Arriving at Santa Maria Novella, Firenze on Sunday brought us back to
our time here in Florence a few years ago. Then everything was new and
overwhelming. This time, familiarity brought with it a certain amount
of comfort, yet our level of excitement and anticipation was not
diminished. Charles and I had an interesting discussion about "been
there, done that" or "checked that off my bucket list..." There was
none of that for us. We discovered new vistas, explored new streets and
eating establishments.
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| It was a long arduous walk to Piazzale Michelangelo, but worth the climb! |
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| Il Duomo, according to Charles, the 8th wonder of the world |
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| We also decided it was time to tackle the Florentine Steak! |
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| A task Charles took on with gusto!! |
The Florentine steak we had at Perseus, a restaurant that offered good local fare. The steak is served rare, so it that's not your thing, forget about it! They won't cook it any other way. We loved the Tuscan style panzanella, and grilled vegetables. The mushrooms ended up being the star of the show. Charles actually preferred the meaty porcini mushroom to the steak, true vegetable flesh, in his words, of course. The first night, we also had a lovely meal at a restaurant located on the Arno river called Open Bar Golden View and the view was spectacular. Finally, we are staying at La Contessina hotel on Via Faenza, a modest hotel with kind people. I'll let Charles regale the reader with his rendition of our stay here. Charles: Our room faces the street and with no bugs, we have our windows open at night inviting the chaos of the early morning----and I mean early; of everything from "Guiseppe" sorting out junk from his truck, to the Firenza Municipal services sucking sewer sludge out of the sewer below our window. Jeanne, ever so sensitive, to stench and noise, starting sniffing me first in the middle of the night. Thank Christ, I was asleep. With an overwhelming sense of nausea, she shuts the windows and we pray for a full night's sleep. Ahhhhhhh, the joys of travel.
We leave for Venice tomorrow and look forward to revisiting its wonders.
