24 Hours in Florence
The last time I was in Italy was 5 years ago…in February of 2020. The “last hurrah” before the world shutdown. Parts of Italy were closing stores and restaurants over fears of a new Chinese Mexican beer super virus. We still made the most out of that trip and we knew we would be back to visit the cities in the north. This time around we would be starting in Florence and making our way to Venice, Como, and Piedmont.
Landing at the airport in Florence was an experience in itself. We were warned that the runway was short and the landing would be abrupt…to put it mildly. That runway must have been as short as the runway on Molokai. Even with the warning, I almost smashed my face on the seat in front of me. 10/10 would recommend this experience. At least there was zero drama getting through the airport and getting to our hotel. A nice, quick dinner with our travel buddies before a full day of eating and drinking around the old city center.
We started our morning off with a quick stop at the Duomo. The wife said we didn’t look inside on our previous trip, so we stood in line to check it out. Turns out that we did go inside the Duomo on our last trip. At least the main cathedral portion was free. Then it was off to find some sandwiches and glory hole wine windows. I don’t recall seeing functioning wine windows on our last trip, but these are all over social media now. You knock on the small wooden “window” or ring a bell and you can order wine or a spritz and enjoy it in the streets.
The city center was bustling with tourists and street vendors. The smell of fake Italian leather, cigarette smoke, and cologne strong enough to erase braincells was everywhere. While walking around the city we stumbled on a porchetta sandwich stop and had to try one. It was tasty and one sandwich filled us both. Then we found an affogato glory hole. Good lord was that delicious. The gelato somehow didn’t just instantly melt into the espresso. Italian magic. All’Antico Vinaio would have to wait until we worked up an appetite. We took a long walk across the river and through a large garden, snapping pics of things that caught my eye. By the time we finished walking through the garden we were ready for the insta-famous All’Antico Vinaio sandwich. When we saw a bunch of people eating the sandwiches, we knew we were close by. We got the mortadella/pistachio and shared it. Super filling. The original location wasn’t busy when we went (around 2:30pm), but the satellite locations (2 different stores in the train station) were never busy.
We capped off the day with a hotel aperitivo before a redemption date with a thick slab of meat. I couldn’t finish the 1+ kilo Bistecca alla Fiorentina the last time, so I brought backup this time around. I’m happy to report that we finished the steak (although we didn’t eat all the sides). Solid day of eating and drinking in Florence. The following day we would board a train to Cinque Terre.
