ORY-->BCN-->FLR

Our travel day to Florence started very early (by Paris standards) so we were a bit bleary eyed when we arrived at Orly. While I thought I had adjusted to the speed of service in France, waiting to check in for our Vueling Air flight was a test of patience that Dave would say I certainly failed.

After a brief stopover in Barcelona, we arrived in Florence and were instantly greeted by overwhelming heat. The temperature has been in the mid-30s every day since we arrived. There was one brief period of rain, the first in 4 months according to locals, then blazing sunshine the rest of the time. We are enjoying the weather, but are thankful that the narrow Florence streets provide a shady refuge from the sun.

On that note, navigating the small Florence streets is even more challenging than finding one's way in Paris. People passing on the sidewalks often have to turn sideways to accommodate each other, so pedestrians often just walk in the actual street, that is until a vespa or tiny Fiat comes roaring through with only one warning honk, if you're lucky. It is potentially hazardous to your health to try to consult a map to figure out where you are, unless you have your back firmly planted against a wall so that there is no chance that a motorized vehicle (or even a cyclist) can mow you down. No pictoral example for this post, as we left our camera at home for the first night, but will include one soon.

We are staying at the Hotel Globus, a recommendation from Kiki, and they have been so welcoming and helpful from the minute we walked through the door. I think it helps that we are friends with such a VIP of the hotel! Anyone coming to Florence should stay at Globus, we feel like we are staying with friends here.

After getting settled, we set out to wander a bit and get acquainted with the city. We had our first apertivo, which is a very popular pre-dinner custom in Florence and throughout Italy. Bars put out a free spread of food for patrons to enjoy while they have their drinks, similar to tapas in Spain. We then sought out Mamma Gina's, a restaurant recommended to us by a family friend. Dinner consisted of a caprese salad and pasta, a great first Italian meal. The diners beside us ordered a bisteca fiorentina, a large (the usual minimum size is 1kg) typically T-bone steak cooked Florentine style, perfectly seared on the outside and medium rare on the inside. While we have not eaten much meat in many months, we agreed that we could not leave Florence without trying the bisteca (mostly because our friends would never let us live it down).

Finally, our first night in Florence included our first gelato. There are gelaterias on every block, but some are superior to others. We have been spending our time (and calories) looking for the best of the city. Every flavour tastes so much like the actual food it represents. My limone gelato was refreshing for the walk home, as temperatures still remain high even late into the night.

Vivian

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