Spending Christmas the Tuscan way!
Florence & Pisa (Tuscany, Italy - December 24 to 26, 2019)
Christmas Abroad? Try the magical Tuscany.
While we were planning our trip to Italy, we figured that Tuscany is magical during Christmas. The Christmas lights and decoration brighten up the streets and bring out the real charm of the cities. It was the first time that we were going to spend Christmas abroad, and we wanted it to be the perfect experience. So after quite some research we chose Florence to celebrate Christmas!
Day 1: Cold Gelato on a chilly Winter night!
After three wonderful days in Venice, we were on our way to Toscana (Tuscany). We took the high-speed train from Venice to Florence, after lunch. It was a short two-hour journey. The train service was incredible, clean and tidy coaches, punctual departures and a helpful staff. They even serve you a little snack along with beverages on such a short ride. All train bookings in Italy could be effortlessly done through Trenitalia website.
Florence welcomed us with a chilly afternoon. We walked from the station to our AirnBnb, which was located at Via di Mezzo. That walk was the most beautiful walks we have ever had. The streets were lit up with decorations everywhere. There were these confectionery shops which had their prettiest desserts on display. While we continued to walk through the beautiful alleys, what suddenly drew our attention was a huge dome peeping through the buildings. As we walked closer to it, we saw people gathered near it; a huge decked up Christmas tree just outside the Florence Cathedral (formerly known as Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore). It was the historic Piazza del Duomo and we were at the heart of the city. We stood there for a while and looked around us; the Sun was about to go down and it was a romantic dusk. We were awestruck!
We met our host Stefania who welcomed us to her small, cozy apartment. As much as we would have loved to sip on some hot coffee by the window, we couldn’t afford to miss the gorgeous evening outdoors. We dressed up for the Christmas Eve and started to walk. We did not plan a destination, rather just walked where our hearts took us. We happened to walk past the Basilica of Santa Croce and reached the Palazzo Vecchio. We paused there for a while to hear a man play an astonishing piece on the Piano. We strolled through the Calzaiuoli street and Speziali street and watched the lovely lights all around. From famous brand stores to Christmas hawkers; there was everything. The Christmas treats at the cafes looked too pretty to eat, fancy as a fairytale! We were absolutely amazed by the neighbourhood. We ended our evening stroll at the Piazza della Repubblica where we enjoyed some sweet treats by the merry-go-round.
We were looking for a place for dinner when we realized that we were very close to the Duomo Square. And what could have been better, than being seated right beside the cathedral while having dinner on Christmas Eve? We chose to sit outdoors at a restaurant called ‘IL Bottegone’. We had some delicious Pasta and Red Wine, overlooking the gorgeous surroundings. On our way back to the hotel, we got ourselves Gelato from a nearby store. A cold Gelato on a chilly night; oh yes, that feels great! Every dessert that we have had on our trip to Italy, seemed to be more delicious than the previous one.
At midnight, we came back to the cathedral for the Christmas Mass. Before that day, we did not know what happened at a Midnight Mass and we believed it would be nice to experience this tradition. Although we didn’t understand the language, it felt good to be a part of it. The ambience inside was serene; the orchestra was graceful and melodious. Moreover, we got to see the inside of the cathedral which was massive and spectacular. The cathedral remains closed for public for a few days before Christmas, so had it not been for the Mass, we would have missed to watch the indoors. It was a well spent day!
Day 2: Merry Christmas from Tuscany!
Most of the tourist attractions stay closed on Christmas Day, but not the ‘Tower of Pisa’. That is why we thought that it would be wise to plan a daytrip to Pisa on the morning of the 25th. We had pre-booked our return trips to Pisa Central in a ‘Regionale’ train. The good thing about booking a regional train is that you need not commit to the exact time of your travel. The tickets allow you to travel anytime within 4 hours from the one which you had originally booked. So, we woke up to a lazy morning and enjoyed some coffee in our apartment. On our way to the station we had breakfast at a small café. We boarded the train to Pisa, it was quite empty given the less rush due to the off-season. It took us a little more than an hour to reach Pisa Centrale.
We decided to walk to the Tower and it turned out to be a pretty good idea. The streets were beautiful with flowers and cute decorations hanging from the balconies. Because of the holiday, the streets were empty with most of the shops closed. But we enjoyed the calmness. As we walked closer to the square, we could spot the Tower at a distance, the famous ‘Leaning Tower of Pisa’ which we had only read about in the books. The cathedral square was full of people posing for pictures with the tower. Who doesn’t want to get themselves clicked while they try to push, lick or try other creative poses with the tower? For once we were wondering; if watching the huge tower was more fascinating or the people with their crazy poses! Ahh, it was fun. One can also pre-book a tour inside the tower and climb all the way up, to enjoy the view of the city from the top; although we didn’t opt for that. While walking back to the station, we bought some souvenirs on the way and took some snacks for the journey. We passed by the Ponte Solferino when the Sun was about to set on the River Arno. We stopped by to take some pictures; it was wonderful.
We took the train back to Florence and started to walk on the prettiest streets, one more time! We walked into a small café to have the most beautiful and delicious desserts of our lives. Cannoli were our favourite. They are these fried tube-shaped shells made with pastry dough and filled with various sweet and creamy fillings. As we walked along, we heard a musician play his guitar and sing beautiful songs on the street just beside the cathedral. We couldn’t help but stop by and soak in that magical feeling. Very close to that was this café called Don Nino. Our stomachs were full but our hearts wanted more. Who could resist their lovely dome shaped desserts? We tasted a Hazelnut Rocher and a Mimosa flavored dome cake; and again they were the best we ever had!
We reached our apartment to freshen up a bit and opened the bottle of wine that Stefania had left for us as a Christmas present. It was so sweet of her. For dinner we wanted to explore a traditional Italian diner, the one which would be less touristy. We put on our best attires and started to walk down the quiet lanes. We found a place called, ‘Giglio Rosso’, it was a small restaurant and a lot of locals seemed to walk in there. We ordered a bottle of Wine along with some traditional Pasta and Gnocchi. The food was excellent and the experience was quite different. To watch families enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner at their favourite restaurant; some even came alone and seemed to be a regular at this place. It was a memorable one for us! We got a Gelato on our way back, a sweet end to the most memorable Christmas! And what made it more memorable for us, was that Niladri started to like ‘Chocolate’ desserts for the first time ever. Yes, many find it shocking that he does NOT like chocolates, but he says the desserts in Florence made him like that too; incredible! We drank the leftover wine in our room and called it a beautiful night!
Day 3: Michelangelo’s David
Our last day in Florence started with a glimpse of the original sculpture of David by Michelangelo, at the Galleria dell’Accademia. We had pre booked our tickets to the museum to avoid any queue, although it wasn’t very long on the chilly Winter morning. As soon as one enters the museum, you notice the masterpiece and a crowd admiring it. It seemed unbelievable how someone could have sculpted something with such intricate details, so long back in time. It was a delight to have had been able to watch that, from so close. The museum is a small one which is best known for Michelangelo’s David. We took a short tour around it and headed to our apartment which was a short 10 minutes’ walk away. We had some Sicilian Pizza and shopped some souvenirs on our way back.
We were checking out and heading to Rome that afternoon. Since the checkout time was in the morning, we planned to drop our luggage at the Luggage Store Room at the station, and explore the city. The storage service was slightly costlier there than few other luggage storage centres, but since we had a train to catch from there later that day, it saved us the extra hassle. We took a tram and then a bus to the Piazzale Michelangelo. The bus ride uphill was very scenic and when we reached there, it was a spectacular panoramic view of the beautiful city of Florence. We regretted that we could not be there during Sunset which would have been wonderful to watch. The dome of the Cathedral looked glorious from there. We also watched the bronze replica of Michelangelo’s David. With that we watched all the three copies of Michelangelo’s David in Florence; the original at the Accademia Gallery, the marble replica at Piazza della Signoria and the bronze replica at Piazzale Michelangelo.
We walked around the place for some time, sat on the stairs to enjoy the breath-taking view, clicked some pictures to capture the memories and soon it was time for us to leave for the station. We were so in love with the city that we did not want to leave, a short stay was definitely not enough. We took a bus back to the station, collected our luggage, bought our last (in Florence) Gelato from Venchi and packed some food for the journey. Our next stop was Rome, which was about a 2 hours journey in the high-speed train.
Florence would always hold a special place in our hearts for so many reasons. Our first Christmas celebration abroad, the beautiful cobblestone streets, the beautiful desserts and delicious Gelato and many many more! We hope we could make it to Tuscany once more!
