First Night…Florence

  So let me just say this. I am exhausted.  We are exhausted. A good thirty hours later, and we are tucking up in bed, after a fantastic first night dinner in Florence. Tomorrow, Johnny gets supplies at his favorite old school art supply store here, and then we hop the train to Umbria.

  Sigh. What a long trip…but so worth it. Weather is nice enough to be strolling the streets at night, and some brave folks are even eating outside.

  The flight was fine…the only hook up was at San Francisco airport. It had to happen eventually…

I love my Molden salt, and always pack some in a zip-lock baggie to take with. I put the label front and center, and put it in our carry on, just in case. Well, this was the case, I guess. We were pulled aside and 'drug-swiped'. Big fun. It came up SALT. Move on, dudes…

  Next stop Frankfurt, then touch down at sunset in Florence.

  Sweet.

  We checked in, freshened up, and headed out to a favorite spot for Proseco…..

Proseco…right over there.

  I had already made reservations at a favorite spot, so we walked on over after enjoying the scene.

Johnny fooling around with his new device.
And the Duomo,  just for added drama.

Happy Artist in his Happy Place.

  Before leaving home, we like to have our night before take-off dinner at la Balena, just up the street from the gallery. 

  We really enjoy the owners, Anna and Emanuele, her husband, who was born and raised in Florence. We all wax poetic as the wine is poured and the meal is enjoyed. This particular meal was gifted to us by some dear clients who knew we loved this place.

  Anyway, as we sat over glasses of fine Italian wines and amazing plates of tasty food, we talked to Emanuele about some of our favorite spots in Florence. We agree on several, and tonight had dinner at dinner at one of the best….

  Coquinarius. We return again and again. We adore Nico, the owner, and he knows our pals from La Balena, so it's a fun way to connect our two worlds. After catching up with Nico, we settled in for a nice after flight meal. Oh, and we were so glad we said no to the airplane food!

I have and will continue to write posts about this place!

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  The reason we love Coquinarius so much is that they have so many options for vegetarians, as well as an extensive wine list…which Nico knows front to back.
  These folks turn out fabulous 'Big Salads'…the kind that make a meal. They also have awesome cheese and charcuterie platters, pastas and desserts. Everything is fresh and so flavor forwardd.

  We began with a vegetarian mixed crostini platter:

Sun dried tomatoes, pear jam,  avocado(odd in Italy), various cheeses, mushrooms…Sigh.
Flavors to die for…I kid you not.

We were sent out this slice of savory potato and leek pie.
Sorry it's fuzzy. I was honestly that excited.

  We were so ready for pasta, and there were some nice ravioli to try….we went for both vegetarian options….

Ravioli stuffed with caciocavallo cheese and pepper, served with a mushroom sauce.
Yes, it was good. The cheese is salty and has a true barnyard forward funkiness.
Add in lots of good black pepper…perfect.

My ravioli were stuffed with buratta, with a pistachio sauce and
served on a bed of red onion puree. Yeah, it rocked.
Sweet, subtle and tangy all at once.

Yummy close up of Johnny's ravioli...

….and mine.
We will be back, no doubt.

  After dinner, we walked around the historic center of town, thought about gelato..(no)..and then decided we were done.

  Until tomorrow. 

The Duomo at night never caesars to amaze me.

Almost too much…but not.

  So glad to be back in our 'other' life.
  More soon, Dear Ones...