Vacay, part 4 - More Florence

Saturday, Sept. 29
During breakfast at our hotel, an older American woman from New Jersey struck up a conversation with us. She told us that it was so great we were taking the trip now instead of waiting 50 years, like they did. We appreciated her comment and kept that little tidbit in the back of our mind throughout the rest of our trip.

After breakfast, we left for our reservations at the Uffizi Gallery, a museum filled with various sculptures and paintings, including Michelangelo's Venus in a half shell Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus." (My hubby corrected me this morning. My bad...)

Then we headed over to Florence's leather district, stopping for lunch at a lovely little outdoor restaurant called Baldovino.

We started with bruschetta then split the most delicious pizza topped with the most decadent mozzarella cheese and cherry tomatoes. It really was our best pizza of the entire trip.


Also, with every meal, we were offered water "with or without gas," as in sparkling or not. More often than not, we ordered "frizzante" (with gas). At this particular restaurant, they served it in this really cool bottle.


After lunch, we strolled the leather district a bit more then stopped for gelato at the world-famous Vivoli. I had orange and cream, strawberry and mixed berry. Brent had hazelnut, cream and chocolate.


Stuffed with our Italian ice cream goodness, we visited the Duomo's leather school where stuff was outrageously expensive. Beautifully crafted, but pricey.

Later that night we went to dinner at La Giostra, one of the top-rated restaurants in the city. It started off rocky. They sat us at a table right next to the kitchen door. And the table was wobbly. All of that, paired with the intense flashing twinkle lights and crazy American 80s/90s music, made us a little crazy. But we got them to move us to a different table and things started to look up, even though my cold medicine was starting to wear off.

I started with burrata cheese served with pink grapefruit, honey and oranges. It was scrumdiddlyumptious. Brent started with fish carpaccio, which was also tasty.


My main dish was spinach gnocchi, a yummy dish that looked like green beans. Brent had pear tortellini, which sounds like an unlikely combo but it was delicious. We also split a beef dish that was good (no pic).


The food was great, but my body was achy from my cold and I just wanted to lay down. We asked for the check when the last course arrived. Another waiter saw it and we said, "Oh, that's our check" as we moved it out of his way. He asked us, disgustingly, "Why?" I explained that I wasn't feeling well and wanted to leave. He seemed half concerned.

So, in a nutshell, I'd recommend that restaurant for its tasty dishes but keep your non-food expectations loooow.

Sunday, Sept. 30
Our hotel, which we absolutely adored and would highly recommend, was next to the Arno River. And the river had given birth to a billion bloodsuckers. I woke up Sunday morning with a bunch of mosquito bites, as did Brent. And he killed a mosquito that morning in our bathroom that resulted in a dime-size amount of red blood on the wall -- as in OUR BLOOD. Bastards!

After breakfast, we walked to a NY Times-recommended bakery called Dolci & Dolcezzie. We got four tortes - lemon, strawberry, chocolate creme and chocolate. Yummy!

We went back to the Ponte Vecchio area and looked for an olive oil place for Brent. Sadly, it was closed. Boo...

We went back to the leather district, where we bought a purse for me, a purse for my mom and a belt for Brent. We had some pizza for lunch, then more gelato from Vivoli. I had vanilla, tiramisu and rice. Yes, rice. It was delicious. Brent had hazelnut, an unknown Italian flavor and vanilla.

Then it was back to the hotel. I stayed at the hotel to rest and get over my cold while Brent hiked up to the Piazzale Michelangelo for a stunning view of the city.


That night we had dinner at Filipepe, a dimly lit (hence the dark photos below) and modern Mediterranean restaurant with friendly staff.

I started with swordfish carpaccio with peach granita. Brent had the panzanella, which he was very excited about.

My main dish was the "evolution of swordfish," with three different preparations. Brent had spaghetti with clams.


My dessert was a hot flan cake. Brent had a bittersweet chocolate with strawberry mousse. All absolutely fabulous and the perfect way to end our time in Florence!


Florence was amazing and we have plenty more pics to prove it.

"Ah. That is the Duomo seen from the Belvedere. Do you know Florence?" - Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs