Tuscany and Risotto

Known for their wine, pasta, gelato, art, pizza and so on, Italy in my opinion has ought to be the happiest place on earth. With the best foods and the best wines and the greenest of grasses, what's there not to love? I have traveled to Italy so many times and I never tire of the small city that is Florence. A place where everyone knows everyone, a place to find love, a place to live life the way it was meant to be lived-- stress-free with a glassful of wine and a plateful of risotto.  

Here's my last trip to Florence where I had no plans of hitting the museums or the cathedrals ( I have already seen these historical beauties before and if you haven't yet, then you absolutely must) but to eat all that I can eat and drink till I could drink no more. And it was the best time of my life. And I had a lot, a lot, of risotto. 

Okay so first, there are a whole bunch of places called "Bars" but don't be fooled, they are actually what we refer to as cafes. And in these cafes you will find endless options of pastries, cookies, breads, candies and the best cappuccino/espresso you will ever have. Obviously I can't just choose one pastry so I have to try a few.  

The croissant was melt-in-your-mouth perfect and the cappuccino made a great start to my day.

For lunch I ordered mushroom risotto and my dad ordered a pizza. Every restaurant has cute outdoor seating so here we are enjoying the weather.

That's a really tall beer dad.

It was absolutely perfect. The rice cooked al dente (firm to the bite), the mushrooms fresh, the creaminess bringing it all together. 

This restaurant was so good I had to go back and try their spaghetti. Which I did just a couple hours later. 

Great presentation!

Okay so I did do some sightseeing. This is Piazzale Michelangelo where there is a replica of David as a monument base dedicated to Michelangelo. It's filled with locals and tourists because of the amazing panoramic view of Florence. 

I am one happy camper.

Typically with Italian cuisine there's an appetizer, first course, second course and dessert. Risotto or pastas for example would be a first course, and proteins such as chicken or fish would be served as a second plate. Here I am ordering risotto again as my first dish. 

 Risotto al Vino Rosso 

(Red Wine Risotto)

Swordfish 

Second dish

Girls night out! This is me and my girl who lives in Florence. Here we are at the heart of it all.  

Many hours and glasses of wine later, we stopped for some late night pizza.

All the wine explains the blurriness of this picture.

Look at all that meat! 

Today I was invited to have lunch at my friends villa in the outskirts of Florence near Chianti. An excellent homemade lunch served outside surrounded by endless trees of green.

What a beautiful stone villa!

All hands on deck!

I'm clearly in heaven.

The one thing I love the most about Italian culture is the importance of family bonding. Every friend's house I went to, the center focus of the house is the dinner table. Here, it's all about how big your flat screen TV is, but there it's how big your table is. Moments like these are what I treasure the most. 

And for dinner that evening we went out to celebrate mom's birthday at a fish house.

Table for 20! Dad making a toast.

 Appetizer of olives, cheeses, chicken liver pates and tons of other goodies.

Main course steak served family style.

Berry Pana Cotta for dessert yummm.

Earlier I said I made no plans to visit the cathedrals. But honestly who can resist the gorgeous Brunelleschi Duomo that Florence is most known for?

Absolutely brilliant.

A few steps away from the cathedral and Ponte Vecchio, in the heart of this historical center where my friend owns a leather boutique, there's a food vendor with a line forming around the block waiting for this bowl of tripe soup. Food carts are always underrated and overlooked, but I have found time and time again that they really put their heart and soul into their food and in turn, the end product is unbelievable. Luckily for me, my friend is tight with the owner and we didn't have to wait in the line.

Served in plastic perfect for walking around, eating and shopping at the same time. This tripe was the best tripe ever.

Back to my girl's house for lunch! And what a lunch it was. See what I mean about the dining table?

We had salmon, asparagus, fennel salad, chefs salad, sparkling water and wine.

We did it all over again for dinner with some good old fashioned spaghetti.

We went out for dinner one night at a very fancy restaurant, which was a nice change from all the casual dining I've been doing lately. It was a great night, but I would still choose the food carts and outdoor patios over a candlelit dinner anytime.

Spicy Seafood Risotto was a hit!

Again, I may have wandered off a bit to do some more sightseeing. On my previous trips to Italy I never quite made it to the medieval city of Siena, and well that's a must. 

When you choose the life you want to live, early mornings don't seem so bad, Mondays aren't dreadful, your hard work is hardly considered work at all, success finds a new meaning, and you realize that you actually do have the time to lay down-- if only for a second. #freedom #siena

So I made sure to fill up my water bottle.

Waiting for the train to take me to the airport with my prosciutto and cheese sammy in hand.

And one final serving of risotto (this one with leeks). 

ChinChin!