Today is our last full day in Florence. We’ve enjoyed staying in one place for four nights but tomorrow morning we board a train for Naples, then on to Sorrento by hydrofoil. We had planned to visit some nearby attractions since we didn’t get reservations to the Uffizi or the Accademia to see David but everywhere we went there were huge crowds and long lines, even more so than on Sunday. Since Linda and I both abhor crowds and lines we decided just to walk around and soak up the ambiance.
And I think “Vespa” pretty much describes the local ambiance. There are Vespas everywhere. They zip in and out of traffic and scoot through the narrowest if passages. Men and women, young, middle aged, and older all ride Vespas. There were quite a few in Milano, but nothing compares to the Vespas in Firenze.
And, one more thing. Linda insists that I update my blog. The other day I posted that my gold earrings would likely be my only purchase. Not so. Yesterday I couldn’t resist local olive oil and Super Tuscan wine and today, despite 90 degree temps, I now own a black lambskin jacket.
Now a little Vespa ambiance:
… and after a tiring day of snapping vespas these two intrepid broads decided to have a small snack to finish off the day in a quiet trattoria called “Il Latini”. This restaurant is a force of nature where only the brave or foolhardy eat anything that the waiter hasn’t picked/suggested. In company with their new- found table-mates from Alnwick in Northumberland the two foody broads scoffed their way through antipasti (crostini, prosciutto, melon, mozzarella and tomato), pasta (ravioli and bolognese), rabbit and bistecca fiorentina with roast potatoes, followed by creme caramel and other sweet desserts, all washed down with a communal bucket of Chianti,moscato and vinsanto dunked with biscotti. Carol giggled and charmed the tablemates. Linda laughed and
shrieked at something we thought amusing at the time – only to be shushed by the staid/ respectable table opposite.
All restaurants should be like Il Latini.
All tablemates should be like these two broads!
Colin and Kathleen
Love the Vespa photos- especially the ones showing the narrow streets! Will you be buying one when you get home?