Firenze (due)

Our second full day in Florence brought us meandering through the streets towards the Piazza del'Carmine, where we had a brilliant sun drenched lunch of prosciutto e melone, insalata caprese, and tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms (which we devoured far too quickly to document...sadly!).

So, returning to this certain Florentine quirkiness that I alluded to in my last post...

On our way towards the Piazza del'Carmine we passed some incredible holes in the wall, including a private palazzo with a beautiful courtyard. When I approached the gate to take a picture of the statue at the far end, an old man let us enter and we met two women who offered to take us on a tour of the converted palazzo, which now has a series of private apartments available for rent as well as a private gym! With each crunch or 'exalted warrior' pose, one would look up at a gorgeous series of restored, original frescoes.

Finally, we happened upon this woodworking shop, which had every variety of finial, molding, and wall bracket ever made!

Firenze

Today, for this post, I am going to indulge. Visually speaking. Less is more as far as words are concerned, in this particular case.

Recently, our wonderful friends, Paula and Cy DeCosse, were our fantastic hosts for a weekend in Florence, where we celebrated Cy's 'Last Picture Show' at the Galleria dell'Accademia. The weekend was enriched with the presence of many of Cy's subjects for his show--the Florentines who make the city the buzzing hub of artisan creativity--, friends from all over the world, and, of course...gorgeous food.

Following the opening at the Accademia, we headed to the Stibbert Museum (think Versailles re-done by an eccentric Scotsman with a penchant for armor). The museum was the residence of a one Fredrick Stibbert, whose grandfather was the high commander of Britain's East India Company in Bengal. With the inheritance of his grandfather's entire estate, Fredrick's sole occupation became filling up the place with stuff. Lots of stuff. As in there is a hall for a complete Cavalcade.

Once we'd feasted our eyes on the horror vacui around us, we sat down to the following:

Turbantino di carote con bianco di astice, pinoli tostati e olio al basilico
(Carrot pudding with lobster, toasted pine nuts and basil oil)

Fagottini di crespella di ricotta di bufala e spinaci
(Crepes au gratin with bufala ricotta cheese and spinach)

Vermicelli alla chitarra al ragout leggero di verdure
(Vermicelli with vegetable sauce)

Gran pezzo di bue chianino alla toscana in salsa al ristretto di Brunello & Lattuga belga brasata con bacon
(Beef Tuscan style with Brunello red wine sauce & Braised Belgian endive with bacon)

Dolce all'amaretto
(Amaretto cake)

Friandises

Needless to say, after all of this, we all rolled down the hill to taxis. The evening was a special one not only because Cy's show was such a crowning moment in his homage to a city and a people he has loved for over sixty years, but the food as well as the venue reflected the best of Florence: one part opulence, one part humility, and one part absolute quirkiness, a certain brand of which can only can be found there.

Stay tuned for more quirkiness to come!