Walks of Italy hosted us on on their Florence food tour, and I knew we were in for a treat when our guide announced “We’ll be having wine for breakfast.”

Wine at 9 AM? Why not?

We visited a local wine shop that is bringing back an old tradition. Aged wine is more expensive and certainly has its advantages, but there is also something to say for wine that hasn’t been aged as long.

This shop sells unaged local wines, and you can fill your own bottles right from the vat for a very low price.

Unaged wine doesn’t have a full body, but that also means it’s quite refreshing. Just perfect for a refreshing drink and cheap enough to enjoy as a daily drink.

Along with the trials of the various wines available, they served up quite a spread of different types of bruschetta and treats. I tried to pace myself knowing we’d have more stops, but it wasn’t easy.

We also stopped to sample Firenze’s traditional street food. Before you give lampredotto a taste, it’s important to remember that Tuscany is a deeply agricultural-based culture. Therefore, much of its food is considered “peasant” farmer food. When you’re living off the land, you don’t waste animal parts like we do in the US.

Why does this matter for lampredotto? Well, most people are familiar with the fact that cows basically have four stomachs. Those who are more adventurous or lived in farming areas are probably familiar with tripe, which is mostly commonly the 1st stomach (but can be from the 1st through 3rd stomachs). Lampredotto comes from the 4th stomach which is more glandular and therefore eaten more rarely.

The flavor is . . . an acquired taste. The texture was more of an issue for me than the actual flavor. And it isn’t easy to get rid of the after taste, much like with Iceland’s hákarl. Although not nearly as disgusting memorable.

Lots of Florentines are quite enamored with the stuff, though. This one particular vendor had fairly brisk business.

Being an agricultural area, this also means the fresh markets are quite impressive. We saw so many absolutely luscious and delightful produce. Earlier in our stay, I bought some peaches from a market, and they were the best I’ve ever had.

Juicy, sweet, and without a mushy texture. I miss those peaches!

While at the market, we stopped at a cheese and cured meat vendor. Its owner is a former football star, and he’s quite the card. He expertly flirts with every female customer while under the watchful and nonplussed eye of his wife.

Our guide gave us a great education about the different local cheeses, their processing, and we also learned the difference between prosciutto and Parma ham.

We stopped for lunch at a local haunt that serves food in traditional family style (plates are shared rather than served as individual meals). A large container of house wine is put on the table, and customers pay according to how much they’ve drank. I wonder how many people are surprised when they get the final bill.

The experience is topped off with a visit to a winner of Florence’s esteemed best gelato award. The gelato is freshly made from ingredients he finds that morning in the market. It doesn’t get much fresher than that!

He’s very creative with his ingredients and always trying new things. After having some of his product, I’m absolutely not surprised he won the top prize.

Aside from the great food on this tour, my favorite part was visiting places that the typical tourist would probably never see or experience. These aren’t tourist haunts. You go, eat, and drink where the locals visit in Firenze.

And you definitely don’t want to eat anything before you go on this tour!

Do you do foor tours when you travel? Which was your favorite?

Originally, I had planned on spending 2 days there, but I reduced it so we could spend more time in Firenze. While that was the right decision, I definitely feel like a longer stay in Pisa is completely warranted.

Most people visit this city solely to see the infamous leaning tower, which combined with the baptistry, the cathedral and the cemetery is a UNESCO site. While it is fun to see the tower, I found the cathedral and baptistry to be much more breathtaking.

Our first thought upon seeing the tower? “It’s a lot shorter than I expected.”

Since generally you only see photos of the tower by itself, it gives the illusion that it’s much taller than it really is. It stands 183 feet (56 m) tall and was originally designed to be the bell tower for the cathedral.

Quite the ornate bell tower!

Regrettably, we didn’t go inside the cathedral. The tickets are free, but they stagger times for obvious reasons, and we didn’t feel like hanging around the plaza for 2 hours until the next available slot (entrance into the tower includes the cathedral).

Just an FYI: Children under age 8 are not allowed to enter the tower.

If you’re planning on going inside the tower, get your tickets online to avoid hassles and long lines. Admission for the tower is 18€.

There are other things to see in Pisa, especially if you like churches. Some notable sites are: Piazza dei Cavalieri, San Michele in Borgo (built on top of a temple to Mars in the late 10th century), and San Pietro in Vinculis.

The town has a lot of old world charm, though, and we really enjoyed walking around it. Feel free to skip the big pedestrian street, though. While it is heavily used by locals, unless you’re into doing shopping there isn’t much appeal and it can get quite crowded.

Pisa is very walkable, but there is also a great public bus system (which is also the cheapest way to get to and from the airport (other than walking)). Getting there is also easy as the international airport is very close to the city center, and the train station is extremely close to the city center. In fact, our Airbnb place was about a 2-minute walk from the train station and 20 minutes from the tower.

If you have the time, I’d probably give Pisa about 3 days at least.

Have you been to Pisa? What do you think?

Florence is definitely a city you don’t explore without a camera or device that can take good photos. It’s an extremely photogenic city.

Street Art of Firenze

I was very surprised by the amount and quality of Florentine street art. It made exploring even more fun because you’d find some of the most unusual art in seemingly random places.

This was part of a series found around the city.

Churches

The Duomo is the most talked about church in the city and deservedly so. However, there are some other gorgeous places of worship throughout the city.

This church is a bit hard to find, and it is part of local lore.

Exploring Firenze

I took about 100 photos a day on average, so this is just a small selection. We did a food tour on our last day, and I discovered even more of the city that I need to explore when we go back. As I said before about Florence, 3 days just isn’t enough.

Copy of the Rape of the Sabine Women. The original is on display near the Palazzo Vecchio but will be moved indoors soon.

When you visit Firenze, remember to never leave your place without your camera. You just never know what you’ll run into.

When we were visiting Italy, we planned a few days in Perugia. Tigger has wanted to see the leaning tower of Pisa so we decided to add that to the itinerary. When I noticed Firenze was on the way, there was no question we would be spending at least a few days there.

Over the years, I’ve received a lot of mixed feedback about the ancient city. Most people told me they felt it was overrated, too crowded, and too touristy. Some even said it wasn’t “Italian enough.”

I went anyway because I wanted to see the David statue and the Duomo especially but also some of the buildings related to the Medici family and the Bonfire of the Vanities.

We got an Airbnb place outside the touristic center but still within a close walking distance of the major sites. I didn’t feel it was all that crowded until we entered the Piazza del Duomo. Even in the off season, it was very crowded with tourists. I can only imagine what it would be like in summer, and there’s no way I’d want to be there for that.

However, the main tourist swarm is located here and at the Palazzo and Ponte Vecchio. Whenever we were away from these areas, we didn’t encounter near the level of crowds.

One of the things I loved most about walking around the historic area was how you would be in these narrow streets with the very old buildings and suddenly you’d find yourself in a plaza with a gorgeous church. Two memorable occasions were when I stumbled upon the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and at the Basilica of Santa Croce. Each time I rounded the corner and had to stop in my tracks upon seeing the churches.

To me Firenze’s real charm is found in its streets. These little surprises are everywhere, and it makes exploring exciting.

We were able to see a few spots and learn more about them on our tour with Walks of Italy. During the walking tour we learned about things, like the Medici coat of arms, that helped me identify other interesting sights when we explored on our own later. We also got some insight into local traditions and lore that were quite fascinating.

For instance, you will see lots of paintings of Mary as you walk among the labyrinthine streets. I figured it was just because they were religious, but it turns out these were placed in areas that might not be so secure. It was assumed that people would be less inclined to commit crimes against others while Mary was watching over them.

And, of course, our guide made sure to show us the exact spot where the Bonfire of the Vanities, and Savonarola’s subsequent execution, took place.

I loved Firenze even more when we crossed the river to explore that side. The churches weren’t as ornate, but the plaza life was even more interesting. It was a much better insight into daily Florentine life.

We stayed there for 3 days, but I quickly regretted we didn’t have more time. I’ll be going back for sure.

So should you visit Firenze? I’d heartily say yes! Although, you may want to skip it in the summer (and this November when the Pope visits).

Have you been? Which are your favorite spots?

I related to the statue on a different level. As a young child, I spent a lot of time in my grandparents’ apartment. My grandmother enjoyed art, and among her copies of famous paintings like the Mona Lisa and The Blue Boy, she had a bust of David. I remember spending a long time during every visit admiring at the sculpted details of his curly hair and fascinating eyes.

Nearby on a shelf with other curios, like her babushka dolls, stood a small copy of the David statue. I was fascinated by his chiseled chest and abs. Looking back, perhaps that was a bit of a clue that I was gay.

We were going to Florence, and the David was on my list. We only had a few days to spend in Florence, and I wanted to maximize our time. In Rome, we had done an excellent “best of” tour with Walks of Italy, so I contacted them again. They invited us to take part in their Best of Florence tour, which includes David, as their guests.

When we got to the building that now houses the original statue (he used to be kept outdoors, and you can find plenty of copies around Florence), I was thankful for their skip-the-line access. I was also a bit nervous thinking that if the crowds to see David were as bad as the ones for the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, we’d be lucky to get close enough to see him.

Then we walked into the gallery, and I was blown away. For some reason I was unaware that the statue is 17 feet tall! And since he’s standing on a high pedestal, you can easily see him from even at the end of the hallway. Thankfully, you can get right next to him to admire Michelangelo’s skill, though.

Our guide was invaluable at this point. I had never paid attention to some of the small details the famed sculptor had included. For instance, on the right side of his neck you see the vein is engorged. Michelangelo was a student of anatomy, and he included this as a sign that David was ready for action. The sling rests on his shoulder while he holds the stone in the pouch in preparation for launching. He gazes off to his left, which is where all things “bad” are usually located during this time period.

If you look at his left foot, you can see that his toes are gripping the stone beneath.

You see the David statue from a completely different point of view when you realize that this pose is actually immediately prior to him striking down Goliath. He appears to be relaxed, but in reality he is seconds away from delivering the killing blow.

David’s hands were made larger than normal because it was theorized a killer’s hands wouldn’t be small.

Something else I hadn’t realized before is that Michelangelo chose to leave David uncircumcised, something that would not have been the case as all Jews were circumcised. This was apparently his way of helping his fellow Florentines see themselves in David. He wanted to accentuate that David was an “every day person.”

Originally, the statue was intended to be on top of the cathedral. It ended up in front of city hall instead. During one of the battles, invaders threw furniture out windows. One of the projectiles struck David’s arm and broke it off. The arm’s destruction was spared when it fell upon a man standing below. If you look closely at his left hand, you can see the scar from where the appendage was repaired.

While I think it’s better to visit the David with a guide, you can visit him on your own at the Accademia Gallery. There are also some other noteworthy works of arts there, including the final works of Michelangelo which remain unfinished.

No matter how you visit, make sure to go see the David statue in person. It’s truly worth seeing in person.

Have you seen the original David? What was your first impression?

Our first introduction to Perugia wasn’t . . . shall we say exactly smooth? The border control process took quite a bit of time as they had a whopping single officer working. He wasn’t the brightest bulb in the pack, either.

Getting into and around Perugia

We had a bit of a surprise when we discovered there are no taxis waiting at the airport (contrary to what our Airbnb host had told us). Instead there is a big sign with the phone numbers to call. We arrived too late to be able to catch a bus, so we were in a bit of a quandry, especially since I hadn’t paid for roaming service for my phone, so I couldn’t use it in Italy.

The airport’s single public telephone wasn’t working either.

Incidentally, a taxi from the airport into Perugia is 30€ (flat rate). You might want to try to schedule one in advance, but I can’t promise that it works. The locals I spoke to weren’t too reassuring either: “Well, you can always try . . . “

Supposedly you can find them outside the airport, but the person who told me that also insisted taxis would be waiting at the terminal.

The bus system is pretty good, though. I compared the schedule information in Google Maps with the official schedule, and Google was very accurate.

If you’re staying in the historical section, the whole area is very walkable, and really it’s quite a treat. The old town is extremely photogenic and quaint.

Walking Around Perugia

Visiting the historical area of the town is definitely like stepping into the past. The outer wall of the city is from the Middle Ages with the internal structures dating from the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. The Arco Etrusco (Etruscan Arch) is the largest of the 7 entry gates into the city and was built during the 3rd century BCE. We walked through it several times as our Airbnb place was just down the street, and each time we passed through I felt like I discovered something new about it.

During one of our strolls, we came across a tower and a plain-appearing round church. Curiosity got the better of me, and we went inside the church. I couldn’t help but say “Wow!” aloud. The church is from the 5th and 6th centuries, and the columns were part of the original pagan temple that stood on that spot.

The neighboring tower is known as Cassero Porta Sant’Angelo. Admission into the tower, which you can climb and also houses a small museum, is 3€ and includes admission into 2 other museums in Perugia. The church is free to enter.

There are plenty of interesting and beautiful ancient gates around the city, and it’s fun to find them.

For us, walking around the old town was the main event. If you aren’t interested in exploring, Perugia really isn’t worth visiting. Its real charm lies in its architecture, the walls, the neighborhoods, etc.

Other Things to Do in Perugia

There are many museums, workshops, and exhibits to experience.

Perugia is also home to the famous Baci chocolate. Perugian chocolate is naturally quite popular here, and you will find plenty of chocolate shops all over the place. You can tour the Perugina Chocolate Factory as well as take classes there.

Keep in mind that tours and classes are not conducted frequently during the off season and can fill up quickly in the busy season, so make sure to check their online schedule, and making a reservation wouldn’t be a bad idea.

As is common with many old cities, there is another city beneath the actively inhabited one. There are tours available, but you can explore them on your own. In fact, if you end up taking some escalators to lower points in the hilly city, you will often pass through the ruins. They are surprisingly intact, and if you’re visiting during summer, you can escape the heat by spending time in the underground city.

Perugia is also a city of festivals and markets, and some of these markets are delightfully random.

Tips for Visiting Perugia

We found food to be fairly reasonable. There are lots of places that sell pizza by the slice. We spent around 12 EUR for 5 big slices of pizza, a small fruit salad, a beer and a bottle of soda at one of the smaller shops located outside the arch.

There is also a sizable Chinese community in Perugia, so you can find pretty good Chinese food rather easily if you’re looking for something different.

If you plan on using the bus system, you can buy tickets at the tobacco shops (look for a sign with a big T) for a little cheaper than if you buy them on the bus. Make sure to validate your ticket once on the bus, even if you got yours from the driver.

If you’re leaving/arriving by train, the bus is a very cost effective way of getting to the central train station. It takes about 15 minutes to get there from the stops near the Etruscan Arch.

There are several wine bars, as you can imagine, in the town, and often during “happy hour” they will have a special aperitivos offering. You will find lots of delicious appetizers (served buffet style and all you can eat), and the fee of around 6-8€ usually includes 1-2 drinks.

If you want a real traditional Perugian treat, go to the roasted pork stand located in Piazza Giacomo Matteotti. This stand has been in operation since about 1916.

If you need a snack or drink while walking around, keep an eye out for the vending machine stations. You can buy almost anything there. The hot vending machine will heat your food right before it delivers it to you (look at the display above the keypad which counts down the time until you can open the door to retrieve your purchase). Items cost around 1 to 1.5€.

Some machines vend interesting items like calculators, pencils, shampoo, and even pregnancy tests.

Many of the markets close fairly early. However, the stores that have a sign saying “alimentare” are usually open until quite late and on holidays and Sundays. They’re pretty well stocked with things and often have good produce as well.

We found that most places accept credit/debit cards, even many of the alimentare stores. Almost every cafe or restaurant also has free WiFi. ATMs offer multiple languages.

We spent 3 days in Perugia, and I would say that is about the right amount of time. You can certainly see the major sights within 1 day, but if you can stay longer I’d recommend it.

Have you been to Perugia? What was your favorite sight or activity?

Arrival to Italy

We flew into Perugia from Bucharest, which was a nice 2-hour flight. As Wizz Air wasn’t currently offering assigned seating, I paid the small extra amount to get priority boarding. That proved to be wise because it meant we were one of the first in line at passport control. They had 1 officer available, so it made the process extra long. I think our guy was at the end of his shift as well, which didn’t help.

He began thumbing through all 52 pages of Tigger’s brand new passport. “Have you been to Italy before?” he asked. I responded that we have, but this was a new passport.

“I can’t find the stamp.”

Ummm. “Yeah, it’s a brand new passport.”

“I can’t find the stamp.”

“Right. It’s a brand-new passport. We just got it 2 months ago in Romania.”

“S’ok.” He then picks up my passport, which was also renewed not all that long ago.

“That’s a new passport, too,” I said hoping to preempt any further confusion.

“I can’t find the stamp.”

He continued thumbing through my passport while his partner did his apparent sole duty of looking over his coworker’s shoulder and giving people looks of suspicion. He finally gave up and stamped us in.

Taxis? What taxis?

We headed out into the beautiful springtime evening weather and quickly discovered our Airbnb’s host assurance that taxis would be waiting at the airport was completely wrong. You have to call a phone number. We don’t have Italian phone service, and the only public phone in the airport doesn’t work.

I finally found a guy dressed like a paramedic and explained the situation to him. He was kind enough to call us a taxi. What did our host have to say? “You’re the first people to stay here who arrived by plane so I didn’t know.”

Dude, don’t just make stuff up!

The train and another Airbnb

After a few days in Perugia, it was time to head to Firenze. We had bought our tickets online, and thankfully I checked the website the night before because I discovered they’re having computer system issues and it “may take up to an hour to get your tickets at the train station.” Had we left our place as scheduled, we probably would’ve missed our train.

Having had our weird experience in Perugia, I tried to get more info from our next Airbnb host. Is there a intercom? What is the flat number? I explained I would not have phone service. “No problem. There is free WiFi near the train station. Just sign in and send us a message in WhatsApp.”

He is correct. There is free WiFi near the train station.

However, in order to get a login one must have an Italian phone number and service as you have to call a number after registration to validate it.

Many swear words were uttered as we walked to the apartment. Upon arrival, I found their name listed on the intercom. Phew!

I buzzed it. No answer. After 7 attempts, someone finally answered. “No Airbnb! They moved!”

Great.

We hung around while I punched various intercom buttons that didn’t have names. No luck. I decided to try to find a helpful stranger or ask someone in one of the nearby businesses to call for me, and as I was contemplating I noticed an older gentleman who looked kind. He was staring at his phone as he walked.

I said excuse me and asked if he spoke English. Thankfully, he did. I explained our situation, and he was only too happy to help.

Want to know something strange? It turns out he is an old friend of one of the hosts. In fact, they were friends many years ago and used to attend the same school.

Out of all the random people I could’ve picked, I happen to single out the one guy who is old chums with our host.

Are you singing “It’s a small world”?

And after all that one of the house rules is “Never confusion or noise.”

Yeah. Mission not accomplished, folks.

After having lunch and coffee with friends, I was sitting on my bed when suddenly there was a horrifying loud noise, and I found my butt almost touching the floor. The mattress is on basically a cot as a frame, and it has wooden slats going across. Five of them had popped out. I’m just hoping it doesn’t do that again at 3 AM.

I notified the host who said she would come check it out right away but was driving right then. That was 5 hours ago. Anyone want to bet we won’t be getting a visit from her?

At the end of the day, though, you just gotta laugh. The joys of travel, especially in Italy.

Do you have a fun example of a different kind of adventure in Italy?

As good fortune would have it, we were contacted by Walks of Italy, a respected organization that organizes trips throughout Italy. They offered to host us on their Best of Rome tour which would take us to the Colosseum, the Forum, Europe’s largest monument (to the first king of Italy who unified the country) the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps (which I had never head of).

The walking tour lasts 3-1/2 hours and fit into our schedule perfectly. The Colosseum and the fountain were two things I’ve wanted to see since I was a kid, and Tigger had his eyes on the Pantheon as it is featured in a trailer for Assassin’s Creed. And you get treated to a gelato during the tour.

The place we were staying was in northern Rome and would require a journey involving a bus and 2 metro lines to get back for our luggage. Instead of going through all that, we decided to leave our bags in the storage area at the airport (6€ per bag per 24-hour period) so that we could just catch the metro to the airport train when we were done.

We met our guide at the metro stop across the street from the Colosseum. They handed out headphones connected to radios so that you could hear the guide more easily. They did a little “where are you from” check-in, (New Zealand, Canada, and US), and our international group began our tour.

I’m not generally a fan of tours. I like to examine things at my own pace, stop and take photos and not feel pressured to hurry up, etc. I also don’t like to feel like I’m part of a big herd moving through things. However, once in a while they have their advantage, and our guide was probably the strongest point. His wealth of knowledge about the the site and its history was fairly astounding, and we learned a ton. I’m actually going to do a separate post on the Colosseum because there was just so much information. To avoid that whole herd thing, all their tours are limited to a maximum of 12 people (there were 10 in our group).

It was pretty incredible walking around the ancient amphitheater. I tried to imagine the noise from the throngs of people who had come to witness the spectacle. All performances had free admission. Seating was by class. The more wealthy and important someone was, the closer they were seated to all the action. Slaves and “unaccompanied women” would be up in what we would consider the nosebleed section.

The events held here were apparently incredible productions, and event days were packed. In the morning, they had animal battles (animal against animal or animal against human), in the afternoon was for executions of criminals who had committed capital offenses (they were tied to a pole, and hungry beasts were set loose upon them), and later in the day was the big attraction of the gladiators.

The Forum was quite fascinating, too. It was interesting seeing the re-created Senate building (it had been burnt down). Later in the tour, we were able to see the spot where Julius Caesar was assassinated, and interestingly it isn’t well marked at all. A bus stop marks the spot. No plaque, no statue, nothing else. One would think such a significant event would merit more than a bus stop sign!

At the Victor Emmanuel II monument, we learned how the various states were unified and became one country of Italy. It was rather amusing to learn that the Pope, who was the ruler of the Rome, was not exactly in agreement with the unification theory. Not only did he threaten to excommunicate anyone who voted for the states to be formed into one republic, but the new Italian army had to break into the walls of Rome and take it by force. Hostilities between the Holy See and Italy would not end until 1929 when the treaty recognizing Vatican City’s sovereignty was signed.

When Italians later decided a monarchy was no longer in their best interests, the royal family was exiled from Italy. They remained in exile until only 3 years ago. The aristocracy has no part of politics and their titles are merely honorific now. But I hadn’t realized they only had been allowed to return recently. As we passed by Parliament, we discovered they have over 1000 legislators who are paid €15,000 a month in salary ($19,500 USD). I was surprised a country the size of Italy had so much representation. No wonder so many of the people feel like nothing gets done. And with their economic situation. . .

I’ll be doing some more posts about Rome since there is so much to say about the various sites we saw, but suffice it to say I’ll recommend Walks of Italy tours for anyone visiting Rome, even if you have plenty of time to explore the Eternal City on your own.

Oh, when you stop for your gelato break (at a place with 150 flavors), consider getting the cone instead of a cup. You’ll get more yumminess that way.

It may be hard to see Rome in a day, but at least it is possible to see a lot in a short time. We’ll definitely have to go back and spend more time.

When you’re wondering what to do in Rome when you only have a short time, or even if you have more time, definitely consider this tour. They also have a great tour that covers these highlights as well as the Vatican. Tigger had zero interest in the Vatican, though.