Firenze

A quick train ride and we arrived in Florence at about 5:45 pm. We checked in at Hotel Sampaoli and got recommendations for dinner - ZaZa, which turned out to be delicious. After dinner, we stopped off for ice cream & then returned to the hotel.

In the morning, we grabbed breakfast pastries & cappuccinos at Cafe Nabucco nearby (great cappuccino!) We explored the city center on foot for a while...going to the main market and seeing some of the old churches.

For dinner, we tried out Osteria dell Angolo...the food was pretty good, and we dined outside which was perfect.

On Wednesday morning, we switched hotels over to Hotel Bigello. We also checked out the museum that houses the Statue of David.

There was also a creative interpretation of the Statue of David at the museum...

For lunch, we had a recommendation to check out Trattoria Mario, which turned out to be a wonderful locals-type cafe.  We then visited Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) which is lined with many shops (especially jewelers)

Mother's Day is nearing, so David signed us all up for a Cooking Class as a gift to Pat. The class covered 4 courses and took a few hours but was so much fun. We made a warm caprese salad, homemade pasta with red sauce, sautéed turkey bites with fresh vegetables, and tiramasu. Each course was delicious and we had a blast cooking together in the kitchen and with our chef.  Check out the video below!

On Thursday, Dave & Jen climbed to the top of the Duomo (Florence's cathedral with observation deck). The climb up is 463 steps, through old stone access passages, and is totally worth it! Also, more interesting info about the cathedral & the dome here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral 

Lunch was at Salumeria Verde. They had the best sandwiches we've ever had!

We had dinner with Pat & Stan at 4 Leoni across the river. They had outside seating (like most places we've eaten) so we enjoyed the evening air and the delicious food. We happened upon another wonderful ice cream parlor after dinner - seems like they are everywhere and all are equally delicious.

We parted with Pat & Stan after dinner, grabbed a bottle of wine and climbed up to Piazzale Michelangiolo to watch the sunset over Florence.

Dave's getting really good at capturing images using the Canon...here are 2 pics that Jen really likes, taken while in Florence:

Now off to Bologna, but first a quick day trip to Lucca...