A taste of Florence, Italy (restaurants WORTH trying!)

In one of my other posts, I gave you reasons why you should study abroad if you have the chance. Briefly, because it will be the best experience of your life, you will learn more than you could ever imagine, all while living in and experiencing a completely different culture. During my junior year at Marist College, I studied abroad during the fall semester of 2008. I studied in Florence, Italy at Scuola Lorenzo de’ Medici (LDM). During my four months abroad, I have multiple experiences traveling, eating, shopping, going out, etc. Now I’m here to give you some tips. Today’s post is going to be focused on restaurants that I would DEFINITELY recommend trying out if you’re studying in Florence or just visiting.

One restaurant that you should try out is Zaza. It is located in Piazza del merchant centrale and is a casual restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. When I went, we sat inside and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and lighting in there. The food is good; not the best I ever had, but definitely not bad. When my family came to visit, my dad and brother were craving plain pasta and sauce and Zaza nailed it. The prices are approximately 10-13 euro for a dish (but this could be different now because I haven’t been there in two years). If you’re looking for a nice Italian meal that isn’t too fancy or overprices, Zaza is your place. They are open for lunch and dinner.

The next restaurant is Il Latini, which is located off of Via dealla Vigna Nuova, near Piazza Santa Trinita. Reservations are recommended but not necessary. It Latini is a family style restaurant which guarantees you will leave full and happy. They often seat you with other parties at communal tables, but that is part of the fun of eating here (sitting with strangers, meeting new people, all while enjoying great food). Just an FYI, if you’re vegetarian or vegan, you probably won’t enjoy the hanging prosciutto ham hocks. There is also not really a menu here. Instead, they usually start by giving you a meat antipasta mix (prosciutto, crostini with chicken liver, bruschetta, and insalata caprese. Then you get a pasta course and have about three dishes to choose from (soup is served here as well). Then you are served the meat course. Throughout your time here, they bring out one dish after another. You and your family/friends can decide how many servings you want of each dish (because usually by the end, you are so full and can’t handle a full dish per person). This restaurant is definitely worth checking out; it gives you an Italian family meal atmosphere and it’s nice to not have to make so many decisions regarding your meal. The prices are reasonable…a little more expensive than Zaza but definitely not too bad! Check it out.

The next restaurant I would recommend eating at is La Giostra. It is located at Via Gorgo Pinti 12/r. Approximately ten years ago, the Hapsburg Lorena princes with some local Medici blood opened this restaurant (Dimitri d’Asburgo Lorena). Yes, you are served by a prince. The setting of the restaurant is fantastic; dim lighting, close seating, pictures of celebrities who have eaten there hanging on the wall, bottles of wine, etc. You can read more about the interesting history of the restaurant on this site… http://www.ristorantelagiostra.com/inglese/frameset.html. Anyway, you are seated at a table and almost always, the prince or one of the other servers brings out a huge platter (or platters) of assorted appetizers (prosciutto, bruschetta, etc). You are also given at least one complimentary flute of spumanti to have while enjoying your food. Some of my friends got seafood and absolutely loved it. I got the gnocchetti al Lord Reinolds, which is potato dumplings in a stilton and Port sauce and it was unbelievable. The dishes are kind of overpriced, but the atmosphere itself is enough of a reason to go. Great food, great wine, great setting, and it’s cool to dine at a restaurant owned by a prince.

The last restaurant I would say to check out is Acqua al Due. If you had to pick only one restaurant to eat at, this is the one (obviously my favorite). It is located at Via dell’Acqua, close to the Duomo. You can smell the balsamic coming from the restaurant before you even see it. I would suggest making reservations if possible, as there is usually a line. Again, the setting is really nice (dim lighting, booths and tables, nice music playing). If you want entrees, start off with a chicken salad. As you’re waiting in line for your table, you can scope out the different types of salads they have. I tried the chicken one and loved it. I would also order the pasta platter. Depending on the amount of people in your party, you may need more than one because one will not feed more than 2-3 people. Basically, they will bring 4-5 small plates of different types of pasta for you to sample. They vary depending on the day, but are always great. If you are a steak person (or anything else), then this is  your place. Every time I went here, I ordered the steak, but I sampled my friends and family’s dishes and didn’t have a complaint. The restaurant is well-known for their blueberry steak and balsamic steak. The blueberry may sound a bit odd, but it is unbelievable. The balsamic steak was definitely my favorite; imagine a thick steak covered in the best balsamic I have ever tasted in my life. I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said my friends and I were literally wiping the balsamic off our plates after finishing the steak itself. Entrée prices range from 12-22 euro and appetizers and desserts are approximately 6-10 euro. 100% recommend eating here! (Here’s a pic of the balsamic steak…huge, thick, and COVERED in thick balsamic!)

Finally, I will give you the name of a pizza place. Ironically, my friends and I had trouble finding a really good pizza place (the majority were overpriced and Americanized tourist locations). When my family came to visit and we were wandering around prior to a museum visit, we stumbled into Pugi, a pizza place. Pugi is located near the David (in the Accademia) and is in Piazza San Marco. Talk about a great surprise. You walk in the door and instantly see a huge line of people on one side of the counter and Italian women in red and white aprons on the other side. When you walk in, make sure to grab a number to secure a spot in line. It’s kind of intimidating at first because you hear rapid Italian being shouted and are surrounded by more locals than tourists for once, but it’s worth it. My recommendation: order whatever type of pizza you want (it is guaranteed fresh and drizzled in fantastic oil). I would also suggest sampling some of the bread/rolls that they have. I’m not entirely sure what they’re called, but my family and I ordered about eight of these small circular pieces of dough covered in salt and oil. I dipped them in the leftover sauce from my pizza (which is saying something because I don’t usually like a lot of sauce on my pizza). They’re also great enough to eat without anything else. The prices are extremely reasonable; my family and I got an entire meal for under 20 euro. If you want good, authentic pizza, go to Pugi.

I hope you find these tips and recommendations helpful. If you notice anything inaccurate or have your own reviews, let me know! Enjoy…Florence is truly amazing and the food is just as good!

Wanderlust: a very strong or irresistible impulse to travel.

Wanderlust: a very strong or irresistible impulse to travel. This word could be used to describe how I feel lately. In the fall semester of 2008, I traveled abroad and studied in Florence, Italy. Needless to say, it was the best four months of my life and I think everyone who has the opportunity should study abroad…but we’ll cover that another day. Right now, I just want to talk about the literal craving I have right now for traveling and seeing as much of the world as I can during my life.

I’m not sure what sparked my reminiscing, but I’m thinking it had something to do with seeing the movie Eat Pray Love. I saw it on Sunday with my mom, and of course part of the movie takes place in Italy. Instantly I was jealous of Liz as she apartment hunted through Rome, learned the language, and indulged in amazing Italian cuisine. It brought back so many memories…traveling to Rome twice, living in an apartment that I am obsessed with but would probably not like as much if it were in the United States, etc. There’s a beauty in not knowing where you’re going and getting lost in a foreign country. I think this is one of the best ways to get to know a place because you never know where you’ll end up.

The movie also took place in India and Indonesia. I would love to travel to either of these places, but especially Bali. I can’t think of anything I’d like more than to live by the gorgeous blue and aqua ocean in a hut of some exotic location. So after leaving the movie, I got kind of depressed. It’s really hard to explain how I feel when I start missing Italy and Europe in general, but I guess it’s like some sort of reverse homesickness.

I obviously went through all of my tagged pictures from abroad and looked at my photo albums when I got home. This in turn inspired me to start looking up international jobs and volunteer abroad programs. I swear if I had the funds, I would travel to South Africa or Costa Rica or pretty much anywhere for that matter. I had found this well-known company, Student Travel Association, that allows you to travel, volunteer, intern, etc. in pretty much any country you can think of. There are programs where you can volunteer for two weeks and travel for two weeks all over the country you’re in. THIS IS MY DREAM. Unfortunately you have to pay for your own flight and I can’t really be dropping that much dough right now.

So my advice to you…if you have the opportunity and money, travel. Travel anywhere; Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia, etc. You may think you know a lot about the world (I sure did before going abroad), but there is SO MUCH out there for you to see and explore. Traveling is a great experience alone or with friends and as corny as it sounds, teaches you a lot about yourself. You immerse yourself into other cultures and experiences that are so random and unique and you meet the most interesting people along the way. So now that I’ve told you how amazing traveling is, I’m going to sit here and continue to have wanderlust. GO SEE THE WORLD!!!!!