On this day we woke up early and had breakfast at La Serenissima in Venice. It was a restaurant that also served breakfast and coffee, so it had both outdoor and indoor seating. I asked for my pistachio croissant to be warmed up this time, and it tasted phenomenal! I also had an interesting coffee called caffe orzo, which I later learned is actually not coffee at all, but a caffeine-free drink made from barley. It did taste surprisingly like espresso, although it had a slightly sweeter aftertaste (like rice milk) But definitely worth trying when in Italy!
We then stopped at a beautiful store I’d seen on Day 2 (but we didn’t have time to visit then) It is called NasonA and they carry beautiful jewelry, Murano glass artifacts, handbags and small souvenirs. The display looked incredible and the prices were extremely reasonable, so I really wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, they were closed that day, so I ended up buying a beautiful Murano glass bracelet from a store across St Marks Basilica.
We then walked over to Rialto bridge. This is the biggest bridge in Venice, and it divides the island into San Marco and San Polo, and it crosses the impressive Grand Canal. At the bottom of this bridge, we observed the phenomenon locally known as Acqua Alta, wherein when the water level rises, it floods the streets. It’s fascinating and strangely peaceful to watch the water spill into the roads.
Later, we took the vaporetto to the train station wherein we boarded the Italo train to Florence. I highly recommend this train, it was comfortable and fairly empty, although we traveled in shoulder season so your mileage may vary. I also highly recommend booking tickets well in advance if you are a bigger party or traveling with kids, so you can snag these seats facing each other with the central tables.
We enjoyed views of quaint Italian towns and countryside, and we also enjoyed refreshments from the food and beverage car.
We reached Florence in the late afternoon and I was struck by how “big city-like” it was in comparison to Venice, which is more sterile, manicured and touristy. Our Airbnb was near the train station, but it was in the 3rd floor, 60 stairs above without an elevator. It was a beautifully furnished loft apartment, unfortunately the building was so old that the bathrooms (and eventually the whole apartment) smelled of sewage from the old pipes, so I definitely wouldn’t recommend staying there.
After freshening up, we walked to Bondi gelateria, where we had booked a private gelato making class with the owner, Vittolio Bondi. He was great, but I think the kids (especially my younger one) weren’t quite old enough to enjoy his jokes or his demeanor, so the experience was just OK for us, as we had to juggle between paying attention to what he was saying (Which was fascinating) and entertaining my restless 4 year old.
However, the gelato that we made was simply out of this world. We made a pear sorbet and stracciatella (Italian chocolate chip), but before we mixed the chocolate in, he let us taste the “plain” milk gelato, also known as fior di latte. It was phenomenal, and it became my favorite flavor that I ate in every gelateria after that. He also gave us the “secret recipe” for making creamy and delicious gelato, along with scientific explanations for the purpose of each ingredient in the final taste profile. I highly suggest sampling fior di latte in Italy, I found that the hallmark of a good gelateria was how good the fior di latte was; in a mediocre place, it tasted more like vanilla, but in the better shops, it had a rich milk flavor and mild sweetness.
Afterwards, we went to Mercato Centrale, a stylish food court with lots of options, including vegetarian food. We got the made-to -order truffle pasta, which was creamy and delicious, and my daughter got sushi (yes, there was a sushi place in the Mercato!) which was also great. We also tried arancino, a popular street food that is fried risotto balls, with various flavors added. I highly recommend checking out Mercato Centrale, we enjoyed everything we tried there. The first floor also has a lot of vendors selling pasta, oils, cheese etc. but they close earlier than the restaurants in the second floor.
After dinner, the kids went straight to bed after a long day of exploring. I stayed up listening to Rick Steve’s guides for the places we were going to visit the next day. I familiarized myself with the order of attractions, any interesting stories and the history, so that I could narrate to the kids, since we did not hire a guide in Florence. I highly recommend someone in your party doing this, perhaps the biggest history buff (in our family, that’s me!)