Amiamo Firenze!

After a good night’s rest, we woke up relatively early, ate breakfast at the hotel, and set out to explore the city on foot.

We walked to the Accademia, the Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery and the Ponte Vecchio.  We were awed by the size and architecture of the Duomo.  I stood there with my jaw dropped, unable to believe what I was seeing.  We will hike to the top of the dome on Monday when the other sites are closed and see the 360◦ views of Florence.

We found an incredible little sandwich shop off the beaten path where we had one of those meals that will live in our memories forever.  For just 10 euro each, we had a salami Panini (yes, I have thrown out all of my “rules” about food for this trip and am planning to eanjoy the local fare) and glass of house red wine.  We got to practice our Rosetta Stone Italian, saying “vino rosso per favore!”  Salami rosso looks and tastes more like ham than salami.  It was thinly sliced, salty and delicious.  The bread may have been the best I’ve ever had.   The ciabatta was crunchy on the outside, light, flaky and warm on the inside.  The sandwich had a light pesto spread that put it right over the top.  Looking out the window at the cobblestone streets, I nearly thought I’d died and gone to heaven.

We walked the along the water and across the Ponte Vecchio.  The buildings and roads are exactly what I pictured Italy to be.  Across from the Ponte Vecchio, we ate at a Gelateria.  I had a raspberry gelato and Kyle had a mixed berry gelato.  It was a fresh, satisfying treat to cool us off on what was already turning out to be a very hot day.

In Rick Steve’s guidebook, he wrote that you can go to the Orsanmichele and buy tickets in advance for the major attractions.  Thanks to that tip, we saved hours in line and will go to those sites tomorrow.  In the meantime, we went into some old, beautiful churches, including the Orsanmichele and the Santa Croce.  We ran into our Parisian friends outside the Santa Croce—what a small world!  Inside the Santa Croce, a 14^th century gothic church, we saw Michelangelo and Galileo’s tombs. 

I must admit that I had to take a nap to recharge my batteries, but then we headed out again for an incredible dinner.  Thanks to a recommendation from Joe, we went to a local gem called 4 Leoni.  We had an incredible meal—highlights include our bruschetta pomodoro appetizer, homemade fagottini stuffed with sweet potato in a asparagus cream sauce, eggplant parmigiana and the lightest, creamiest cheesecake we’ve ever tasted.  We sat next to some Japanese tourists who ordered an unbelievable amount of food for just two people, including two giant bowls of mussels and clams, a plate of tripe and a kilo-sized steak—surprisingly though, they ate every bite!

The city was alive at night with people walking everywhere and live bands playing on the streets.  Florence is a breathtaking city both by day and by night!