Firenze Part 2; the Leather Conqueror

Here is a nugget of advice: if you find yourself in Florence, eat at I Fratellini sandwich shop.  It's an adorable little storefront just around the corner from the Piazza della Signoria.  Two workers can barely fit inside, but there's a stairwell to a den downstairs where the "brothers" will shout orders for back ups. The paninis cost around two euros and are jam-packed with flavor from fresh ingredients visible right in front of you.  All in all, it's a perfect place to curb your appetite on a dime and experience a little down-home Italy in the big tourist city.

I Fratellini fridge of ingredients

Pure joy

We weren't the only ones who appreciated I Fratellini

Another piece of edible advice: be wary of overpriced gelato!  In the tourist areas of Florence, if you said you wanted to stay inside the building while you were eating your gelato (or other snack) you could be charged up to double the original price, which is too high to begin with.  Where I was living in Reggio Emilia, I could get a reasonably sized gelato for 1.50 euros.  The same size gelato in Florence tourist traps cost 4.00 euros.  Whaaaaat?  We had already ordered by the time we realized the price, so we took the hit.  But only once.  Fool me once, Florence.

The gelato was gorgeous, but beauty has its price!

I was on a serious mission to find a leather jacket in Florence.  I was having trouble discerning what was actually quality leather.  Some of my favorite styles had leather that looked too crinkly to me, which apparently can be caused by storing and maintaining the leather incorrectly.  So I would fall in love with one style, but not the leather, then would search endlessly for the same style with quality leather.  It seemed hopeless, but I finally found a combination of style, color, quality and price that I was happy with.  I also was able to chat in Italian with the owner about how I was a foreign exchange student in Florence, so that I could get a discount.  I made a joke about how I liked that the jacket zipped up from the bottom too, so if I ate a big dinner I could let my stomach loose, but it was actually ok because I go to the gym.  The owner asked interestedly if I went to the gym in city center, and I said yes, since I wasn't going to be able to describe any other in the area.  He said that it was funny he'd never seen me there before.  I said, "A la prossima!" = See you next time!  Does it count as lying if it's in another language?

The most beautiful hand-crafted leather shop we found.  Also, out of our price range.

An entertaining wood shop we stumbled upon.

We made it to the Galeria Ufizi, one of the most reputable art museums in the area.  The statues were amazing.  We did get a chance to see David, and you could see the veins on his arms!  I had never thought about this before but it makes sense; all of the stone-colored statues used to be painted back in the day, but all the paint was weathered away.  I wonder if they would have looked as majestic as they do now.

Second floor hallway of statues.

Look at the detail in his collar!! (And the nipples are impressive, too)

  

A relative of David.

After getting snubbed by the over-priced gelato, we decided to try our hand at another renowned dessert shop.  Venchi is famous for producing chocolate, and we had been tipped that we had to try the chocolate cake.  When we ordered a slice, it automatically came with a cup of hot chocolate.  We joined a throng of people waiting for the next batch of hot chocolate to be made, watching the chocolateer (?) taste as she stirred.  Finally she turned around and told us it was not good enough to serve, and we could either have a refund or exchange for something else.  She offered to give Ashley and I each a little cup of hot hazelnut chocolate sauce to go with our slice of cake, and we accepted.  We snuck onto a nearby door stoop to avoid beggars and proper-folk stairs and we smothered our faces in chocolate.  It was DElicious!  But I must admit, my interested is piqued as to why so many people were waiting to drink the hot chocolate...

Chocolate cake with a shot of hazelnut spread.  Does the soul good.