O Fiorentina

Yo yo coming to you from the train to Como rolling on up towards the Alps. Florence>Rome for sure, we had ourselves a time. 

Brunnelleschis dome early when no one was around was quiet and cool in the morning. The place is stunning and everything else in town pales in comparison to it. I tried to sneak us in the bell tower to climb it later to no avail. We strolled the town and hit the pizza place Johannes (the paella chef) recommended and that was unreal. We were both saying how the pepperoni is spicier here and more flavorful in a great way. The little mini pizzettes are a nice changeup. 

We walked the whole city in a day and then started making our way up to Stadio Artemio Franchi for the Fiorentina game. We were completely out of the tourist section of Florence where you heard a ton of english and quickly into local central. I bought a fiorentina jersey at some scammer vendor shop and debar then bought one at the official team store. We were all purpled out. We went to a dive bar called Moonshine where a bunch of fiorentina fans gathered and only Italian was spoken in there. They were watching another Serie A game and there was a torino fan locked in as his team got smoked. It felt like home. Place was packed and people were drinking in the street outside. 

We walked over to an italian sportsbook to place a wager on the game. Hilarious heading in with our purple on like two idiots and we looked at the screen for a good 3-4 minutes unable to figure out how to bet Fiorentina to win. Debar asked the italian guy behind us and he took is immediately over to the desk with his arm around our shoulders. He got us hooked up and the two workers there were cracking up at us.

Then in true Italian fashion we hit a wine bar Pensiero Divino where people were tailgating with bottles of chianti. When in rome, we did the same and split a bottle before the game. Walking in was a scene and it was a hot one with our seats were in the dead sun for the first half. We got beers and big waters and the prices inside were dirt cheap compared to American events. We were up top with all fiorentina fans, purple everywhere, and songs being sung nonstop. Immaculate in there. Fiorentina went up early fast with a rebound off of a free kick and the 18 year old next to me and i were jumping up and down hi-fiving yelling forza viola. It was a passionate crowd. Fun time in there until the heartbreaking goal in extra time took the soul from the stadium. 

Speaking of passion, after that game we found some other birds fans at a place called the Lion’s Fountain where we had requested the game earlier. We were going nuts for that game’s ending at the Lion’s to top off a great day. Also celebrating with some random browns fans and their game ended at the same time ind dramatic fashion. Cray scene back to all ingles being spoken in that place.

On the final walk home of the 14 mile day there was a late night violinist at uffizi gallery was. It fit the dark, quiet scene in such a historic area perfectly and was a funny switchup walking through there after being locked in to 2 sports games.

Coffee note:

Ditta Artigianale in Florence brought the Italian coffee game back to life for me. Unreal cappuccinos and espresso. 

Next day, we popped by Panetteria e Stuzzicheria De Neri which was Ines’s recommendation for the best sandwich in firenze. She was dead on and it was a full experience along with it. Yes we waited 15-20 mins in line but once inside in line it was kind of fun and totally worth it. Bumping music, workers were happy, the deli meat slicing man was just handing slices of ham to customers that couldn’t be denied and had to be eaten caveman style. The sandwiches were toasted and our diavola with spicy salami, dried tomato pesto, and mozzarelle was unbelievable. We split one for 7 euro and a half was a full meal for each of us.

We walked to the da Vinci museum after that and tooled around in there. A less popular museum for Florence but we figured we had to do one, plus it was going to rain. He was a man of many inventions and a different thinker. He spanned anatomy to weaponry, flying machines, irrigation, and even tried his hand at musical instruments (which he was horrendous at). 

Ended the day with a pasta class. Fun time but we were starving and obviously didnt eat until the end. We had a couple from new york, one couple from toronto, a dude from vancouver, three houston people, and a turkish couple. They were my favorite, the Turkish guy was a movie character and he had the most animated facial expressions i’ve seen. We made fettucine, ravioli, and cappelletti (hat shaped pasta). Simple ingredients literally just flour and egg to make it from scratch, then knead until the cows come home. It came out amazing, unsurprisingly. 

Interestingly Florence is also known for steaks (bistecca) and many of the trattorias and ristorantes have meat hanging in the windows. One delicious, late night, florentine T-bone to cap off this leg and the pregame pasta. Looking like it might be a wet stay in Lake Como but hoping to get in some hiking. Will check back when I feel like it.