Florence

All hail one of the greatest art cities in the world!

Look, Ma!!  I'm in artwork!

Anyway, we spent three days in Florence.  That's enough time to see the main things there- David, Caravaggio and TONS of the Masters.  And you want to pass out every night from exhaustion.  If not, I recommend a slightly longer time frame to see and enjoy Florence.

The first day we got there, we headed to our hotel and then out to the Academia to see David.  That's right- the huge, perfect guy made out of stone.  We got there and saw that the line was insane.  Thankfully, for 4 euros more a person, you can book a timed entry.  Which we did.  We also got tickets for the Uffizi at the same time- timed entrance as well for 4 euros more a person.  Then, we set off for lunch.  We ended up eating at what Lynn called a truck stop.  Overpriced food that was just ok for what it was.  It was near the Academia since we were seeing David soon after.

After the Academia, we headed out for Mass at the Duomo.  Thankfully, that killed two birds with one stone- Mass and seeing the Duomo, thus avoiding the huge lines.  After Mass, we headed to the Duomo Museum.  There were some beautiful pieces there.  Thankfully, it wasn't that crowded.  Ok, there wasn't a person there at all.  Then it was time for drinks and then bed.

The next day involved a trip to the Uffizi and lunch at Ristorante Paoli.  

Sorry, no pictures of the food this time around.  I started with the Asparagus Risotto.  That was a disappointing choice.  It was regular rice with asparagus in it and maybe a bit of stock and butter.  It wasn't what I was expecting.  For my main course, I had the Medici chicken.  It was cooked in a cream sauce with mushrooms.  It was served with peas that were heated through with Italian olive oil.  The peas, while it seems strange to say, were overcooked, but so good.  So fresh and full of flavor.  We just had some house wine to go along with it.  

After a late lunch, we continued on our way.  We ended our day with some of the best gelato that Italy has to offer.  Vivoli.  It was amazing.  Amazing I tell you!  

Just as a quick word of warning, places that put themselves right on the square of major cities often times have high prices and so-so food.  Now, I know this might not be the case for every restaurant out there, but just be aware.  Places in Europe are good at putting their menus out front with the prices posted so you can gauge what it will cost to eat.

After gelato, we were soaked through, so we headed back.  On our last day in Florence, we headed out for a bit more sightseeing and then ate lunch at the smallest place I have ever been in.  Trattoria le Mossacce.  The place only seats 43 people and if you are a party of two, you can expect to have other people sat at your table.  You can see the kitchen and watch them work.  I opted for some cannelloni and then roasted chicken.  We had glasses of Chianti wine- you know the kind that come in bottles that have wicker on the bottom that poor college students use as candle holders.  It was actually really good wine.  I might not suggest running down to Spec's and getting a bottle of it though.  The cannelloni was good.  It needed more meat sauce on top to make it really tasty.  I had maybe a quarter cup.  The chicken was so good.  It can be difficult to get a moist breast and fully cooked thigh and leg.  However, they managed to do it.  I had half of a small chicken.  The half of chicken that I had could have been used as one breast in the U.S. Yes, I'm looking at you, giant, steroid breast of chicken that is never moist.

Like I said, it is a small restaurant but it is so full of life.  People coming and going.  The chefs and waiters knew some of the people there and knew exactly what they wanted.  It was fantastic!

Sadly, after lunch, it was time to head on to Lucca and San Gimignano.  I can tell you that it took us several days to pronounce that one (San Gimignano, not Lucca).  More later.