My day in Florence

On Saturday my flight left at 7:40 pm, so my goal was to get to Florence and walk and eat until it was time to go.  I checked out of the hotel and visited the various Tabacs in Pisa to get a recharge for my cell phone, but I had no luck (actually, the Tabac at the train station had one, but I didn't realize it).  I arrived at the Florence train station a little after 10 am and purchased a cell phone recharge from the Tabac there.  Zurich Daddy Geek had told me to "go to any Tabac and they'll recharge your cell phone".  That made it sound like I would hand my phone to them and they would do something to it.  Nope.  They give you a card and you need to call a phone number and enter your phone number and the secret code on the card (that you scratch to reveal).  Fortunately the woman at the money changing office wasn't busy and she helped me recharge my phone.

We had spent a week in Florence in the Fall of 2006, so I was pretty familiar with the city.  My favorite website for restaurants in Florence is by Divina Cucina.  I had been hoping to have lunch at Mario, which we had missed on our last trip, but alas it was closed.  Now that the cell phone was recharged I called another restaurant on my list, but it was also closed.  However, Il Latini was open and they opened at 12:30 pm.  So it's almost 11 am and I had breakfast at 7 am, so it's time for a snack.  I went through Mercato Centrale and looked for a couple of the shops that we had gone to previously, but they were closed and nothing else caught my eye.  I decided to go to Forno di Ivana Bruschi to get a small piece of schiacciata (stuffed foccacia) and water to fortify myself.  

Next I headed to the Duomo, to see if Paperback Exchange was open.  And it was closed for the holiday (notice the theme).  I knew there was another English Bookstore closer to the river so I went towards it.  And on the way I passed Vivoli so I had to stop for some chocolate/coffee and vanilla/orange gelato.  McRae's English Books was open, but had only a limited supply of used books.  But I did buy a couple to keep me busy.  (Of course now that ZDG is in Iceland and LGG is still on holiday I haven't had any time to read at all.  But it's always nice to know that the books are waiting for me).  

I then walked towards Il Latini.  Il Latini is in all of the guidebooks, but it is clear that a lot of locals eat there too.  At the front of the restaurant there was a community table where there was another solo diner and shortly after I sat down another single woman also came to eat at the table.  There are menus if you want one but it's fun to have to waiter come and describe your options.  I started with a mixed antipasto of prosciutto, melon, salami, and a barley/celery/onion salad.  There was also a big bottle of chianti on the table to pour yourself a glass.  Although the pastas and soups sounded good I decided to order a nice piece of rare roast beef.  And it was scrumptious.  I didn't have room for dessert, but they gave me a glass of Spumante to end my meal.  

After lunch I decided to walk across the river and around the Oltarno area of Florence.  I thought about walking up the hill to the Piazzale Michelangelo and its lovely view, but decided that it was too hot (and my sandals were rubbing my feet).  I crossed the river and went to the leather school by Santa Croce.  I was pretty happy to find a small market to pick up a cold bottle of water (only 35 cents/0.5 L).  I went back towards the Duomo and eavesdropped on a guy telling his companions about how cool it was to climb the Duomo.  Dude--I climbed up there with a 3.5 yo on my back!

I stopped by a candy store to pick up some Marzipan fruit for Little Geek Girl and then I headed down to the river.  I stopped at Gelateria Le Carrozza for my last gelato (black cherry and ferrer rocher) and was quite tired, so I rested and watched the people go by at the Piazza degli Uffizzi.  My plan was to go by a pastry shop for treats and Antico Noe for a sandwich to take on the airplane, but my plans were foiled again as both were closed.  There was no sign on Antico Noe, but construction was being done on the alley where it is housed, so I hope it was just closed for holiday and not for good.  

So I went back to Forno di Ivana Bruschi to pick up another piece of Schiacciata and some cookies and headed to the train station.  I took the bus back to the airport and checked in and was soon on my way back to Zürich.