Carr Journey to Florence

Documenting my year abroad for the amusement of others

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When I have my first coffee of the day

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We should start keeping giraffes a secret from young children. Imagine discovering giraffes exist when you were like 15. “Woah! Check out that long necked horse!”

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Coming home after a long day

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Holiday with the fam to finish off the year abroad ☀️🌴☺️ (at Creta, Grecia)

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A Carr Journey to Florence. The finish line.

A Carr Journey to Florence. The finish line.

My year in this unbelievably beautiful city is up. It has been a wonderful adventure which I’ll never forget. I have eaten Italian food, I have taught Italian kids, I have drunk the wine, spoken the language, made some wonderful friends and I have lived in Florence. I have been incredibly lucky and after what has been an unforgettable time here in Florence I can’t say goodbye, but rather see you…

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As my last day at school approached I decided I was in need of one last big trip in Italy before I headed home and after much discussion with Alex, who I’d be going with, we decided the unbelievably cheap flight down to Bari pretty much made our mind up for us.

Down we went into Puglia for 4 days of traveling around the heal of the boot, using Bari as our centre. Bari itself was a small city, with only one main site being the Cathedral of St. Nicholas (otherwise known as father Christmas!). Despite the lack of enormous monuments to run around seeing  we enjoyed wondering the sunny streets in the southern heat, appreciating the beauty of busy little Italian streets loud with the sound of families lunching on a Sunday with little oreichette pastas drying in the sunshine outside the front door.

Basic hotel bed

  Our first excursion was to Alberobello. Once we got on the bus- it was easy to get to. However, the ticket machine for the bus operated in an infuriating manner- instead of simply refunding the money you’d put in when you cancel a purchase the machine gives you a receipt which you can go to the office in town with where they’ll reimburse you the money. What an insane system. Anyway, calming down from that I got on with the visit to this countryside settlement. A town famous for it’s trulli which are essentially white huts but with a grey conical roof. The interesting thing about them however is that fact that they can be built and taken down quickly and easily- an important building method when taking down your home and moving it to the next region along could be handy in avoiding taxes.

  Waking up from a 1.70€ massive ice-cream induced coma, the next day was spent at Matera, which is in fact in Basilicata. After I convinced Alex that ‘i sassi’ (literally meaning ‘rocks’) would be interesting off we went. So we crossed the regional border and headed for this 30,000 year old city build on the side of a valley opposite exposed caves which had been inhabited by the first men. Being the second oldest city in the world, next to Petra in Jordan, it was fascinating to see how it had lasted. All of these stone houses still clung to the side of the cliff and in the strong sunshine you could really appreciate how it all would have been.

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Lunch time

Our last day however was spent relaxing. We headed for the beach to see some of Puglia’s beautiful waters. 20 minutes in the train away from Bari was Pulignano a Mare where a little warm bay was the perfect location for a day by the sea. Given the 32 degree heat we even managed a swim!! The crystal blue waters were gorgeous and a great end to our holiday. 

Supper by the sea

Back to our city of Florence now for the last bit before home time. It’s not a bad life really.

Puglia http://wp.me/s3KT5C-puglia As my last day at school approached I decided I was in need of one last big trip in Italy before I headed home and after much discussion with Alex, who I’d be going with, we decided the unbelievably cheap flight down to Bari pretty much made our mind up for us.

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Some of the great bits aren’t found until you get towards the end and one of these has been the market down the road.  Mercato Sant’Ambrogio is such a wonderful place to buy fruit, veg and meats and pastas too! I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the cheap weekly shop and wonder round looking at all the fresh produce and picking up an interesting little something to nibble on during the week. It’s also been a great place to learn what’s in season when. I’ve been in weeks where rows and rows of broad beans can be found, others when there are a load of little pots of wild strawberries and another where cherries dominated the scene.

Red wax meaning ripen at home

The Market Some of the great bits aren’t found until you get towards the end and one of these has been the market down the road. 

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Spring and summer evenings in Florence are always filled with luscious light from the setting sun, delicious food and, of course, great wines. However, it’s impossible to get the best out of them if you’re not with someone who’s grown up in the city. I have been lucky enough to meet two really kind friends, Chiara and her boyfriend Eduardo,  who have taken me to some amazing places for dinner and drinks. The first incredible dinner was eating the best Florentine steak- cooked to perfection and served after an artichoke carbonara and before a chocolate and almond tart. Since then we’ve been most notably to the Spaghetteria Ir Tegame where we had a good four courses of pasta- trying all the best bits on the menu. I’m trying to remember exactly what we had but I can distinctly remember a cuttlefish and chic pea cream with macaroni which was stunning, a cod and gnocchi dish which given the potato dumplings was a bit like a fish pie in flavours, orange-scented spaghetti served simply with raw tomato and rocket – a brilliantly delicate dish, and finally (with very full tummies) came the tortelli stuffed with Pisan beef in a light ragu. The beef inside was rougher than the beef from south tuscany but so sweet and well mixed it was delicious inside the pasta parcels. Now after all that you wouldn’t think I’d manage a pudding but I squeezed it in, never being one to turn a sweet down. We finished with a new found favourite of mine, tiramisu. A wonderful variety of pastas in some really interesting sauces- had never seen cuttlefish with pasta before, nor orange for that matter! Impossible to pick a highlight- was all very very good. However, if you end up going- remember, parmesan with a seafood or fish pasta is a no.

Florentine Steak

Tortelli di Mucca Pisana

Chiara and I with our apperativo

These wonderfully organised evenings didn’t stop there and after I got back from Puglia I was taken out for one last time before coming home. I met Chiara for two sets of apperativo (nibbles) and drinks before we met Eduardo for what’s meant to be the best pizza in Florence. The apperativo were lovely- first we went to a little hole in the wall for a glass of wine served with a nibble thought to go well with it. I had a Vernaccia (a white from San Gimignano) which came with pecorino with a grape residue while Chiara had a wine which went with a bruschetta topped with seabass. Lots of yum. The next apperativo we popped to before dinner was another great wine with a platter of delicious meats and cheeses. Eduardo joined us for a few more drinks before the pizza- and it was not called the best for nothing. We started by sharing a buffalo mozzarella and then had one buffala margherita pizza and a pizza topped with courgette flowers. Both were incredible- I was shocked I could fit in the delicious strawberry cheesecake at the end! I can’t thank Chiara and Eduardo enough for taking me to all these fabulous places and showing me all the best tastes of Florence.

Florentine Evenings Spring and summer evenings in Florence are always filled with luscious light from the setting sun, delicious food and, of course, great wines.

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Somewhere I know I’ll really miss when I go home is the cafe just down the road. The other side of Santa Croce square to my school and just 5 minutes down the road from me, it’s become a little bit of an escape. While the wonderful thing about a city is of course the treasures and beauties it might hold, I think one of the best things to do in a busy city like Florence is to people watch- and this is exactly what I can do in this cafe. I get my coffee, which when the usual barristas are behind the bar is offered to me, I choose my pastry and I’ll sit with the newspaper for as long as I like watching the world go by. The bells of the cathedral might ring next to me, maybe a starling will pop in through the open door to grab a fallen crumb or two but one thing’s for sure, the cafe will fill with interesting people one minute only for it to be empty and ready for the next wave five minutes later. There are so many characters I’ve come to observe. The bolshie private guide who hilariously believes he owns the cafe and will get his order in before you, every time. The beautifully turned out golden retreiver taking his owner for a walk who stops in for a coffee and even the suited older gentleman who comes in with his carer. He’ll sit and grab a newspaper while she gets him and herself a coffee and a pastry- she’ll always have a small wholegrain cornetto filled with blackcurrant jam.

However many hours I’ve spent in that cafe I’ve loved. I’ve raved about their pastries and the decent decor in previous blogs but I really think it’s the general atmosphere that makes my morning coffees. Finisterae has been a great discovery in the city, and one I certainly won’t be forgetting.

The Café Somewhere I know I'll really miss when I go home is the cafe just down the road. 

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Somewhere over Dijon #ReasonsIFlyBA

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The street on which I lived (presso Quartiere Santa Croce, Firenze)

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One last time at the café. Oh I'll miss these breakfasts (presso Finisterrae)

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My day. Reading my book in my favourite place in the city. Up in the Rose Gardens to escape the 35° heat (presso Giardino delle rose)

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One last cassata with Mamma Italiana Anna Maria before I leave on Tuesday. Sponge and ricotta in the middle, coated with marzipan. Little piece of Sicilian heaven (presso Il Re Gelato)

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4 different wines. 3 cocktails. Apperativi. Buffalo mozzerella. Courgette flower pizza. Margherita. Cheesecake. Florence. Need I say more? (presso Firenze)

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I am the new Giovanni de' Medici. And I own this city. (presso Bar Le Nuvole)

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The ancient city of Matera. One side of the gorge Palaeolithic caves, on the other the city which has been inhabited for over 30,000 years making it the second oldest next to Petra, Jordan. #matera #basilicata #sassi (presso Matera Sassi)