Rome to Florence

This morning, we said goodbye to family for a few days – we will be back here to see them on our last night here.  We left to pick up our rental car.  Daniel’s dream car is an Alfa Romeo, and guess what car we got?  Yep.  An Alfa Romeo Giulietta.  He was literally like a twelve year old boy.  It was pretty cool.  We set out for Florence.  I have to say that I am very impressed with my husband and his mad European driving skills.  I thought the streets in Japan were narrow, but both Rome and Florence have proven me wrong.  The drive to Florence was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.  We have a painting in our kitchen at home of the Italian countryside and it literally looks just like the painting.  There were beautiful cities sitting on the side of hills with city walls and bell towers, cypress trees, and mountains.  Stunning.  We listened to Italian music while driving an Alfa Romeo through the Italian countryside.  WHAT?  

We arrived in Florence and went to our airbnb apartment.  Our hosts Miria and Adriano greeted us and showed us around.  They gave us a notebook with restaurant recommendations, their suggestions for the top sites to see, maps and lots of other local information.  Right off the bedroom of this apartment is a rooftop patio with a view that literally took my breath for a second.  We can see mountains, the duomo, three different bell towers and tons of other beautiful buildings.  Unbelievable. 

We settled in a bit and then went out walking around Florence.  First order of business – a slice of pizza.  Mine had sausage and broccoli and Daniel’s had spicy salami.  Delicious as usual.  We walked around and saw Ponte Vecchio,  beautiful churches and piazzas, the replica of David ( we are seeing the real one on Tuesday), and the central and San Lorenzo markets.  Today’s gelato flavor was banana with chocolate.

We had dinner at a highly recommended restaurant called Trattoria Cammillo.  It did not disappoint.  We had ribollita, which is a traditional Tuscan soup.  It’s pancetta, garlic, lots of veggies and cannellini beans.  I LOVE THIS SOUP.  

We also had veal scallopini and chicken with sage butter sauce. Oh, and tortellini with artichokes. And a flourless chocolate cake that I forgot to take a picture of.  We came back to our apartment and admired the amazing view from the rooftop, even at night.  Florence is BELLISSIMA!!