Draft: Ginko Biloba, pyramid...in the park

unBacioneAfirenze link giving info in Italian re Firenze Eventi including info Parco, such as ginko biloba tree locations, the pyramid, etc and Firenze card.

Scientific Itineraries in Tuscany from brunelleschi website/ museo galileo, giving info on the park´s background from a   hunting ground and farm to present day. And other links to misc info, scientific related.

Draft: Parco della Cascine & Mercatto, misc near

Parco della Cascine, one of the largest parks in Florence, also has a weekly mercatto (open air market), selling everything from plants and flowers, to clothing and leather goods, to housewares and toys, to fresh seasonal fruits and veggies. Opens weekly on Tuesdays, and not to be missed. Bring cash. The market is vast, from Ponte della Vittorio to the new overpass. The park is on the Arno river, and an easy walk from the train station, or take a bus 7.

Parco della Cascine, is great to walk around and enjoy with your family and kids, as it has various playground stuff like swingsets, and just in general a pretty and enjoyable place to explore. Lots of things to see nearby, or find randomly if you just walk a few blocks away from the main city.

Nearby is a music school and the Russian Orthodox church, a few other markets, and a lovely hidden courtyard park. If you take the bus 7 again, also still going away from the main city, you will end up about half an hour outside Florence, in Fiesole, which has beautiful views of the city of Florence, and many beautiful Italian villas, lovely wooded walks down to the city, and many hidden gardens etc to explore. You can walk up, of course and down, but it will take a long time....my compromise was to take the bus partially each way, and walk lots also which let me see many things otherwise I´d not have had time to see, and also enjoy the views from the leisurely bus ride (compared to having walked the entire way up and back down). The bus was a few Euros.

From Fiesole, there are many things to see, which I will point out in my next post and update with photos on next visit. I hardly took any last trip, as it was cold and rainy and I was tired, and cold and wet, so not in the mood to take lovely photos (rain hardly shows up in photos,))

snowing in Florence

A bit late getting out today, enjoying watching the snow falling over and onto all the red rooftops and green trees, making a thin covering of white over everything.

Showered, dressed, hungry. Am off now. Will walk around the corner to get a breakfast of a pastry and a cappuccino, then a Italian coffee (a shot of extremely strong espresso), all for 3 Euros! It´s in a local wine bar, which has a coffee bar and pastry shop area with panini etc type sandwiches and food also. They´re very nice, and gracious with my Italian,).

Then will walk a minute over to the park to catch the 12 or 13. I wanted to ride up to Michelangelo Plaza again, go to a couple of local libraries both for the books and for the architecture as they´re in old gorgeous buildings with amazing fresco etc work inside and out, and to the galleries, as it´s off season and you can just walk in with maybe a 4 minute wait. And I wanted to go out to Fiesole again, with the 7 bus. Bus trips all under 6 USD!

ok, will blog when I get back to Norway, adding photos (not all of them obv). Yay, snow!

I really love, adore Florence, but admittedly only when it´s hot, humid, snowy, cold, dry or any combination thereof. I do not like it in the cold or warm rain,). And I like Rome etc much better when I am not freezing in the rain. And Vienna was amazing, so glad it was cold and snowy! Anything but rain,)

god jul, Buon Natale, and Merry Happy Holidays!:) Ciao from Firenze

Doing aperitivo and gelato around 7pm, then having a late Italian supper, making pasta and a green tomato pastry (butter puff pastry, green tomatoes, sugar, butter, eggs etc and brioche to thicken the filling, spices etc, baked in oven). And wine, and prosecco, and more prosecco,)


I rarely ever drink, but I love being in cities like Florence and Rome, where it´s usual to have wonderful food, and have wine/prosecco with each course; and the espresso and coffee through out with meals, as a usual thing. And have done at each meal, including presecco or wine as soon as acceptable around 11 am, nearly every day, every meal. It´s not getting drunk, it´s a glass or 2, to enjoy with the food one is enjoying. The prosecco my fave they do sell, and am having family bring some over for me, having a bottle tonight maybe if time for late lunch...hmmm actually it´s lunch time now! oops! well, going over to have lunch, and prosecco, in the snow!


Snakkes!

city bus use for sightseeing

The tourist buses are extremely expensive. Great alternative, is using the city bus routes.

Una biglietti (one ticket good for 90 minutes of bus use), is 2 Euros if gotten on the bus. Try to have exact change. You can walk to any shop with a large T sign, such as a newsagent, bus info, or Tabacco shop, or pastry shop in some cases, as the tickets will be cheaper. A quatro biglietti has four rides on it, each good for 90 minutes, once validated.

You must validate your card on the bus immediately, or risk getting a fine which by law can be up to 240Euros, plus the 5 Euros paperwork fee. Being a tourist is not an excuse.

There are a few different bus validation machines.

The big yellow one, you punch your ticket in the bottom first, then the middle stamps it again. The big red one, on other buses, you punch your ticket once, at the bottom, for actual tickets. For non stamped tickets, pass it over the top part. Buses have one type of machine, not several. Usually in the middle of the bus near the doors. Most buses have 3 doors, usually you go in any, but go off thru the back two doors.

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BUS ROUTES for sightseeing


-Michelangelo Plaza: use any bus which says this on the front, usually bus 12, or 13A are the two I use. They go slightly different routes sometimes, on the way. Both pass by many beautiful things, such as the Russian Orthodox church on the canal, or the music school where you often can hear them practicing, as I did today. Buses run very often, but not 24 hours. Using the city bus at night, gives spectacular night views over the city too, and of course the day panoramic views you can see more than just black with pretty lights.

There are many places to get on or off the bus 12 and 13A, but I usually get them at the main SMN train station, or near the Ponte Caraia, or near the canal.

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-Fiesole: Use the bus #7. Catch it over by San Marco Plaza, about a block off, near the Botanical Gardens and Archeology Museums.

Beautiful, magnificent views, even more so that Michelangelo Plaza, further out of the city, over the hills, tall green skinny trees that I´m too tired to name currently in English, huge Palace type homes and gardens, olive groves, etc.

The bus runs lots, it just doesn´t appear on the bus stops, so check with the driver. It´s really worth the visit, and walking around a bit.

Will add photos when time permits. I only got home tonight by 7 pm and have been out since early this morning walking all day, so am tired. and cold and want a shower and supper:)


I took 500 photos every day the last few days, so am adding only a few obv, when time, for other days too. In order.

Having difficulties Sykping from here for some reason:(.

Warm, sunny blue skies day, now bitterly cold, will snow soon. Just like snowing back in Norway,)

Am looking forward to coming again in hot weather in spring, when it will probably still be cold, and or rainy in Norway.

Still lots to do, little time. Suddenly thought of Willy Wonka saying so little to do so much time, wait not reverse that. etc scene. The Venchi gelateria, which is a famous chocolate makers, has wonderful gelato too, but in the front of the shoppe has faucets with open taps of warm melted chocolate constantly pouring down into pools underneath,). swoon. I only got gelato. Ginger-cinnamon, and mild white flavour made from 4 kinds of milk (?), both delicious. The place down a few stores, had excellent lemon ice sorbet, which I got also. Splurge! Don´t regret either one,)


ok busy  busy busy sightseeing, will probably have to finish blog after leaving. So exhausted! Great time with family, will be sad to leave, but also missing Norwegian family, glad to see them soon again, and glad Italian family will be in Norway soon for hols:).

God Jul og Merry Holidays. Italy and Norway both are having a snowy holiday season....

Vienna: photos info added soon

Lots of photos from Vienna. Snowed on and off, very pretty for the Christmas market. Time permitting will blog tomorrow...am getting days behind already. Storklem til barne fra alle sammen.

Rome 2 Ostia Antica

Beautiful afternoon in Rome, after the full morning of rain from about 6am til about 1-2 pm. By now though I was already soaked though as was all my clothes and down parka....so whilst I very much enjoyed walking around Rome, my favourite place was Ostia as it was warmer even after dark!,)

My favourite restaurant in Italy, Ristorante alla Rampa, is here in Rome (see other previous post photos), just around the corner from the Spanish steps fountain below.

Fresh roasted chestnuts below. They´re warm, and the outer shell is paper thin and crisp as you peel it off. They taste a bit like warm pecan-walnuts. More close, though still nothing like, pecans, but with a bit of a black walnut texture also. Hard to describe, tastes like chestnut, not really like another type of nut flavour. It is in gelato, and fresh roasted everywhere now, as it is in season, along with artichokes, wine grapes, truffles, and mushrooms, for instance.

The koi pond at the train station as you arrive/leave

Beautiful kinds of huge palms and palm trees, desert plants such as 3 foot wide aloe veras and other similar plants. The swooning trees everywhere are lovely too.

One of the public water fountains for drinking.

Map of where Ostia is compared to Rome. It looks far, but is an easy drive by car. Or, you can just as easily take the train. Two trains, from sentrum, but not that much time. It is much warmer out by the sea even in winter. It felt like about 62F out (so a bit warmer than 60F, but not quite as warm as 65 or 70F). It was balmy, humid out, really lovely weather. Overcast already though, as it is winter, and there is less hours even here of actual daylight. It´s 5:30 pm as I type, and already dark out here in Florence. so dark it seems like 11pm already. I keep checking the clock so as to not miss my train to Austria, even though I have several hours yet. It just looks so late outside, as it is so dark already out.

Lavender hedges of tufted lavenders, outside the castle gardens

Castle ruins further into archeological area across the road from castle 

 Ostia sea not too far from the castle and ruins

Restaurant below, courtyard area, very pretty inside and out, but my battery was going low, and it was  dark  inside as none of the lights were on.

Rome photos 1

Ristorante alla Rampa, my favourite restaurant in Italy, is where I had both my main meals today in Rome. It is just around the corner from the Spanish Steps, which is close to a main subway entrance, making it easy to have a fantastic meal, then get the train to Ostica, a coastal town and beach outside Rome. (See post on Ostica for photos and info).

Bread basket with slices of fresh rustic Italian  bread, crisp breadsticks (what I like). Served with Balsamic vinegar and spicy oil.

First course, I had the cold antipasto buffet, with an amazing selection of cold fruits, such as poached pears, buffalo mozzarellas and ricottas, sliced meats, chicken in spicy olives with sauce, artichokes several ways, spinach, zucchini, savoury pastry pies with veggies or meat, fish and seafood, etc.

I also had bottle of water, Prosecco, a few other things, espresso after dessert. Delicious meals, both of them. As I like this place so well, I had two meals today here. Then had a smaller meal elsewhere for a very late supper. Plus the snack of a few warm fresh-roasted chestnuts, and a few other tiny seasonal things whilst walking around the main square.

One of the endless Christmas decorations and decorated Christmas trees around town today.

Blue skies all afternoon, once we left the main Ruins

Vendor roasting chestnuts