Ge-little of this, pear pasta...gelato of that!

Thus begins this week's, or at the rate I'm going, sorry!, month's, edition of what in god's name I'm doing over here.

This past weekend, Hannah, Avery and I travelled back to Italy. This time: Florence.
Thus at the still dark hour of 445 a.m. last Thursday, we were of to Florence, via Pisa. In Pisa by 12, we were able to take a few standard posing pictures at the Leaning Tower, of Pisa and of course get some food, cause you know how much we enjoy that, especially in Italy. I was able to get my first taste of Ribolita, a Tuscan specialty I've wanted to try ever since I saw Ina, and then Giada make it. (Note: this will not be the only thing I have seen my Food Network favorites make and will try for the first time in this post.) It lived up to every expectation. I mean what could be better, minestrone soup with bread already in it. It's almost like a lazy man's version of a bread bowl. And if you know me well, you know how I feel about a good soup especially when served in a bread bowl. We then took the bus to Florence and arrived at our hotel with enough time for an afternoon nap before Dinner, which was selected thanks to Barb, Rach and Avery's friend who sent us a plethora of restaurants for us to look into. We chose Goldenview, a restaurant located right next to the Ponte Vechio with a view of the water and bridge. We selected some wine, appetizers (crostini--another Tuscan specialty & a fish & avocado combination). I ordered the chitarra, which I learned means guitar or pasta shaped like the strings on a guitar, with tomato sauce & lobster, assuming it would have small pieces of lobster in it. I wasn't expecting a full lobster to be placed in front of me. Have no fear, the New Englander inside of me is alive & well and I was able to eat it with no problem, minus a few messy hands, of course! And, don't worry--I saved room for gelato.
The next morning, we woke up to enjoy a nice hotel breakfast; something I believe is strongly underrated, then hopped in a cab to the Uffizi Gallery. From there, we walked to the Pitti Palace to see the costume exhibition and walked around the Boboli Gardens, careful to leave ourselves just enough time to get lunch before our next museum reservation. After lunch, we went to Accademia. You know, most things when you travel have been built up so much in your head they have no choice but to end up being a disappointment. For example: The Mona Lisa. However, seeing The David was certainly not a disappointment. I had actually zero idea how large he actually was, and GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER. Every picture I have ever seen, and since seen, cannot seem to do him any justice. After this, we were lucky enough to stumble upon the Duomo, accidentally but perfect timing. After both St. Pauls & St. Peters, we were content to skip the stairs and just walk around outside and inside the Duomo. After, we headed over to Festival de Gelato, which had far too many flavors to limit samples. After settling on my three flavors, tiramisu, cappuccino & amaretto (Marni--sooo good), it was back to the hotel for our daily afternoon nap. Rested and hungry again, some how, we went to Le Fonticine. (Side note: I always thought olive oil & balsamic for dipping was an American thing--after this weekend, I guess not?) There I got delicious pasta, I know weird but it was Tagaitelle, almost pappardelle, with asparagus.
The next morning, we slept in and enjoyed another hotel breakfast (seriously: a plethora of cereal for me to mix together?? what more could I ask for? I know, Honey Bunches of Oats with Cinnamon Clusters...I'll keep dreaming) We went to Santa Croce & The Israeli Temple. The three of us, all Jewish girls, really need to consider that whole Shabbat thing when we travel. New solution: anything Jewish related must be done on Friday. We then went to the Leather Market & to a great place for a leather jacket, thanks Rach (Eric should thank you too cause of how successful it was : )). We grabbed some lunch, where I was able to try my second seen on the Food Network meal: Gnudi. I saw Giada make it over 3 years ago and I have not stopped thinking about it since, that's only slightly disgusting, right?? It was absolutely nothing like what I expected but delicious nonetheless. However, this one, I might try making at home, Giada'a version, to see if it comes out the same. We then walked around the market some more and yet again returned home for our afternoon nap. Once rested and relaxed, we were off to our final Italian meal for the semester, at least in Italy. Anddd it was certainly an excellent Italian meal. We were off to Ciro & Sons, a restaurant I have heard about for over the past year and I'm happy to report it lived up to every single expectation, and more. Walking in, we told them I knew Rachel & Amanda, where they proceeded to whip out a framed picture of the two of them from behind the desk. We then got seated in front of the video, where Rachel & Amanda are featured not once, but twice. They brought us the menus with bread, olive oil & balsamic. We decided to order some wine and an appetizer of eggplant parm. Then Hannah selected the Pear & Cheese Ravioli and I ordered the Pork with Apple & BBQ sauce. And saying it was delicious would be an understatement. As Hannah put it, she never wanted this meal to end. So, we finished it off with a to die for Strawberry Cheesecake, and sweet wine, courtesy of Rachel & Amanda, and their ability to make sure good friends with the owners of a great restaurant.
The next morning, it was back to London and reality again.