Florence and Pisa
Saturday 19th October 2019
Spent the daytime in Florence chez Lorenzo, ending with a shortened version of the traditional Negroni crawl (at old favourites Rivoire and Gilli), then moved on to Pisa in the evening.
Italy October 2019
John's Pictures

10:08:48
Lorenzo's house.

10:09:17
More of Lorenzo's house.

10:10:34

10:18:14
Lorenzo at his local Pasticceria, fittingly enough also called Lorenzo.

12:33:22
Ciao Leonardo!

12:44:45
I recreated the leaning tower of Pisa out of Leonardo's building blocks.

12:45:31

13:04:49
Porcini for lunch.

13:07:16
Chef Lorenzo.

13:25:52
Porcini with penne for lunch - this was delicious.

13:26:41
Accompanied with a very nice Sardinian wine.

13:26:47

15:41:21
Me on the streets of Florence.

15:41:24

15:41:29

15:46:29
The town hall.

15:49:08
In Rivoire now, the lady who made us our Negronis.

15:52:08
Me and Lorenzo with our Negronis.

15:52:15

15:52:22

15:53:14
Our Negronis with accompanying snacks. These were very good.

15:53:16

16:21:11
Next stop - Gilli. It's never quite as nice as Rivoire somehow, but it wouldn't be a Negroni crawl if we only went to one place.

17:17:34
...and it's back to the train travel for me! A very easy journey today, from Florence to Pisa.

18:39:04
On arrival a picture of my hotel room in Pisa.

18:54:33
Off out to explore the streets of Pisa.

18:56:22
The Arno, which, of course, also flows through Florence (but Lorenzo will tell you it is filled with sewage by the time it reaches Pisa).

18:57:59

18:58:03

18:58:44
Quite nice lighting here I think.

19:00:12

19:11:36
I had been searching for a "Caffe Storico" (historic cafe) to continue this afternoon's Negroni crawl with, but Pisa doesn't really seem to go in for these in the same way Florence does. So the closest thing I could find open today was this place - Salza.

19:14:44
The Negroni here wasn't that good to be honest.

19:22:15
...it was OK overall I guess, but there's a very big difference between here and Rivoire/Gilli.

19:32:16
On to dinner, I settled on this pizzeria called Il Montino, where the food struck me as more Ligurian than Tuscan. Firstly, what I know as farinata or socca, but here they call cecina.

19:33:18
...which goes very well with beer.

19:39:50
Next a slightly off take on the classic mozzarella and tomato salad wherein the tomato is cooked. Took a little bit of getting used to but by the end I was quite enjoying it.

20:06:43
I also had a pizza but forgot / couldn't be bothered to take a picture. Here's the bill. Very reasonable.

20:07:41
Il Montino seen from an alleyway.

20:29:24
Popped into a bar called Barrique to try "the best Negroni in Pisa". It was indeed very good.

20:45:45
Outside Barrique.

21:02:04
An atmospheric alley in Pisa.

21:03:33
I eventually found this little piazza (delle Vettovaglie) which seems to be where all the local students go. Very nice atmosphere here.

21:03:38

21:22:16
The drinks here were ridiculously cheap - 3.50 for a Negroni!

21:22:55
...yes it was served in a small plastic cup but it wasn't terrible.

21:34:21
The crows outside the incredibly cheap bar.

21:35:56
I decided it was probably time tocall it a night and head back to my hotel at this point.

21:38:08
Back across the bridge over the Arno.

21:54:52

21:55:30
I was somehow amused by the implied distinction between chips and food here.

21:59:56
A window of a nice looking menswear shop.

22:00:22

22:00:41