a foodie day in florence

On Saturday, E and I took the train into Florence (Firenze) for a day in the city. We started our walking tour with a stop at the Mercato Centrale, an outdoor craft market ( selling mostly leather products ) and an indoor foods market (clearly my favorite of the two). The market was amazing, stand after stand of fresh produce, meats, cheeses, pasta, bread, TONS of mushrooms, and so much more. I indulged ( aka bought without thinking twice) in an apricot jam cookie ( pictured above) and a panini with mozzarella, tomatoes, and pesto.

The best part about this panini? I ordered it in Italian, aaaand she understood what I said!

Outside the Duomo, a huge cathedral - took 150 years to build. We didn't go inside because waiting in line takes four hours, and pre-booked tickets aren't available for weeks. I'm planning to go back on my own another weekend and tour the Duomo, the Ufizzi, and the Galleria Academia ( where the David is housed)

Piazze de Duomo ( the domed church )

an outdoor farmers' market we visited, sampled local honey and wine jelly

Ponte Vecchio ( the coolest bridge I've ever seen) over the Arno River.

E and I

Mille Feuilles (traditional french pastry according to E) and a Cafe Latte, shared

Before heading back to the farm we stopped for a gelato. I tried to order in Italian, but I failed. I had hazelnut/chocolate along side frutti de bosco. E got strawberry and tiramisu. SO GOOD.

I absolutely loved Florence, and can't wait to go back.

Today ( Sunday ) was a lazy day, very very quiet on the farm.  Enjoyed some napping in the shade, some yoga in the grass, and some veggie curry for dinner. As I write this post I'm laying on my bed, and a bat keeps flying over my head into our room. Apparently, E says hes been doing that for the past few days without me noticing. Anyways, we are continuing the harvest tomorrow ( most of it was done before I arrived, and they took a break to allow more fruit to ripen ), so I'm excited to get my hands dirty. That's all for now, ciao ciao a tutti!