Oh Florence…<3
One of the coolest things about Bologna is the fact that the city is extremely well located within the north of Italy. I always recommend that people choose Bologna as their base when coming to this region because it’s cheaper and less touristic than other big Italian cities and from here, with a fast train, it’s possible to reach Milan in one hour, Venice in 1h30, Verona in 1h15 and my beloved Florence in 35 minutes.
As for the latter, I deeply love it and whenever I can I stop by – well, for one who’s used to the traffic in Sao Paulo, it’s easy to understand that for me half an hour is nothing!
One of the few problems of Florence, however, is the fact that it is full of traps for tourists, especially when it comes to restaurants. If you doesn’t keep your eyes wide open, there is a great chance that you will eat poorly and spend a lot of money. (One tip that always works: DO NOT go to restaurants that have multilingual menus – with photos! – in front of the door. There is a 99.9% of chance that the quality of the food will disappoint you).
But, of course, if you put a little effort into searching for good places, you can eat really well. And there is one place that I always go to, which can almost be considered legendary, that it’s worth the trip: the Cantinetta Antinori.
For those who are not familiar with this name, Antinori is one of the most traditional families in the Florence region; they are historic wine producers and make exceptional products that are exported all around the world (usually for a very high price…). The Cantinetta Antinori is located in an old family building, the Palazzo Antinori, where for centuries their wines have been sold. If today it’s possible to buy them in so many places in the world, originally that could only be done here, through this little window:
This is where the Antinori wines used to be sold in past.
The restaurant, that is at once chic and friendly, it’s possible to taste amazing Tuscan dishes like local cold cuts, Tuscan crostini (I LOVE the one with chicken liver – I normally don’t like them, but theirs are magic):
Crostini con i fegatini
pappardelle al ragù toscano (made with less tomatoes and different spices when compared to the Bolognese one),
Pappardelle al ragu toscano
and trippa alla fiorentina (tripe Florence style – please set aside any prejudgments and try it. It’s divine.)
Trippa alla fiorentina – please try it!!
But if I had to point out the best thing in that I would have to say that it is the fact that there – and only there – it’s possible to order just a glass their amazing wines (that may cost more than 500 dollars outside of Italy). That’s right, you can order a glass of Villa Antinori, Pian delle Vigne (my favorite), Tignanello (one of the top ones) or Solaia (THE TOP) for less than 30 euros. I’m not saying it’s cheap, but I can assure you that it’s the only place in the world where you can try these wines without having to order a whole bottle.
This is my boyfriend enjoying every second with his glass of Solaia
With that being said, when you’re in Florence and want to treat yourself well, go to this place – and, to save a little money, come back t Bologna at the end of the day
FloCiBO 