Lazy Day in Florence

Turner and I didn't really do much today by our usual standards. We woke up at like 11 am, which was nice because we haven't been able to do that in a while. We've been lucky for the past few nights as only one other person is in our six-bed hostel room. We only had a few specific goals for the day: eat, climb the Duomo, book our train ticket from Florence, and do some laundry since it's pretty convenient to do so here. We're doing the laundry right now, and with the previous tasks complete that puts us at 4-4 on the day. But I'll recap....

The First Goal: Eat

Let's Go recommended a mom-and-pop joint near the Central Market, so we made our way there at about noonish. We walked in and immediately realized this was a hardcore local joint. The atmosphere was really no different than a small-town Southern cafe, but it was more cramped than the old Hamil's in Madison used to be at lunchtime.

Turner and I had no clue what to order. We were a little shocked by this, since we thought we had developed a little working knowledge on Italian food thus far. Our waitress didn't speak English either, so we were pretty much on our own. I ordered the Bistecca alla Fiorentina, stabbing in the dark. The waitress recognized this and suggested through charades that Turner and I split it since it was "Grande". We of course said "Si, Si, Si". She said something else after this. Confused, I looked at Turner, then looked at her and she repeated it. Then she repeated it again. Confused, I looked at Turner, then looked at her and she repeated it once more. At this point, someone at another table turned around and said, "How do you want it cooked?". God bless him.

Turns out the Bistecca alla Fiorentina is a 32 ounce [0.9 kilogram] Porterhouse typically cooked unbelievably rare. We ordered it medium, praise God, because it was most definitely medium-rare...which was great because that is exactly how we wanted it. It's actually a signature dish around the Tuscan area, I learned later. It must have been cooked on the oldest, most well-seasoned cast iron surface I've ever experienced. You could literally taste how awesome that cooking surface must have been. It singlehandely convinced me that you don't need a grill to cook an excellent steak. It was truly wonderful, and a most welcome surprise and change from our typical fare of pasta, cheese, and pizza.

I don't think many locals order the Bistecca al Florentina for Monday lunches often, though. I think the staff secretly loved the fact that they got to cook a huge steak for lunch, because I watched our waitress disappear into the back and return with a massive piece of red meat. By this time, some Australians had actually been seated at the same table as Turner and me. They saw the cut of beef, not knowing that it was ours, and made some comments on it's ginormous size. While I was watching the waitress carry it, our eyes met, and at that point she held up the steak from across the room, smiling while doing so. I gave her the thumbs up, not knowing if she was wanting me to grant approval or if she was just genuinely excited about carrying a big piece of meat. I think this was the moment I fell in love with this place--they get just as excited about meat as I do.

The Second Goal: Climb the Duomo

A little history first about the Duomo....

Everyone calls it the "Duomo", which of course means dome. To be specific, it's actually called the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. "Duomo" works just fine over here, though. If you could see the size you would know why. It was a late 13th century design, intended "to never be eclipsed by any future efforts of man or industry" [paraphrasing]. There's a Florentine law that prohibits any other structure from exceeding the height of the Duomo. It is big.

463 steps big. We climbed them all, a little out of breath at the top. It was worth it though. We got to walk around the inside of the top of the dome, and also got to walk around the top of the outside. There were some spectacular views of Florence on the outside. Check out the photobucket videos for some footage...

The Third Goal: Book Train to Venice

Nothing special about this...we just went to the train station and reserved two seats on the 8:32 am train to Venice. It was 15 euro each to reserve the seat, however, even with the rail pass. That is total crap. France was 5 euro. I still don't understand the point behind the reservation charge. I could do a serious rant about this, but I'll spare you.

The Fourth Goal: Laundry

Just got finished with this one. The mornings after laundry days are always good ones. To step out of the shower and actually know you have clean clothes to step into is a good feeling.

The First Goal: Eat Supper

I forgot all about this one....Tonight Turner and I went to the grocery store and found a Mexican section. What a find. We cooked tacos in the hostel kitchen. They were awesome. Somewhere in between a Grenella Fox sae mexican night and an episode of the kitchen adventures of Reid and Kirby. So we'll be paying for this later obviously.

We ate pretty early, so I've been catching up on some things I've been curious about lately. For instance, I had no idea the Tampa Bay Rays clinched the AL east, or that the Yankees didn't even make the playoffs. That's great news. I also learned that the Buffalo Bills are 4-0, as well as the Giants, and that Indy is 1-2...what's goin on with that?

My main focus though has been on the markets. I'm currently watching the dow sink 700 points after watching the House Vote on the bail out fail. I get the feeling no one has any idea what to do in Washington. I sure don't.

Taking the early train tomorrow, so I'm out.

kirby