Florence Street Food and the Mercato Centrale

Back in Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, we hired a local guide for a walking food tour. Breakfast was a pastry and cappuccino at Gamberini, a traditional pasticceria (cappuccino is a morning drink here; later in the day, it’s espresso). Then came chocolates at Cioccolateria Ballerini, a look at marbled paper-making with Riccardo Luci, and a tripe sandwich.

At the Mercato Centrale, the city’s largest market, we browsed Tuscan meats and cheeses, fresh pasta and the seafood corner before heading upstairs to the food court. We finished with wine at Enoteca Ponte Vecchio and gelato at Gelateria dei Neri.