Where to Eat: Turin and Florence, Italy - Athens and Santorini, Greece

Bryan and I are not what you would consider foodies. Sure, we love a good meal as much as the next person, but we also believe we can find a good meal without breaking the bank. And in Italy and Greece, it's hard to find a BAD meal. That being said, we wanted to eat well on this trip, but going to the best rated places was not our intention.

Before we even left, we did what everyone would and should do - asked our friends for recommendations. I had a list and a Google Maps layout of so many suggestions. Our thought was, if we happened to be near one of those places, we'd eat there, but we weren't going to go out of our way many stops.

There were so many great places we ate at - I'm just going to run through the summaries and our recommendations below. Keep in mind, these aren't all of our stops. We made several quick visits to cafes for breakfast, quick pizza joints for a slice, etc. These are the places we sat and experienced and enjoyed the ambiance and hope that you do also.

Turin:

Check out the burrata in the background!

Bottega Baretti. Known for their pizza and happened to be two blocks from our hotel. We liked this place so much we went back a second night (and also, a lot of places were closed since it was a Sunday). Get anything with burrata, you won't be disappointed. I dipped my crust into it, it was so good. And we dream of going back there the first chance we get.

100 Montaditos. Translates to 100 Sandwiches. A chain restaurant you can find even in the States, but the sandwiches were true to the region. I only include this one in the post because it was a great stop when a lot of places were closed for Sunday church. Super inexpensive but very tasty!

Del Cambio Pharmacy. We came here for apertivo so can't make a recommendation on food. But it is a great stop in the middle of the square, perfect for people watching.

Florence:

Gnocchi

Osteria Santo Spirito. Known for their gnocchi which we got as an appetizer. We even overheard some exchange students saying they had waited all semester to come and try the gnocchi. Make a reservation because it fills up fast - and ask for a seat on the patio. They will provide blankets.

Acqual Al'2. Known for their blueberry steak. I didn't want to get steak because we're in Italy, why not get pasta everywhere you go?! However, this day I hadn't been feeling well and really needed some protein, so went for the steak. It didn't disappoint. Even Bryan was jealous he didn't try it. Make a reservation here also, because it gets slammed. Even with a reservation we had to wait about 20 minutes.

Blueberry steak

Mercato Centrale. An open air market, similar to the food halls that are popping up in Denver. The first floor is a traditional market where you can buy whatever food you need. The second level is a food court with all sorts of delicacies - Italian, Chinese, you name it. This is near the train station, so a great stop before you leave town, or if you need a place to grab some food before heading out on a tour.

Golden View Firenze. This place I found on Instagram, their pictures will make you dream of going to Florence. From their dining room, you have a great view of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, and if you are eating dinner, you can sit on the open air patio staring at the bridge. They have brunch, lunch, dinner and everything in between. We went for an apertivo and did a flight of wine tastings. 

Il Vivandiere - Cantina Vinicola. This was the place that wasn't meant to be. Returning from Cinque Terre, we spoke with our tour guide, Sarah, who lives in the Santa Croce neighborhood (where we were staying). We asked for recommendations on a good place to eat that wasn't super fancy or wouldn't require a reservation and this was her recommendation. She said she goes to it all the time and the owners know her by name - they serve smaller plates. Well, we tried to find it, but just couldn't. There wasn't a name on the outside so we got lost and were tired and hungry. Looking back we realized we HAD found it, but the place looked fancier than we expected, so we figured it couldn't be it. I add this to the list, because a local recommended it as one of her faves. Go check it out for us!


All'Antico Vinaio. Last but certainly not least. Everyone knows of this sandwich joint in Florence. We were staying close to it, so made a pit stop right when we got into town. Be prepared to wait in line, but the line moves fast. But then make sure you're ready to order! The sandwiches are enormous, cheap and delicious. I think it's a rite of passage that you have to stop here at least once!

Santorini:

Ammoudi Fish Tavern(Oia). Right on the water, seriously. Their menu is expensive and prices change with the season, but you can't get seafood any fresher than this. They catch their seafood every day and the options are all over the place! We made a reservation ahead of time, which cost 20 euros, but that could then be applied to our final bill. Depending on the time of year and day you plan to go, a reservation probably isn't needed, but we figured better safe than sorry.

Pitogyros (Oia). Think Greek fast food. After all day on the boat, we wanted some more grub before heading to bed. This came recommended to us by friends, and our bus driver. They have a walk up window you can order at and they call your name when the food is ready. A large selection of meats to include in your gyro also. And don't let the fact that it's 'fast food' deter you - it is delicious. It also helped that we took it to our private hotel patio and enjoyed the view while eating. :)

Athens:

Monsieur Barbu. I found this restaurant on a list of top new joints in Koukaki (the neighborhood we stayed in). We got to them right when they opened and had a great lunch on the patio. This was our last meal in Athens so we topped it off with our last liter of Rose of the trip.

Yum!

Kalyvas. When getting a ride to our AirBnB, our driver told us he lives in the neighborhood we were staying in (Koukaki), so we asked him for a recommendation on where to eat. He recommended this spot as a family owned, fast casual restaurant, but one of his faves. It happened to be across the street from our house, so we tried it at. This place is not to be missed. The food was amazing and the price was unreal. Seriously, we thought they forgot to include something. We ordered stuffed peppers for an appetizer (stuffed with feta and tomatoes) and gyros. Both orders were bigger than our heads. Add in the half liter of rose (which was also delicious) and our tab was only 13 euros. Unbelievable! And one of the many menu items we've tried to recreate.

Happy eating!

Florence: The Renaissance Walk

On this day we left Turin for Florence. We took an early train because we wanted to spend as much time in Florence as we could, and arrived around lunchtime. We walked to our AirBnb, which was located in the Santa Croce neighborhood of Florence, and met Gio, our amazing host. Gio checked us into our home, gave us a ton of recommendations for the city, and left us to explore.

Waiting in line for a sandwich

First up, was a short walk to All'Antico Vinaio for a sandwich. I know I said there will be another post all about food, but if you know anything about Florence, then you've heard of this shop. A huge sandwich, along with a huge line, for just a few euros. It was well worth the wait, as the sandwiches were delicious, and well worth the laughs watching every teenage girl pose with their sandwich in front of the shop for a photo....and almost falling while doing it. We, however, decided to backtrack a bit and eat our sandwich in the plaza of the Santa Croce church. Beautiful views and people watching. 

After lunch, we walked a couple of blocks to the Leather School of Florence. A bit about Florence and it's leather fame: Florence is one of those unique cities that has a lot of seafood, because of it's fairly close proximity to the water, but also a great place to eat steak or beef, with a lot of cattle in the region. Historically, Italians used every bit of the cow, from a wide range of meals (yes, every single inside of the cow) to the skin, which is why Florence is so well known for it's
leathers. We thought it would be fun to purchase something leather, but wanted to make sure it was good quality, and not a cheap knockoff. That's when I found the leather school. Not only could we watch students making leather products, but there were great show rooms with items ranging from luggage tags, coin purses, up to purses and jackets. We stuck near the belt and wallet range so it wouldn't hurt OUR wallet too much. :)

After our shopping excursion, we stopped at home quick to drop off our goodies since we were just a few blocks away. Our home was also around the corner from the former home of Michelango, so we stopped for a quick photo. It was surprisingly underwhelming from the exterior, but if you want to enter, there is a museum for eight euros you can visit. After we dropped off our goodies, we made our way back to the Duomo and ordered a bottle of wine to sit in the beauty of Florence and get plenty of photos of the famed dome.

We planned to just wander Florence and take in all of the history. Since we didn't want to miss anything, we had brought with us part of Rick Steves' book that has a great walking tour of Florence called the Renaissance Walk. I mentioned in an earlier post that I wasn't a big fan of Rick Steves' books, but what I DO love and recommend in them are his walking tours. An easy way to see the town and learn all about it. If you don't buy the book, you can download the audio tour for free on his website. Here are the sites and stops of the Renaissance Walk. Keep in mind, every stop had incredible detail about the origin and details you looked at. I won't go through them here, but check out the Rick Steves website for more:

1. The Duomo
2. Brunelleschi's Dome
3. Church and Bell Tower
4. Baptistery Contest Doors
5. Baptistery "Gates of Paradise"
6. Via de'Calzaiuoli (Pedestrian street connecting the Duomo to the rest of the walk, with a gelato shop about every other door)
7. Orsanmichele Church
8. Piazza Signoria
9. Palazzo Vecchio (town hall of Florence and hosts a replica of the David)
10. Savonarola plaque (Exact spot where preacher Savonarola was hanged)
11. Uffizi Courtyard (Uffizi gallery is one of the largest art museums of the world, with many pieces of art from the Medici family and Italian Renaissance era)
12. View of the Arno River
13. Ponte Vecchio ('Old Bridge'. Shops all along the bridge, now famed for gold, silver and souvenirs. During World War II, all bridges in Florence were destroyed by the Germans, except this one.)

At the end of our tour, we crossed the Ponte Vecchio, into the neighborhood called Oltrarno (other side of the Arno) and stopped for an apertivo at a cute place called Golden View Open Bar. We each did a wine flight, had a snack and enjoyed the beautiful view of the bridge and the Arno river. Just a few blocks south of here, was the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. (For those interested, the Boboli Gardens is host of the site where Kim Kardashian and Kanye West got married. There's your pop culture - ha!) The Pitti Palace used to be the residence of the Medici family, a base for Napoleon and the capital of the unified Italy. Now, it is the largest museum complex in Florence.

We then made our way to Osteria Santo Spirito where we made a reservation for dinner to come back later. Restaurants in Italy are very tiny, so almost all require a reservation for dinner. We were thrill
ed that we had a great seat outside just next to the square, to enjoy our wine and most famous at this restaurant, the gnocchi. It was a great way to end our first night in Florence after a relaxing day of wandering the city and taking in the history this beautiful town has to offer .We went to bed that night understanding exactly why everyone falls in love with Florence.

Italy's Original Capital, Turin

When planning this trip, we made the decision to go visit Turin, because Bryan's favorite soccer team, Juventus, plays in this city. Plus, it is the original capital of Italy and has a lot of great history here as well. It was also home to the 2006 Winter Olympics. Yet, our favorite part about planning this was everyone asking where Turin is. :) For the record, Turin is in northern Italy, in the Piedmont region. It's about a 45 minute train ride, south and west of Milan.

About two weeks before we left, we went to purchase soccer tickets (that's when they become available) and had a hard time finding a reasonably priced ticket. Then, we came across the unfortunate news that the game had been rescheduled. Yup, we (mostly) planned this entire trip around that game, and now it was no longer. Since Juventus (had) been doing good earlier in the season, there was a chance they would have another game close to this one, so they changed the schedule and we missed out. We contemplated not going to Turin at all because of this change, but thought it would still be fun to visit this town since most people typically don't.

Hard to find this hotel

After getting off the train from Rome, we had about a 10 minute walk to our hotel. Well, it would have been 10 minutes if we could figure out where we were going. Again, I'll post more about the hotels later, but this one was a bit tricky to find. Nevertheless, we found our way and settled into our room. After cleaning up, we headed to dinner at one of our fave restaurants of the entire trip, Bottega Baretti. More to come about restaurants too, but just add this one to your list. Following dinner, we called it an early night. This was our first full night in Italy and after having gone to the Colosseum earlier in the day, we needed some sleep!

The next morning, we hit the streets of Turin. Since we were no longer going to the soccer game, we had the day to do what we wanted. A few blocks down from the hotel, we found a great cafe where I ordered my first Italian coffee and nutella-filled pastry. Trip made. We were staying in the San Salvario neighborhood, and just across the street from the cafe was an open air market. It was fun to wander through and see lots of local and handmade items for sale.

Mole Antonelliana

From there, we made our way through town, first visiting Mole Antonelliana. Mole in Italian is a building of monumental proportions, and this place is believed to be the largest museum in the world. What was once used as a synagogue, now houses the National Museum of Cinema.

Next we found our way to the Royal Palace of Turin, the former palace of the House of Savoy. The House of Savoy, led the unification of Italy and ruled the Kingdom of Italy until 1946. Their palace was then turned into a museum and became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997. The Royal Palace also is home to the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, which is believed to have the Shroud of Turin. The Shroud of Turin is believed to be the cloth that was used for the burial of Jesus. We chose not to go 'see' the Shroud of Turin, because it is buried in a thick wall with nothing to actually see. Instead we wandered the palace grounds and the public garden in the back. 

In the square of the Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale), is the Palazzo Madama. This housed the first Senate of the Italian Kingdom and is now home to a museum of ancient art of Turin. Heading south from here, we stopped in Piazza San Carlo, one of the more famous piazzas of Turin. Here, we finally had our first gelato of Italy. I know, I know, it took us this long to get some. But well worth the stop. :) And THEN we had lunch. Priorities!

Apreol spritz in the park

Following lunch, we went to Parco del Valentino, a giant green space. This spot reminded us exactly of Wash Park in Denver. Space to play volleyball, sit with friends, walk your dog, the list goes on. There were even small concession stands where you could order food or drink. It was here we decided we needed to try our first (and what ended up being only) Aperol spritz. Aperol spritz is a drink very popular in Italy, particularly in this part of the country, made of Aperol and prosecco. It was very bitter, so not our favorite thing, but at least we tried it! We sat under these beautiful trees and enjoyed the view of the River Po. 

After the park, we kept walking through town. Since we couldn't go to the Juventus game, we decided to try the next best thing and visit the Juventus store - had to see what we could get!

Following all of this walking, it was time for a drink! Also popular in Italy is called apertivo - basically our version of happy hour. The apertif was made famous in this part of Italy, the state of Piedmont. Most places you can purchase a drink and food comes along with it at no additional cost. We stopped at a place called Del Cambio Pharmacy that came highly recommended and it did not disappoint. We had a great spot outside on the square and relaxed and enjoyed the view. Following apertivo, we made our way back to the hotel so we could start thinking about dinner. We stopped at a variety of stores along the way, to window shop, but found out the hard way that a lot of places were closed since it was Sunday. It actually made our dinner choices that night slim as well.....twist our arm, we went back to Bottega Barretti for a second night. That's how much we loved it. :)
Turin was definitely a great town to explore - we had over 26,000 steps that day - so much to see! While I know it's not anywhere near the top of someone's list of places to visit in Italy, because it's so far off the beaten path and still has so much history, Bryan and I would definitely recommend you try to stop if your path takes you near it!