Florence and the tiramisu challenge

Italy is the country which is really not too far away from me, but somehow it took a while to going back to the country where I used to do camping with my Family when I was a kid. Only exception was our trip to Rome back in 2015 and some wellnessdays in Meran, area of Südtirol which is geographically belonging to Italy, however I somehow have the feeling to still be in Austria there :).

So time has come where we headed by train to Florence as we decided to spend some days in Italy and splitted the trip to Florence and Milan (instead of the initial planning of 3 days Milan we did now 2 days Florence and 2 days Milan - 4 days are always better than just 3 :)). One important note: It is not my favourite dessert at all, but when in Italy, I have  the desire to get a tiramisu after dinner as I have set a mission: I want to find the best tiramisu in Italy - lets see if I find it in Florence...

After changing train in Milan we arrived in Florence in the afternoon where we checked in in our fantastic hotel Glance which is located close to the trainstation as well as close to the main touristattractions of Florence. I want to highlight the hotel as the staff here is super friendly, we even got a handwritten welcomecard by the management and furthermore you can take advantage of the rooftoppool which is a refreshing option when having temperatures around 30 degrees :). The receptionist was also super helpful in explaining the area and so we decided to go first for a walk, enjoying then a pool session, heading to the Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset where you have a perfect view over the city. 

The walk took us to the Mercado di San Lorenzo -  a huge hall where you get different restaurants, bars, snacks and even cooking class upstairs while on the groundfloor you can buy Fresh Food in the morning. This Mercado is really cool and we couldn't resist to get first a typical Aperitivo with some snacks :). We also didn't walk a lot further as the duomo Firenze just appeared in front of us. Once more I realized how incredibly rich they must have been to built such impressive buildings. 

After a refreshing swim in the pool, we made our way to the lookout point. This is the only point which is not that easy to walk (approx. 1 hour or more) that's why we took the public bus for EUR 2.50 and crossed the entire city before heading up the hill. As we arrived we realized, that this is defintively not a secret spot :) but anything else would also be a surprise as the view over the city is incredibly stunning and romantic, especially during sunset. Or like our guide in Milan said: Florence is the city with beautiful places which make you almost cry - in Milan you won't find any place like this :) Milan is another story… Back to the lookout point. I defintively recommend to go there although it will be crowded. I experienced the place still as relaxed, many people get a bottle of wine, some picnic or aperitivo they drink together with friends while enjoying the view and to see the sun going down.

Heading back, it took a while to be back in town (around 30 minutes) we were starving and decided to go to the restaurant Santa Maria Novella which seemed to be specialized in dishes with meat. We got welcomed very friendly, the Food was delicious but all of a sudden our waiter seemed to have disappeared. The couple next to us was asking another waiter and it turned out that they have sent "our" waiter home as he was drinking during work which they didn't accepted. Anyhow, luckily we were not at work and could enjoy our glass of wine, the mandatory Limoncello after dinner (and the tiramisu of course). We denied kindly the invitation to go to their wine cellar for further tasting as it was late and we were tired from the travels.

Next day, we joined a Free Walking Tour - I really like this possibility to join volunteers who are telling you more about the city as well as getting a good orientation and at the endd you decide how much you would like to leave as a tip. The tour was interesting, we learned for example the story about the special streetsigns (in the photo Gallery) or about different towers which still remain at some buildings. During the walk you can not cover all areas and that's why we were heading afterwards to the famous old Ponte Viecchio and strolled through other alleys before we stopped at the Gelateria Ettamo - this Gelateria is super delicious and even won a Price last year for the "strawberry balsamico" creation. - They have different icecreams, if you are Looking for something Special you should definitively try it out.

 We enjoyed then another aperitivo / poolsession before we went to another, very good restaurant nearby, the Osteria del'osso - delicous Pasta but also amazing meat meals - I chose Pasta this time and  had a delicious crespelle Fiorentina aand yes - you named it, a Tiramisu and Limoncello of course :).

To end the evening, we went up to the the poolbar for a last drink and I decided to go for a Negroni. By ordering the waiter got very excited about it - I ordered the drink which was born in Firenze. He told me then where I could find the café where the drink got invented but unfortunately we didn't have time - in case you're interested, you find the information here. 

Again, time was flying, I absolutely fell in love with this charming city and pearl of the tuscany. I hope to be back supersoon! 
Next morning, we took the train to Milan, our next destination for two days. We were laughing seeing different trains with huge delays, Little we knew that some days later we won't laugh about it anymore - all Details in the Chapter Milan :).

Oh I guess you would like to know about the tiramisu challenge? They were delicious, but my vote remains for now in Rome. Let's see if this will change in Milan.....