Useful: Florence, Part 2

Building on my last entry in this "series," after the jump, specific hopefully-useful recommendations for Florence! If you're like me (into culture, food, conversation, architecture, exploring more than museums) this could be a non-waste-of-time?

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Shows and Experiences
Teatro del Sale - Probably one of the most fun experiences in the city proper; it's a huge buffet thrown by one of the better restaurateurs in town, with a ton of local regulars. You have to buy a membership card to the theatre (about €7) and then pay for dinner and the show (I think last summer this was €30). When you show up at night, help yourself to the free, thoroughly decent wine in the lobby and eventually wander into the theatre space, where you'll take your seat and charge the buffet table five or six times as arrays of courses (2-3 at a time) come out of the kitchen, all announced loudly and with loud responses from the crowd. After the meal is done, they'll ask you to clear your table so they can rearrange for the performance: a cabaret, a musical act, something energetic and fun. It's a real trip, and one that, for all its tourist attention, is beloved by the local populace.

This isn't Teatro del Sale, but rather a reminder that you definitely want to get around to whatever artisanal workshops are happening while you're in town! Check a TI for brochures or the local english language monthly papers. Or check a BLAG.

Tours: Florence is obviously an ideal jumping-off point to Tuscany, which is one of the major images we tend to have in our head when we think about Italy. And there are dozens of operators running tours, cooking classes, fresco classes, all kinds of things. The best advice I can give is to research thoughtfully. You know your own tastes: do you want to see an olive oil producer? A farm? Hill towns? A vineyard? Would you rather have the exercise of a bike ride? The quirk-o-matic vespa/Fiat experience? There will be multiple operators for any of these. Once you know what you're looking for, check out reviews online with specific reference to the pace and sales pressure. Consult opinionated guidebooks. A great tour will not overstuff the day (it's kind of defeating the purpose to experience Tuscany on the run) and won't pressure you to buy anything. They'll always leave room for you to do so, but the difference between "wander around, feel free to buy X if you'd like" and "Now, here is the shop, see you in 15 minutes on the bus" is palpable and speaks more of commission fees than education/immersion. And if you have a choice between, say, a 10-hour tour leaving at 8 AM and a 5-hour tour leaving at noon, both hitting similar agendas, always take the longer day. An early start means some amount of beating-the-rush, and you'll appreciate getting to amble around Siena rather than march through on your way to your next scheduled stop. I found Walks of Florence to be totally decent last year (it helped that our tour guide recognized me and was delighted to have another conversation in town later in the week), though my favorite Italian tour remains Italian Days Experience's food tour from Bologna.

Don't forget the close-to-home chances to get out of Florence! Fiesole, for instance, is pleasant. It's no Volterra/Sienna/countryside farmhouse, but it's nice you guys, and it's only a long hike or a €1.20 bus ride away!

Meandering
This, to me, is the real charm of Florence. Once you clear out of the immediate environs of the Duomo/Ponte Vecchio/Accademia/Uffizi, the city's rhythms become more apparent and the actual life comes into focus. This is what makes the city worth visiting for me, a dude who doesn't loooove Renaissance art. Some shopping/eating/strolling tips:

Oltrarno workshops: Get away from the (beautiful! but touristic, tacky, and overrun with selfie stick vendors!) Ponte Vecchio and into the side streets of Oltrarno, the district south of the river. Some amazing artists are doing their thing by hand just as they've always done: ceramics, printing, papermaking, woodworking... I'm linking to some faves here, but honestly the best thing to do is wander and poke your head into any door that's open and looks friendly to visitors/shoppers. You'll learn a bit of craft, and you may fall in love a bit.

This dude's workshop (that he runs with his mom) is spectacular. He takes pages from antique books/diaries/scores/etc and prints on top of them, sometimes from engraving plates sourced from the same era. SPOILER ALERT one of the items in this photograph is currently on its way home because I... was not 100% on avoiding the temptation to pick up a keepsake, especially from an Excellent Joint like this.

Leather: This is a bit over-hyped, really. The scene here is manic and frenzied, with tons of fake or low-quality leather, due to Tuscany's famous historic relationship to the craft. If you love the stuff, maybe it's for you! If you don't, it's... just a lot. Save yourself the hassle and check out the handful of places that have sterling reputations, and something of a personal touch. Furò e Punteruolo is basically a one-man operation with gorgeous little leather crafts (I think they do commissions too). Via de' Ginori 23r is a bigger, more tourist-oriented operation, but the stuff looks good and they have a good rep. The ironclad recommendation here, tho, is Scuola del Cuoio, the historic leatherworking school started to give orphans employment in the wake of World War II. They're a straightforward commercial enterprise now, but the stuff is good, you can see the work being done, and the prices are fair if stiff.

Really, though, if you want to "go local," be respectful and buy this circus clown rhinoceros instead.

Caffe: Honestly, most Italian coffee is great to my American taste buds. Almost any neighborhood caffe or pasticerie is going to do you right, but if you want the extra polish of attentive care, try Ditta Artigianale (two locations) for the high quality stuff. (Stick around for their excellent gin selection.) Also a big fan of Caffè Pasticceria Serafini near Piazza Beccaria (my home for this stay) for delicious pastries and stellar coffee, their corner espresso hub almost the twin of the nigh-perfect Barberini in Rome. Also remember, if you're renting your own apartment, that you can easily make your own espresso with the moka you almost certainly have; it's something outrageous like €1 a pound.

Additional upside to making your own espresso at home: getting to mutter "I'mma make-a you something a-very nice" without making it obvious to everybody that you have brain problems.

Light Up The Piazza: Some of the best nights I've had on this trip have been with wine, maybe a snack, and conversation spooling out in a piazza or a courtyard as the night unwinds. This is one that feels pretty magical anywhere outside the Uffizi/Duomo nexus of nightlife, with quality of beverages varying somewhat. Music may happen, or else just people watching. Try Piazza Annunziata - big and quiet, with a semi-forgettable caffe in the corner. My favorites are probably Le Murate Caffe (in an old converted prison with a cute, energetic courtyard), Caffe Sant'Ambroggio for great neighborhood morning ambience, or Caffe degli Artigiani in Oltrarno for an insanely cute, quiet, neighborhoodly piazza with kids playing and couples relaxing. (Bonus, Artigiani also has a great gelateria right next door.) Santo Spirito is where the college student action is, if you want more up-tempo energy.

Most of my piazza nights have been spent with other people this go around, though, so I have no photographic evidence. Instead, enjoy this table of clocks and knickknacks from a flea market in Santo Spirito, which (if you have already forgotten) is coooool.

Noms: A few things are useful to remember. First, Tuscany is not pasta central, though obviously they have their own traditions and most places make lots of it to cater to tourist tastes. It's a much more meat-and-bean focused region, with area specialties ranging from bean soups to chicken liver crostini to the bisteca fiorentina, a kilo-minimum steak cooked rare. For your wallet's happiness, consider making lunch your meal out: once you get out into the neighborhoods and away from the tourist zones, you'll be able to find multi-course specials for about €10-12 that'll give you water, coffee, a primi, secondi, and contorni (vegetable side). Add a quartino of house wine and you're still getting out for less than a lot of places will charge for a plate of pasta at dinner. For dinner, either cook at home what you find in the market (Sant'Ambrogio is my fave) or consider an early sandwich or appertivo. Favorite sandwich spots: Il Due Fratellini, All' Antico Vinaio, S. Forno, Semel, and tripe stands (one in Piazza Beccaria, or L’Antico Trippaio closer to the center). Favorite trattorias for lunch: Trattoria Giovanni, Il Guscio. Dinners I skewed more towards appertivo or pizzeria on the two or so occasions I ventured out; Santarpia would be my pick for the latter. Also consider Arà: è Siciliana (near the Accademia) as an affordable lunch or dinner option, for delicious Sicilian street-food.

Please note that Italians tend to eat normal human style portions, and waiters will in fact let you know if they think you might be over-ordering. This is a great thing, and keeps you from ending up feeling like this adorable puppers.

Wine: As mentioned before, I'm not a huge winehound to begin with, and Italian wines (I should say Tuscan wines, to be fair) are not that much my thing - they tend to be more tannic and earthy than what I'm discovering that I like. That said, you absolutely cannot go wrong with wine sampling at il Santino Gastronomia in Oltrarno. Incredibly friendly, helpful staff, delicious wines and more-delicious snacks to go with 'em. Solidly lovely, and from the same people who run the nigh-perfect S. Forno. Not getting to their restaurant in town is my one regret of the trip!

I appear to have done a terrible job of taking photos of any of the useful day-to-day things on this particular trip, so here's a photo of a terrace where somebody is growing their own lemons. I know this place as Casa I Want To Live Here Someday.

Gelato: I may have said this before, but to reiterate: you want a place that doesn't pile the stuff high, and where the colors are natural/muted (no bright green mint, no bright green pistachio). Artiginale is a good word to look for. My fave for non-fruit flavors is Il Procopio, though for sorbetti I love Carabè, around the corner from Arà.

FINAL USEFUL TIP: MAKE FRIENDS EVERYWHERE YOU GO EVERYBODY IS VERY NICE INCLUDING THIS TUCKERED OUT LITTLE FELLA.

Actual final tip: know your basic polite tourist Italian, and accept graciously when people are willing to speak English. Chat with people. Ask artisans how they make what they make, ask vendors where their fruits and vegetables come from. People open up, and grand times tend to ensue! Do it already.