a city of art.
b4 we went, everyone was telling us, the place is small, can just WALK. no need take bus.
i was like, really ma.....
well, end up, it IS REAL.
we walked for the 4 days we were there.
n wat a city.
we dun hav sufficient time to cover the museums!
end of 4 days = art fatigue.....
hahha.
but it is really a beautiful place.
14 May 2013 (Florence)
we finished "combing"the whole area in abt 2 hrs. this is hw small the place is.
we went back to the central market for lunch b4 we start to move around.
ate at this small shop (crowded like mad!) that sells tripe (cow stomach).
baby got "hijacked"when she was trying to find a seat for us. ltr we realised that the "hijacker"is a family from SINGAPORE. kns.
tomato salad w buffalo mozzarella.
this tripe sandwich is awesome man. the tripe is so so tasty! rich n full of flavors from the tripe n the stew. no wonder so many ppl la.
this shop sells freshly made breads, biscotti, pastries......baby went nuts when she saw this.
we were walking aimlessly (u wun get lost de) after lunch n suddenly, we saw.......
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this....baby was "screeching" beside me n i kept "wah-ing" like a mountain tortise. ladies n gentlemen, the legendary duomo.
super super grand n beautiful! my eyes were filled w tears (no kidding) when i saw this.
finally, after c-ing it on tv for so long, we finally saw this w our own eyes. we have been yearning to c this after we've read up on its history. a touching moment for us.
pls ignore the woman behind us.
everywhere u go, there r beatiful things for u to c.
florence = gelato city? u bet. but alas, as much as there r gelato shops EVERYWHERE, 80% of them sells lousy gelato.
bleh.
the rape of sabine women. amazing pc of sculpture.
perseus w medusa's head
david replica. the real one is inside, no photos.
baby at ponte vecchio
v hot ah.
this pix is for C. her fav gelato shop.hhahahaha.
street artist drew this with crayons on the floor.
our room. big n cosy.
v hungry me. found this restaurant nearby n had early dinner.
water is priced at 3.50 euros. wine at 3 euros. wine or water? u decide for urself.
pizza was ok (giorgo's pizza was better).
TSK. c la, i told u ribollita is a SOUP. why am i serve a SOLID one in tuscany?????knn. really dun understand. this tasted good! love the sweetness of the veg in the soup. n u need nt worry abt MSG here. it is foreign to them.
had a half portion florentine steak. it tasted so good! damn it. better than those served in tuscany. this is more flavorful n juicy. n CHEAPER. how dare u charge me for THAT steak.....grhhhhhh.
going to duomo during evening is a better experience. lesser tourists, more feel w the sun setting behind.
try to monkey around in such an arty place....hahaha.
i took this pix when i was lying down on the steps of the cathedral in front of duomo. beautiful eh?
15 May 2013 (Florence)
started our early morning by having coffee n crossiant downstairs. awesome!
y so early leh?
cos we need to Q at the accademia (flooded w tourists by 8am) to c the legendary David!!!
but we r nt allowed to take pix in there, so ya.
we've made reservations (luckily). but we still need to Q for like 20 mins!
look at the bloody long Q. mad one.
David was awesome. i am really glad that we went. u hav to go c it urself. worth all the time n $$$. we started to wonder hw michelangelo turned a rejected pc of stone into smth so epic. in case u dun noe wat i am saying, here a pix of david from the internet.
this is v inspiring for me. imagine the sun shine down on david as we enter the hall. he was standing there, on his own, big, tall strong. i cant describe how awesome the feeling was. u have to go n c him urself.
w a v light bfast, i am super hungry by the time we've finished touring the accademia. one thing i dun understand is, y dun italians eat lunch? they oni nibble on sandwiches n small bites during lunch.
n the bloody truth is, any cafe/restaurants near touristy areas serve crappy food. bloody hell. this cafe sux. bread cold n dry, tasteless pastry, blend coffee.....WASTE MY $$$.
went to san marco's museum after the lousy bite. the art pcs here r awesome too!
i cant tahan anymore. it was 2pm in the afternoon n i am really starving. went to this trattoria near the central market for lunch.
the "bread charge"is compulsory, regardless of whether u order bread or nt.
decent lobster linguine. i still prefer giorgo's version.
salad w prosciutto, pear, walnut n feta cheese. nt bad.
after lunch, we walked back to our B&B n surprise! we found a relatively famous gelato shop juz at the corner of the street (-__-""). the gelato was AWESOME!!!!! smooth, creamy, full of flavors!!!!!
yum!
we went to ponte vecchio again juz to look around. i love the ambience there. v free n beautiful. n i bought a ring there! love it.
went for dinner downstairs. prosecco is at 16 euros per bottle. how can i resist?
enjoy!
tried the carbonara. in case u duno, the authentic carbonara DOES NOT contain cream. it is creamy due to the egg yolk n cheese added. having say that, u shd noe hw rich this carbonara is. v rich n heavy. i cant finish this plate.
we have been craving for soup. this seafood soup is FANTASTIC!!!!! we shd call this a stew instead! rich seafood symphony in ur mouth when u drink the broth. n the bowl is filled w seafood! really good!
i have to tell u that the food portion is HUGE. we wanted to cancel this salad, but.....sigh. they dun allow la. so, LL lor. look at the giant bowl of veg.
i was half drunk here. baby cant drink the prosecco w me, so i finished the whole bottle myself.
as if the alcohol is nt enuff, the owner gave us a shot of limoncello each (on the house). yummy. but i was giggling n dancing on our way back to our B&B (luckily it was juz across the street).
yes, even when i was giggling, i managed to order ANOTHER gelato on our way back!hehe.
16 May 2013 (Florence)
B&B owner knew that we need to go out early, so she sent us bfast at 7.30am! great coffee n crossiant!
went to the awesome uffizi gallery. this is the best museum for me. the Q is crazy (where in italy isnt?). n we walked for 2.5 hrs inside the gallery juz to finish looking at the art exhibits (not to mention some rooms r under renovation). there r 100 rooms in the uffizi. there r paintings n sculptures from michelangelo, raffaello(raphael), da vinci, titan, bellini, botticelli, caravaggio.....we saw like 30 versions of madonna w child over these 3 days, all w diff styles, colors, strokes, painting materials.....it is really a feast to the eyes. however, if u hav low stamina n zero interest/knowledge in art, this maybe a difficult quest for u. make sure u understand (READ UP!) their history b4 u come here. if nt, its a waste of ur time n $$$. i love it though. its one of my fav itinerary for the trip.
of cos hungry at 11am. nth to eat in the gallery, except for a touristy cafe. ah well. juz eat.
went to galileo museum after that. as much as i appreciate wat he did for the world, introducing science n technology to ppl, i am really a NUT at maths n physics!!!! i am so sorry. i nearly died halfway thru the museum tour.hahaha. dun-understand-anything.
i wan my makan. so we went to central mkt, found this fish shop (sells fresh seafood). they do fried seafood for customers. juz order, n they will fry whatever u wan. on the spot. w free flow white wine. how good can this be?
my plate w sweet prawns, calamari, octopus legs, swordfish, cod, snapper. it shd come w fries (the ones infront of me all got chips), but the handsome guy decided to top up my order w more prawns n calamari. hehehehe. shiok! super fresh n sweet seafood, crispy n lightly seasoned w salt n lemon, w cold white wine!!!!! this is life!
gelato again!!!! the chocolate n egg flavor is awesome.
they sell savory "buns" too!
cheese, ham n risotto rice battered and fried. not oily! n it taste so good! crispy outside, oozing cheese w chunks of ham......i love italy! hahaha.
u noe, i hav to admit, as much as i love the food here, i am starting to miss home. i yearn for hot soup, n long grain rice, fried bee hoon, etc.....so.......
baby: u muz b mad......
i pester baby to eat at this chinese "cafe" a few blocks from our B&B. i noe. i despise myself too. but it is really a good feeling to c lin zhi lin on tv in italy, sipping hot soup at the same time. really.
fried tang hoon.
dun despise me la......
long bean w dry chilli. finally, smth spicy! i love it.
oh come on. who can resist this?
mapo tofu. after eating ang mo cheese for more than 1 week, this tasted like heaven to me.
WANTON SOUP!!!!!! i love it!
total destruction. nothing left. this is hw much i miss chinese food.
however, i ended the day w a granita. kiwi banana. yes, from the gelato shop (AGAIN). they r famous for this! n it is really good too! :)
17 May 2013 (Florence)
mission in florence is always to wake up early n go museum (to avoid Q).
v arty.
went to bargello museum n saw lots of sculptures! nice!
this is the REAL door (gates of paradise) for the Battistero di San Giovanni. the one we saw near duomo is a replica. the artwork is fasinating. n the repair and perservation work for this is really tedious. kudos to those ppl who work hard for the preservation of art!
@ duomo museum. michelangelo actually did this for his own tomb. but after working on it for 8 yrs, he gave up. thats y we can see it here (the deposition). the face of nicodemus (the one in hood) is understood to b the self portrait of michelangelo. beautiful pc of work.
baby watch tv at the chinese cafe. yes, i wan to hav chinese food again.
beef noodles. so so la.
sichuan stir fry. nt bad.
pig's ears anyone?
cabbage. nice n crispy.
baby n i bought these watches for each other as anniversary present. :)
lucky lucky! heng heng du dio gelato fest!!!!! of cos muz go!
Q up paid for the tix. include the guide, this bag, ballon, n of cos, gelato tasting vouchers. but i've made a gigantic mistake by FORGETTING this bag with the guide in rome. yes. i didnt bring this bag back w me. n i am kicking myself now. :(
lets go!
gelato cocktail. i chose the banana rum v volkda. wah lau eh. one sip i think i wan to faint liao. gelato cocktail of liquor w gelato????
baby: eeyer, nt nice one.
we can hav 5 tasting of gelato, out of the 20 stalls, we hav to choose carefully. n u think tasting portions r one spoon one? no hor. they give u one full cup like this. this is our 1st one. numero uno: chocolate w figs.
numero due: white chocolate w orange
numero tre: black rice
numero quattro: mascarpone
numero cinque: cafe orange
the gelato r all smooth n rich. v nice. however, 5 is really TOO MUCH. we were burping gelato breath after the gelato feast. suddenly, we've decided, no more gelato.
after sweet sweet meal, muz hav savoury ones. dun scold me le la. i really cant find good things to eat in florence. chinese food is CHEAP n good.
the braised pork pot is awesome.
spicy chix. i miss home!!!!!
18 May 2013 (Florence - Rome)
woke up super early to walk to the train station to catch our train to rome. thing is, the sys here is v SLOW. they will oni shw u the track number 10 mins b4 the train depart. end up, we were too early.
me: gimme the camera!!!!!
hungry. went to the "most famous fast food restaurant" in the world. end up, this is the greatest mistake i've made for this trip.
look at this crap. look at the black oil on the plate. look at the so called "scrambled eggs". dry, tasteless, hard.....n i hav to pay 7.60 euros for this shit. no drinks. n service SUCKED MAX. pui. total disgrace. i hate myself for making this bad choice.
nxt post will b on rome.
initially, i tot i will nt like it there.
rome = full of thieves.
end up, i loved it there!
it turned out to b my fav city.
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