Today we had a slow morning—coffee on the balcony, watching the world pass by below.
We headed out around 9:30am toward the Duomo, hunting for more wine windows along the way.
The Duomo is truly amazing—intricate detail in every centimetre.
The Duomo doesn’t open until after 10am, yet the line to get in was already wrapping halfway around the building. Crazy.
Laura and I have been inside before and have climbed the dome. While it would be good for the kids to see the inside, we sensed they were a bit over it and certainly wouldn’t have the patience to wait in the line.
We walked around and admired the outside—which is possibly as good as the inside anyway. It’s a truly spectacular building.
We continued on and headed for the Mercato Centrale, where we hoped to grab a bite to eat.
Navigating the streets lined with leather goods and market stalls, we eventually found the entrance to the Mercato.
As soon as we entered, I recognised a food stand I had read about—Da Nerbone—which apparently sells one of the best traditional Florentine street foods: the Panino con Lampredotto (a panino roll with the cooked fourth stomach of a cow in herbs, topped with salsa verde and a spicy sauce).
I’m not specifically a fan of tripe, but wanted to give this a go—and it was only 5 Euros.
So in we go… it was bloody amazing. Really tasty. I’d certainly go back for another.
Laura and the kids tried it. Laura and H were not fans, but A enjoyed it.
We continued through the Mercato, looking at all the stores and the different produce being sold. It’s amazing. I could spend all day there just looking at everything.
We eventually ventured upstairs, where there is the more commercial Mercato Centrale Food Hall (same as at Roma Termini).
We grabbed a few other snacks before moving on to continue exploring the streets of Florence.
Wandering around, we stumbled on a wine fountain. 5 Euros a glass—why not!
We rang the bell and the owners came from across the road. It seems the wine fountain is situated in their store, and across the road is their restaurant.
We asked for a glass of wine. The guys went inside and talked for a while—long enough that we considered just moving on. Our patience paid off, though. It seems their discussion was about what to do with the wine fountain.
The owner explained they normally run red wine, but yesterday had white wine and it was at the end. He offered us a glass each for free—we gladly accepted.
It was okay—not rock-star wine by any means, but very drinkable. And for the price we paid, we were certainly happy with it.
We finished our wine and then headed back to the apartment, picking up some fresh salad for lunch.
After a good hour or so of rest, we headed out to the Galileo Museum to check out some of the scientific equipment and discoveries he and his counterparts and students made. It was quite fascinating with a lot to look at.
After the museum, it was gelato time. We had read about a gelato place called La Strega Nocciola. It was on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio. We hadn’t really explored that side yet, so it was a good chance to get over there.
Of course, we had to go and check it out. Amazing gelato!
After gelato, we continued to wander the streets and explore. We came across a ceramic shop—which happened to have house numbers! Something we’ve been searching for all trip.
We bought house numbers in Alberobello on our last trip to Italy, but we were living in Melbourne then and our house number changed after we moved.
While they had house numbers in Alberobello and other places, they were not the same quality as the ones we had bought previously.
The ones we found in Florence were the same style. To be safe, we bought a full set of numbers again. There is no way they would match the ones we bought years ago, but we have them—so job number 63 when we get home will be to fix them to the house.
We wandered back to the apartment to let the kids chill out and cool down before we headed out tonight for dinner.
For dinner, we had booked a nice-looking place just around the corner from our apartment—Auditore Ristorante. We had wandered past the night before and the meals looked amazing, and I was quite taken by the opportunity to have a Florentine steak 🥩.
So we did… and it was delicious and perfectly cooked. Nothing added to it except a bit of salt. We also ordered a caprese salad, grilled vegetables, and A had a lasagna. All accompanied by a lovely bottle of Chianti.
We were now full…
We took a walk through the nearby streets and piazzas after dinner. The kids had a ride on the merry-go-round and then we headed home.
