Dim Sum and Then Some

I love Italian food, which is only one reason I live here.  Sometimes, though, it is nice to have a choice in cuisine.  

A brand-new restaurant named Dim Sum opened Saturday (two days ago) in Florence, Italy. They serve delicious, fresh food prepared in a fusion style - Chinese, Japanese, Saigon, Thai, and even Tuscan - and plenty of dim sum choices.  Even the noodles are made in-house.  With the open kitchen, we were able to watch Tiao prepare our dim sum.

Tiao making dim sum

Here and below, a variety of dim sum

We were happy with each dish ordered, full of flavor and freshness.  Max, one of the owners, was very attentive to our needs.

Fresh noodles and veggies

There is a small coperto (cover), but water and tea are on the house and the prices are just right.  Tell them Josslyn sent you.

  
Open daily from 12:00-3:00 and 6:00 to midnight.  
Via de' Neri 37/r, Florence  
055.284.331.  
www.dimsumrestaurant.it

La Dolce Vita - Palm Sunday in Florence, Italy

Today, Palm Sunday, is a busy day in Florence. Those people who carry neither palm nor olive branch after church services instead participate in an "Avon Running" event on the streets of Florence.


Meanwhile, I awakened to two messages that notify me of a heavy workload that begins today and must be completed by Friday.  The nature of my work is feast or famine, and recently it has been famine. Today, this beautiful spring morning, it seems, begins the feast.  I suppose it appropriate, though, as it is spring.  So begins anew the cycle of growth.

And yet I find it a challenge to stay indoors when the outdoors calls me to come out and play.

With work to be done, I may not be able to play, but I have chosen a compromise. 

You can find me in Giardino Bardini -- once the backyard of the Bardini family, now a public garden (my recent post) -- doing my work, but outdoors in a gorgeous setting.  A gentle cool breeze keeps the warm sun from becoming too intense. When I lift my eyes from my work, right in front of me are dozens of yellow butterflies that fluter about on the spring flowers in bloom.  I have a rooftop view of the historical center and Brunelleschi's Duomo.  And in the distance I can see the hills of Fiesole and Settignano.  The music I hear is a surround-sound medley of melodic birds, church bells each quarter hour, and the calm, tranquil sound of two fountains just off to my left. Sure beats being indoors!

There is a kind of sliding scale between polar opposites, and finding the right balance is like hitting a tennis ball on the sweet spot of the racquet. Although the work must be done by me, today I find a way to compromise and still reap the benefits. Sometimes we must make the best of what is.  And sometimes when we surrender to what is, we come to find out it's not so bad after all.  In fact, it can be pretty good. Today proves one of those days. Today I experience that balance of steadfastness and ease-filled relaxation while I work and still enjoy this special day.

Such is the beauty of life in Italy.  La dolce vita!
[Written Palm Sunday, posted Easter Sunday, and I met the work deadlines.]

Amici degli Uffizi / Friends of the Uffizi Firenze, Italia / Florence, Italy

Amici degli Uffizi is a membership to the state museums of Florence.  The money raised for the membership is used to restore and maintain the artwork.  For a single person, the membership cost is 60 euro; for a family of up to four, the cost is 100 euro; and for a student under the age of 26, the cost is 40 euro for a calendar year membership. At an average museum entrance fee of 10 to 15 euros, it takes only a handful of visits to the museum before your Friends of the Uffizi membership pays for itself. If you live in Florence or nearby, you will definitely get your money's worth.  If you plan to be on vacation for longer than even a few days in Florence -- well, you do the math. 

Your membership buys you unlimited entrance to the state museums in Florence:

• Uffizi Gallery
• Accademia Gallery
• The Pitti Palace (several different museums within the Pitti with individual admissions)
• Bargello Museum (one of my favorite museums)
• Museum of  the Medici Chapels
• Museum of Palazzo Davanzati
• Museum of San Marco
• Garden of the Medici Villa of Costello
• Medici Villa of Petraia
• Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano
• Medici Villa of Cerreto Guidi & Historical Hunting and Territorial Museum
• Cenacoli of Ognisanti, Andrea del Sarto, Fuligno, and Sant'Apollonia
• Cloister of the Scalzo
• Church and museum of Orsanmichele
• Boboli Gardens
• Bardini Gardens

Only at two museums in Florence does everyone who knows advise paying the additional 4,50 euro reservation fee for a designated entrance time, which saves you from waiting in line a few hours. With your membership, you walk to the appropriate door and get your ticket and enter when you want, no reservation necessary.  

Go to the Friends of the Uffizi office at the Uffizi Museum or go to the website to buy your membership.

Two wonderful gardens in Florence are included in the membership:  Boboli and Bardini.  Both are literally in my backyard, only a few steps from my home.  Oh, and up that steep hill behind my house. I can enter either of the two gardens.  Great news for me, as I spend too many hours in front of my computer, and yet I crave sunlight, greenery, and the outdoors.

I share with you the info, but please don't take my bench.

My seat to enjoy the surrounding beauty, especially as the days get warmer and longer.

The Grotto, Boboli Gardens

No surprise, perhaps, that I bought for myself an amazing gift at the turn of the new year.  Now, with membership card in hand, I can pop into a museum to see a particular painting, room, or exhibit as I fancy.  Or visit the two gardens.  I can return again and again to my heart's content.  And I will.  Look for me sitting on the bench pictured above.

Sleeping and Sightseeing in Florence, Italy

Most of us get only two or three weeks' vacation a year, which makes travel to far distances a challenge of time and planning. And, of course, once we get to where we are going, there is much to see and experience. Especially in Europe because it is my home now.  The natural temptation is to take in as much as possible in as brief a time as possible, but who is a fan of whirlwind travel? Certainly not me.

My first trip to Italy was 30 days long. I began my Italian adventure in Verona and ended in Rome.  For any vacation, 30 days is not exactly a whirlwind trip, but staying only a night or two in a town does not allow you to get too familiar with a particular place. Sure, I saw the highlights, and I experienced several regions of the country, but I have learned through experience that if I do not spend at least one night in a place, I will quickly forget that town because it didn't have an opportunity to penetrate my soul. 

Now, before I venture out, I study a map and tour book and then place them in my purse or day pack in case they become necessary to refer to. Maybe I have a museum, castle, or cathedral destination in mind, but I allow my feet and my heart to lead my way, possibly wandering down this street or alley and not ending up at the originally intended destination until much later, if at all. Should a tour book indicate one day is all that is necessary in a town to see its highlights, I will choose to stay overnight and spend the next day in the town, which allows me to see the attractions and also have time to take it all in by sitting in a cafe, piazza, or park bench, meeting and speaking with the locals and absorbing the ambiance of that location. Creating and taking advantage of the opportunity to get to know the local people, to live and share in the life of the locals is my primary definition of traveler.  Each holiday, each experience adds to my rich reservoir of easily recalled travel memories.

The first three times I traveled to Italy, I stayed in B&Bs or small, family-owned and -run hotels. No chain hotels for this girl! Because I fell in love with and kept returning to Italy, I decided to rent apartments if my plan included a stay in a town longer than a few days.  Having an apartment offers the feeling that I live in a place for that moment in time. It also is a more economical way to travel. Each holiday, each experience, adds to my rich reservoir of easily recalled travel memories.  And never forget that longer stays lessens the frequency of the least desirable part of traveling: continually packing and unpacking and schlepping around a suitcase. 

A terrace

The holiday season is over.  Winter is complete. Spring is almost halfway over.  Summer will be here sooner almost than the blink of an eye.  Now is the time people plan for their vacations abroad for the prime summer travel season.  How about you?  Do you consider a visit to Florence, Italy? You could rely on guidebooks and the Internet.  They are excellent resources, but they all say the same thing. In Firenze (Florence), you must see the Duomo, the David, Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi, eat Bistecca Fiorentina and gelato.  But if you prefer to see and experience the real Firenze, the locals' Firenze, then you must add some lesser known places.  Or so I believe.  See the artists at work in their studios, have an aperitivo on a rooftop terrace overlooking the city, see some equally important artwork yet less well-known, experience a calcio (soccer) game, visit places off the beaten path. I am no travel expert, but my knowledge and experience of Firenze is of the type that can help you plan your itinerary, logistics, or practicalities. My travel experience and knowledge, especially of my adopted hometown, Firenze, is something I love to share.

For example, does the notion of staying in an apartment instead of a hotel appeal to you?  I can refer you to a friend of mine, from whom I have rented seven different apartments in Florence. He has many more from which to choose in Centro Storico (historical center).

A kitchen

Also available to rent is my beautiful apartment, steps from the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) in Oltrarno (other side of the Arno River) and still in the heart of town.  Some readers might think it odd that I rent space to travelers, but I love the opportunity to meet new people and help guide them with their itineraries. Contact me via email (link below) to discuss the particulars of sharing my apartment at a favorable rate.

Living area and stairs to the loft of my apartment

No matter your final travel plans, please be sure to contact me if your travel will bring you to Florence. It is always nice to have a new friend in the city.

Unità d'Italia / Unification Day

Most people know today is St. Patrick's Day.  Some will eat corned beef and cabbage; others, drink green beer and play darts; and even others, look for an opportunity to pinch someone not wearing green. But do you know that today is yet another holiday in Italy?  

That's right.  Today in Italy is Unification Day, the 150th anniversary of the day Italy became a unified nation, Italy's birthday.  Many people have the day off.  Italians love an excuse to celebrate, and the festivities actually began last night with another holiday in preparation for today, "Tricolore Notte" (three-colored night).  

Don't feel bad if you didn't know today is Unification Day. I didn't know last night was Tricolore Notte until it was happening, and I was already in for the night. Not for long, though, as I got up and joined the sea of people.  Live music was played in various piazze (squares). The queues to get into the museums that stayed open and gratis until 1:00 a.m. were long.  A giant mongolfiera (hot-air balloon) came to rest in Piazza Santa Croce. Fuochi d'artificio (fireworks) went off at mezzanotte (midnight) from atop Palazzo Vecchio.

No photos of my own to share with you in this post, but you can look here as well as here.

Life in Florence, Italy, is an endless festival, a carnival of happiness.

Bel Giorno

A day with gorgeous light, the streets full of people in spite of the cold, enjoy a walk through Centro Storico with me.

Ponte Vecchio

Palazzo Vecchio

Via Roma

Dead animals (there is a lot of that here)

"Caldarroste" Hot roasted chestnuts

Street painting

Nostalgic for cotton candy

Via Calzaiuoli (shoemaker street)

Xmas lights on Via del Corso

Via del Corso

"Mangia, mangia!"

Zingara (gypsy woman)

Love

David

Giambologna's "Nettuno"

Connected (more dead animals on their heads)

Rivoire (8 Euro hot chocolate!)

Night Reflections

A quick update.  It's been a busy time.  Approaching a month that I am living in my new place and, well, I'm not exactly settled in yet.  Still in need of  buying some things for my new home, including a comfortable chair to work in since I spend so much time in front of my computer.  I have unfinished projects from my time in Los Angeles that are important and need my attention sooner rather than later.  And I am getting quite anxious to finally resume private Italian lessons.  But the days fly by.  Life is good.


Less than two weeks after I moved, my longtime childhood friend came to visit from Mexico City for five nights.  The following day I had a visitor from Hong Kong for another five nights.  And only a handful of hours ago my friend from the Lake Constanz area (outside Zurich) spent four nights with me and she arrived the day following the Chinese visitor's departure.  It's been a lot of fun, and I am exhausted.

Immediately after returning from taking my "brilliant and wise" Swiss friend, with whom I currently have a bet that I can't wait for her to win very soon, to the bus that would transport her to the airport, I hooked up with a local friend for dinner.  She, Mabel, and I walked into San Niccolo and had a delicious dinner outdoors on a hot summer night.  Mabel was entertained by a red cat that wasn't phased by Mabel's interest in him.  He just stayed cool and close to Mabel causing her to be just a bit more excited.


Of course, following dinner we strolled over for a gelato at one of a handful of my favorite gelaterias.  Tonight's flavor:  yogurt with nutella and fondente.  I always grieve when I see the bottom of my cup.  The taste of handmade gelato...well, I just can't get enough of it, which is why it is not all that uncommon recently that I end up in one gelateria or another more than once in a day.


Walking back home along the Arno River on the Oltrarno side of town, we snapped a few fotos looking in the direction of Centro Storico.

I hoped and still hope to be blogging more frequently.  Life is so good here that sometimes it's difficult to keep up and check in.  Here I am.

-- Josslyn "Giosalina"

Firenze, Italia