Day 6 - Florence

Dad and I Crossing the Bridge To Oltrarno

We did not really have anything planned today, so we slept in and then decided to visit Michaelangelo's home that had been turned into a museum.  The home was interesting, but most of the work inside was not his and the work that he had done was his earlier, less famous works so we did not stay long.  We continued on to visit the Oltrarno quarter of the city, which is on the other side of the River Arno from most of the tourist attractions, and as a result was a much quieter, more enjoyable area.

The View From the Top

In the Oltrarno area, we climbed the many steps through the beautiful Giardino Bardini (Bardini Garden) and were rewarded with a breathtaking view of the city.  We were amazed at the amount of land that had been dedicated to the gardens and took time to wander down all of the winding paths through the garden, which provided wonderful relief from the hustle-and-bustle of the rest of the city.  Once we were satisfied that we had seen pretty much all of the gardens, we made our way back down the hill and let dad choose a place for lunch.

Dad and I Ordering Out Gelato

We had lunch at Trattoria Quattro Leoni, which is was undoubtedly one of the best meals that we have ever had.  We started with a caprese salad with eggplant, then dad and I both had phenomenal pear ravioli (well in fact, they they were really "little purses" but we forget how to say that) in a light cheese sauce that was to die for.  Words can not fully describe how amazing the ravioli were.  After our wonderful lunch, we walked across the street to a place that had the best gelato of our trip so far.  They had a flavor called Messer Brunelleschi, which is pistachio, marscapone cheese, and honey gelato that was almost as good as the ravioli that we had just eaten.  After an amazing meal, we walked back to our hotel for our customary afternoon nap.

After our nap, we went to dinner at a restaurant not too far from where we had eaten lunch, in the Oltrarno area, which was good, but not particularly memorable.  Except for the name, Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco which means the white wild boar, the stuff of legends in Tuscany.  Since we were so close, we went back to the same gelato place we ate at after lunch for some more Messer Brunelleschi, though Dad for some reason decided to mess with our success and ordered licorice gelato, which he has very much regretted ever since.  We walked back to our hotel and called it a night as we prepared to leave for Sienna the next morning.