Jaya's Ramblings....: Jaya's Italian journal - Italy Trip day Florence Oct 2nd 2025

Thursday started with a trip to Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio, the oldest market in Florence. It opens at 7 AM. My favorite pastry shop, Pasticceria Nencioni, is right around the corner, so I started my morning there with a fabulous pastry and cappuccino.

After visiting the market, I couldn’t resist — I went back to Nencioni for another round and tried a different kind of pastry.

Then we stopped by a restaurant around the corner. It’s an upscale restaurant at night and a cooking school during the day for Ciao Florence cooking lessons. I should have planned better — the class I wanted was full. I knew they toured the market as part of their cooking class, so we followed them there for a bit.

I met the chef who teaches the class, and who would have thought — he’s a Boston Celtics fan! He also recommended the same pastry shop, so yes, we definitely found a local favorite.

The market has all kinds of grocery stores and farmer’s stalls. I could easily see myself buying so much if this market was in Boston! A lot of pre-cooked and marinated foods — the kind that makes everyday cooking easy.

By Day 3, we already had a sense of Florence, so we decided to just walk and explore. Piazza della Signoria has a replica of the David statue, carved by sculptor Luigi Arrighetti. Not sure Michelangelo had this in mind when he created his masterpiece, but David truly is the face of Florence.

In the afternoon, I wandered around the area near where we were staying and discovered Mercato Centrale, which I had somehow missed the last two days! I had no idea such a wonderful place was nearby.

The lower market opens at 7 and closes at 2, just like Sant’Ambrogio. I went there to buy a few things — not fresh produce, but food items and snacks. Then I went upstairs, where the fancy part of the market is — a big, modern food court that stays open until 10 PM.

We came back home for a quick nap, and by evening we were ready to enjoy Florence by night. We went to Piazza Santo Spirito for drinks — a recommendation from the information center — and found lots of amazing places to eat. Honestly, it was some of the best food I’ve ever had.

The signature Florence dish is Bistecca alla Fiorentina — a must-try!

Some of the beautiful places we visited or passed by:

Piazza della Signoria
Piazza Santa Croce
Ponte Vecchio
Piazza de’ Pitti
Mercato Centrale Firenze
Piazza Santo Spirito
Piazza della Repubblica

The man who yeaches Italian cooking and loves Boston Celtics

and my in house chef enjoying the farmers market, I coulnt have imagined this pre covid

Piazza Santa Croce

Piazza della Signoria

Heard Paris has statues of naked women everywhere - Italy seems to have gone other way !!

Ponte Vecchio

This Tiramisu was worth every penny. I thought it was too expensive Nencioni had set the bar too low but later I paid €10 for a mango cheesecake in Marcato Central.