Yesterday we woke up and went to the supermarket to get some groceries. We brought them back and had a big brunch with eggs, sausage and homefries. Unlike Rome we did not have anything planned for Florence (no tours or things we were particularly interested in seeing). So, we walked around the rest of the day and checked out the Duomo and walked past some beautiful buildings. We also went to Ponte Vechio which is a famous bridge with a bunch of jewelry stores (it used to sell meat until a king decided he did not like the smell and they decided jewelry was more appropriate for a king). After walking around for several hours we came back to the loft and made some supper and had a couple bottles of wine. Katherine had been interested in doing a wine tour in Tuscany however we realized that at 150 Euro each, they were a littttttttttttttttlllllllleeeee bit out of our price range. There was an option to learn how to cook like an italian as well but we were not convinced about that either. However, as many of you know, wine can do funny things to a person's brain. So, after the first bottle we decided we would book the tour and learn how to make fresh bruschetta, pasta, pizza, a Tuscan roast and potatoes, gelato and tiramisu. Satisfied with our decision, we then went out for a green beer at a local IRISH pub; it was St Patty's day after all!
Today was the tour. We met up with the group at 9:45 and took off to walk through Florence at 10:00. Our guide (Elisa) was absolutely amazing!! She took us through Florence and explained some history behind the city, showed us some great buildings and taught us about the history of food in Florence. A fun fact is that a couple centuries back Pisa controlled the salt as they are closer to the water. Pisa and Florence were not getting along so Pisa decided to stop shipping salt to Florence. So, Florence was forced to start making their bread without salt (which is why it may taste different if you try it). A couple decades later, Florence conquered Pisa which forced them to eat the saltless bread. Also, since salt was so desired at the time people would actually get paid in salt. That is where the term 'salary' comes from. Another fact is that the italians took a lot of the food that the americans had introduced to them (corn, potatoes, beef etc) but they refused for two centuries to use one thing in particular. They believed tomatoes looked poisonous so for 200 years the italians did not eat them! Now, it is a HUGE part of their diet. Anyways, Elisa took us through the local markets where we bought our fresh tomatoes, bread, meats and cheese. We also stopped for coffee. The Italians are VERY particular about their coffee. Most people have cappuccino but you can't get it before a meal, after a meal, or after 12:00. After a meal sometimes they will allow you to have espresso. Also, sometimes people (mostly people who work outside) have a shot of 50% alcohol in their espresso in the morning to "stay warm".
Once we had gathered all our ingredients we hopped on the bus and headed into the country side to this beautiful farm house. We prepared our meal in the kitchen of our dreams! It was so beautiful! Carmele was the chef who was teaching us and she was this hilarious Italian woman who barely spoke a word of English. She would sing in Italian as she showed us how to do stuff and then she would randomly start clapping and yelling "BENNE BENNE". At one point she told me to beat a mixture of eggs, sugar and whipping cream with an electric beater. However, I was not doing it well enough so she grabbed the bowl and the beater and started doing it for me. Then she gave it back and started telling me how to do it better in italian. I had no idea what she was saying but I followed the orders! When I started doing it properly she would start singing and then shout "BENNE BENNE" again. She was a hoot! That made for some great laughs. We made some fresh pasta (which is actually quite easy), pizza, bruschetta pork tenderloin, tiramisu, and gelato. The best, and also the toughest, part off the day was eating all of the food we had prepared and washing it down with lots of local beer and wine of course! As fate would have it we got our bolognese sauce which is what we ate with our pasta. This was potentially one of the greatests days of my life. We truly got to live like the Italians and experience their passion for food. I HIGHLY recommend that if you go to Florence you should do this tour with Walk About Tours. It was a magical day in which we laughed, made friends and enjoyed the Italian lifestyle. We finished the day walking up the hill to Piazza del Michelangelo to watch the sunset and the lights come up on Florence. What a spectacular experience.
We were having troubles loading pictures so hopefully we can figure that out so we can show you!