Food Glorious Food, that’s the motto of David Jones’ Food Court.  The Food Court is my second home, so I am able to vouch for the glorious food that’s available there.  However, in spite of the availability of great fresh produce and other ingredients, my cooking tends not to be adventurous and whenever I see any recipe that requires more than a handful of ingredients, I give it the flick.

Time is of the essence – if, like me, you have a full time job and don’t have time to hunt around for supplies and then to experiment with the recipe a few times till it’s perfect, then it’s natural to stick to safer options.  This leads me to think that maybe doing a cooking class might be an idea.

As I love pastas and Italian cuisine in general, Tuscany springs to mind and more specifically the Chianti Classico region.  Many would know that this is the region that grows the famous sangiovese grapes, which when blended with Canaiolo, Trebbiano and Malvasia, gives the Chianti wine.  Wouldn’t it be fabulous to learn a dish from a place that you’re visiting, especially one that is noted for its cuisine.  Fancy going to the markets in the morning with a resident expert and learning how to select produce and buying the relevant spices.

Making your own gnocchi or rolling and cutting your own pasta sounds like fun, as is making your own pizza.  And even if I don’t end up making my own pasta at home, learning how to make good pasta sources alone would be absolutely rewarding. The sauces that I’ve tried cooking at home always seem to lack that certain Italian flavour and texture and it would great to learn it from someone who could show you the correct way, the first time around.

So instead of showing off dust-collecting souvenirs, it would be cool to say to your dinner guests “I learnt this wild mushroom ragout source whilst we were at Villa Pandolfini in Tuscany” or “Bologna is famous for this la sfoglia pasta so we decided to learn to make it whilst we were there”, etc. etc.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

A colleague of mine has just thrown in her senior job and is making her way to South America to pursue her Spanish studies and also for a taste of the South American lifestyle.  How I envy her as I would very much love to do just that as well. However, my language of choice would be Italian and Florence seems like a good place to head for as it offers more than just language courses. 

Florence is a city which is associated with the birth of renaissance art and it has the Uffizi Gallery to provide live examples of the works of the grand masters like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.  Then, there is Dante Alighieri, “the Supreme Poet” (il Sommo Poeta), whose masterpiece, Divina Commedia, is considered the greatest piece of work in Italian literature.  What a magnificent city to base oneself to study the history of art, literature, architecture, and much more.

A quick search on the net resulted in numerous schools offering courses in art history, music, fashion history, cooking classes and many others. Courses range in duration from as little as one week to 32 weeks and even the one week course is structured to give you an overall experience of Florence.  I had a look at one of these one week courses and it covered language studies, guided walk of the streets of Florence which follows along the footsteps of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery, lectures on Tuscan cuisine and also a wine tasting session.  Wow, what a way to spend a week and the cost didn’t seem too extravagant either. The problem is after the week, you’ll probably want to stay longer and really, one week is sufficient to explore the Uffizi alone.

For those not interested in learning Italian, you can still enjoy much of what Florence has to offer by joining special interest tours, like photography or Tuscan cooking.  The links on this page takes you to samples of such tours.  If you have limited time in the city, it is best to book these tours ahead of time so that you can be guaranteed of a place and it also means that you’re not wasting precious time looking for suitable tours when you’re there.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

Easter celebrations and ceremonies take on different formats around the Christian world and some more traditional villages or towns have their own special ceremonies. One such special festival has been taking place in Florence since the times of the first Crusade in 1099. For centuries, the city of Florence has been celebrating the Easter holiday with the traditional Scoppio del Carro or Explosion of the Cart.

On Easter Saturday morning, at approximately 9 a.m., a parade of musicians, flag-throwers and dignitaries in colourful Renaissance costume escort a tall wooden cart along the streets of Florence to the Piazza del Duomo – cathedral square – and place it between the main door and the Baptistery (Battistero di San Giovanni), where the Explosion of the Cart festival is held.

Nicknamed Brindellone – meaning tall and wobbly in Florentine dialect – the cart is laden with fireworks and pulled by four stately huge white oxen of the local Chianina breed, which are kept on municipal farms for this specific purpose. Meanwhile, another procession moves from the ancient church of Santi Apostoli by the Arno, carrying a fire kindled with the flints from the Holy Sepulchre which have been kept here since 1785.

Around 11 a.m., during the celebration of Easter mass in the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, all the bells peal in unison and the bishop uses the holy fire to ignite a dove-shaped rocket, which shoots along a steel wire from the high altar through the central nave of the cathedral and to the Brindellone outside, starting a whirlpool of fireworks, bangers and colourful Catherine-wheels. This sounds pretty spectacular.

Traditional belief is that if the explosion goes smoothly and the dove makes it safely back to the altar, the year’s harvest will be good and plentiful. The poor bishop must feel the heat to shoot the rocket well to ensure good fortune for the people.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

Florence’s centro historico or historical center is packed to the brim with museums, art galleries, cathedrals, elegant buildings and beautiful squares that it’s possible to see and do a lot here even if you’ve only got a couple of days.  Over the past few years, we’ve made a few brief stops here and were able to re-visit all our favourite places each time.  The top 10 sites you could visit on foot include:

Uffizi Gallery
Art lovers will not want to miss this as it holds the world’s finest collection of Renaissance art, including Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and early works by Leonardo da Vinci.  There’s a lot to see in the Gallery and it’s unlikely that you’ll cover it all.  The queues for the Uffizi Gallery are usually quite huge.  To avoid standing for hours in the queue, it may be preferable to book a guided tour. Another advantage of a tour guide is that they’ll be able to point out the key pieces and provide a commentary on the work.

Galleria dell’ Accademia
Michelangelo’s David, is housed here and is the Gallery’s most famous sculpture.  This sculpture of the biblical hero who killed Goliath attracts visitors from all over the world and it can be quite busy around the statue.  Guided tours of the Accademia are also available.

The Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) is the only bridge from Florence’s medieval days that survived the destructions of World War II.  Built in 1345, it was the first bridge across the Arno River and from the bridge, you’ll have a great view along the Arno River and beyond.

Campanile – Bell Tower
The Campanile is in Piazza del Duomo. The first story was designed by Giotto and it is commonly referred to as Giotto’s Campanile. You can climb the 414 stairs to the top (sorry, no lifts) for great views of the Cathedral and its dome and the city of Florence and surroundings.

Il Duomo – Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore
Florence’s most popular landmark is its Duomo – Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore. The huge Gothic duomo is Europe’s fourth largest church and the city’s tallest building.  Inside, Brunelleschi’s Dome is a masterpiece of construction.  You can climb the 463 steps to the top.

The Baptistry
The Baptistry of John the Baptistis one of Florence’s oldest buildings. Built in the 11th century, its exterior is made of green and white marble and there are three sets of amazing bronze doors – all reproductions (the originals are in the Duomo Museum, which is also worth a visit). Inside, you’ll see some mosaics and a marble pavement of the zodiac.

Piazza della Signoria
Florence’s most famous square is in the heart of the centro historico. The Loggia della Signoria holds some important statues including a copy of Michelangelo’s David. The piazza has been Florence’s political center since the middle ages and Florence’s town hall, the medieval Palazzo Vecchio, sits on the piazza. The palazzo contains elaborately decorated public rooms and private apartments.

Santa Croce
Santa Croce, in Piazza Santa Croce, is the largest Franciscan church in Italy.  It holds the tombs of several important Florentines including Michelangelo and Dante, as well as one of Brunelleschi’s most important works – the Cappella dei Pazzi. Inside the church are some exceptional stained glass windows and frescoes.

Pitti Palace
Pitti Palace, south of the Arno River, was the former residence of the powerful Medici rulers. Today it houses the Palatine Gallery, with its astonishingly lavish Royal Apartments, the Gallery of Modern Art and the Porcelain Museum, among many others.

Shopping
Florence is noted for its leather goods and you’ll have lots to choose from here.  Peruzzi is a huge store which is on the itinerary of most tour groups.  Apart from leather goods, there’s also paper goods, and jewellry as well as nice souvenirs and art productions. If you enjoy the markets, Florence has a number of open air markets selling food, clothing, and antiques. The most famous is around Piazza San Lorenzo where you’ll find leather goods, too. Another good place is Mercato Nuovo (Porcellino) on Via Porta Rossa. Mercato Centrale is a great place for food shopping.  The last time we were in Florence, it was Christmas Eve and the market stores in front of the Duomo had a great range of regional foods to help ward off the cold.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog