He's back. You know Tom the blogger. We have just arrived in our beautiful apartment in Rome.

Before I get to the topics of the day I thought I would provide links to my blogs I wrote in our 4 week trip to Italy last year.

Pompeii City of sin:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/7/29/pompeii-the-city-of-sin

Italy city by city, my favorites:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/28/italy-city-by-city-my-favorites

photographer gear for Italy trip:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/21/photography-gear-for-italy-trip

The food of Florence:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/5/the-food-of-florence

Long walk in Florence:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/3/a-long-walk-in-florence

Verona, the city of Love:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/1/verona-the-city-of-love

Venice day two:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/5/28/venice-day-2

Venice day one:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/5/26/venice-day-1

flight to Italy, via Paris:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/5/23/flight-to-italy-via-paris

Hectic last minute preparations

If you want to meet a planner, let me introduce you to Alice. This year was not the Alice Alice. With her heart surgery, her work and my photo shoots. we had little or no time to prepare. We decided not to commit to the vacation until we were confident with Alice's surgery result. When the Dr came into the recovery room to speak with Alice and I, he prescribed a vacation to Italy.

This year we decided to "live like the locals" on our vacation to Italy. The only thing we locked down was the airplane and the the apartment in Rome.

Alice's preparation was mainly what shoes to buy and bring.

My preparation was what camera equipment to bring. My biggest dilemma was which camera to bring and should I bring a backup. Our focus was different but the result will be amazing.

My chosen camera get for our Italy trip.

Train ride from Delray Beach to Miami Airport

We love to take the train from Delray Beach to Miami airport. The Tri-Rail train does not compete with Brightline. However, it drops us right off in the middle of the airport. We love that. You would be amazed how many people actually take the Tri-Rail to the Miami airport.

Alice on the plane with the Italian Stallion

Due to our last-minute scheduling of our flight to Rome, we were unable to book a pair of contiguous seats on the airplane. Our confirmed seats were with someone else between us. We had hoped we could talk the middle person out of their seat so we could sit together and hold hands. So here we are in the middle aisle with three seats, and both of us, taking the aisle seat and the middle seat, waiting for the unknown traveler. I was worried we may get a 400 pound Covid infected traveler laden with twins who she was nursing mid flight and refused to change the seat. While we are boarding the plane, I teased Alice telling her that some lady may take the middle seat, and I may mistakenly hold her hand. as the travelers boarded the plane, I looked anxiously at each person coming in one by one. Oh no this can't be the guy. This is the guy. Yup the Italian stallion with the look of a cross between Dr Mcdreamy and George Clooney. His looks, his aura, his clothing .... I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough it was him. He has the middle seat. I looked at Alice and she smiled. After asking the young Sylvester Stallone if he could exchange seats, she looked at me and smiled, "I get to sit by the two best looking men on the plane". I wasn't alarmed I knew he didn't have the entire Schmuki package.

Alice with the second best looking guy on the plane. What a lucky girl!

Our first walking tour and night out

We had a great first day in Rome. After resting a bit and unpacking we went out and took a look at our neighborhood. We love it here.

The food is so cheap here!

Girls from Vienna Austria

British Embassy

My favorite model: Alice

We had a great dinner at an Italian resteraunt just next to our apartment. We enjoyed the best pasta with pesto we have ever had.

Limoncello

Pasta with Pesto, the best ever!

We met 2 great fun couples from Long Island at the resteraunt who promised to read my Pompeii city of sin blog. They asked me to take their picture because they saw my fancy Nikon on the table.

Our new friends from Long Island New York

Day one is over and we still like each other a lot. Looking forward to days 2-40. Please let me know you are reading and enjoying my blog. This is a lot of work, but mostly a labor of love and a documentation of our wonderful life together.

Dinner always starts with wine. I love red wine.

From a non foodie

I believe Alice can be categorized as a true foodie, which in my opinion is someone who knows a lot more details about resteraunts, the preparation and even the ability to recreate it in her own kitchen. I have always called Alice a great CHEF while I am a pretty good cook. There is a great difference between the two.

I am not a foodie nor a chef, but I have always loved great food. I am opinionated you will from my commentary ons this blog.

What I have discovered about the restaurants in Italy including all three cities we have visited Are the following similar items:

Every lunch and dinner you're given a bag of bread. The bread especially in Florence has no salt in it. And they are proud to say that.

You are the salt of the earth

There seems to be a long history of Florence NOT using salt on any of its bread products including bag of bread, pizza dough and others. Salt was historically a matter of money and contention with ROME. Florence refused to use salt to support the romans in their salt as it was commonly used as a precious commodity even to the value of money. To this day, NO salt in Florences bread products. I miss the salt.

Note: Since I have been with Alice she has used little or NO salt in her cooking and food preparation even to the level of her guests bringing in a SALT shakers of their own to make their point. I normally add salt to everything she makes. I am the salt of the earth. HEY, you only live once.

A bag of bread, in Florence the bread is unsalted and has little taste.

Water, would you like flat or sparkling

Every Lunch and dinner the waiters and waitresses ask you if you want water. They then ask you if you want sparkling or still. We always ask for still water And it comes out in a sealed glass bottle and the water taste fantastic. When your bottle of water runs out you just ask for another one. The price of the bottle water is from 2 to 4 Euros each.

Could I have that menu in English please?

Nearly all the menus are written only in Italian. Very few menus have English as an option. Sometimes it is moderately easy to translate the words into their English counterpart but others it is nearly impossible.

Check please

It is always always always a struggle to first get your check and then to pay for your food. There is no rush to push you out of the table for the next patrons. they have no problem with you sitting at a table for 2 to 3 hours. It seems almost common.

Tipping

Tipping is an odd thing. They don't even know how to handle a tip. It seems I don't even expect one. This is very odd! When you pay for your bill on your credit card they bring out a machine swipe your card and there is not even a spot to add a tip. I guess it is customary to pay cash for tips. I understand the workers in the restaurant are paid a fairways and not expected to earn their income on tips and gratuities. This presents a whole different way of thinking and service by the restaurant staff.

We have both been amazed by how hard the help works in these restaurants. They have great pride in what they do from the bartenders to the waiters and waitresses and all the help involved. They all work hard with a smile on their face. This makes the dining experience a very pleasant one.

It seems nearly every restaurant we have been to excluding a few have the standard staples of pizza, spaghetti, and other Italian dishes.

You want Italian food, you got it!

Good luck finding a Mexican restaurant. We were told there was one with mediocre food and average margaritas.

If you love pasta and pizza you love the restaurants in Florence. Having observed many of the beautiful dishes deliver to the patrons of the restaurants in Florence, it is most common to see pizza and pasta.

We have both found by eating the carbs associated with Italian food, when we are hungry we are very hungry and it happens fast.

What I love most about the restaurants here are the people.

The Italian restaurants here in Italy don't seem at all like the Italian restaurants in the United States For the reasons I have described above.

Gelato, a staple in Florence

Gelato is an Italian frozen treat originally created in the 16th century. It is made with a lot less fat and is churned at much slower speed to prevent air. As a result, you get a denser texture and more intensive flavor. We have had lemon, pistachio, coconut and chocolate. My favorite so far was the pistachio. During the heat of the Italian summers I have been craving for this each day.

I have already had 4 servings and can’t get enough. Yummy.

Mother and child enjoying a Gelato in style!

Gelato stores are everywhere and they are always crowded

Wine, Wine and more wine

We have a new respect for Chianti wine from Tuscany and perfect for the hot weather. Our favorite was a Chianti was a mix of 80% Sangiovese grape and when drinking with the cold cuts from a charcuterie board, it cleanses the palate as the wine seems to wash away the heavy after taste. We will be putting a few bottles of Chianti Classico in our wine fridge for the summer months. It’s the perfect red for summer!

CHARCUTERIE BOARD

A selection of preserved foods, especially cured meats or pates as well as cheese and crackers or bread is also a staple at most all Italian restaurants. They restaurants have great pride in the presentation of their charcuterie boards. They can clearly define each cut of meat and where it came from, and how it was cured. We like this very much, however it seems very salty and we only occasionally order it.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie

Every restaurant serves pizza and it seems nearly every customer orders it. The pizza is plain and simple, the crust is thinner than pizza crust from the US and for me does not really have much taste. The sauce, oh the sauce!

Ham and mushroom pizza was one of my favorites so far

Spaghetti Italian style

I have ordered spaghetti many times and I must say I do love the spaghetti from Italy. It is much different than spaghetti in the United States. It is simple and uncomplicated with tomato sauce and sometime cherry tomatoes in it. They don’t serve large portions of it here, but the amount seems just right. The noodles and the sauce are mixed carefully before placed on the serving plate with care. It goes great with their Italian bread (no salt and all)

Diet coke - coke 0

It seems to be the simple things in life that make us happy, something familiar. There is no Diet Coke here, but restaurants will be happy to serve you Coke 0.

The Florentine steak

Many restaurants in Florence have their butchered cows hanging in the window allowing their steaks to cure. The servings are large and plentiful. I have had 2 steaks in Florence and they were both fantastic. The taste is nothing like the taste of meat in the US. The Italian steak made of young steer of heifer that, combined with the specific preparation, makes it one of the most popular dishes of the Tuscan cuisine. Only seasoned with salt and pepper.

Typical T-bone steak dinner after server sliced it up for us

Photos and commentary of many of our meals in Florence

Very reasonable prices

It has been our experience in all three cities we have visited thus far that the prices in our chosen restaurants have been very reasonable. As a matter of fact, we are convinced it is more expensive to eat a comparable meal in a Delray Beach restaurant than in the restaurants in Italy we have gone to. I could gustimeate the prices are anywhere from 30-40% cheeper than in South Florida.

More photos of our food experiences in Florence

The following photos are just a sampling of the many wonderful meals we had in Florence.

Bon apetit

We have both thoroughly enjoyed our visits to the restaurants in Florence. We ate out every meal from breakfast to dinner. All is good here. Come on out and enjoy

Prego

Chef Alicia and Cook Tomasso signing off