(24-April) Off To Florence

Didn't sleep well last night, up at 2:30, and back to bed around 4:00. This morning we woke to rain drops falling on Venice as we crept around the room packing for Florence. Piazza San Marcos was practically empty with everyone under the eaves of shops as we made our way to the water taxi to take us to the train station. Steph's umbrella inverted a couple of times, and it was interesting walking behind her observing how many people were moving out of HER way this time.

The Italian countryside is beautiful, even under dark clouds as we speed to Florence. I wish our trains were as comfortable and fast as these Italian jobs.

Lot's more to talk about. We saw an awesome building when we arrived here called the Duomo, it's so fantastically ornate and huge, posting a photo on blog will not do it justice, must do more background reporting and picture taking, mixed in with Cappuccino's and pastries.

So later on we went on a trek to work off those pastries, looking for the place where we will be picking up the scooter in the morning. It's in a dodgy part of town you might say, but the key here is to keep walking fast through groups of loiterers, even if they try to move in front of you. The last thing we need on this trip is to get mugged. Although, it might be interesting to try out some of my famous Jedi warrior moves on these cigarette-smoking, imports from Kenya.

After we located the scooter pickup we wound up at a tiny street fair with vendors selling all kinds of Tuscan delights. We decided to try a glass of 2009 Barbera d’Alba from the Mossio winery in the north, who were attending. We spoke to one of the family owners, he was really friendly and invited us to take a photo of his booth. We then sat at a table people watching before dinner.

After drinks we went round the corner to a place that our in-laws Dianne and Ed recommended called Buca Mario, a restaurant which was established in the year 1886. The closest thing I can think of in terms of ambiance is Morton's Steak House, but serving real Italian food. We could tell why they have been around so long because the food was simply delicious, pure and simple. The Faggioli al 'olio (white bean and olive oil) side dish tasted like a smokey, Tuscan, aromatic puff of magic going off in your mouth. The pastas were all hand made. I had the Saccottini Parmigian, which was basically a tortellini containing a delicious prosciutto mixture which tasted like angels were dancing on my taste buds.  Stephani had Fettuccine Buca Al Mario, which she ate half of because she was full from all the other stuff.   We had to pay the check and get out of there, it was just too good.