Firenze = Fabulous Food Coma

Firenze comes From the Latin florens, florentio, floreo meaning to flower or blossom but I think it should mean food because the food in the Tuscan region is just sensational. Since being here we have sampled some of the finest food we have ever tasted and have learnt how to distinguish between foods that are “meh” and aren’t worth the calories or the kilometres needed to burn them off and foods that are worth putting in your mouth and savouring every last morsel. 

One evening we enjoyed ourselves learning how to make pizza from scratch (it’s waaaaay easier than you can even guess - and waaaay healthier than the deep fried grease traps of our local Australian pizza chains) and then made our own gelato that was smooth, silky and chocolatey. Our teacher chef, Catarina, walked us through each step and spoke about the absolute importance of using the best ingredients and a healthy dose of love when we prepare our food. After eating our own pizza and gelato we have become very adept at picking out good tasting foods and fake gelato and we’ve pretty much been in a food coma ever since. 

The other thing that we have really enjoyed, and I guess this is part of the joy of travelling, is visiting local supermarkets and eateries to explore the local produce and try things out. One thing we did try which is a specialty of Florence was a dish called Lampredotto. We were told it was very good by some locals and that we should try it. We didn’t ask what it was and didn’t even translate it into English before tucking into a bowl. This was probably just as well because it turns out that Lampredotto is the stewed 4th stomach of a cow. Hmmm. We didn’t mind the taste - it was beef/tomato flavoured with some indistinguishable herbs thrown in - but the  texture was a little too chewy for our liking.  I took a few mouthfuls, as did the boys but Bren polished off most of the meal. Let’s just say that this won’t be a recipe we’ll  be recreating back home.  Pizza and gelato however - you bet!!!