Soccer and Food and Fun

Ohhhh Fiorentiiiinaaaaa!! Wednesday we went to the Fiorentina (Florence’s soccer team) game and got to witness the passion and feistiness that constitutes European Football. The soccer fans were more hostile than Yankees versus Red Sox, and maybe even more passionate than the most devoted New England fans I know. These people are nuts. The stadium even has to check your belt when you enter the complex, because whipping one another seems to be a common show of fan rivalry. All over Europe, fans gather to bash in the heads of opposing fans, wave their flags in the air, and scream chants that border on cruelty. They LOVE their team with all their hearts, and when Florence played Naples this Wednesday night the passion was evident. Nick and I sat with a group of my friends from the program in the “quiet” side of the stadium, reserved for people slightly less aggressive and crazy than the “true fan” side. In fact, the opposite side of the stadium from us was reserved for Fiorentina fans only, and you had to have a valid European Union ID to sit in that section – these are the real fans. Across from us, we watched them wave 30-foot flags and chant incessantly the Fioretina anthem. Ohhhh Fiorentiiiinaaaa! We were at first disappointed to be separated from what looked like the really “fun” area. But toward the end of the game, we got to witness true soccer fan-dom at its best. A fight nearly broke out just in front of us – Florence had scored a goal and a few older Fiorentina fans started taunting a group Napoli fans seated close by. They hollered at each other in angry Italian, saying what I’m sure wasn’t the nicest of words. The Fiorentina fans pulled off their belts and waved them threatening at the Napolis. One man was making the “I kill you” motion, slicing a finger across his throat in the direction of the Naples fans, and then proceeding to grab his crotch and butt and shaking both at the disgruntled opposers. It was so entertaining, sort of frightening, and we felt proud to have witnessed an almost-fight at European soccer. A very authentic experience. Oh, and I can’t forget two things: First, Florence won 2-1. Yay! And second, possibly even better than the game was the giant pig roasting outside the stadium, where fans lined up (including Nick, of course) to buy a hunk of freshly cut ham put into a sandwich. Yum!

Thursday was a day for walking. As it was finally nice out last week (back to rain rain rain this week), me, Nick and Allie took the trip up the hills beyond the Arno River to Piazzale Michaelangelo, also called “Fake David Square” because in the square sits a teal-colored copy of The David statue. I’m not sure what it’s made of – anyone know? Teal-colored bronze-like material? Anyway, the walk was very nice, in a small back neighborhood of the outer center, and led us to a tree-lined staircase on the side of a hill. Braving the steep hill, we ascended above Florence by early evening light and reached the top to look down at the twinkling city below. Along the walk was an odd fenced-in “feline community” – complete with tiny cat houses scattered throughout the woods for the felines living there. One even came out to say hello and I managed to get clawed within moments of petting it head. I guess cats that live in houses the side of a breadbox aren’t too friendly…So…we checked out the Fake David, looking pretty fake, and took in the beautiful view, then visited San Miniato. This church at the tip-top point above the city was smaller than most others and we weren’t able to go inside, but on its property was also an interesting cemetery for Florentine families. As night descended, so did we, returning to the city just in time for delicious dinner. See description below…

Since I was getting treated to nice dinners all week :) they deserve to be mentioned here. First of all, Nick and I discovered that if you eat dinner in Florence on American time (dinner at 7) instead of Italian time (dinner at 9 or 10), you get free stuff! The first place we went, a modest restaurant by the Arno, treated us to lemoncello shots after dinner – a fruity drink that seems to be popular and cheap around here. Another place gave us champagne before the meal and a large dish of antipasto for two that included samples about six different appetizers – all on the house. As Dad would say, I like Free! But back to the dinners – two are the most memorable. First, a restaurant called Cibreo, which specializes in not having pasta. Their goal is to show the patron what the Tuscan region has to offer besides pasta dishes. This was nice, since every other restaurant seems to have about thirty pasta choices for every meat one. Cibreo is small and cozy, and the waiter was kindly willing to explain each dish to us in English and give some recommendations. Nick went with the bold rabbit stew, while I ordered a dish of chicken-meatballs. Turned out I got a miniature bowl with two (two!) miniature meatballs in it…hah! But they were bathed in a delectable sauce and I of course sampled some rabbit stew, which was also surprisingly amazing for how strange it sounds. And after…this is the best part…Chocolate cake! Honestly, no joke, no doubt, the BEST chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. And I’ve eaten a lot of chocolate cake. Let’s just say we got dessert to share and I ate about 90%. SO good.
Second dinner! This one was at a place I can’t remember the name of and will just leave it to Nick to post in the comments section if necessary…But I do know that it’s executive chef is a Hapsburg Prince (which I guess are an ancient nobility from Germany and Austria?) and he just hangs out in Florence cooking the Italian way with a hint of Germany. This was where we got free champagne and antipasto. My main dish here was a great ravioli and then – veal! It was almost too much food to handle, but amazing nonetheless. Second only to the chocolate cake from Cibreo.

Stay tuned! More restaurant reviews and fun museum stories to follow :)