Hi Gastro, You’ll most likely have a great time in Florence, especially since it sounds like you’re willing to explore off the beaten path. I attended Apicius, though, and would definitely not recommend it, particularly if you're hoping to apply your experience there to a professional slot in the industry. Their marketing is impressive and savvy, but if your experience is anything like mine was (and several of the other people in my classes), you’ll be shocked at the difference between what is advertised, and what you actually encounter. Just be careful not to let your natural excitement about being in Italy color your decision about whether you attend Apicius. I had been gently warned about this by a lackluster review from one of the school’s former students, and really wish now that I’d listened. If you'd like to discuss further via email, feel free to let me know. Now to the more pleasant part: visiting Florence. This is a blanket statement, but in general, I’d stick more to Oltrarno (on the south side of the Arno) than the more tourist-packed parts of the city. If you want an authentic, Florentine “neighborhood-y” experience, try lunch or dinner at Trattoria Casa Linga, just right around the corner from Piazza Santo Spirito. If you’ve ever eaten at “meat ’n’ three’s” in the southern U.S., the experience is similar; it’s basic food, but tasty, and a lot of fun eating with no one but locals. Florence isn’t known for its pizza (Naples is), but you’ll find great pizza at Mangiatoia, on Via Romana, just one block past Pitti Palace. They have a restaurant upstairs, but it’s more fun to eat at the little semi-circular bar in front of a wood-burning oven when you first enter. You can get a delicious margarita pizza and a quarter-liter of their sparking house white (fairly good, actually, for house wine) for about 8 euros. Mangiatoia offers very friendly service, was usually filled with locals, and definitely became a favorite haunt. Dante, a block south of Ponte alla Carraia, can be fairly touristy, but has good food, as well. On that same block, try Marino’s, a very friendly, wonderful little pastry shop. On the corner of that same street is a gelato shop that’s out of this world. And if you want to try a very authentic tripperia, definitely have dinner or lunch at Il Magazzino, right on Piazza della Passera. All of these restaurants are in Oltrarno. This is another blanket generalization, but by and large, you’ll basically do well to avoid places with menus in both Italian and English out front; the menus in English more often than not seemed to directly correspond to the quality (and authenticity) of the restaurant’s food. Another good option that’s definitely fun is Teatro del Salle, which is located on Via de Macci, not far from Santa Croce. The food is amazing, and the experience is definitely memorable; the kitchen has enormous windows that open out to the dining area so you can watch chefs at work, and fresh dishes of roasted meat, fresh cheeses, fresh pasta, beans and marinated vegetables, salads, etc., are constantly brought out to the table, with a giant bellow announcing which dishes are ready that comes from their exec chef in the kitchen door. There’s a $10 membership fee (for one year), but it’s most definitely worth it; you’ll basically be paying 14 euros for lunch that includes as much food as you’d like, as much wine as you’d like, plus coffee and dessert -- with nary a tourist in sight. I’d be hard-pressed to think of a place where you’d get that level of food quality and ambiance for that amount. If you do visit, introduce yourself to Deborah, a very gracious Irish-American woman who serves as a sort of hostess/maitre d’. She has all sorts of information on Florence and the culinary scene. And Teatro del Salle is just about one block from the San Ambrogio market, a fantastic, enormous indoor-outdoor market that’s quite an experience. Makes for a great afternoon. In response to your question about the one thing you’d need to do in town, it’s hard to narrow it down that much, because I’m not sure what your specific interests are. If I could only list three, though, I’d suggest: Santa Croce, Pitti Palace, and a tiny coffee house called Café degli Artigiani, right at Piazza della Passera. Its owners, Cinzia and Marco, are so welcoming and fun, and if their young son is there, he even helps you with your Italian. If you go in warmer weather, you’ll wind up wiling away hours on their small patio, just people-watching, sipping fantastic coffee drinks, listening to accordianists who stroll by, and watching small kids play in the piazza. It’s great fun, and a wonderful memory. It’s also easy to walk to the train station in Florence and take inexpensive day trips to fun towns like Lucca (you can rent bikes and bike around the city wall that surrounds the city), Siena, Bologna, Parma, and most definitely Cinque Terre, if you have time. I’ve never seen anything more lovely and interesting than this string of five inlets, each one very different from the others. Florence is definitely a fun city to visit, but I'd carefully consider all options before making a final decision about your choice for school. There are so many great programs out there. Hope this info helps somewhat--buona fortuna!
