PlanetEye

This simple, family style restaurant promises some of the most impressive “Rustic Tusca” cuisine in the area. Known for their fantastic white bean dishes and the Ribollita, fresh pasta, soups, fantastic antipasto starters, braised pork dishes, and seafood risotto. They also have a simple yet delicious selection of Tuscan wines. Always ask what the chef or waiters suggest to go with your meal, as they are very good at recommending wines that bring out the flavors in the meal you’re having. This is a real locals’ place, so you need to make reservations. Located by the Roman gate (Porta Romana), about a 20 minute walk from Piazza della Signoria across the Arno. €20-25 per person.

Da Ruggero (closed Tues./Wed.)

Via Senese 89r

Phone: 055-220542

On May 25th, join the celebration of Italian wine and "enotourismo" at an event called "Cantine Aperte 2008.

Cantine Aperte (Open Wineries Day) is the most important event held in Italy on the last Sunday of May: starring wine, its people and its places. ??On this festive day, all Italian wine lovers unite. From the Alps to Sicily, almost one thousand wineries welcome wine tourists to vineyards, barrels and barriques.

From the first edition held in 1993 to date, the event has enjoyed constant success and has continually expanded to include over eight hundred wineries open to one million enthusiastic wine tourists. ??The Tuscan region certainly can't be excluded from this important appointment with its great wine-producing lands: Chianti first and foremost, but let's not forget other prestigious controlled domination of origin (DOC) like Montalcino and Montepulciano, or other less famous areas like Massa Marittima, Maremma or the Etruscan coast. ??

There are almost 130 wineries in Tuscany that participate in Cantine Aperte, opening their doors to wine tourists on Sunday, May 25th, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Some wineries even organize original events. For example, "Finocchiona Day" to celebrate the praises of one of Chianti's age-old traditional lunch meats. ???

For information:

Movimento Turismo del Vino Toscana

Phone: 055 290684 Fax: 055 295189

Email: toscana@movimentoturismovino.it

You can download maps of wineries that participate in Cantine Aperte at: www.mtvtoscana.it.

Not just a regular wine bar here in Florence, the Coquinaros Wine Bar lets you go in at any time of day for a snack. Located just next to the Duomo, this is a quick retreat from the heavy crouds and soon to be overwhelming heat.

You can try cold dishes, such as meat or fish carpaccios, avocado salads, feta cheese, nuts and carrots, Tuscan salami and a selection of their wonderful cakes (asparagus cake!). They also have a wonderful selection of Italian, Californian, Chilean and Argentine wines to go with you meal. They also have great hand made pasta dishes.

Address:

15r Via delle Oche

Pinocchio's Birthday is celebrated May 25 in the Tuscan town of Pescia located on the train line from Florence to Lucca, famous for its Flower Market and the Adventures of Pinocchio, a fictional character that first appeared in 1883 by Carlo Collodi. Carved from a piece of pine by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a small Italian village, he was created as a wooden puppet, but dreamt of becoming a real boy. The name "Pinocchio" is derived from the Italian words pino (pine tree), and occhio (eye), i.e. pine-eye. In the Tuscan dialect, pinocchio is the term used to refer to the pine nut.

The Adventures of Pinocchio comes to life in Italy's Pinocchio Park, in the village of Collodi. Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio's creator, took his pen name from Collodi, birthplace of his mother. The park tells Collodi's version of the Pinocchio story through sculpture, mosaics and puppet shows.

Pinocchio Park is a great place to take kids. A winding path leads visitors through the Village of Pinocchio as they encounter statues of characters from the story. The park also has a snack bar and picnic area, amusement park for small children, a theater for puppet shows, and a museum and gift shop. There's even an internet train to keep the parents occupied.

Pinocchio Park is open every day, 8:30 to sunset.

The medieval hillside village of Collodi, 17km northeast of Lucca in Tuscany, is an interesting place to visit, too. Also in Collodi, near Pinocchio Park, is the Garzoni Garden. A combination ticket is available to visit both places.

As many of you readers know, there's more to Tuscany than just Florence. Each week I try and find a new place to suggest to friends and family and this week I hit the jackpot with the lovely town of Arezzo. Set on a steep hill overlooking the floodplain of the Arno, this is a fantastic 38 minute train ride from Florence. Remember the  1997 academy award winning film, “Life is Beautiful”? You’ll see it here in Arezzo, with many of the scenes shot right in the city and nearby countryside.

The small 11^th century city boasts big things, like the Piazza Grande, the most noteworthy medieval square in the city, opening behind the thirteenth-century Romanesque apse of S. Maria delle Pive.  Once the main marketplace of the city, it is currently the site of the Giostra del Saracino ("Joust of the Saracin"). Also must sees are the numerous churches located at the top of the hill, the ampitheatre, the Medici Fortress, and the famous Anitque Fair that occupies Piazza Grande and many of the streets leading to it, with an array of some 500 stalls by which is fun to browse though.

Arezzo is also home to an annual popular music and culture festival, each July, called Arezzo Wave. Publicly funded, it attracts bands of high repute and attendees from all over Europe and North America. It also features literary and film expositions.

On weekends, via Corso Italia is the place to been seen while shoping. Via San Franceso has a handful of really fantastic wine bars and restaurants, too many to count! You can’t go wrong coming here, and although there are tourists, there is something charming about this place and you feel like you fit right into the Italian way of life. As usual, plan your trip so you arrive in the morning and not at lunch time. With many Tuscan towns, they all close around lunch time, so plan on taking a nice long 2 hour lunch with the locals. Enjoy!

For many, the difference between Tuscany & Umbria is visibly small, but for the experienced traveler and native, it’s like stepping into a different country. From food, wine, culture and even the language, you can see many differences between the two regions. Both are fantastic, and those staying in Tuscany should make an effort to visit the rugged countryside and small villages of Umbria. So this coming May 11^th, why not make your way to the charming village of Orvieto for the feast of the Palombella? Since 1404, this celebrated tradition of the white dove has been virtually unitnerupted. In the beginning, the event was held inside the Duomo where, from a wall, a white dove, "la palombella", its wings tied open wide with red silk ribbons to a haloed structure, slid along a thin wire stretching to a wooden canopy, set on the main altar, representing the scene of the Last Supper, on which the Virgin Mary and the Apostles were painted. At noon the arrival of the haloed structure on the Last Supper and small flames were lit on the heads of the Apostles, a sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit. This was accompanied by a loud outburst of fireworks. In 1864, an old order of the 1725 Concilio Laterano, was applied, which prohibited fireworks within the churches. The Palombella event was at that point moved outside of the Duomo in the square. From the very first events, the popular belief that there would be a good harvest if the “Palombella” reached the canopy of the Last Supper without stopping along the wire, came through. Another tradition is that to give the white dove to the couple who last got married in Orvieto. ?

Even if you can’t make the festival, Orvieto is a fantastic day trip. Careful with a car, the streets are small and winding. Better yet, take the train from Florence and the bus up to the city center. From here you’ll have incredible views of the countryside, the charming squares and piazzas, the Duomo, Etruscan ruins and the underground city. Positively stunning and a real treat for those that think they have seen it all! 

With a recent visit from friends this last weekend who are big antique fans, they suggested a trip to the nearby town of Pistoia. Although I’ve passed it many times on the train, I was always under the impression there wasn’t much to see there. How wrong I was!

Although not as visited as other towns in Tuscany, mostly due to the industrial environs, Pistoia presents a well-preserved and charming medieval city inside the old walls. This charming town was filled with people for market day, and street after street was filled with folding booths and vans with all types of goodies to buy. Although not a food market, you can find something for everyone. The market is located on Via Cigliegiale, every Wednesday and Saturday.  Even if you aren’t into shopping, the city offers a fantastic Bell Tower in the Piazza Duomo, the Ospedale del Ceppo and the octagonal baptistery. While friends searched for their antiques (sadly the antique market was the following weekend) I wandered around, ducking into the glorious court house, enjoyed a glass of wine and enjoyed my people watching for the day. Roghly 38 minutes from Florence, if you are market fans, this is a great day trip out of the city!