Our luck had been amazingly good when it came to weather in Paris & Barcelona...but not so much for Florence.







We arrived just before lunch time, jumped into a cab, dropped our bags at the hotel & went for a walk in the rain to explore Florence.





Despite the damp & overcast weather, Florence turns out to be my very favorite place on this trip.

It is just the right size, with the right amount of places to see & plenty of activities to entertain me without feeling overwhelm & lost.





















Our feet didn't scurry too far before we found ourselves settling down for lunch at Ristorante la Grotta Guelfa locates right next to a local market with the famous bronze boar status known as Il Porcellino













We didn't give it too much thought about this cafe but the food is quite simple yet delicious.

It has a mixture of Tuscany & Florentine cuisine.





Our eyes must have been bigger than our stomach or the portion is much larger than we anticipated.

Don't let the photos fool you - those bowls are much bigger in person than it seems.





Chris opted for a hot bowl of onion soup & lasagna.

And I went for a bowl of risotto & clam linguine in white wine sauce.









It was so good.

Even long after I was full I couldn't stop eating everything off the plate.

Only emptied shells remained.





Sadly, there was no room for dessert.

No need to fret, Florence streets are filled with many, many gelato shops.

But first, we must be scurrying along.

There are many things to see...

How about this for a sight?









Okay, there's more to see...let's carry on.













I can't describe how grandeur & magnificent the Duomo Cathedral of Firenze really is.









But more on that tomorrow.





I find this trick so fascinating, don't you?