Visiting Florence

It’s amazing.

When I go to Florence it’s as if nothing ever changes and then of course you take a closer look and realize that lots of things have changed, but it’s all background change. Nothing important has changed. The people are the same. The atmosphere is the same. Florence is always the same gorgeous city full of the same amazing sites.

I took this picture on Sunday, hence why it's not lit up

I got to Florence on Saturday and took a long lazy walking tour through center. There are some new restaurants, cafes, and gelaterias but the most important ones, the best still remain exactly where they have always been. They have stayed the same.

For example, for dinner we went to Trattoria Anita, what was a fixture in my life when I lived in Florence. It’s still the same and still incredible. It is so incredible that it deserves its own blog posting (which should be up soon)

Then there’s Old Stove Signoria.  My fixture. My home away from home in Florence. It’s an ordinary bar in Piazza Signoria and I practically lived there for the last two years of my stay in

Old Stove Signoria... A quiet moment

bella Firenze. I made friends with the hilarious bartenders and with their friends too.  It’s not the best food, but the atmosphere is incredible and the staff are friendly and awesome, especially the night staff.  There have been a few changes over the years, but it’s still an amazing place.  I don’t love the new kitchen but I still love the music, radio and live. Plus on Tuesday and Saturday nights they still do karaoke too. The karaoke is hilarious and fun and I love going and singing with my Italian girls who just egg me on and have me try random, difficult songs for the hell of it. 

That was my Saturday in Florence. Amazing dinner with my friend Lindsay and then karaoke at Old Stove after a cider at the other  Old Stove near the Porcellino.  It was a great night with awesome people and general hilarity and went on till the early hours of the morning. 

Now just a general warning, if you are a single, attractive single (well, okay, you don’t have to be single) female, you will get hit on at Old Stove Signoria. It is inevitable. The bartenders are hilarious and will hit on attractive females but it is part of their amazing Italian charm.  Just don’t let yourself get too charmed. ;)

The view from the bench in front of Old Stove

Then on Sunday after a nice long sleep, Lindsay made me an awesome homemade breakfast and then I went for a walk around the city. I met up with one of my favorite Italians, Alessio . We had a brief catch up session at Old Stove over a cider. (I know, I go to Old Stove a lot when I’m in Florence but in the day it’s very  relaxing and chill.) It’s been about 2 years since I’ve been able to sit down with him so I was super excited.

After my gab session I ran around the city confirming that nothing has changed terribly drastically.  I went to Via dei Neri and got a gelato from one of my favorites, Gelateria dei Neri (my review here). It’s still one of the best in the city. I get it way too often when I’m in the city but I love it wayyy too much.

I took a nice, long walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo and took lots of gorgeous pictures of the beautiful

One of the views walking down from Piazzale Michelangelo

sun and landscapes. It was refreshing and amazingly relaxing before my early evening with Lindsay and her most adorable son at a Carnevale party where we munched and danced to the Macarena. 

Then after a long day I wandered back to Old Stove for a cider and a chicken burger. Really I wandered over to say goodbye to everyone, but I was hungry so I decided to get a snack before training it back to Rome. The chicken burger was pretty good but I covered it in mayo, ketchup and Tabasco (I always ask for Tabasco because I love spicy wayyy too much not to do it). Then while I ate I took some time to write in the crowd like old times.  Some things never change. Somehow or other I can sit in a crowded pub and still focus on writing. It’s one of the few times I don’t get easily distracted.

Overall, I’d say it was an awesome weekend filled with good food, old friends, and cold cider. I’m definitely glad I got away from Rome for the weekend. Goodness knows I’ll be back to Florence again quite soon. 

Restaurant Review Florence: Gelateria dei Neri

In Florence, I have a few favorite gelato places and among the top is Gelateria dei Neri.  It's one of my favorite, if not my all time favorite gelato place in Florence.  I've been going there since 2006 when I first studied abroad. We would go once a week (at least) since it is right next to Santa Croce, where the Sarah Florence Program is.
It's conveniently located directly between Santa Croce and Piazza Signoria, meaning it's also quite close to the Ponte Vecchio. For anyone who's not been to Florence, super, super central and easy to walk to.
Now, every time I'm in the city I take a stroll down Via dei Neri and grab myself a €2.50 cup of gelato.  I always get a cup because I find that cones can get really messy and I'm notorious for spilling without extra incentive.  Cups all the way!
I love Gelateria dei Neri because they have so many flavors to choose from, especially in the summer. They have all of the traditional flavors like chocolate (cioccolato), strawberry (fragola), vanilla (crema), and cookies & cream (stracciatella) but they have a lot of other unique and awesome flavors.
They have a ton of fruit flavors and so many chocolate options that I could die of happiness.

I love, absolutely love their dark chocolate (cioccolato amaro).  It is rich and dark and creamily potent. If you love dark chocolate in general then this is definitely the flavor for you.
Their mint flavor is tasty as is the mango.  One of my other favorites is the crostata e fragolino di bosco which is a cream gelato swirled with strawberry jam and chunks of strawberry crostata (a type of fruit crumble/pie). It's absolutely delicious and unique to Gelateria dei Neri.
In summer time the options are even more plentiful.  I've been there a lot and still haven't tried each flavor although this is partially because I am a creature of habit.  There are a couple of flavors that I am stuck on, like the dark chocolate and the fragolino di bosco.  Even this last weekend I got dark chocolate, fragolino di bosco and the frutti di bosco (fruit of the wood, aka mixed berry).  I was not

dissappointed.  In fact, I was quite pleased with my choice.  The fruit and cream really helped to balance the thickness and density of the dark chocolate.
If you ever find yourself in Florence I highly recommend you try some gelato at Gelateria dei Neri.
It's easy to get to with lots of great choices.  And if you're in Florence during winter, they even have crepes and other kinds of desserts just in case it's too cold for ice cream!