The Final Leg...Florence and Milan

Monday morning we were up bright and early again for the drive to Florence. We decided we were going to follow the google directions the entire time so as to take the quickest route. We didn’t think it would be that tough but of course we were wrong. It is hard to see the street signs here as they are not signs but instead carved into the side of the buildings which makes it a little tough to see! Somehow though we magically ended up on the street we needed to be on after being a little off the map. The streets in Florence are so narrow and there are motor scooters and people everywhere. We found a parking garage a few blocks from our hotel and decided to park which was a good thing because you couldn’t go any further due to construction! Our hotel was very nice and we were all excited to have a normal size shower (Bob barely fit in the one in Rome) with hot water! We set our stuff down and walked to the central market and had lunch in one of the café’s. Our first stop after lunch was to the duomo and the surronding square.

Florence Duomo

Giotto's Campanile

Baptisiry

After lunch we explored the city and walked to Ponte Vecchio which is a bridge lined with shops built in the early fourteenth century.

Ponte Vecchio

We explored the city and stopped for a drink in a wine bar owned by a man named Luigi. We admired his hand blown glass chandelier and had a wonderful conversation about his business.

Renee and I with Luigi (he insisted we come around the bar)

Luigi's chandelier

We left to go explore some more until we had dinner at the restaurant Luigi recommended. It was just across the street from his shop and he said it was far enough from the city center that it was not touristy. The meal began with complimentary sparking white wine and appetizers of cheese topped with an amazing sauce (honeyish tasting) and crackers with a creamy cheese spread. We had decided on an appetizer of meatballs and potatoes. The chef split them so we each had our own plate of two meatballs, shoestring type potatoes, and a mayonnaise type dipping sauce. It was amazing. Bob took Luigi’s suggestion and had a steak served Florentine style. Renee had salmon sautéed in bread crumbs with vegetables. I had tuna filleted into small circles that were fully cooked on the outside and raw on the inside and a side of asparagus with cheese. Hands down best meal!

Aperitivo

Bob and his steak (which Renee and I helped him eat)

Tuesday morning we got back into our car and headed to our last destination. It was hard to believe our whirlwind trip was coming to end. For once the journey was easy! We took a highway all the way to Milano and followed the signs for the airport. We returned the rental car and took the train to the city center, took the metro to our hotel, walked out of our way (google maps was a little inaccurate) but finally found our hotel. We were a little strapped for time so we hopped in a cab (which was actually the only one we took while here…we got very good at public transportation) to go and view the Last Supper by DiVinci. I am not sure how but we had an English guide who explained the picture to us. The picture is in what used to be a dining hall for Dominican monks. It really is an amazing site. We only had about fifteen minutes for the tour as it is such a highly viewed piece the tour groups are small (about twenty people) and limited to fifteen minutes. The guide explained that during World War II the structure that housed the painting, along with another painting by a different artist on the opposite wall, was destroyed. They were able to recover both the paintings relatively unharmed and rebuild the structure that houses them. We grabbed another quick round of piadine and some gelato from GROM and headed to they city central to view the duomo. The duomo was truly amazing.

Duomo Milano

Duomo Sqaure, Milano

We did a little shopping around the city and took the metro back to our hotel (much easier to find this time as it is right across the street from the metro). We set our bags down and then decided on a place for dinner near the hotel but were not able to get a table as we didn’t have a reservation. We walked back towards the hotel and found a place with very good pasta! I gathered my bags and Renee and Bob walked me to the metro and since we had purchased all day passes they were able to wait with me. I was sad to leave them as we had such an amazing trip and it was wonderful to be able to spend my birthday in Rome with them!

Saying goodbye at the metro