On our way we passed by yet new streets with new shops we wanted to revisit on our way back.We stopped at the Central Market first as the "food market" closed at 2:00. All I can say is WOW!!!! Amazing displays of food..... Meat, vegetables, fruit, spices, pasta of course, candy, cooking oils, wines, and more.
There were many,many meat displays and after seeing them..... it would be very easy to become a vegetarian.... Roosters with their head, comb and feet, gigantic pig feet, cows hooves, some kind of animal heads ....not sure if it was pig or something else. There was an entire case of animal who knows what. We couldn't figure out much of it..... Animal skin, intestines, kidneys, and other animal organs. Ok enough of that....
The other displays were enticing! The breads looked great and the fruits and vegetables were beautiful! It was a bustling market. Upstairs was an amazing food court. The Americans could learn from this! Fresh homemade pasta...you pick the kind and sauce.... they make it fresh to order.... A pizza bar where they make the dough and you pick the toppings....then into the brick oven. An area with more cheeses than I've ever seen for cheese platters. There were bakeries, coffee bars and more. We planned to return in the evening to eat dinner there!
Then off to the Synagogue...services had just ended and the gates were closed so we couldn't go in .But we heard people inside the yard area,so we tried to get in. They opened the door and some people came out....we were told that it was closed and would reopen for services at 8:00 PM. The woman talking to us, however, said a group of them were going to the Chabad house and would we like to join them all for lunch? Why not? There were about 20 of us in total. Most were visitors/tourists from orthodox backgrounds who happened by. It turned out the woman who invited us was the Rebbizen.... The Rabbi's wife. They were originally from Brooklyn and 38 years ago, their Chabad Rabbi sent them to Florence to open a Chabad there. They have 10, yes 10 children and 33 grandchildren. Can you imagine? We had very "authentic" food.... Kugel, Chuntz (sp ?),
Hummus, Challah, of course. The Rabbi did the blessings and gave a short convoluted mini sermon. We spoke with a young man, 33, who is here for an electrical engineering conference and came for services. We also met a couple originally from South Africa, then Irvine and now Baltimore. Another couple was there from Bnai Brach in Israel. What a coincidence!!!!! We knew EXACTLY where that was as we got lost in Bnai Brach when we were in Israel going to Hadass's house. Small World! All in all it was a nice, unique afternoon! Obviously we could not and dared not take any photos there as it was Shabbat. Tomorrow we'll go back so we can go into the Synagogue. Stay tuned! It looks gorgeous from the outside!
From there we walked and walked and walked to the river and Pitti Palace. Of course we had our Gelato again.... Then back to the room to relax a bit!
Back we went to the market place to have dinner in the food court. It was unbelievably crowded. What a difference from earlier in the day when it was empty. Now.... Wall to wall people. We found a table and took turns getting food... The pizza was delicious..... The latte and cinnamon roll were good too. We learned this place only opened a few weeks ago .... Clearly this place is a hit with the locals!
Tomorrow is our last day in Florence.... Hard to believe.... almost 3 weeks have gone by.....
The Central Market
This is an example of the narrow streets with LOTS of people.... imagine driving down a street like this!
An interesting hanging piece in a newly opened specialty market
Another very full day and night.... having a wonderful time
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