Today was originally going to be a day of museums and churches, but due to our exceptional good luck on our first day with short lines and quick access, we had knocked off the main places we wanted to visit. Instead, today became a chill out day. A day to wander the streets, check out shops, visit the Ponte Vecchio and of course attack the leather markets.
We set of from the hotel and walked straight to the leather market. I needed a new belt – a smaller new belt – it seems that travelling is good for me! This was a quick affair – I found a belt I liked and a vendor who wasn’t in my face – in minutes I had a new belt. Hamish was next, soon sporting his own new belt – or his first grown-up belt as he called it.
Between these purchases we stopped at nearly every stall to look at handbags. Amelia has decided to buy herself a proper leather handbag but with so many choices and more than a few pushy vendors that kept putting her off, a decision and a purchase were a long way off.
We headed into the city on our way to the Ponte Vecchio. With such a beautiful sunny day we got a very different view of sites including the Duomo compared to how they looked on a gloomy day yesterday.
Apart from the spectacle presented by a bridge covered in small shops and apartments we had additional motivation. For those new to the Ponte Vecchio, you need to know that all the shops are jewellery and gold shops. Megan had bought herself some earrings here in her previous travels. Today we were shopping for jewellery with a budget a little larger than a backpackers.
We took a wander up one side of the bridge and back down the other. There were plenty of necklaces that stood out but Megan was reluctant to go into the shops. The few prices we saw in the windows were a little scary – turns out that although our budget was bigger than during Megan’s backpacking travels, it was not as big as our taste.
Seemingly beaten we retreated to a small cafe for a lunch of paninis. Amelia and I convinced Megan to take one last look so we headed back to the bridge. At first things looked hopeless, until Amelia spotted a necklace that she thought Megan would like. We entered the shop – by shrinking our bodies. There are so many stores squeezed on to this bridge that the doors are tiny.
The staff at the store were great and while we were in there we escaped a passing rain shower. After a bit of back and forth and a little white lie to get out of an up-sell purchase, Megan had a beautiful new necklace – her smile below saying all that needs to be said. Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary Megan.
With me, Hamish and Megan all covered we were still on the hunt for Amelia’s handbag. As we made our way back to the market we checked out a few leather shops on the way to confirming our meeting location for tonights cooking class and also to find the, supposedly, best Gelato in town. We are not certain that we found the best, but if not then the best must be pretty spectacular.
With a full tummy we were ready to tackle the market – it was time to buy a handbag. Megan walked in with intent and with a price in mind. I batted off other vendors while Megan got started. First she checked out a couple of bags that Amelia did not actually want – a look of disinterest on her face. “Accidentally” coming across the bag that Amelia wanted, she asked how much. “Name a price” said the vendor keen to make a sale. “Hmm – how about 15 euros”, said Megan knowing that she would pay up to 25 euros. “No, no – I can only do 20” was immediately countered by Megan with “… do it for 17 and I will look at another bag …”. “Ok – you will buy another bag?” “I’ll look at another bag, yes”. Genuinely looking for a bag of her own, Megan half-heartedly checked out a few bags before announcing, “no – nothing here for me. I’ll just have the one bag for 17 euros”.
Amelia watched this in amazement and was prompted to comment to Megan as we walked away – “Mum, you are a savage!”. Looks like Megan will be buying our next car.
Our fun day was not finished – we had a pizza and Gelato cooking class tonight – but for now it was back to the hotel for some downtime and maybe even a little snooze.
Making Pizza and Gelato
Good things happen when you let the universe present options rather than trying to plan every moment. Our cooking class tonight was a perfect example. If we had over-planned our time there is no way we could have taken the opportunity that presented to Megan and Amelia while the boys were having a haircut.
We joined a small group of 10 people in a commercial cooking school. Not only were we shown how to make pizza dough, we learned about yeast, proving time and the history of Pizza. As a primer, “Pizza” was invented in Italy (Napoli to be precise) but it was actually based on a Greek food made with flat bread – or Pita.
We made the Pizza dough and while it proved (only for a short time – it is recommended to let the dough prove for at least 4 hours for the lightest of bases) we had a lesson on making Gelato. In this, the chef was very gracious with Amelia and Hamish, inviting them forward to assist. I think the others in the group had as much fun with our kids out the front as they did learning a new skill.
With the Gelato mix in the ice-cream churn to cool it was back to the pizzas. We were shown how to stretch the dough by hand and with a rolling pin. Someone asked whether the chef would toss the dough. I’m sure I was not the only one surprised to hear that from an Italian perspective, the tossing of pizza dough is never done by a true Pizzaiolo.
We all topped our pizza dough, the more creative design the better to help distinguish them when they came out of the oven. Hamish created a “redback” pizza while Amelia tried to stay true to the Margarita tradition. The margarita pizza (red tomato base, white cheese and a single leaf of green basil) was created for Queen Margherita of Savoy. The Neapolitans assured us that a pizza with simple toppings is the only way to eat pizza.
As our pizzas were taken to the oven, we headed to a separate table to eat them for dinner. We had so much fun that it was almost a surprise when the chef, Marco, brought out the chocolate Gelato. Wow – this was so nice that Megan is already thinking of upgrading our ice-cream maker so that we can follow this recipe to have fantastic Gelato when we get home.
With the class finished, certificates presented and Hamish’s obligatory photo with the chef taken, we walked off dinner on the way home.
What a great way to finish our time in Florence.
