Autumn Grapes and Cycles

The end of September brings cooling autumn weather to Tuscany,  And this is also the time when the grapes from the vines that blanket the Tuscan hills reach maturity.  Many of these of course go into making the wines for which the region is famous: Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile do Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano, and of course Chianti and Chianti Classico (this latter invariable being more interesting than the lesser Chianti).  

Schiacciata con l'uva

 

A lot of grapes also end up in a seasonal dessert called Schiacciata con l'uva. This is a sweet version of a flat pizza-like bread, made with grapes and a bit of sugar, and at this time of year is found in every bakery and pastry shop in the region, each with its own special version.  

 

At other times of the year, schiacciata is a savory flat bread, and is also called foccacia in other parts of Italy. It's wonderful in all its forms, with the grape-laced version being a special treat during the grape harvest season! As we have come to learn and appreciate, each season here brings unique treats unavailable at all other times of the year--a practice we have largely lost in the US with our "24/7 - always available all the time" approach to life.

The Florence Mondiale

 

 

The end of September also brought a world-famous bicycle event to Florence - Il Mondiale del Ciclismo. This event is somewhat analogous to the World Cup (il Mondiale) so familiar to soccer fans. The Mondiale del Ciclismo brings together the top cyclists and cycling teams from all over the world for 9 days of competitive events. 

The Curtatone, one of favorite bars

Many of the events start well to the west of Florence, beginning for example in Lucca or Montecatino. After two hours of cycling, the riders pass through the center of Florence (right by our café the first Sunday morning).

 

They entered the city along the Arno river, looping around the famous Duomo (!) and the stature of David in the Piazza della Signoria, and then head up into the Fiesole hills above Florence where they loop back and forth for another hour or so before finishing.

 

Note the helmets!

The route along the Arno

 

The city of Florence put a lot of effort into winning the privilege of hosting the Mondiale this year, and it was all incredibly well organized. Big chunks of the city are now permanent pedestrian zones, and further huge chunks were converted into no-traffic zones for purposes of the race. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many Florentines initially feared that life in the city would be severely disrupted by the presence of this event. But everyone enjoyed it, and the general feeling afterwards was that it would be nice to have this event here every day, because there was hardly any traffic anywhere.

In the days following the event, many editorials appeared in local newspapers extolling the good organization, the excitement that the event brought to the city, and the traffic-free days.

 

 

 

 

It was interesting for us to note that following this event, another few blocks of permanent pedestrian-only area will be created in the city towards the end of October, adding to the large tracts in the city center that have already been made pedestrian-only for quite some time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An extra added attraction was that many of the window displays in shops included bicycles and even bicycle sculptures appeared all in support of the event! Note the wall sculpture Cycling Up by Simone d'Auria.

 



 

Ferragamo's display window

 



 

Visitors and daily life

We have been less than great bloggers of late. Just too many things to do here in Florence--too many cultural events, too many shop windows to gawk at, too much good food to eat, and many friends with whom we are always busy. And no, we don't expect much sympathy from our dear readers.

In the past weeks we have enjoyed a visit from our friends from Washington. Sue and Paul, after spending a week in Rome, came to Florence and stayed with us, and inspire some new fashion ideas. Our friend Dina arrived for a two week stay in Florence, living in an apartment just five minutes from here. Fall fashions have arrived in the shops, a number of new art exhibitions have opened, the Mondiale--a world cycling completion--was hosted by Florencetown, and the season of schiachiatta con l'uve, a pastry made with the now-harvested grapes, are in all the bakeries.

Sue & Lee preparing pasta alla chitarra

In the Tuscan kitchen...following a morning visit to the Mercato Centrale, we cooked ravioli al limone, and also a square form of spaghetti (pasta alla chitarra or "guitar", because of the shape of the instrument used to make the pasta) with a sausage and pecorino sauce.

Paul welcoming us to our Tuscan table

As you can see, our life is taken up with the million small joys of daily life here.












Culture

We recently enjoyed a visit to the Villa Bardini, a small museum with beautiful gardens overlooking Florence. The current exhibition is the return of a small number of exquisite works of Italian art from the 13th and 14th centuries from Paris where they are part of the permanent collection from the Musee Jaquemart-Andre. The exhibition title Andata e ritorno is a play on words as it means roundtrip in Italian. As the French carried off a great deal of Italian art over the centuries through pillaging and other questionable (and sometimes legitimate) means, there is a bit of irony in the exhibition title as well.



A view from the Bardini gardens

 
 
 
 

Serious shopping

 

In addition to high culture we also experience the more mundane aspects of life here which is always a great adventure. And so we decided to visit, with our friend Dina, the two outlet malls in the vicinity. Buses are provided to encourage potential shoppers. The Mall is located south of Florence near the town of Arezzo and the ride is a lovely tour of the Chianti hills.

 

Dina, Lee and I headed to the Mall to check out the designer shops. The Mall was clearly aimed at the high end of the shopping spectrum with all the big names, Prada, Gucci, Fendi, Roberto Cavalli, etc. Fun to look but needless to say, Lee was the only one of us who found a bargain--a winter overcoat--stylish and at a reasonable price. After lunch at a pleasant café on site we returned to Florence along with other happy shoppers who had indeed bought out the place.

 

 

 

Our next shopping adventure was at the Barberino outlet north of Florence in an area called the Mugello (a region that was the original home of the Medicis). The drive was beautiful and the shopping center designed to look like a small village--very pretty and with shops less focused on high-end fashion, but rather with items for day-to-day wear and use. No clothes this time, but small purchases of prosecco glasses and a much-needed razor-sharp knife.

 

 

 

 

 



Mornings in Florence, Part 1

This year we are trying to do more short posts to share more of our daily life and small activities, which are what make every day a small adventure some sort. Last week was filled with so many of these that I will quickly summarize here.

A Morning Visit to Ognissanti

The church of Ognissanti (All Saints) is one of Cathy's favorite small churches in Florence. Rather modest from the front and off the main tourist trail, it is usually quite empty except for a dedicated few who come to appreciate its small treasures.

These treasures include two frescoes of St. Augustine by Botticelli and St. Jerome by Dominico Ghirlandaio (the lighting wasn't the best to capture the rich colors).

St Augustine by Botticelli

St Jerome by Ghirlandaio

 

 

Most touching of all to me, is the humble stone marker that indicates Botticelli's final resting place in the church. This magnificent artist whose room of paintings at the Uffizi is packed to overflowing attracts only few to his tomb.

There is, however, always a single rose and now notes left on the rail. I stop and spend a few minutes reflecting on the amazing beauty Botticelli gave the world and the events through which he lived--from Lorenzo the Magnificent through Savonarola.

A further treat was that the cenacolo (refectory) of Ognissanti was open that day - a rare occurrence - so I was able to get into see Ghirlandiao's fresco of the last supper. Here in Florence one quickly learns that you could dedicate days to visiting versions of the Last Supper by various artists, but this is one of my favorites and so my morning was complete before heading off to lunch with friends!

 

 

L'ultima Cena (Last Supper) by Ghirlandaio

 

 

 

Fall Fashions 2013

 

Fashion is one of the most fun things here in Florence. The shop windows are always decorated to wow with eye candy and this fall is a treat. We were also lucky enough to be out one evening which happened to be designated as "Fashion Night". All the major fashion houses were open late, and models were wandering the throughout the center showing off the latest in Italian shoes and clothing. Fashion will be an ongoing chapter of the blog so...to be continued.

 

Ferragamo windows

 

 

More to come!







Return to Florence, September 2013

Well here we are back in Florence once again, for our third year. Clearly, we have fallen in love with Italy in general and with Florence in particular although there are so many wonderful places and so many adventures we have had here since last updating our blog in June of 2012. Eventually part of this new blog will be dedicated to recapping some of those highlights.

This time we are living in a charming house just off of Piazza Tasso on the south western side of the city, one street over from the old city walls. It takes 15 minutes to walk to the Ponte Vecchio yet is a quiet and untouristed area, filled with fascinating shops and restaurants. The map shows a green space on the lower left-hand corner -- we are just on the other side of the street running past that space.




Florence - Piazza Tasso at left

 

 

 

Here are a few pictures of our lovely house.

 

 

 

Our first week was busy getting settled in and welcoming our friends Nick and Kim for their first visit to Italy. Serious Francophiles, they decided to branch out and explore Tuscany for a few days with us.

 

We all enjoyed a wonderful wine tour through the Chianti area sponsored by the Tuscan Wine School with Bernardo, our excellent guide. The Chianti region, south of Florence, is a beautiful area of softly rolling hills filled with cypress and umbrella pine trees as shown on all the postcards of this part of the world.

 

Our first stop was the Corzano & Paterno vineyard near the town of San Casciano for a wine and cheese tasting. The grapes are grown naturally here. i.e., without any chemicals.

 

Bernardo, our guide

 

 

We then headed to the town of Panzano where we enjoyed a lunch at the famous butcher shop of Dario Checchini (we also reported on this experience in our earlier blog). Dario is know for his high quality meats, particularly beef, and his small restaurants here.

 

 

Outside Dario's butcher shop

 

 

 

After lunch we turned northward toward Greve and visited the Villa Calcinaia vineyard owned by the Florentine Capponi family for over 500 years. Another wine tasting and then back to Greve for a brief visit before heading home.

 

 

 

 

Because Kim owned and ran two Italian restaurants in Maryland, it was fascinating to get her insights and perspectives on the Florentine cuisine. Through a colleague she know of a super restaurant not far from our house and so on Saturday night we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Mama Gina's eating way too much and loving every mouthful.

 

 

Kim, Nick and Lee post dinner

 

 

 

Sunday brought us back to Greve for the wine fair and to visit the home (La Ventolina, the soft wind) of our friends Francesca and Uli who live on a magnificent hilltop with views extending forever. We shared a beautiful Sunday lunch reveling in great food from the garden, home-made wine and olive oil, wonderful company and amazing views.

 

Lunching at La Ventolina

A view of Chianti

 

Nick and Kim departed on Monday and we returned to getting established here. We will be renewing acquaintances with friends drifting back to Florence from summer holidays, taking art history classes at the British Institute and an architecture class at the Accademia dÁrte,  and visiting the fabulous line-up of exhibitions here over the next months. In October we will be cruising from Basel to Amsterdam through wine country of the Rhine and Mosel rivers.