Domestic in Florence – Dolly Travels

Florence market - Dolly Travels

Buona Sera, amici,

Yes. I am home. Florence really is my second home. Today, being Saturday, we started the day by going to the San Ambrogio Mercato, to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese and meat.

Massimo had found my trusty shopping cart, which made the trip to the market so much easier. I thank the group that stayed here with me in 2010, for this cart. Those ladies, very much concerned with my staying here by myself for six months, bought this cart for me, and filled it with bottles of wine. That is a gift I shall remember for the rest of my life. I am happy that the cart surfaced again. However, someone needs to fill it up with bottles of wine again. Seriously, grazie mille, I miei amiche.

At the market. You will notice that porcini mushrooms are in season now. Still expensive, but they lend such an elegant touch to so many dishes.

Later in the afternoon, we took a walk through the neighborhood, going to the grocery store, then finishing with a beer for Frank and a glass of wine for me, at our standby,
The OK Bar. This bar is just kitty-corner from our hotel, and has been my place to go, for a neighborhood “Cheers” type of bar, with cheap wine, some snacks, coffee and pastries in the mornings

Well! Imagine my surprise to find that this place is no longer the OK Bar, but has expanded and upgraded itself. It is now “L’Osteria dell OK”. They have bought the little shop that was next to the bar, then expanded to the back, and increased in size over 100%. Some of the same staff are working, and two of the guys remembered me from previous years.

They have their own wine label. I am so impressed.

I was even more impressed when we wanted to order a light lunch, to know they are making all the food in-house, and have a gluten-free menu.
I had a gluten-free pizza that was very good. So, now I have more reasons to go to the OK Bar…mi scusa, L’Osteria dell OK.

At any rate, the day being another gorgeous 78 degrees (F.). we walked around a bit, then came back to the apartment, where we relaxed by doing a load of laundry (washer in house), and I prepared a little home-cooked meal from the treasures we found at the mercato this morning.

After dinner, we just kicked back and watched an Italian game show, with word association. That could be helpful for enhancing my Italian language skills. At one point, I asked Frank to turn up the volume so I could hear what they were saying, but that was pretty silly of me. It was fun watching the program, anyway. Some more perks of getting older: I am easily entertained.

I am happy being back to my second home. I am so very comfortable here, that I don’t need to run around and do everything.

Today, while we enjoyed our afternoon break at the Ok Osteria, we sat outside, and visited with a young lady, who was from Moscow, Russia. She was on her first visit to Italy, but she had traveled extensively to other countries. We had a delightful hour with her, then she was off to see as much as she could see in the rest of the afternoon.

These are the experiences that make foreign travel so interesting to me. I so enjoy meeting people like her.

Likewise, I am also so glad that we made friends with Natalia and Walter in Rome, the owners of Dolce_Roma rentals. They have three apartments that they own, and are so attentive to the needs of the renters. I gave the web address in an earlier post, but I will be ever so happy to tell you more about the rentals, if you ask.

And of course, fortune was with us in 2011, when we met Massimo and Magda Carli, owners of this apartment in Florence, as well as the first rental we ever made, Mutino farm house in the Tuscan hills, between Lucca and Viareggio. Since that time, they have been more than good friends: they have come to my rescue more than once in the past 16 years.

You will hear more from me from Florence. I hope that Frank and I get a good walk tomorrow. I must go to Mass in some church: not sure where, but I do enjoy going to church on Sunday when I am here.

So, tonight, I will say, Buona notte, and I will see you soon.

Arrivederci,
Ciao for now,
Dolly

Teatro dell Sale – Dolly Travels

Teatro dell Sale meal

Buongiorno, tutti,

I know. I promised to post about this food and theater experience on Thursday, but time seems to get away from me. So now, I will tell you as much as I can about the Teatro dell Sale.

Have you ever found a new place to eat, or a new store, or something that is totally new to you, but in familiar surroundings? This is exactly what happened to us this past week. For years, I have been coming to Florence: sometimes with Frank, or sometimes with a group of travelers, sometimes by myself. On any trip, since I am such a “foodie”, a trip to San Ambrogio mercato is a must. I usually go to that mercato several times during each visit to Florence.

After we finished shopping at the market, and started toward our apartment, Frank and I stopped at Cibreo caffe, which is just steps away from the market, to have a cappuccino. I will tell you now that there are three different Cibreo establishments right on the same block: a ristorante, the caffe, a trattoria. Yes, I had seen these before, but other than having cappuccino at the caffe, I had never eaten in the other places. Right across the street from the caffe is the Teatro dell Sale. I have seen that, also, over the years, and never checked it out. Little did I know last Saturday that not only is the teatro a Cibreo establishment, the main kitchen for all the restaurants is behind the Teatro lobby.

We saw a flyer on our table at the caffe, advertising concerts for a Flamenco guitarist on Wednesday evening, and a jazz group on Thursday. We took the flyer home, and I called for reservations for Wednesday evening.

“Come to the Theater by 7:00 p.m.”, I was told. “You must register and become a member, and sign the papers. The doors open at 7:30.” I was told that the price for Wednesday would be 37 Euro per person. We would pay when we arrived.
The price sounded cheap enough to us, as concerts back home usually cost more than that. So I told the young man on the phone to reserve two places for us. I still had many questions in my mind. The time for the concert was right at dinner time: hmm. Do we eat before or after the concert? How long does the concert last? All these questions I never asked. I never even considered that there was food to be served at the concert.

On Wednesday, we went to the theater. We had not had dinner. Earlier in the afternoon, we had a snack that we felt would hold us over until after the concert. Once we got to the box office, we checked in, filled out the forms to become members of the theater group for one year. That was 7 Euro. The concert tickets were 30 Euro. Since we were early, the hostess invited us to pour ourselves a glass of wine and relax until 7:30. She led us to a comfortable couch, right next to the wine box. Yes, it was a wooden box, with red box wine inside, but the wine was quite tasty. We could help ourselves to wine all evening, as well as get carafes of either still or sparkling water, and make our own espresso.

At 7:30, we entered the dining hall, which was a large room next to the kitchen. That kitchen had large windows, where we could watch the action. When we found places to sit, we then headed to the big table, where bowls and platters of salads, cooked vegetables were, and helped ourselves to this appetizer course.

Next, came more dishes, but now, each time a new dish was ready to go out to the table, the chef stuck his head out the window of the kitchen, and loudly announced what the dish would be.

Being newcomers to this meal, we nearly got trampled, as en masse, the crowd surged toward the table. The only analogy I could come up with was to liken this to what happens in an aquarium when you drop food pellets in: the fish all swim to get the food, without caring who gets pushed aside. Same here: there was supposed to be a line, but there wasn’t. One just had to try to reach in a get a plate of whatever was being offered. Fortunately, two ladies were dishing up the food, so servings were appropriate.

We had mussels, then clams in a spicy broth, meatballs, several types of pasta for the course right after the appetizers. And of course, bread, hot from the oven, which was consumed greedily by anyone lucky enough to snag a few pieces.

Finally, the chickens came off the rotisserie, and they were served with roasted potatoes.

Then came dessert. They served a banana ice cream the first night, and had small chocolate brownies the second night.

At 9:00 p.m., they announced the dinner was finished. We all got out of our chairs and the staff arranged them in theater fashion in front of the stage.

The concert lasted about an hour. The first night was a solo flamenco guitarist from Spain, who was awesome. There were 3 women flamenco dancers, and they were very good, also.

Finally, somewhere between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m., we left the theater and walked home. It was a balmy evening, and a lovely walk home.

So, the next night, as I told you, we returned to hear the jazz group. The dinner crowd was not as large as the first night, and we were able to get our food without being trampled.

The menu changed slightly, as the owner of these restaurants is dedicated to serving only what is in season, what he can get fresh that day, from local sources, or at least from known sources, similar to our “Farm to Fork” program in Sacramento.

The food was delicious, the musical programs were very good. I am so happy that we found this unexpected delight, right near our Florence home.

I hope, those of you who are going to come to Florence, will give this theater a try. They are open every day except Sunday and Monday. Darn! I was hoping we would get another meal there, but, sad to say, we will leave Florence on Tuesday. But next year. My Theater Membership is good until July.

I hope you have enjoyed our food experience. I just wish you had been here to enjoy it in person with us.

Arrivederci. I will be back with more posts soon.

Ciao for now,
Dolly

Three Pisa Landmarks – Keep Calm and Wander

Pisa - Keep Calm and Wander

Pisa is in the northwestern part of Italy. You can visit it for a day trip from Florence but make sure to go early to avoid the huge crowd. Take an early train, instead of going on tourist buses. It’s an hour and a half – depends which train you’re taking – from Florence and it’s a comfortable ride.

There are three main landmarks or tourist attractions to see in Pisa. They are: the Leaning Tower, the Pisa Cathedral / Duomo and the Baptistery where Galileo was baptized. They are located few steps from each other, no need to worry about public transport from one to another. In fact, you can take a shot of them in one photo frame. They all can be seen in half a day or less, depends on what your interests are and how long you wanna stay.

How to Get There

As soon as you exit from Pisa Central Station, you have two choices on how to get to the three main attractions in the city: take a bus or walk. There are two buses that go or pass by the famed tower.

I’d suggest to take the bus when you arrive early in the morning to see the sunrise and to beat the crowd. But, on your way back to the train station, you better walk. It a nice way to get to know a bit of the Italian city. You won’t regret it, I promise.

Open your Google Map steps away from the leaning tower and it gives you a route where it passes through squares, cafes and shopping lanes. When you reach the bridge, stop by and take selfies. It’s a nice view. And the bridge is also your landmark that you’ve almost arrive at the station. The leisurely stroll took me an hour and a half. But, if you’re intent on going back fast, it should take you between 20-30 minutes only.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

Western Tuscany Gay Travel Resources

Walking through Italy: Via Amerina, Part II – Globetrotter Girls

Dani - Globetrotter Girls After the first big leg of the hike along the Via Amerina, from Castel dell’Aquila to Amelia, and a good night’s sleep (we were all so tired that we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow), and a typical Italian breakfast (a cappuccino and a sweet pastry), we started the walk to our next destination: Orte, around 10 miles (17 kilometers) south of Amelia. Like the day before, we traversed vineyards and fields, huffing and puffing as we climbed the hills. On this part of the Via, we also passed an open-air chapel, a reminder that we weren’t just on a random hike through the countryside, but on a pilgrimage. The last part of the hike was the most challenging: We could see Orte majestically crowning the top of a tuff cliff front of us, and with a lot of moaning, our legs eventually carried us up the hill, reaching our first stop in the Latium region. We entered another stunning medieval town through one of several massive stone gates, hundreds of years old, and rested at the town square for a while, watching another flag-twirling performance, before we explored Orte’s well-preserved ‘underground’.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Tuscany Gay Travel Resources

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Walking through Italy: Via Amerina, Part I – Globetrotter Girls

Via Amerina - Dani It was a special moment when I was handed my pilgrim’s pass in the Papal Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi – even though I am not religious. But it made it official: I would be walking along the Via Amerina, a historic pilgrim’s route, for the next six days, until we would reach Rome, the ultimate destination for a pilgrim. Assisi is an important sacred place for pilgrims because St Francis, the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, the women’s Order of Saint Clare, the Third Order of Saint Francis and the Custody of the Holy Land, and one of the most venerated religious figures in history, was born and died here. Several pilgrims’ trails start or pass through Assisi, inspired by the life and the travels of St Francis – most famously the St Francis Way, a 340 miles (550km) pilgrimage from Florence through Assisi to Rome through Central Italy, visiting key sites from the saint’s life. The Via Amerina may include several spiritual sites, like churches and monasteries, but of course you don’t have to be religious to enjoy the walk through the Italian countryside. Just like on the Camino De Santiago, Spain’s famous pilgrim’s route, you find people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds, and everyone is walking for a different reason. Some are at a crossroads in their life, looking for a sign of which way to take. Some are walking to process a dramatic event in their lives. Some are walking to focus on spiritual virtues, of course, and others walk simply because they enjoy walking.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Eastern Tuscany Gay Travel Resources

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Gay Accommodations: Agriturismo Il Segreto di Pietrafitta, San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy

Agriturismo Il Segreto di Pietrafitta Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay.

Il Segreto di Pietrafitta is an elegant structure that rises on the gates of San Gimignano, the most famous medieval town in Tuscany. The origins of the structure are quite ancient, and many historical figures have slept within its walls. The Agriturismo is located on a dominant position, facing towards the magnificent town of San Gimignano. From here you’ll be able to easily reach Florence, Siena, and the Chianti region. There are also many wonderful small medieval towns to visit nearby, such as Volterra, Certaldo, Monteriggioni, and many others.
The structure offers 9 very comfortable rooms, meticulously decorated from local craftsmen, including floors covered with Cotto (typical Tuscan clay bricks), and wooden beams on the ceilings. No small details are left unnoticed here at Il Segreto di Pietrafitta!

See the Agriturismo Il Segreto di Pietrafitta Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

Gay Friendly Bed and Breakfasts, Hotels, and Vacation Rentals in Southern Tuscany

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