Firenze

Jim and I took the first train to Firenze (Florence) on Saturday morning. Arrived around 8:30, dropped our bags at the hotel and headed to Il Duomo, the nickname for the stunningly beautiful cathedral in the center of the city. We headed in and climbed the stairs to the top. We were the first and only people for about 30 min. and we had the birds-eye view of Firenze all to ourselves.

Florence is beautiful. It is a compact city, but it is jam-packed with things to do. If you like art, this is your place. We only went to the Galleria Accademia, where the David is, but I'm dying to go back and make a trip to the Uffizi.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Pitti Gola e Cantina

Perhaps one of my favorite places I've discovered thus far. It is a tiny wine store with about 5 tables in Florence. They specialize in wines from the best of the best "micro-wineries," the ones that have a very limited production and are extremely hard to come by. We did a wine tasting meal with 3 courses and about 10 different wines.

Great food, even better wine, and knowledgeable owners. Add it to your list and definitely go when you are in Florence.