A snapshot of Florence

Ciao!
We have left the breezy shores of Barcelona where we wrote you last and have now nestled ourselves into an old house in an old historic alley way in bustling Florence, where the Italian rhythmic language of pedestrians bounces off the walls and the church bells sing to us as we lie in our room. We are staying at an inn with a short Italian mama named Katti who speaks a ton of Italian to us over and over with hopes that the second or third time we will understand her. She is cute, patient and very accommodating. We are charmed by her place (Katti House).

Last night we learned to cook a 4 course Tuscan meal and we BOTH had fun (@In Tavola)! Our chef Fabrizio scolded us and teased us the whole time, he was the perfect Italian chef to have. Today we kept imitating his voice as we walked through the streets, "Bene! Bene! Bellisimo! Perfecto!". The food we cooked at In Tavola was wonderful and we all enjoyed our meal together and recipes were handed out to take your delicious memories home.

Today was the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia to see Michaelangelo's David (impressive I must say, we didn't think we would be that impressed, considering we've seen images of him all our life, but he was very beautiful and stunningly portrayed under a huge dome that cast natural light on him)

We also stopped to go to Grom a highly recommended place for Gelato and we were quite happy to enjoy it's fresh flavors while we stared in awe at the Duomo (Florence's show off Dome).
Tonight we head to dinner at the the 13 Hunchbacks another place that came highly recommended. We have been following Rick Steves' guide book and free downloaded audio tours and we have been very happy to bring his good advice along with us. Every place he has recommended, including our hotels have been just right for us! Though Steves is a little corny at times, it felt like we brought a very knowledgeable friend with us to a very foreign place to put us at ease.

Arrivederci!