Florence, Italy & The Best Sandwiches We’ve Ever Had

Ciao amici!

As you may know by now, in summer of 2018 we visited several cities in Italy. It was an incredible ten-day adventure and fulfilled a lifelong 15-ish year dream. We’re splitting up our trip into several different posts (there’s a lot we want to talk about) and this happens to be one of them.

In today’s blog, we’re going to talk about Florence, Tuscany and about some really AMAZING food.

Arguably one of the greatest artists of all time, Michelangelo managed to create some of the most famous works of art in history. We were lucky enough to get to see several of his works first hand. But the most spectacular was the statue of David. We’d seen photographs of course, but even the best photograph cannot really do it justice. As people who are not normally incredibly moved by art, it’s fair to say both of us were blown away by this statue. The detail is incredible and just standing there looking up at the famous sculpture leaves you amazed that someone was able to create something so realistic. This is a must when visiting Florence. Though you will want to book your tickets in advance, otherwise you will most likely not get in. It is understandably popular.

We also saw the famous Gates of Paradise and the burial sites of three ninja turtles famous artists (Michelangelo, Donatello, & DaVinci) at the Santa Croce Church.

Have we mentioned we love gardens? On one of our free afternoons in Florence, we decided to wander over to the Giardino Di Boboli. We’d found it in our research of things to do and see in Florence and opted to explore. I suppose the term gardens could be a bit misleading. Unlike other gardens we’ve been to, there weren’t many flowers and the like. And, admittedly, it was difficult to enjoy the trek to the top of the gardens because it was incredibly hot outside on this particular day. But once we made it, it was worth it. The view of Florence was really incredible.

There are statues (including a naked dwarf riding a turtle…for real) and fountains to admire and a large lawn where you can relax. You will also find a porcelain museum and an old coffee house inside the gardens. It is definitely worth a visit, although it might be best not to go in the dead of summer.

You also can’t visit Florence without taking a stroll across the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. It’s the oldest bridge in Florence, having been around since the 900’s. It has various shops to peruse, music playing and a great view of the Arno river.

Food

Italy is known to have some really great food, but our top favorites from the entire trip were in Florence. (We miss you, sandwich!)

You hear a lot about the rolling hills of Tuscany… the wineries with all of their vines dotting the hillside…the sun set making everything more beautiful. Well, it’s true.

(Mal- I will say, driving through the countryside did not leave me as stunned at the landscape as I thought I would be. But the more I travel, the more I realize many places around the world look similar, just with slightly different architecture. Don’t get me wrong, it was very pretty, just nothing completely and breathtakingly new.) (Court- Agreed. Though admittedly, we live in a very beautiful part of the world and get to see natural rolling hills and lots of greenery all the time. We are blessed in that regard and imagine that the Italian landscape would be quite the sight for people used to living in cities.)

As part of our adventure, we visited a lovely Italian vineyard in the heart of Tuscany: the Tenuta Torciano Vineyard in San Gimignao. There we were shown how to properly drink a glass of wine (it is quite the process) and then were served a delicious meal of homemade soup and lasagna. The best part of the entire experience was the vineyard’s  in-house truffle olive oil and balsamic vinegar. If you’ve ever thought all oils and vinegars were created equal, you are incorrect. These were amazing. We actually purchased some to take home with us. (Court- This place is smart… they give you the order forms after serving you several glasses of wine and a bunch of delicious food.)

We decided we really couldn’t leave Florence without trying steak Florentine at least once (though both of us usually prefer steak medium well). We were able to finally try it at Ristorante Peperoncino, a nice restaurant near our hotel. The steak was actually much better than expected and we were both pleasantly surprised.

While eating at another great place (see below) we ran across a group of girls studying abroad. They recommended a few places to us and one was Tratorria 4 Leoni. We decided to eat here because we’d read about their pear ravioli and wanted to try it. Upon arriving, we realized we should have made a reservation. The place was very popular and very busy (a group sitting outside told us they’d made their reservation weeks in advance). Luckily, they were able to squeeze us in.

One thing to note about this restaurant is the menu is only in Italian. (Google translate was very helpful. If you’re planning to travel to a country who’s primary language is not your own, we definitely recommend downloading the app.) All three of us ordered the pear ravioli and shared zucchini flowers and bruschetta w/ olive oil as starters.

The zucchini flowers and bruschetta were both very good, but the pear ravioli was the star. This was our traveling companion Hillary’s favorite dish of the trip and our second favorite. It was the right amount of sweet and savory and was oh so delicious. We topped off dinner with the house red, which we also enjoyed very much. (Really, we recommend trying the house wine at every restaurant in Italy. It’s cheap, but also normally very tasty and of a better quality than cheap American wine. We would know as we drink plenty of cheap American wine.)

And to save the best for last… Thanks to a bit of research on TripAdvisor, we found SandwiChic, a small sandwich shop in downtown Florence. We were looking for a quick and easy lunch so decided to track down this place after reading such good reviews. And man, are we glad we did. It was awesome! There isn’t much space inside, but we managed to get a spot in a little nook in the back. This is where we met the three girls who were in Florence studying abroad. They’d been to SandwiChic almost everyday in the month or so they’d been there.

Mal- This was by far the best thing I ate while in Italy (and I had some really good food). I’m not 100% sure what my sandwich was called (the menu was on the wall high above the counter, and in Italian, therefore I could not read it), but the staff was so helpful. The man working the counter asked me what meats I liked and recommended a certain sandwich for me. It had salami, cheese and sun dried tomatoes I know…and I think a special sauce. He said they made all of their sauces in house. The bread was a little crunchy and so perfect. The only bad thing about this place is I can’t easily go back. Is it sad that I am jealous of the study abroad group because they got to eat way more sandwiches than me?

Court- I echo Mal’s sentiments. You probably don’t go to Italy for sandwiches and I suppose people could argue that we must not have eaten at really good places with pasta and the like if this was the best thing. However, I would contend that they don’t know what they are talking about. I did the same thing as Mal by relaying my likes to the guy at the counter and they created a masterpiece. I wish we had found this place sooner and I wish they delivered to Georgia.

Does Florence really have the best gelato?

We ate a lot of gelato whilst in Italy. In Florence, the notable shops we visited were La Carraia and Gelateria della Passera.

Mal- I’m going to be honest with you…we ate so much gelato on this trip, I can’t separate one place from another in my mind. All I know is that I had pistachio gelato several times and it was delicious.

Court- At La Carraia, I had the Frutti di Bosco and it was amazing. It tasted like a mixed berry cobbler with ice cream on top. It was probably my second favorite gelato of the trip. At Gelateria della Passera, I had the passionfruit and the pistachio. The passionfruit was great, though I don’t quite remember the pistachio. We found this place as we left 4 Leoni, and were still basking in the glow of the pear ravioli.

Lodging

While in Florence, we stayed at the Hotel Adriatico. Upon our arrival, we were taken to the back patio and given ice cream. What a great welcome! This was probably due to our tour group status, but it was still a nice gesture.

The downside we found to this hotel was the bathroom. And maybe it was because our hotel in Venice had such an awesome bathroom that we had too high of expectations. But…the shower was very small, and ours in particular leaked so water would get in the floor every time someone showered.

The rest of the room was good, except one of the beds was down a hall and away from the other two. I suppose that is the risk you take with three person rooms. It was our least favorite hotel we stayed in during the trip, but overall it was still pretty good.

Other

Ever accidentally (on purpose) been part of an experiment? We have.

Whilst walking down the street one evening, we stumbled upon something unusual: a large indoor slide. As it turns out, it was an experiment showing the emotional effect of people on plants. You can read more about that here. When presented with the opportunity to slide down a giant indoor slide, we could not simply pass it by. Like most slides, it was quite fun. (If it hadn’t cost money, we would have slid multiple times.) And hey, we were part of an experiment! This isn’t really relevant to the rest of the trip, but slides are always worth mentioning.

Overall, our stop in Florence was great! Even though it was incredibly hot most days, we are definitely glad we spent a few days here. Otherwise, we would have missed amazing art and even better sandwiches.

Stay tuned for upcoming blogs on Rome and Sorrento!