Day 14 - Art & Food
July 5, 2023: Today was a little bit of a relaxing day for us. I picked up either allergies or a cold over the last 24 hours, so I wasn’t up to much today. We hung around the Airbnb in the morning and then headed out around lunchtime. One of the must dos I had on my list was getting a panini at All’Antico Vinaio. I heard about this place several times while during my research and it had great reviews. It did not disappoint. Jimm had the “Inferno” and I had the “Joe Bastianich”. After having paninis in Italy, I don’t think I will ever be able to have a regular sandwich again. I am so in love!
All’Antico Vinaio was established in 1989 by the Mazzanti family, who opened their panino-plus-vino store in a historic wine cellar. Joined by Tommaso Mazzanti (Tommy) in 2006, the store was transformed from a likeable sandwich spot to a reference point for the city of Florence and street food lovers from all over. It has topped most-reviewed restaurants on TripAdvisor for years, attesting to its universal appeal. We have now joined the club and would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Florence or any of their other locations. The only one in the U.S. is in New York.
Next we headed to the CLET Studio. Around the city of Florence you will see many street signs impacted by the art of Clet Abraham, probably the most famous street artist active in Florence. In the past Clet faced a long and complicated battles for his artistic freedom. This was the case of the Common Man, a figure who steps into the future with faith and courage, which was removed a few times removed from the Ponte alle Grazie. This year the Common Man returned on the bridge is now approved by the city of Florence. It seems that the municipal authorities finally understood the importance of this work of art for all the Florentines as it represents faith and courage.
In the afternoon, I practiced the Italian art of pennica, the Italian afternoon nap. I woke up feeling rested enough to head out for dinner at a restaurant recommended by one of our tour guides. It is call Ristorante Buca Mario. You walk in and immediately step down into a basement restaurant. Buca means “hole” and the restaurant was much bigger than we anticipated. The staff was incredibly friendly. We mentioned our tour guide’s name (we think the owner is his uncle) and on the way out they handed us a gift. Our waiter was so entertaining and the whole experience was top notch. I had “grandma isabelle’s” lasagna which was absolutely amazing!! Have I mentioned yet how much I love the food in Italy 😂🤤🇮🇹