Week 15: 12/2 - 12/8 — Charlotte Harrison

All Roads Lead to Rome!

Ahh, to live in a hotel!

Ever since I schlepped my bags over and started staying with Mom and Lanie at the hotel, I’ve been spoiled rotten! It’s so nice to wake up in an air-conditioned room with two of my favorite people, put my feet down onto plush carpet, and even dry my hair with a hair dryer! I love a lot of things about Italy, but I’m an American girl at heart.

Since I didn’t have class until the afternoon, we enjoyed the morning together. Mom, Lanie, and I walked down a few blocks to a cafe that I’d been eyeing all semester — Cafe Dell’Oro. It looks out over the Arno, and I always pass it and watch as sophisticated couples or beautiful Italian women sip on classy cocktails and delicate ceramic bowls of nuts and olives. Not quite the place for my budget, but it would be the perfect spot to enjoy with family.

Breakfast was fantastic! We cozied up at a booth that faced out to the river, and we enjoyed a mix of both Italian and American fare: a strong cappuccino, a hearty omelette, and a skillet full of crispy potatoes. It was a gorgeous, sunny morning. We sipped on our coffees, looked out over the sparkling river, and people watched. It was fun for me to observe Mom and Lanie seeing these people and their mannerisms. A stunning Italian woman with her bob and a cigarette perched on her lip eating breakfast beside us, a bedraggled man standing at the rivers’ edge and guarding his cornetto from two seagulls, or an older woman pushing past the restaurant with her cart of drop-shipped scarves.

After breakfast, we strolled down a couple of blocks to the Farmacia de Ponte Vecchio, which is the pharmacy by the main bridge. I prefer this one to most others because this shopkeeper has a particularly large curation of Italian and European cosmetics and skincare products. She carries an impressive array of Caudalie, Marvis, La Roche Posay, Vichy, Nuxe, and more. I wanted Mom and Lanie to have a chance to look at everything and grab something if they wanted to. Most of these brands are well-known in the states, but they’re definitely cheaper here. We browsed around for a bit and tested some things out, and I even bought myself a Nuxe body oil that I had been deliberating over for the past few weeks. She was running a 30% off sale!

Florence is relatively well-known for their handmade paper goods, so I took them to a local store called Signum. They offer all kinds of stationary, paper, notebooks, and pencils with the traditional Italian marbling art. I enjoyed browsing around with them and helping them to pick little gifts and souvenirs; a set of notecards for Grandmother, a notebook for Elizabeth, etc. etc. Armed with shopping bags, we headed back out to make it to Mercato Sant’Ambrogio before the lunch rush. I was excited to show Mom and Lanie a better idea of “local” life, and I knew all of the rows and rows of produce stalls would please them. The market was bustling as usual, and we perused the wares for a bit. It’s funny to see it all through fresh eyes! I grabbed us a few coccoli to try, and then we headed back to the hotel for a lunch break and to give Mom some time to rest and read.

In the afternoon, Lanie and I headed down to All’Antico Vinaio, a famous sandwich chain in Italy. They have lots of delicious sandwiches made with cured meat, fresh vegetables and cheese, and foccacia bread. I typically avoid it because the lines are so long, but I wanted Lanie to experience a quintessential Florentine lunch, so we stood in the queue for a little bit and eventually made our way to the front. After bumping into one of my friends from class, we ordered our paninis to-go and walked over to the piazza by the Palazzo Vecchio to sit down and enjoy them. Lanie loved hers! I got a classic proscuitto, arugula, and sheep cheese sandwich, and she got a much fancier vegetarian one with sliced peppers and pistachio cream.

Once we were satisfied, we chatted and strolled across the river to work off some calories and continue exploring. I needed to make my way over to my apartment and get ready for class, and Lanie wanted to split off and hike up to Piazzale Michelangelo. It was a beautiful day for it, and I knew that she’d get a great view of the city.

Now, off to class. I wasn’t able to skip Ceramics because I had already missed it once for Elizabeth’s wedding, and for some reason, FUA has a Two-Skip-Fail policy. Instead, I trudged back across the river and made my way up to Via Guelfa for the next three hours. We finished up several projects that needed to go in the kiln in time for the end of the semester, and then we also worked on our final papers. Normally, I don’t mind the listless, relaxed pace of class, but it was particularly frustrating when I knew that Mom and Lanie were just a short walk away.

When I finally escaped, I headed down the street to meet Mom and Lanie for dinner at La Giostra. Now, I feel like I need to defend this one a little bit; La Giostra is the storied, cult-favorite restaurant of Florence. I’ve heard countless friends and websites recommend the intimate spot as a must-try when visiting. My uncle Michael even took his fiancee there a few weeks ago to celebrate their engagement. I saved it for the very special occasion of Mom and Lanie visiting, so I was eagerly anticipating it.

The evening that followed left quite a bit to be desired. The restaurant wasn’t bad by any means; we enjoyed a fantastic tagliere board and some perfectly good dishes, but it certainly wasn’t up to par with its reputation. What was even more frustrating was the general quality of the experience: throughout the meal, we were constantly hearing the servers play Tiktok videos at full volume just a few feet from our table. We had a great night enjoying each others’ company, though, and we left full and sleepy.

Tuesday: our first day-trip! We woke up relatively early and dressed for a day out before enjoying a nice breakfast downstairs. While I would normally be getting ready to take the long walk to the train station, I was traveling with Mom and Lanie now, so the hotel concierge called a taxi cab for us. Fancy!

After waiting in the train station’s Sephora during a 20 minute delay (classic), we boarded the train and started the journey to our first destination: Lucca. The small city is about an hour west of Florence, and it’s known for its intact Renaissance-era city walls and well-preserved buildings. It was a little rainy when we got off the train, but we walked through the city gates and looked around for a bit before stopping for a cappuccino. Lucca was small and tight in a comforting, clustered sort of way. Most buildings were made from stone or stucco, which enforced its rustic persona. We started by heading over to the city’s duomo and exploring the sanctuary. It was shockingly stunning; it is amazing to me how much money and effort is put into churches in some of these tiny towns in Italy.

Mom stayed in the sanctuary while Lanie and I ventured up to the church tower to try and get a better view of the city. Just inside the door, two attendants and a fat purring cat were lounging at a desk. They stamped our tickets, wished us a cheeky good luck, and leaned back to watch as we began the ascent. It really wasn’t that high, or at least, not higher than other church towers I’ve been up here, but Lanie threw in the towel about halfway up. The stairs had just switched from concrete and stone to grated metal, and the sight of the ground was psyching her out. I continued the journey alone, and I enjoyed quite a nice view from the top! It was overcast, and the damp air settled on my cheeks, but it was beautiful to look out over the sleepy town all alone.

After making it back to the sanctuary to meet up with Mom, we explored a few other parts of the church and the baptistry, and then we strolled to the main part of town and popped into a few stores. It started to rain, so we hurried into a nice little cafe and got some pastas for lunch. I got an amazing paccheri ragu! Before long, it was time for us to head over to the train station and catch our next train.

Second city of the day: Pisa! This city is obviously famous across the world for its leaning tower, but it’s also home to one of the top universities in Italy. I’ve met lots of kids my age who train into Florence for weekends or vacations, but they attend classes in Pisa during the week.

Our train was a little delayed, so we pulled into the station about an hour before the sunset and hurried to grab a taxi. After a few minutes of weaving through traffic, we had made it to Piazza Miracolo, the main square in the city home to the Duomo, the leaning tower, and more.

I will say, it was crazy to see the tower in person. It was so much more impressive than I thought it would be! The tower is made of a stunning white marble, and you can tell that it has a high quality of workmanship. The three of us strolled and giggled for a bit around the tower, taking photos and admiring it from several angles.

We had a bit of time left until we needed to head back to the train station, so I ran into the ticket office and grabbed tickets to see the Pisa Cathedral. Now, I do have a bit of Catholic-church-fatigue at this point in my semester in Italy, but this one was outstanding. The walls were lined with translucent alabaster windows, an enormous mosaic of Mary and Jesus, and there was even an ornately carved pulpit by the front. Lanie, Mom, and I not-so-subtlely stood by a tour group and eavesdropped on the tour guide. We actually learned quite a lot!

After a quick and easy train ride home, we headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant, Segno, to cash in our vouchers for a free dinner. What an awesome deal, right?! Unfortunately, they were obviously giving these meals away for a reason. If not for us and perhaps one other couple seated and suffering the same fate, the restaurant would have been empty.

The restaurant had potential, and we wanted to give it a fair shot. The waiters were kind, and the room itself was beautiful… That’s essentially where my positive comments end. What followed was several courses of needlessly-experimental, poorly constructed dishes that I hope to never see again. My entree, for example: a deconstructed chicken dish including a chicken mousse and chicken broth foam topping. Even the dessert, labeled a “classic American apple pie,” was presented in deconstruction, with slices of apples, cubed flaky dough, and a molehill of brown sugar.

I have to move on, or I’ll be really rude.

On Wednesday, I woke up early and grabbed a quick breakfast from the buffet before walking over to class — much easier to do than walking all the way from my apartment across the river, I might add — to give a presentation. This was for our final, so I had to be there. As soon as our ten minutes were up (and we did really well!) I ran out of class and back over to the hotel to meet Lanie and Mom for our second big day!

We met our driver, Paola, outside, who would be taking us on a private tour of Siena. She drove a large white unmarked van, which was shockingly large for Florence. I’m not used to seeing such large cars anymore! On the way to Siena, Lanie asked if we could start in San Gimignano. It wasn’t my first choice as I’ve already been, but I have to admit that it is a beautiful city to visit. We explored and shopped there, buying cheeses and balsamic and chocolate. The sight of the countryside was nice, especially now that it’s fall and the leaves are turning.

At about 1pm, we got back in the van to drive to Siena. It was a little rainy, but it was cool! Paola told us all about the contradas, which are seventeen neighborhood clans that maintain tight competition even today. They take care of their own parts of the city, tend to marry their own kind, and participate in an annual horse race called Il Palio in the center of the city. It’s such a unique and time-honored part of their culture, thought to have originated in the Middle Ages around the 12th or 13th century. Can you imagine being apart of something that’s been around for that long? We were entertained by walking around and pointing out the different crests painted on buildings and street corners: fish, dragons, and snails are just a few of the creatures that represent the contradas.

We ate a quick panini lunch at a cafe, and then we visited the Duomo di Siena, nicknamed “the Zebra Church.” If you check out my photos, you can probably figure out why! The both the tower and the church were stunning, and the sanctuary held particularly beautiful art.

We made it back to Florence with just enough time to make our ticket window at the Galerie Accademia! We bought audio guides and slowly winded our way through the beginning of the exhibit. There were a few early Michelangelos, and then, all of the sudden, there he was: The David! The statue was absolutely enormous; much larger than I had ever thought. It stood maybe 2-3 people high. I also never knew that the David was based on the biblical story of David and Goliath. Is that terrible? I’m not sure. I feel like no one talks about it! But, sure enough, he is holding a sling and a rock.

We finished the museum by seeing a series a beautiful paintings and some other sculptures, mostly of Mary the Immaculate.

After the museum, we got dinner at Francescovini, and it was delicious! I got spinach and ricotta ravioli, and I also enjoyed the tiramisu with Mom and Lanie. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, and I plugged away at some homework.

On Thursday, I had to go to my mafia class in the morning. I am still loving how easy it is to get to class from the hotel! What a privilege to be just three blocks away. After class, I met up with Mom at the hotel, and we enjoyed a little lunch together. They make the best prosciutto and mozzarella sandwiches! I enjoyed mine with an aperol spritz and spent an hour or so gossiping with her. Just like old times!

Our main activity for the day was a cooking class! We walked north for about ten minutes until we stumbled upon the front door of the kitchen on a quiet side street. After waiting to see if any other participants would join us, we were delighted to discover that the class was private! Just us and a very kind chef named Tommaso. He was from Siena, and he offered many stories about growing up in Italy in between cooking directions and demonstrations.

We started by making pasta dough for our ravioli and our tagliatelle. Now, I’ve made pasta dough about three times since moving here, but Tommaso was the toughest critic so far. He made us roll our dough so thin, I was sure you’d be able to see through it. It made for a frustrating few minutes, but once he was satisfied with them, he let us cut and fold them into our desired pasta shapes. We also made two sauces: a radicchio pesto, and a butter and sage sauce. Tommaso had prepared most of the ingredients for us, so we entertained ourselves with pouring, stirring, and shaping. We also helped him make some homemade vanilla gelato! Once everything was completed, we sat around the table to enjoy our efforts: a paper-thin tagliatelle pasta with radicchio pesto, and spinach and ricotta ravioli with a butter sage sauce. Mmm mm MMM! So good. The ravioli was definitely my favorite; I think the one flavor that I’ve learned to love the most since moving here is sage!

After the class, we headed back to the hotel and packed everything up for our biggest trip yet: a weekend in Rome!

We woke up extra early to get to the train station in time for our trip. We had bought the Business Class tickets for this journey as it would be the longest one of Mom and Lanie’s trip, so we enjoyed complimentary espressos and teas. The train was delayed by about forty minutes, but we ended up making it into the city around 11:30. We hailed a taxi to our hotel: Palazzo Ripetta, and after a few minutes, we were yanking our bags out of the trunk and dragging them towards the front door. It. Was. Spectacular. The hotel was one of the nicest that I’ve ever been to, and the employees were incredible. They offered us cocktails and teas while we checked in, and then the concierge, Saskia, personally walked us to our room for the first time. It was beautiful, too! All blues, oranges, and teals. The bathroom was also stocked with Ortigia products, which was a treat.

We grabbed a quick lunch in the hotel restaurant, and then we took a taxi to the meeting point for our afternoon tour! We ended up being a group of 11, and our tour guide, Fabiana, showed us through the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.

Rome was breathtaking! I loved how it felt more southern than it does in Florence or the Tuscan region in general; there were warmer temperatures and palm trees dotting each street corner. It’s also a larger city, so I enjoyed that it felt more bustling and exciting than Florence can be. We looked all over the streets around us while Fabiana guided us over to the Forum. It is mostly in ruins now, but it was still stunning. The weather was perfect, and we were able to mill about the ancient city squares and ponder on what life must have looked like thousands of years ago. I know it sounds simple to say, but I cannot overstate how mind-bending it is to consider how many millions of ancient people have walked and touched these same ruins.

After the Forum, we headed over to the Colosseum, which was remarkable to see in person. Fabiana guided our group inside and up to the main level, where she was able to corral us and explain how the Colosseum was used. We learned about gladiators, animals and prisoners they kept and used in there, and the emperor’s system used to let a gladiator live (or die).

We took a taxi back to the hotel, and then we walked to a nearby restaurant called Brillo. It was so cute! It was filled with Italians, which was a good sign, and it had charming decor. Lanie and I both got pizzas, and Mom got a truffle pasta. They were great! We had such a nice time together. After dinner, we were inspired by the day, so we went back to the hotel and watched Gladiator. I had not seen it before, but it was so good!

Saturday was going to be a packed day. We woke up early and had a fantastic breakfast at the hotel: delicious cappuccinos, fresh cornettos, organic Italian yogurt with premium fruits (none of that melon and grapes B.S.) and fantastic eggs and sausage. Once we were fueled up, we taxiied over to the Vatican City entrance to meet up with our tour guide for the day and, surprise, it was Fabiana again! We loved her yesterday, so we were thrilled to see her again and have her all to ourselves. She led us through security, into the city, and then she immediately started peppering us with facts and interesting stories.

Fabi had heard that the St. Peter’s Basilica would be closing early today for official business, so we blew through the Vatican’s exhibits and halls at lightning speed. An ancient jar here, an ornate tapestry there — Fabi was talking faster than ever and explaining everything we laid our eyes on. It was so fun! There was constantly something new to digest and wonder over, and then before you could get bored, we were moving again. She discussed everything, from the history of grotesque paintings all the way to types of baths that they would use. We saw the Sistine Chapel and stared up at the fingertip touch between Adam and God, which was crazy to see in real life. Even crazier when you’re breaking your neck to stare directly up and jostling in a whirlpool of other tourists.

Then, Fabi took us into St. Peter’s Basilica, which was absolutely mindblowingly stunning. We spent a good hour slowly shuffling in the throngs of tourists to see every gilded bit of it, from the pulpit and the organs to Michelangelo’s Pieta, tucked behind bulletproof glass. Before long, the Basilica announced that they would be closing for the day, so we walked out to the main promenade and made our way down the steps to the main square in the Vatican.

Once our time with Fabi was up, we said goodbye and walked to a lunch spot just outside the Vatican City. It was pretty good! It’s been interesting to see how Roman food is just a little different than what I’m used to in Florence: more seafood, fried artichokes, and different pizza. I like it! It’s been fun to try some delicious new things.

We headed back up towards the hotel and explored a little, popping into some stores and even taking a moment to see the Spanish Steps. We visited a cafe that Mom had been to the first time she visited Italy with her mother back in the day, and we even found a brick and mortar Ortigia store so that Mom and Lanie could buy some of their full-size products!

Once we were properly exhausted, we headed back to the hotel for a little aperitivo and rest period. We played around and watched the second half of the Gladiator movie before we got ready for dinner. Tonight was their last night in Italy, so we took a classmate’s recommendation and headed to a spot across the river. Apparently, the food over there is much better! The restaurant was called Checco er Carettiere. They seated us on their heated patio, and I enjoyed my very last spaghetti al vongole of the trip. It was delicious! Lanie and I shared a mediocre carafe of table wine, and then some friendly musicians played classic, cringey (but kind of perfect) songs like “That’s Amore.” We had a gelato flight for dessert, and then we packed up and turned in so that they could get some rest before their early departure the next morning.

They ended up heading out at 6am, and then I woke up again at 10am, got myself settled, and enjoyed one last perfect hotel breakfast before catching my train back to Florence. The train ride home was easy, but it was quite sad. I miss Lanie and Mom already!

Week 15: 12/2 - 12/8

All Roads Lead to Rome!

Week 14: 11/25 - 12/1

Charlotte Harrison