More Florence (Firenze)

The last two days have been a slower pace, probably as I've come down with a bit of a head cold. Saying that, it hasn't affected my appetite 😀

Wednesday:
We took in the Mercato Centrale, the local fresh food markets - I love good food markets, seeing how and what the locals are eating. The markets are surrounded by touristy souvenir stalls filled with the usual stuff e.g. leather bags, junk jewellery, crappy t-shirts, etc. The food markets had fresh fruit and vegetables, butchers, and local food stalls.

We had a look at a vintage clothing store filled with expensive clothing that was more junk than vintage. All this wandering around have us an appetite, so we walked back to osteria dei Centopoveri for yet another delicious €12 lunch special. This time, we both had the stinko (pork shank roasted) and a homemade pasta starter, along with a Vino bianco.

On the way back to the apartment, I stopped by a pharmacy for some cold and flu tablets. After an arvo nap, I was feeling much better.

We got all dressed up - as much as you can with limited travel wardrobe - and we went out for cocktails at the very cool Companion bar. A couple of proseccos and negronis later, we went to Trattoria Sostanza, where we had made a 9pm reservation. The place was still full upon arrival, and we were seated on a table with a couple of lawyers from London . Huon and Mai were originally from SG and HK and were very friendly. We ordered way too much food, with the chicken breast in butter, the table favourite!

Afterwards, we meandered back through the slightly quieter streets, taking in the beautiful city at night.

Thursday:
After drugging myself to the eyeballs, I got a good night's sleep, but I'm still less than a 100%. I have booked us into the Uffizi galleries, which contain an amazing collection of artworks, including by Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, and Botticelli, to name a few! The crowds were a bit overwhelming, but we struggled through, getting around almost all of the floors and wings of this beautiful building.

For lunch, we had our first panini of our Italian visit, from Panini Toscani, just near the Duomo. They let you try samples of the meat before you choose. The paninis were quite large, so we got one to share, taking back to the apartment to enjoy with a glass of Vino.

I've just been advised that there is snap train strike tomorrow which may or may not effect our train trip to Siena - nothing like a travel curve ball. That's future Robert's problem.

We headed back to Companion bar for a drink, but it wasn't open! We found another bar with views of a very beautiful convent. Afterwards, we headed back closer to home and popped into Ristorante Rosso Crudo for a negroni and aperol spritz . We chatted to a lovely Australian couple from Brisbane who were here for a wedding.

We decided our last dinner in Florence would be at Bistro 74, just 50m from home. It's a quaint little place in an old building, and we enjoyed some Tuscan pasta dishes with some local Vino! We strolled around the duomo to walk off our dinner. It was a very good last night in Firenze.Read more