Oltrarno was a real find for us - a quick hop over the river from all the major sights in the city, and our place was basically around the corner from Piazza Santo Spirito (Great for food and a nice place to hang out in the evening) and the Pitti Gallery (Former Medici Residence overlooking the Boboli Gardens and containing an art collection rival just slightly smaller than the Uffizi).
We consumed so much art during the days that it was only natural to balance it out with dinner in the evenings.
First up was Gusto Pizza near Santo Spirito (Thanks Sarah!) - the place was packed to the gills with students either waiting for or eating their delicious wood fired pizzas, people spilling out onto the sidwalk and even more people in the square enjoying them. We brought ourselves a bit of wine a pizza to share (we had eaten a big lunch) and headed out the square to hang out with everyone else.
Next up was Casalinga, a trattoria also near Santo Spirito. Every table in the small place was packed when we got there at about 9pm. There was a "line" waiting for tables as they opened up, but just as frequently, a pack of locals just walked in and sat at it. Once we got a table I realized why! Prices were low and the food was awesome. We thought we were saving our big meal for the next night, but ended up eating 3 courses and dessert!
Last of all was Il Latini - My friend Alexis had taken me here when I visited her in college over Thanksgiving one year and I remembered it being fun - my goodness was it fun again. I had been promising Kevin delicious food and steaks bigger than he had ever seen. They pulled through. We had the 9:30 seating and when we arrived at 9:20 there was a huge crowd outside the door. People were pulled at random from the crowd and sat down at tables together side by side. We ended up sitting next to a hysterical couple from Orlando and had a great night sharing wine, swapping tastes of food, being afraid of the size of our steaks, and generally enjoying getting a chance to speak english for a little while. I would put up a picture of the steaks, but unfortunately, the only picture we have is of me enjoying the very last bite of mine.
We did other things in Florence besided eat though. We also ate gelato.
Kevin preparing to devour mint and hazelnut from Grom Gelato. This was possibly the best hazelnut gelato I tasted in all of Italy.
We climbed up the dome of the Duomo in attempt to burn off some of the calories coming in.
Not sure that worked. Great view though.
Lots of steps and a bit claustrophobic. This was the first big thing we had climbed since going the roof of the cathedral in Milan. We had many more things to climb, as you will see in future posts.
We climbed (via bus) to Piazalle Michealangelo, too.
Overlooking the whole city from the Piazalle, you can see the dome of the cathedral and the bell tower, the tower in Piazza Signoria, and the Ponte Vecchio. This is also the place to find Fake David #2. (Fake David #1 is in the Piazza Signoria - he's the kid with the big hands covered in pigeon poop) Fake David #2 is made of bronze and is all green. He watches over the parking lot/souveneir stands/scenic overlook that is Piazzale Michealangelo.
The real David is in the Acadamia. He is currently surrounded by an exhibit of the nude photography of Robert Mapplethorpe. Uh-huh. Fake Davids 1, Real David 0.
You can tell here, the weather was starting to get a little threatening. We climbed down the hill through the park and by the time we were almost back home there was a bit of thunder, lightning, and rain.
This was the view from another bridge over the Arno that we walked across pretty frequently.
I've discovered a great way to get good pictures:
1) find somebody with a really nice camera who looks like they know what they are doing.
2) wait for them to leave.
3) go stand where they were and take a picture.
4) feel proud of your own picture taking abilities.
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