Florence
Espresso
When La Marzocco says, “Good Espresso,” you go.
Ditta Artigianale, Via dei Neri, 32/R
Okay, so. Today was the first full day of Power Tourist Mode. Every square centimeter of this city has a monument, museum, or story to it. So, you can’t leave this place without seeing a great many things, even if you tried. And you would have to try very, very hard.
First, the Uffizi Gallery. It gets a 4/4 on the “Ninja Turtle Test” - Holy Family by Michaelangelo, Madonna of the Goldfinch by Raphael, Annunciation by Leonardo, and a wooden statue of Jesus crucified by Donatello. Though it was pretty amazing to see so much of the Italian Renaissance before our eyes, the experience was not. We try to be good sports when it comes to big crowds, but we weren’t prepared for Rome and Florence-crowds. 😒
We wandered out of the museum in a haze and stumbled to Ditta Artigianale and got espresso and lunch. This cafe was recommended by La Marzocco, so it was a no-brainer. We got a weird mix of lunch - smoked herring salad and stir-friend tofu. Like we said, we were frazzled from the Uffizi. But, the coffee was absolutely wonderful. 🙌
Revitalized, we took advantage of our Firenze Card and hit up both the Galileo Museum, where we saw Galileo’s actual middle finger, which was encased in a reliquary, and the Ferragamo Museum, where we saw original Schiaparelli, Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian Collection, and some beautiful, vintage heels.
Afterwards, we went to Caffe Giacosa, the rumored birthplace of the Negroni. Yes, the cocktail was invented for Count Negroni at this cafe - now, owned and operated by Roberto Cavalli, when he wanted something less sweet than his usual cocktail. We sipped on a nice Negroni and listed to a “best of” old school Italian power ballads above. The clientele was impeccably dressed with women carrying every Italian label on their arms and men looking sharp in pressed shirts and driving mocs. We walked over to the Santa Maria Novella, where we marveled at Renaissance and Baroque works in situ and saw the pulpit from where Galileo was first accused of heresy.
After all of this, we wanted to have an early night. But, it was the Germany v. Italy EuroCup Semi-Final Match, so we had to power through. Luckily for us, we found MORE ASIAN FOOD! We passed by Banki Ramen as we were walking from the Santa Maria Novella and Yennie was in disbelief. First, Chinese food and now Ramen?! We looked it up online and saw that the food looked o-kay. And, we almost went for it. But, Bryan being the responsible eater, said, if this place is here, there must be something better in the city. He was right!
We found Koto Ramen on Yelp. And from the looks of it, it didn’t look half bad. Any ramen place that makes its own noodles is a step above others. Bryan got the chilled ramen and Yennie had the miso ramen. Again, not bad! We think that the good Asian food in this city has a lot to do with the quality of ingredients in Tuscany. Though Rome had a lot of food, Florence seems to treat food more earnestly, showcasing the farming and agriculture in the region through a wide range of cuisine. Also, it makes a lot of sense that a Japanese-Italian chef would know how to make noodles.
The day ended with a heart-palpitating game of double-overtime and sudden death between Germany and Italy. We attempted to find a bar or restaurant to watch the game, but found that our hotel had a much comfier and quiet spot. Italy lost, which is a bummer. Dispiace!
Negroni
OG Negroni!
Caffe Giacosa, Via della Spada 10/r
