Went on this beautiful walk- outside the hustle and bustle of the city center.

When I found out I was going to be traveling to Florence, Italy my first thought wasn’t that I wanted to make a mad dash to the Galleria dell’Accademia to see David, nor was it to make a bee-line for the Uffizi for The Birth of Venus (although that one is up there). What excited me the most was going to the fresh markets and walking the old stone streets of the city. Sant’Ambrogio, Mercato dell Pulci and Santo Spirito are all wonderful. However, there was a one main market that was left out- the Mercato Centrale. I completely passed it by no less than 4 or 5 times. The unassuming entrance can be found amidst a vast maze of vendors selling, scarves and hats, leather goods and paper products. Inside is a bustling Disneyland for food lovers, with stall after stall of all things food.

Here are a couple of images from the market (not exactly a vegetarian’s dream).

Meat and cheese aside, there are several booths selling and offering tastings of olive oils and more importantly the incredible Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale (Di Modena or Di Reggio Emilia). At one of these booths we got a basic run-down on traditional balsamic vinegar (the REAL stuff)- and were even able to taste some 25-year balsamic vinegar. We saw a bottle of 100 year old balsamic for 800 Euro (read:$1100)- yikes!!!

I can’t remember all of the cool stuff I learned- so here is a bit of info that I found on Cooks Illustrated. (see below)

Traditional aged balsamic vinegar, produced in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, can cost $200 per bottle, making even fine French perfume look like a bargain. You can also walk into any supermarket in America and fork over $2 or $3 for a big bottle of balsamic vinegar. What are you really buying in each case? And should you buy either product?

Thirty years ago, almost no one in America had ever heard of (never mind tasted) balsamic vinegar. It was an obscure product made in northern Italy and so highly valued that many families passed along barrels of aged vinegar as part of a wedding dowry. Fast-forward a generation, and balsamic is now the best-selling vinegar in America, accounting for 45 percent of all supermarket vinegar sales. Intoxicated by its big, sweet, caramel flavor, Americans mix it in salad dressing; drizzle it on meat, fish, and vegetables; and add it to sauces, soups, and desserts. Of course, none of this popularity would have been possible if balsamic vinegar had remained a $100-an-ounce extravagance.

A Tale of Two Vinegars

It turns out there are two kinds of balsamic vinegar, and they’re made by entirely different processes. The traditional technique takes a minimum of 12 years; the modern industrial method as little as a few hours. The centuries-old traditional way begins with late-harvest grapes (usually white Trebbiano) grown in Emilia-Romagna. The sweet, raisiny juice, skin, and seeds, called grape must, is boiled in open vats until reduced to about half its original volume. This concentrated must is added to the largest of a battery of wooden barrels, which are kept in uninsulated attics in this region where the summers are hot and the winters frosty. The battery comprises barrels of different woods—including oak, cherry, juniper, and mulberry—and sizes. The barrels aren’t sealed; they have cloth-covered openings on top to allow evaporation. Each year, before the vinegar maker adds the new must to the largest barrel, he transfers some of its ever-more concentrated contents to the next largest, and so on down the line, before finally removing a liter or two of the oldest vinegar from the smallest barrel. This is traditional balsamic vinegar.

What’s more, all this can only happen in two provinces of Emilia-Romagna: Modena and Reggio Emilia, an area designated as a government-protected denomination of origin, or DOP. Each province has its own consortium of experts who approve the balsamic before sealing it in its official 3-ounce bottle (an inverted tulip shape for Reggio Emilia; a ball with a neck for Modena). If you want a guarantee that you’re getting true balsamic vinegar, look for the word tradizionale and these distinctive bottles—and be prepared to pay dearly.

All those rules are thrown out the window when it comes to commercial balsamic vinegar. With no law defining balsamic vinegar in the United States, manufacturers supply the huge demand any way they can, coloring and sweetening wine vinegar and calling it “balsamic vinegar of Modena.” …..

Not even going to lie, I put these clothes on for a photo and then ripped them off in favor of my stretchy pants. Back to bed I went..

It’s a bit of a bummer being sick and wanting to stay in bed when this whole amazing city awaits outside your door.

I’ve had a bad habit of walking through my neighborhood and into the “prettier” areas of town before even taking my camera out of my bag. I’ve kind of shrugged off most our neighborhood as rough around the edges and a bit grimy and drab. However, it dawned on me that I’ve already been in this city for 3 weeks and that time is just flying by. I was thinking about everything that I love about the city and all of the little details that I wanted to remember. While walking home yesterday, I tried to look at the streets with a new perspective and I photographed most everything in black and white which gives the shots an entirely different feel.

Here is where I live….

Despite not feeling well, I woke up bright and early Saturday morning and took a train to Siena. Not only was it my first real train ride, but my first spontaneous, alone trip in a foreign country. I had no clue where I was going and I was a bit freaked out by the whole deal. But after powering through the day and figuring out everything as I went along- I felt empowered and ready to take on another Italian city!

I have many more pictures of Siena to share, but in an effort to keep caught up on my travel blog, I’ll just post a few.

It has been snowing off and on in Florence for over a week with no real accumulation… I was surprised to arrive in Siena and see so much snow. The snow-covered roofs were one of my favorite sights on this trip.

I was completely lost, upon arriving at the train station in Siena. I needed to take a bus to the city center, but COULD NOT for the life of me find the darn bus stop. After wasting an hour, I finally found it and boarded a bus- only I had no clue if it was even going to the correct place. I tried to stay calm and tell myself that it was ok if I got lost. I rode around for awhile and finally got off the bus when half of the passengers started to evacuate at one specific stop…. Lesson learned- follow the crowd. I just happened to get off, right near the middle of the city. It is the small triumphs, I tell you.

Another favorite was all of the arches through THE most narrow streets I have yet to see. Seeing these, you’ll understand why everyone rides bikes, vespas or little 3-wheeled trucks.

A partial view of the Piazza del Campo and the Torre del Mangia. I wanted to climb the stairs to the top of the tower, but it was closed due to the snow.

Ahhhh, Tuscany….

When you see hoards of Italians lined up at a little shack near the middle of the main piazza- you know there must be something good.. In this case it was Frittelle di Riso (or rice fritters) that are apparently very popular during Carnevale. Balls of rice cooked in milk and mixed with flour and egg and fried. Although the ingredients list on this particular place listed only riso (flour), farina (wheat) and another ingredient that I cannot remember that was not “latte” or “uovo”. Anywho, they were fantastic! Fritelle di Riso and pizza was my dinner of champions for the bus ride home.

A cold, damp city + drafty, old (“old” doesn’t even come close) building= a very sick girl. It took all I could muster on Friday to put on a clean shirt and take a picture for Josh’s mystery project (yes, I have stretchy pants on in this picture) so this is all I have to share.

Fairly uneventful day- wandered out for a photo walk in the early afternoon and attended my second yoga class in Florence. Only this time it was in Italian! 2-for-1 yoga and Italian basics on the human body?

Il Ponte Vecchio