I was lucky to have my mom come visit for the second week of my spring break here. We decided to spend some time in Florence and the surrounding Tuscan countryside, a few days around Lugano, and then the last night in Zurich. Yes, I have been to Florence a few times already, but I also love the city and was happy to go one more time before leaving in June. My poor mom was subjected to lots of traveling the minute she flew into Zurich. She arrived in Lugano around 11 and then we left on a train for Florence that evening. We stayed near Via San Gallo and spend one full day walking around soaking in the sights and shops. We both made big purchases, but knew we would always be reminded of the great time we had in Italy! Every night we tried new restaurants and frequented wine bars in the afternoon and evening. The first day we stopped in for lunch at Verrazzano. It was well worth the wait! They serve the most amazing foccacia sandwiches. After lots of shopping, we stopped in at Antinori and after a few glasses of wine my mom bought 4 bottles of the best olive oil in the world...Laudemio. We had to make sure we had enough to give as gifts! That night we went to another wine bar (Pitti Gola) where I have friends across the river. After eating some great appetizers, we stopped in a casual trattoria for a little bite to eat. Then we headed to enjoy a drink at the Savoy, that I know so well from September!
Sunday was the day of the big Easter Celebration we had been awaiting. I had heard from my Italian friends that supposedly a dove flew from the Duomo to the Baptistry and if "it went" it was good luck or meant there would be a better spring. At least that's how I took it... We went to see the spectacular celebration and we definitely weren't disappointed. It's called Scoppio del Carro or in English Explosion of the Cart. It included a lot more than just a dove flying. To begin there was a huge parade that came all the way from the Pitti Palace across the river and entered into Piazza Duomo. Next the "chariot" was brought in by horses with the fire truck immediately afterwards. We were wondering why they needed fire trucks, but quickly realized why when we noticed that the chariot was covered with firecrackers or to be more exact dynamite. I didn't take a video, but this youtube video does a good job showing what it was really like... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZOqySju-KA
After witnessing the spectacular celebration we had a great lunch at Baldovino (a favorite in Piazza Santa Croce) and then walked all around the Boboli Gardens for 10 Euros. After relaxing in the room, we headed to Olio and Convivium for dinner. I have heard and read about it being a great restaurant and that day while walking around we happened to stumble upon it and made a reservation. It was everything I had heard of and more! My mom had the most amazing pasta that she talked about the rest of the trip.
Monday was the day of our big bike trip in Tuscany. I found a brochure for a Tuscany Bike Tour the last day I was in Florence and we decided we would enjoy something active that also involved some wine. It ended up being an amazing experience. The owner of the company is Swedish and he started the company about a year ago. He recently married an American who now works with him to lead the tours. It was a small group and we rode the bikes about 15 miles. It wasn't too challenging except for the parts winding around vineyards up rather large hills. Some of the others took the chance to get a ride in the van for part of the way, but my mom and I managed the hills. After riding the bikes for about 2.5 hours we ended up in a town in the Tuscan countryside called San Donato in Collina. We were having lunch at a Villa called Torre a Cona and then we would have a tour of the wine and olive making. The lunch ended up being much better than either of us were expecting. It was made from all fresh produce and consisted of all local ingredients. We had a variety of salads, cheeses, and wine. For dessert they served Vin Santo and an apricot tart. Everything was beyond our expectations! After lunch we had a great tour of the wine facilities where I believe they bottle 60,000 bottles a year. Then we went to the Olive Oil production facility. It's amazing to see how fresh products can be and it really does make you appreciate good olive oil...too bad we already bought 4 bottles. If you're interested in a bike tour or vacation in Tuscany look into this Villa. The prices are really reasonable and each day you're there they will go shopping for you at the local market...there is also a nice pool!
Monday night we went to dinner at Il Santo Bevitore, a recommendation from Amy. I had dinner here once before and the food was great, but the service wasn't. At home, I would take this more seriously, but in Europe I've become accustomed to different expectations. However, we had a similar experience this night at dinner. Besides the mediocre service, we had a very unique dinner since an Italian man decided to join us for a majority of it. We were sitting at a tablefor 4 and since there was only two of us I guess he just decided there was enough room and pulled up a chair. We were both dumbfounded and were also trying our hardest not to start cracking up, especially when the tables around us were noticed things were a bit off. After about 20 min he finally took off and we were able to continue our conversation. The waiters were unaware...
After an amazing pastry at a local bakery on Tuesday, we headed back North to Lugano. Sad to say bye to Florence, especially since it will probably be awhile, since I won't be living in Europe much longer. :(
When we returned to Lugano our first and most important stop was at Hertz to rent a car. I love when visitors rent cars, it changes my life here! The first night back we drove to Ascona and had an amazing dinner at Seven Easy. My Italian friend, Igino is the head chef. In order to soak up the entire italian experience, we sat at the kitchen bar where we could watch him at his craft. It was impressing and we were definitely happy with the food he prepared. It's one of the nicest restaurants in terms of the quality of food in Switzerland. Check it out - http://www.seven-ascona.ch/
The next day we were heading to Como!
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