing. She was so excited and you could tell how surprised and how happy she was. It was so sweet. She said her birthday was better than Christmas, besides the computer she got a new digital camera (from us), some money, a Tiffany’s bracelet from her parents, some ear rings, and some other small gifts. She was so thankful and grateful for everything. She truly is such a sweet person; she is so open and has such a big heart.





After presents, Maurizio and I took our niece Matilde (6 years) and our nephew Davide for a walk into the town for some ice cream. This gave all the parents a little break and most of them were able to get some naps in.







When we returned from town it was getting close to dinnertime and we needed to re-set the table and get ready to start all over again. For dinner we had a much smaller selection and no antipasti or primi (1st courses consisting of rice, pasta, or soup). On the table we had: leftover contorni from lunch, bresaola topped with raw marinated artichoke salad, leftover nervi, and meet stuffed artichokes. We followed dinner with more cake and strawberries and by about 8:30-9pm, everything was cleaned up and everyone started to part for their own homes.


I finally got a shower, I hadn’t had enough time that morning, and I packed our bags. We hit the bed and woke up at 6:45am the next morning to catch our train at 8am back to Firenze. We had a really nice 2-day visit and after about 6.5 hours of traveling we finally made it back to Firenze.

Cena con I Nostri Amici

Dinner with our Friends

I am one of those crazy organizers, the ones who don’t really live on a whim and I like to have everything planned out. Sometimes this is great, but when things don’t go, as I like them, I get irritated. I like to plan because I want things to run smoothly and the more things are organized the less room or error or mistakes. I think this habit I picked up from my years working in the hospitality industry. Regardless where I got this habit, it has stuck.

Anyhow, last night, after arriving back from Maurizio’s parents house, we had planned to have dinner with friends. Currently, our friend KK whom we met through my sister is visiting Firenze. Her daughter Kelsey was lucky enough to come here on a study abroad program and now KK is making her Italian debut. Knowing in advance she was coming I had suggested that we plan a dinner out together. I wanted to make sure Maurizio was able to come as well and the only night he wasn’t working was last night. So, being the organizer that I am, I had Maurizio make reservations in advance at a lovely little restaurant on the Oltrarno in the San Niccolò area called Il Rifrullo. They had asked him if we were going to be just having aperativo and Maurizio said no that we wanted dinner in the restaurant.

We had decided to meet KK and Kelsey directly at the restaurant and not wanting them to have to wait for us since they weren’t exactly sure where to go, we made sure to get their early. While we were waiting for their arrival, we had a spritz and enjoyed the perfect night air. The weather here now is absolutely beautiful. When they arrived, after getting a little lost (which made me feel terrible), we all went inside to the restaurant. The restaurant was basically empty and the upstairs garden was closed off and there were only 2 other tables with people dining. I didn’t really think much about it because it was only Monday and there aren’t usually many people dining out on a Monday. While us girls were chatting and since no one had approached the table, Maurizio went to look for our waiter. After speaking to the waiter we were told that they didn’t offer, currently, the restaurant menu and they only had a limited menu, which consisted of club sandwiches and burgers. I was so angry. Not that the restaurant was very far out of the way but it was not close to either my apartment nor the hotel and apartment of KK and Kelsey. I had wanted to plan something special for them. We had called in advance and everything and here we were with NO menu. This makes me so mad. Anyhow, I refused to take them for dinner with a menu like this and we decided to leave.

I wasn’t sure where to go on a Monday night, a lot of restaurants close on Mondays. We set off back across Ponte alle Grazie to search for another restaurant. We had decided first to go to Osteria dei Pazzi (where we had our rehearsal dinner) but it was closed so instead we went to Osteria de’ Benci. We had a very good meal of Tuscan crostini, salamis, and grilled steaks. Even better was the company. After not having my plans turn out exactly in the way I wanted, the most important part which was sharing a good time in good company couldn’t have been better. It was another great evening in Firenze. I guess it just goes to show that sometimes life just can’t be planned.

La Primavera É Arrivata

Spring Has Arrived

Finally here in Florence the frigid cold and ice rain has departed and the sun is starting to peak its way through the clouds in full force. Today on my tour around the city I was able to put my heavy down jacket in the closet trading it in for a more pleasant lightweight spring jacket. Although, I am not the hugest fan of the hot summer here in Florence, I do love the spring. The tourists are out in full force and the flowers in bloom. Easter is sneaking up around the corner and the local markets are on display in various piazzas around the city, while the bars and shops have their Easter goodies and the children’s large chocolate eggs in the windows for decoration.




When I was little my mom used to create for us an Easter basket filled with the normal Easter treats such as chocolate bunnies, Peeps, or Cadbury Eggs. Italy is not much different and although I haven’t seen any Peeps in store windows, there are plenty of other chocolate and candy confections. One traditional thing that Italy does for Easter, especially for the children, is that they give large chocolate eggs. Inside these eggs is usually a small toy or prize. The children break open the egg immediately to see what has been hidden inside then precede “a mangiare” (to eat) the chocolate. I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew, and although two of my nieces are older, its always fun to watch the younger ones feast on their chocolate and dig in for their prizes. This year, because Maurizio will be working on Easter, we will be going to visit the Italian family this weekend. Not only will we give our nieces and nephew their Easter presents, we will also be celebrating Francesca’s 18th birthday and Davide’s 10th birthday. They will be so excited to get all their presents.

On my tour today I went from my house, down to a major street called Via Dei Servi. This street is a busy, mostly pedestrian, street that connects the Duomo to Piazza della Santissima Annunziata. Most all tourists will find themselves wondering this street at some point of their visit to Firenze and you will always find an array of Italian going into various bars along the way for their caffè. This particular piazza is important to me because Maurizio and I had our wedding reception in the Palazzo Budini Gattai which sits to the left of the entrance to the square. In the actual Piazza you will find anyone from homeless and gypsies to crowds of students filling the rows of the steps on both sides. Today the Piazza was especially full since the merchants had formed lines up down the square displaying everything of everyday makeup and carpets to traditional Lampredotto and Porchetta di Montepulciano.



In a previous blog I have already described what Lampredotto is so today I will write about Porchetta. Porchetta is another typical Tuscan dish that you find mostly at street vendors around the city. Much like in NY is known for its hotdogs on the streets, you will find here in Firenze lampredotto and porchetta.
“Porchetta /por'ket:a/ is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood. Porchetta is usually heavily salted in addition to being stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs, often wild.” Wikipedia
See the photo below:



Along with the Porchetta you could also find various types of salamis and prosciuttos as well as many different cheeses mostly pecorinos. If you happen to have a sweet tooth you would be happy with the assortment of candies, bomboloni, and brigidini di Lamporecchio.




Bomboloni are similar to American style filled doughnuts. Bomboloni, however, are dusted with sugar and can be filled or empty. Brigidini di Lamporecchio are a type of flaked cookie. This is the best way I can explain it. They are very thin and their size can be up to 7cm in diameter. This particular dessert is very typical in Lamporecchio, which is in the province of Pistoia. The ingredients used to make this dessert are: sugar, flour, eggs, and liquid anise. Often times, you can also find this dessert in the less traditional flavor of Chocolate. There is also a machine that is used specifically in making this dessert. See the photo’s below.





the palazzo where we had our wedding reception


After visiting the market I decided to walk up to the Duomo to see how many tourists had found their way to Firenze. As I suspected the streets were packed but they still aren’t as bad as they will be in the months to come. On the way I decided to stop and take a picture of the bull’s head, which is located on the left side of the Duomo. If you didn’t know to look for it, or where to look, you would never see it. I am not sure how certain this story is but about a year ago I met a local Florentine man who told me that this bull’s head is located on the Duomo because back in the day when they were constructing the church, the workers noticed that in a nearby pastry shop every morning after the owner’s husband would leave, her lover would sneak in. Because of this affair, they placed the head of a bull, which consequently is looking directly in the direction of where this particular shop once stood. In Italy, if you make the gesture with your hand of horns (La Corna) above a friend’s head it signifies that your friend’s wife/girlfriend is having an affair on him, hence the statue of a bull’s head. If you look closely at the picture you will see the bull.




As ironic as it may be, on the same side where the bull’s head is located, Ben and Jerry’s has recently put in a new ice cream location. You may wonder why anyone would go to Ben and Jerry’s in the country that first created il gelato (the ice cream) but the place has been packed every time I have been by and today wasn’t different. I am definitely a fan of Italian ice cream and prefer their fruit sorbets to our typical fatty milk concoctions but sometimes a girl just has a craving for some good ole American chocolate chip cookie dough and believe me, I wasn’t disappointed.


The ice cream was delicious and after I finished I made my way down to Piazza della Repubblica to do a little people watching and read the most recent Florentine paper. All in all a beautiful day in the city if only I could just get over this obnoxious ear infection.
Ciao!

Collodi

Other things have been going on here in Firenze so it has taken me some time to actually sit down and write about our overnight getaway. So I am going to break it up into the two days as to not completely bore everyone with having to read pages and pages of travel information.

Friday Morning, Maurizio and I woke up early to catch our train to Lucca, which left at 8:08am. We never really wake up early on Maurizio’s days off, mostly because he usually doesn’t come home until after midnight and I sit up waiting for him. We use his days off to catch up on sleep. Nonetheless, we made it to the train in time. I took my shower that morning and didn’t have time to dry my hair before we needed to leave so I look a little stringy-haired in my pictures but oh well, I am married I don’t need to impress anyone!! Hahaha just kidding, I still like to look half way descent.

Anyhow, we traveled first to Lucca, which from Firenze takes only 1 hr. and 22 minutes. We planned to stay at the hotel in Lucca this way we could spend the full second day there and just take the quick trip to Collodi right away. We needed to drop our bags off at the hotel first and the train between Lucca and Collodi is only 18 minutes (2 stops) away.

After we dropped our bags off we set off on the quick train ride to Pescia the town just outside of Collodi and the closest train station. I had searched a little bit about Collodi and had thought that the distance between the cities was only a little over a 1km. I just figured there would be some sort of bus that we could get when we arrived. Well, of course when we arrived there were NO buses and the 1km was in fact 4.8km (2.98miles). It wasn’t a long distance but there were no sidewalks and we literally had to dodge traffic and anyone who has ever been to Italy knows that Italians are scary drivers and not necessarily pedestrian friendly. I also had not worn my comfortable running shoes and instead opted for some more fitted Skechers, which weren’t the best for this walk and the uphill walking to come.


4.8km later we finally arrived, safely, to Collodi. The town was charming, very old and we first came to the Giardino Garzoni. We didn’t expect to see this garden but it was absolutely beautiful. The landscape was well manicured and flowers were in bloom. The garden set at the foot of the Villa Garzoni, which is at the start of the climb up into the old city of Collodi. The garden was full of greenery, fountains, and sculptures, which represented mythological creatures. There was a butterfly house containing different species of butterflies and other insects and reptiles and forests of bamboo. When you first enter the garden, you are greeted by two magnificent double staircase ramps that feature a hydraulic system that supplies water to the fountains. These steps lead to three upper terraces. Beyond the water staircase, you find two female statues, which represent the rivals Lucca and Florence. At the very top of this uphill stairway is the statue of Fame blowing into a shell. During the climb you will find different observation points of to the right and left sides. There areas are filled with birds and other exotic animals as well as large grassy areas where you could sit underneath the shade of the trees. From the very top of the stairs you could follow a shaded path, which led through a forest of bamboo trees to the entrance of the Villa. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to enter the Villa at this time. This magnificent garden was designed in the 18th century by Ottaviano Diodati. The first certain record of the Villa dates to 1633.







After visiting the gardens we decided to have lunch in Pinocchio Park, which was located more or less across the street. The park and tourist season for the area hasn’t really started, which was good for us since we don’t have children. Pinocchio Park is geared towards children and since it was pretty much empty we were able to act as children ourselves and take silly photographs and have a fun time without worrying if people were watching us or if we were in the way. We had lunch in the Osteria called Gambero Rosso (literally meaning red prawn). The architect who designed the restaurant built columns throughout the center, which are to resemble the legs of a crab. It was an interesting space and quite a big restaurant; it caters to local weddings and special events as well. We both had a plate of pasta and a salad, some wine and then set off for the park.


When you first enter Pinocchio Park, you are greeted by a sculpture of Pinocchio with the fairy. The park is designed to take you on a walk through green space following the sequence of events throughout the story. I had honestly thought that Walt Disney had created the story of Pinocchio, because that is what I grew up watching when I was little. In reality, Carlo Collodi (1826-1890, born as Carlo Lorenzini) wrote the story of Pinocchio. The first chapter of Pinocchio first appeared in the Giornale dei bambini in 1881. Carlo was originally born in Florence but he spent his childhood in Collodi where he attended primary school. On October 26, 1880 he died in Florence.



"C'era una volta...
-Un re! - diranno subito i miei piccoli lettori.
No, ragazzi, avte sbagliato. C'era una volta un pezzo di legno."
(from Le avventure di Pinoccio, 1883)

Literally translated:
“Once upon a time….
-A king! - said the little readers.
No, boys and girls, you are wrong. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood”

Once you have made your way past the entrance you come upon an area designed for children with old carousel rides and an area where kids can play dress up. You then move to a sort of piazza that is made completely of mosaics depicting the story. After the mosaics you move into the wooded sort of maze that leads through the story including sculptures of the characters you find in the book. Along the way you come across a true labyrinth and Maurizio and I actually got lost and it took us twice to figure out how to make it through the ivy-covered maze.


I had to put a photo of the scary women's toilet!!

Once we had finished our tour of the park we decided to make the climb to the top of the old city of Collodi. It was a straight up hill climb and the streets were made of old stone. I still can’t understand how the people who live up there haven’t broken their ankles several times. I almost tripped a couple times because I lost my footing on the stones. Once we got to the top there was a panoramic view of the Tuscan countryside. We saw old writings in the wall of the city in roman numerals dating the old city back to the year 1031! It was so amazing seeing these old walls still standing seeing that they were so old. At the top we sat on a bench to recover a bit and to take in the scenery and then we made our descent down and took the same 4.8km trip back to the train station where we boarded the train back to Lucca.





Once we arrived in Lucca we took a 30-minute nap at the hotel and then headed out for aperativo. Maurizio and I both had Aperol Spritz, one of my favorite Italian drinks, at a bar in Piazza San Michele. We had dinner reservations at Trattoria da Leo at 9 so to kill time, after our spritz we went to a wine bar and had wine and small snacks. Our dinner at the Trattoria was very good and very inexpensive. After we stuffed ourselves, we made our way back to the hotel. It was another beautiful day in Italy.