Monday, Dec. 29, 2014, Florence & Orvieto, Italy
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to Spring – Aix en Provence for the Easter Festival.
A visit to the Mercato Centrale starts this Music and Markets day – first the market, then the music!
A tasting of balsamic vinegar is always a palate and eye-opener. Who knew vinegar could taste like this?! So dense, richly flavored and thick, the 15 year old elixir is delicious over ice cream or strawberries. 
A taste of cheese at one booth, prosciutto at another, dried fruits of every imaginable variety here,
baskets overflowing with dried porchini there. 
We’ll return at the end of the tour to stock up before flying home. For now, it’s goodbye Florence, and on to the jazz – with a stop at the Prada outlet on the way. And we get there with an hour or so to check in to the lovely Palazzo Piccolomini, then pick up our tickets and walk to a 4:00 concert, a “Love Supreme” Coltrane 50th Anniversary tribute with Joe Lovano and Chris Potter. 
Their stellar band includes the legendary Cecil McBee on bass. The first of the impressive pianists we’ll hear, Lawrence Fields, has the longest fingers I’ve ever seen – and boy, can he make magic on the keys!
The Sala dei 400 in the Palazzo del Publico is packed, jazz filling the historic hall where the council of 400 met in medieval times. Just a few traces of frescoes remain, high above, in this, the ancient People’s Palace. 
Scarved, hatted, and gloved, we brave the cold to join Funk Off as they strut the cobbled lanes at 6 pm. Their funky jazz can warm anybody up!
A delicious dinner at the recently renovated Sette Consoli completes our day – 
oh it’s great to be back in Orvieto!
The best way to describe us (Kirk and Anne Woodyard) is that we're interested in the stories that make the places we visit come alive.
We've visited Europe more times than we can count, learned some entertaining stories there, and met some warm and helpful people who also enjoy the wonders of music and life in Europe. Between our music-related travels, we split our time between our homes near Washington DC and in the the south of France. We look forward to sharing these stories and friends and experiences with you.
Happy New year, sis! Wish we could be there with you–the markets and lights look wonderful! Maybe someday… Meanwhile, the lake is frozen in Maine, and the neighbors are skating and playing hockey on it!
Would love to see skating photos, Lorna! Drove through quite a snowstorm yesterday – unexpected!
What a fab day! Balsamic vinegar over ice cream or strawberries; who would have thought?
Happy New Year, Anne! Funk in Umbria? Nice.
Lovely post! We’ll be in Florence in May so I really appreciate these tips! A Prada outlet? I hope we have time for that. Your Music and Markets Tours sound like the perfect combination of experiences in Europe – I included news in the spring column at Fifty-five Plus Magazine.
Thanks, Michele – would love to include some of your readers in an upcoming tour!
What a great combination of food and music, devine! That would be a perfect visit and music tour to me.
Great looking market. I love a good balsamic vinegar. I will use it without any oil and additional seasoning as a salad dressing, but I never thought to put in on ice cream.
What great photos and what an alliterative and interesting name and theme for a tour company. Good luck with it.
Wow, I’ve got to try balsamic over ice cream. I have had it with strawberries, and it’s wonderful. Maybe a reduction instead of the wimpy stuff we get here in Oz. Days like this one you described are why slow travel is so desirable. Imagine if you’d rushed away for something more regular, what you would have missed. Lovely.
What a wonderfully fun look at two of our favorite places in Italy, thanks!
I’m always amazed at how American music is so infiltrated in the culture of Italy and other European countries!
Fantastic photographic essay! I really enjoyed it!!
Great food and music–lucky you! Love the market images.
We loved the Funk Off, and Orvieto, can’t get enough of that place. Happy new year!
I’m sold on getting to Orvieto for next year’s Jazz Festival! Thanks for the tips.
Music and markets — right up my alley. Everything looks and sounds enticing about your time in Florence and Orvieto, especially as a big jazz fan. Looking forward to hearing about the Easter Festival in Aix. I was just there for Christmas festivities. Wonderful town.