Firenze

An evening spent in Florence. Kim booked a hotel by the name of Hotel Golf, close to the train station for the night. You might be asking...Florence is so close to home...why go stay the night...well a few reasons...the main reason....if you want to enjoy a nice dinner out with some wine then driving home is not the best option...and this was a perfect opportunity because my dad was arriving home from South Africa the next morning early and instead of leaving the house very early...why not spend the night in Firenze....a romantic evening.

Our journey started with a quick stop at Ikea because we needed some bookshelves and items for the kitchen. After that a quick check in at our hotel to drop the car and then it was time to venture around the city a little bit by foot. The hotel was decent...a little run down but the location was convenient and the price was good and there was car parking which for us was important.

We started by walking towards the famous Cathedral and of course I had to take some pics...just for old times sakes...the last time we were there was over a year ago...in fact I was 7 months pregnant with Sofia...and as you might remember, we climbed the cupola as well as the bell tower...this time...nope. Let me share a pic....

Cathedral

After that we slowly made our way to our restaurant "Antica Trattoria di Tito" but of course on the way we wanted to stop for some aperitivo...no special destination...just a place that looked good...and of course we found one....it just looked so quaint and so inviting, just a few tables...beautiful decor, exactly what we were looking for....Enoteca Lombardi. Kim opted for a Gin & Tonic while I opted for a glass of Prosecco. I of course checked out the interior of the shop and the tasting table and decoration inside the shop was amazing...i loved it, generous tasting, large proscuitto crudo hanging, cheeses, biscotti...just great...let me share some pics...

Tasting table

Entrance

Kim enjoying his Gin & Tonic

Their platters also looked fabulous...let me share a pic...

 Cold meat and cheese platter

After that it was time to make our way to our dinner destination. We chose a place by the name of Antica Trattoria di Tito...how did I find it...well some research on the internet...then checking out reviews...then checking out websites and menus and of course whether locals or tourists wrote the reviews. In the end...this seemed to be up our alley...prices, menu and local...it was outside the tourist areas. 

The interior was interesting...the walls were white but were full of pen marks...everyone writing a note that they have been there...let me show you...

Interior

The house wine was served in 500ml, 750ml or in 1L....we chose the 500ml...and then the waiter just opened the Chianti bottle on our table...how cool....a house wine served from a bottle....and the temperature was good.  The wine was light and flavoursome. For starters Kim and I chose the smoked salmon carpaccio with fennel and balsamic. We opted to share (thank God because it was quite large). Here is a pic...

Smoked salmon carpaccio

For mains Kim and I opted to take two dishes and share them both...one was the beef tagliata with balsamic and the other one was grilled aubergine with mozzarella and tomatoes. Both were very beautifully presented, portion size rather generous. The tagliata was a little bit tough but otherwise good (meaning meat quality wise I have had better). The melanzane caprese was very yummie...we enjoyed it a lot....so yes...out choices were good...we were rather happy. Let me share some pics..

Melanzane caprese

Tagliata

Dessert...we were full...so nope...however, they did offer us a Limoncello on the house which I thought was rather nice. After dinner we made our way back to the hotel and had a good night sleep. It was nice to have spent the evening in Florence without having to worry about having to drive back. So would we do it again absolutely....for now though...I am going to say good night and we chat soon...next time back from home...back from Montisi. Well...almost...in fact I want to tell you about a wine farm which we went to visit, 

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