I think I need to start this post out by saying that I think this might have been one of my favorite days in Italy. This was our first morning in Florence and we woke up to this…
I’m telling you Cristiana and Marco were the BEST hosts! After our wonderful breakfast and what would become one of my favorite things in Florence, a nice leisurely morning conversation with Cristiana, we began our day and headed out to Giardino Boboli or Boboli Gardens. It was a nice day and made for a beautiful walk. Florence is a great city to walk in, it’s very compact and you could easily walk the length of the city in an hour. We didn’t use any public transportation the whole time we were there and really enjoyed our walks through the city observing the outdoor museum that it is. I had become really enthralled with all the different door knockers and handles I had seen through our travels so far and whenever I saw one that particularly enchanted me, I’d take a shot. I know I want to do something with the photos at one point, here are a few that I particularly loved…
The other thing that was also really prevalent in Italy, couples in love…
We finally made our way to the gardens. Cristiana had told us that it was the place where Italian kids went to skip school. She was right and I could see why they did. The gardens are stunning and have loads of little nooks and crannies to hang out, have a picnic or take a nap in. I think naps in gardens may be one of the best things life has to offer. I’ve always wanted a hammock for my backyard, although not quite so nap inducing as our backyard backs up to Andresen. If you allow yourself to drift off to sleep though I think you could imagine all the traffic were ocean waves. I digress. Shortly after we entered I told Vince that he and I liked visiting gardens. He laughed at me and said, “We do?” I smiled and said, “Yes.” We do. What isn’t there to love about wondering around a beautiful garden on a sunny day? Unfortunately, on this particular day I had forgotten to check my camera battery and it died after we had been there a short time. Bummer! Major bummer! Here are the few photos I got in…
Vince and I finally made it up to the top of the garden, this place is huge, and enjoyed a light lunch at the cafe overlooking the city. The view up there is breathtaking! While drinking white wine and prosseco, we spoke about our new found love of Florence and we began to plan when and how we would make our move to Italy. It’s really going to happen, folks. After a wonderful day at Giardino Boboli, we found our way back to Marco and Cristiana’s for a much needed rest before we made our way out for the evening Italian style.
So, dinner in Italy is a big event. Or can be. My husband was cracking me up before we left because he was all worried about whether or not he would be stylish enough for dinner in Italy. This is something I usually worry about. Because of his concern he actually ended up packing more then me. Ha! So, dressed and ready for dinner that night we headed out. Italians are late eaters, dinner usually starts around 8:00 and may continue for hours later, which if you opt to have all the courses is a good idea. If you ate all the courses Italians eat in the time Americans eat, not only would you be fat as a house, but you’d be as stuffed as one too. If all the courses are consumed you could end up eating 5 or 6. That’s why you just need to take your time. Believe me, it’s worth it. We ended up at a little place that I desperately wish I could remember the name of because I want to go back, the food was divine! Vince had a wonderful rabbit papperdelle and I had raviolini with pear and pecorino. My mouth is water just thinking about it. I desperately want some right now! We languished the night away and in the meantime made friends with our waiter, Niccola, who told us he was planning a trip to California and asked if we had any recommendations. I don’t know if he liked our recommendations or because he simply knew how awesome we were, he gave us a rather large helping of limoncello for free to end our evening! Truly the perfect way to end a perfect day.