Firenze Wrap Up

Final two days in Florence and just starting to unjetlag a bit.  Dinner at San Frediavino last night was terrific.  Located just outside one of the ancient city gates in an area with a lot of young, hip restaurants.  The owner, Emmanuel, was also our server.  He patiently translated the menu while further describing the various dishes.  Suzee had a wonderful smoked ravioli and I opted for an excellent Maltagliati handmade pasta in a spicy red sauce with whole cherry tomatoes.  The pasta was very thick, almost like a 1/4" diameter rope with very pleasing texture.  I followed the pasta with some local Chianina beef wrapped in bacon and covered with fresh green peppercorns. Could cut it with a butter knife and literally melted in my mouth.  There was no wine list and we were left in the

No, we didn't eat here, but who doesn't love a slow food hot dog?

hands of Emmanuel who selected a nice Montepulciano red for me and a white for Suzee.  We enjoyed both pours and the overall food and ambience made for a nice, slow meal, topped off with a delicious fig tart.  Total tab including tax and service was 51 euros, a terrific value for a quality meal.

After dinner we walked around the neighborhood and it was really hopping with diners in half a dozen restaurants eating out on the sidewalk and grabbing the last bit of summer like weather.  If this were NYC, we'd probably be eating and staying in the equivalent of Williamsburg, though without quite the same
annoying hipster vibe.

Lunch Lampredotto--They Should Serve These at Carl's 

Slept in this morning until 5:45, just hung out until lunchtime when it was once again Lampredotto time.  Damn, these little puppies are addictive and now the counterman knows how I like them..."tutto" or "the works".  I'll miss these, though will also probably add a couple years to my life by not having them so nearby.  Today's lineup included a Rick Steves led Renaissance Walk (he's got a great free app that allows one to download literally hundreds of walking and museum tours.  They're succinct and don't have you nodding out like tour guides sometimes do).  Long before he became famous, he wrote a book called Europe 101.  I bought it in 1985 and marveled at what a great book it was then.  Glad he's turned his talents into an empire and the book is still in print with regular updates.  After the walk, we headed up to San Miniato Monastery for some sunset Gregorian chants,  The monastery is located high in the hills above the city with spectacular views. Suzee liked the chants more than I did.  Then our final dinner at La Boca di Leone, another local spot just a couple minutes walk from the apartment.  While the food was very good, neither it nor the wine quite reached the levels of the meal at San Frediavino.  Nonetheless, one would be hard-pressed to find food as good as this outside of Italy and the prices were about what you'd pay for considerably lesser-fare at home.  Will be sorry to leave Florence for Montepulciano tomorrow, but looking forward to a week in the countryside and the town is full of excellent dining options as well as hiking opportunities.  This will be the part of the Italy trip that I've most looked forward to.