The Food:
Florence played host to some of the best restaurants I've been to in Italy. Of these amazing restaurants came the most amazing meal--pear ravioli with asparagus from Quattro Leoni (www.4leoni.com) The unlikely pairing of sweet pear with a salty and creamy cheese sauce reminded me of the "balance" concept of food we learned about in our Food and Culture course. The quaint yet modern decor subtly complimented the innovative and delicious food. On their website they even provide the recipe for their famous "Pear Flakes with a Sauce made of Soft Cheese and Asparagus":
Ingredients
Ingredients: Pasta: gr.400 semola gr.100 flour 00 3 eggs spoon of extra virgin oil and salt
the stuffing: 200 gr of ricotta 100 gr.mascarpone 1 pear kaiser formaffio parmigiano salt and white pepper
the sauce: 200 gr. Asparagus tips 100 gr. Fresh cream 50 gr. grated parmigiano cheese 30 gr. butter 1 spoon of flour, salt and "di foglioline di maggiorana" o "aneto" to add in the end.
Preparation
the pasta, light beat 3 whole eggs and add to the flower mixed with a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt formed in a fountain. Mix well until reaching a suitable consistency, if necessary add water or flour depending on the need. Left everything rest in a napkin. The stuffing, peel the pear and cut it into small cubes to add to the ricotta and mascarpone, with the parmigiana, salt and pepper. Take the pasta and draw it very thin (with hammer or with a machine), derive disks of about 10 cm in diameter and in the center place a teaspoon of stuffing previously prepared, then close the flake as if it were a caramel. The sauce, melt the butter in a frying pan, combining a tablespoon of flour and then the fresh cream. As soon as it boils, add the taleggio cheese in small pieces and also the grated parmigiana cheese, salt and pepper, let rest making the taleggio melt completely, mixing well, and finally, adding the asparagus points cut into tiny disks (that you previously boiled for 3 or 4 minutes in a little water). At this point cook the fiocchetti in plenty of salted water. When they are "al dente," in a frying pan combine the prepared sauce, adding the asparagus.
In addition to the amazing restaurants, Florence had an interesting assortment of street food. Kiosks serving waffles and Nutella or fresh suppli could be found on every street without fail. While I'm pretty confident these kiosks were aimed to please the tourist population of Rome, I couldn't resist a Nutella waffle.
The Colors:
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| Claire, Corinne and I after our climb |
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| Climbing 463 steps to the top of the Dumo! |
When I think what colors I believe represent Florence the muted pink and green of the Duomo come to mind. Unlike many of the monuments I’ve seen thus far in both Italy and Europe the uniqueness of the pink and green marble used to decorate and construct the Duomo was striking and unusual. I also think of the view I had after I climbed the 463 steps of the Duomo—orange terracotta rooftops stretching for what seemed like miles.
Miscellaneous:
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| Some of the girls on Ponte Vecchio |
- Less urban
- I rarely had to dodge cars and mopeds. Perhaps because I think Florence caters more toward tourism than Rome does. The street were cleaner and clear of sporadic and crazy parking. Much calmer.
- Sculptures
- Much more prevalent in Florence that Rome. The statue “garden” (as I like to call it) outside of the Uffizi was vast and fascinating. Moreover, the statue of David still resonates in my mind as one of the most amazing pieces of artwork I’ve ever seen. In particular, I remember staring in amazement at the veins on David’s hands and imaging the precision and patience it must have took Michelangelo.