ITALY - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1216

Eating Cheaply in the Oltrarno
Trattoria Sabatino, farthest away and least touristy of my Oltrarno listings, is a spacious,
brightly lit mess hall—disturbingly cheap—with family character and a simple menu. It's
a super place to watch locals munch. You'll find it just outside Porta San Frediano, a
15-minute walk from Ponte Vecchio (€4 pastas, €5 secondi, Mon-Fri 12:00-15:00 &
19:15-22:00, closed Sat-Sun, Via Pisana 2 red, tel. [phone], little English spoken).
Trattoria Casalinga, an inexpensive standby, comes with aproned women bustling
around the kitchen. Florentines and tourists alike pack the place and leave full and happy,
with euros to spare for gelato (€7 pastas, €8-10 secondi, Mon-Sat 12:00-14:30 &
19:00-21:45,after20:00reserveorwait,closedSunandAug,justoffPiazzadiSantoSpirito,
near the church at Via de' Michelozzi 9 red, tel. [phone], Andrea and Paolo).
BorgoAntico isthehitofPiazzadiSantoSpirito,withenticingpizzas,bigdeluxeplates
of pasta, a delightful setting, and a trendy and boisterous young crowd (€8-10 pizza and
pasta, €14-18 secondi, daily 12:00-23:00, best to reserve for a seat on the square, Piazza di
Santo Spirito 6 red, tel. [phone], Andrea and Michele—feel his forearm). Volume, the
bar next door, is run by the same gang.
RicchiCaffè, nexttoBorgoAntico,hasfinegelato,homemadedesserts,shadedoutdoor
tables, and €9 pasta dishes at lunch (daily 7:00-24:00, tel. [phone]). After noting the
plain facade of the Brunelleschi church facing the square, step inside the café and pick your
favorite picture of the many ways it might be finished.
Florence Connections
FlorenceisTuscany'stransportationhub,withfinetrain,bus,andplaneconnectionstovirtu-
allyanywhereinItaly.Thecityhasseveraltrainstations,abusstation(nexttothemaintrain
station),andanairport(plusPisa'sairportisnearby).Livorno,onthecoastwestofFlorence,
is a major cruise-ship port for passengers visiting Florence, Pisa, and other nearby destina-
tions.
By Train
From Florence by Train to: La Spezia (for the Cinque Terre, 5/day direct, 2.5 hours, oth-
erwise nearly hourly with change in Pisa, €11.30), Milan (hourly, 1.75 hours, €53), Milan's
Malpensa Airport (2/day direct, 2.75 hours, €58), Venice (hourly, 2-3 hours, may trans-
fer in Bologna; often crowded—reserve ahead, €43), Rome (at least hourly, 1.5 hours, most
connections require seat reservations, €45), Interlaken (5/day, 5.5-6 hours, 2-3 changes),
Frankfurt (1/day, 12 hours, 1-3 changes), Paris (3/day, 10-15 hours, 1-2 changes, import-
ant to reserve overnight train ahead), Vienna (1 direct overnight train, or 5/day with 1-3