A fellow former SCAD athlete, interior design major, expat, Southerner, and friend, Nancy Disk, has been living in Florence the last couple years as a retail designer for
pls design,
http://www.plsdesign.it/. She's worked on high end retail projects in Milan, NY, London, and beyond. We reconnected my first month in Milan and went on a Croatian adventure back in August. The first weekend in December, I had the opportunity to go visit her....and get some insight into her world. Since I had already been to Florence for a study abroad program for a week in college and got to see all the tourist spots, I was excited to see this city, renown for it's art, beauty, and architecture, from a
local's perspective.
Nancy making espresso in the adorable Tuscan kitchen. Her roommate is Italian and his family grew up in this apartment in the
Oltrarno district. The little Clementines beside the Mocha Pot are my favorite fruit of the month. I must have had close to 15 while there. They are extremely sweet and often have no seeds, and the smell of vibrant citrus permeates the room after removing even just one peel.
Mmm!
Nancy lives just minutes from the city center, across the Arno River. Behind us is the infamous
Ponte Vecchio..."old bridge". We renamed it the "old/ new bridge" after her friend jokingly asked me if I'd seen the new bridge that wasn't here when I was in Florence 7 years ago.
The world renown
Duomo....the cathedral is Europe's 4
th largest church and it's orange-tiled dome is one of the most famous symbols of Florence.
I'm in constant awe in the amount of detail and time that goes into the architecture in Italy, incredible!
Below is a little
panino shop started by two brothers that Nancy is a big fan of. The drink shelf with numbers is a fantastic idea. I went with Nancy's recommended raw sausage and eggplant sandwich....and I'm still
kickin'. Her American friend, Sarah, out with us some over the weekend. She married an Italian that she met when visiting Italy and has been living in there for several years now.
The store displays were all so very festive and many had a unique, European spin on the arrangements.
We did a little shopping and a lot of window shopping. Store front montage...
People walking by the polar bears were saying in Italian how real they looked.....uh...the bear is smiling....come on! The bears were begging for a photo op...but some shoppers were not impressed by my bear riding skills.
High five!
The symbol of Florence, in Christmas lights.
Piazza Della
Repubblica...I resisted the urge to ride on the carousel with the kiddies.
I was delighted by all the different, contemporary yet classy lights in the streets....beautiful!
The guy that sold us our leather jackets....was a man of many talents, apparently. Not sure how much we can believe but has a store in NY on 3rd Ave., designed all jackets in his store, is a professional soccer player, lived in Montana, just got back, just bought a house. Wanted to buy a Smart Car the next day....I think he knows how to chat it up with
nonItalians....interesting guy but fantastic jackets! This one "spoke" to me even louder than the vendor...
That night, our jackets had their debut at a charming restaurant "
Il Santo Bevitore" near Nancy's house. It had such a nice warm atmosphere and the food presentation was artistically articulated. It had high plaster vaulted ceiling, basic dark wood shelving showcasing the wine, simple but tasteful art and accessories and some of the best food I've experienced in Italy this far.
http://www.ilbevitore.com/
Yes, romantic candlelit dinner for two...friends.
After complimentary
Prosecco and cheese from our adorable waiter, we went with a wild pigeon pasta dish. Yes, pigeon....flying rats...if you will. It was surprisingly more like roast than anything. Very tender.
Nancy and I shared a beef
carpaccio and swordfish rolls with roasted red pepper.
Buono!
Flourless dark chocolate cake, dessert wine, and espresso finished off the perfect meal and gave us fuel to check out the
Cavalli Club with her friends. The club had a huge screen showcasing
Cavalli's winter runway collection.....fantastic visual complimenting the vibe and aesthetic of the venue and true to
Cavalli's design philosophy. (Photo downloaded from the internet)
The next day after brunch with Sarah and Nancy, I headed to the
Bargello Museum on my own to view Italy's finest collection of Renaissance sculpture and applied arts. This castle like building was originally the town hall then became a prison and home to the chief of police (the
Bargello), known for it's executions in this courtyard.
Below is Michelangelo's, Bacchus, the god of wine in a haphazard stance, with unfocused eyes. This was his first large free standing full sculpture.
The little fisher boy sculpture below was one of my favorites...he has an air of innocence and determination that I liked.
The streets were filled with musicians, shoppers, and
chesnuts...roasting on an open fire. I
had to try the
chesnuts.....they have a very thick density, like chickpeas but very "meaty" and a bit sweet. Felt so festive but I think I'll stick to almonds.
Fountain in front of the
Uffizi Museum with the Roman sea god and
nymphs, commemorating Tuscan naval victories.
I had to refuel on the fresh waffles made to order, with
Nutella in between. Highly recommend this...but do not recommend eating the whole thing in one sitting.
I sat and ate staring up with childlike awe at the
Duomo. I quickly snapped out of my trance when mangy pigeons started dive bombing my
Nutella sandwich. Then I felt sick looking at these nasty rats of the air...knowing I ate one the night before.
Nancy blamed the rainy Milan weather in Florence on me. Even with grey skies, the city is vibrant and
gorgeous.
Along the Arno River.
I'm all about festive head accessories but this child size one squeezed my brain a bit too much.
And I present to you the best view of the city from
Piazzale Michelangelo.....except on a foggy day. Did get a workout in though hiking up the hill. At the top was this charming little church, "San
Miniato al Monte" . It's facade was built with the classic
Pisian-Romanesque geometric white and green marble as seen also on the
Duomo.
The peaceful nature of the church was enhanced by a woman playing the organ.
The ceiling was stunning. Constructed of wood rafters and terracotta, painted ornately by
Lucca della Robbia.
Jumping pictures are way more exciting!
The intricate black linework on this building had fantastic precision.
I thought this scragly sculpture was unusual...most sculptures of men around the city are very toned and masculine, not spindly.
More window shopping on the last day. This shop, DoDo, had very cool felt jewelry displays.
Then we headed through the leather markets to the central market for some lunch of mushroom risotto and suckling pork roast sandwich.
This guy is making pasta....all pasta in Italy tastes like it's right off the machine!
So much fun for me to see some of Florence through Nancy's eyes. She's still got Southern hostess skills!
Purple is "in" so of course Milan had to have a current trend incorporated into this tree...
Each district had different decorative street lights. I loved the chandeliers... 
So simple yet elegant.
Close to where I live were these beatiful organic forms lining Via Vercelli...
Even prettier with the snow coming down...
The castle's lights pulsed in rythm with festive music.
At the famous Opera House, La Scala, white forms of birds, trees, and people flowed across the facade.
This giant mistle toe hanging from the Galleria's illumnated dome attracted many a smooches!
The Galleria...
The fantastic festive decor covering the city was quick to get me into the Christmas spirit! Ahhh!
