Off to Florence
We all had breakfast independently and then Bill and I took some time to explore our area a bit and do some last minute souvenir shopping. Unfortunately, the shops did not open until after 10:00 or 11:00, so our shopping trip turned into a nice walk until we looped all the way back around the tip of the island and past the Salute Church.
We were jostled and shoved and nudged on the vaporetto all the way to the train station, but it was an inexpensive and interesting way to get to the train.
We had some excitement when I hopped off the train to purchase Coke and Coke Zero when we had only 6 min left before our departure!
The ride was uneventful. I worked on the blog while others napped or “rested their eyes”. I walked up four car lengths to purchase some wine and some more Coke Zero.
When we arrived in Florence. Taxi lines were too long so we lugged our bags through the shopping district of the city to our lodging near Pitti Palace, whereupon we discovered that we had to climb, more or less, 67 flights of stairs to our Airbnb accommodations.
The place was great, very spacious and clean. The wifi turned out to be spotty and we had no lighting in our bathroom, but otherwise everything worked out really well (other than the aforementioned stairs of course).
We all got situated and Bill provided instructions for people to enjoy their afternoons.
Not surprisingly I was hungry, so that was our first order of business. Bill and I went to Le Volpi e L’Uva for lunch and it was quite simply amazing! The Capresse salad was delicious - I have not had tomatoes this good in years (North American food producers, please stop ruining our food - pumping it with chemicals and stripping it of flavour and nutrients!). We also had a charcuterie board with the most delicious meats and crostini with cheese and minced meat that was so good! And the wine - Nobile de Montepulciano. Such a great way to start our time in Florence.
While we were doing that, Lou & Barry went for a long walk through the Plaza to check out the area around the Duomo, and Norm & Marlene checked out Boboli Gardens behind Pitti Palace.
We spent some time in the area our new home to make reservations for dinner that evening and the next. We also went to Conad to shop purchase some items for us to have for breakfast and snacks.
We all met back at “home” to head out for dinner at one of our favourites - Quattro Leone. We had a seat outside and the weather was perfect for an evening meal. We had a great waiter who spoke English and was very attentive and patient with such a large group. We ordered water and wine and shared stories of our day’s adventures. Bill had this amazing octopus dish and I had oso bucco. It was great to be back!
The adults went back to the room and had some gelato along the way. Bill and I passed on the dessert and headed to Palazzo Michelangelo to have a wonderful view overlooking the entire city. Along the way we stopped at La Strega Nocciola and had the most amazing gelato! We sampled a few unique flavours, like rose, but settled on pistachio. We shared a small cup, and it was delicious and very filling.
The climb up to the top of the city was challenging after a long day, but it was totally worth it! The view was spectacular! Our first day back in Florence was amazing!
