Apologies for the lack of posts last week. We had company! And then we went to Parma! (More on that later.) And then I got sick! (That's all you'll hear about that.)
Robert and Margaux arrived last Sunday from Rome, a little jet-lagged and a little under the weather, but all in all ready to paaaa-rteee, Florence Style!
A little drizzle didn't stop us - we took a bit of a passeggiata around the center of town, showing off the Duomo, the Piazza della Signoria, and of course the Ponte Vecchio.
As always, it was so wonderful for us to show people around the city. I'm definitely starting to feel a little pride of ownership, here, even though we've only lived here about 6 months.
We took them to see the Fontana del Porcellino, or the fountain of the little porker. This is sort of like Florence's Trevi Fountain, in that people who let a coin drop from the hog's mouth through the grate at his feet will come back to Florence. The similarities end there, of course.
I can't imagine how this happened, but somehow both Robert and Margaux... missed the grate!(Guess that's the last Florence will see of these jerks. Geez. -L.Pants)
Because of our classes and everything, we didn't get to spend as much time with them as we would have liked - though they had a good time hitting the Accademia and the Uffizi and even taking a day trip to Siena. We took a long walk one day up past San Minato al Monte, a beautiful Romanesque church Husbear and I hadn't yet had the chance to visit.
We went out to a couple of great places for dinner - they liked Antica Porta, which is a definite point in their favor. Though they did agree with us that if you call a menu item "Zuppa di Fragole" (Strawberry Soup) that serving something much more akin to strawberry shortcake was a little odd.
Husbear was able to cook one night, what with his classes and internship, so he and Robert and Margaux went to the Mercato Centrale to pick up ingredients (and to have a delicious lunch at Mario's). Having seen Husbear's Bistecca post, they had a request...
Awww, yeahhhh.
But first, an antipasta platter with bresaola di cavallo (that's horse sausage) (Actually it's just plain horse, no sausage about it. -L. Pants) prosciutto, lardo di colonnata, olives, and a delicious, only-available-this-time-of-year sheep's-milk cheese called Marzolino.
And then, the steak... with cauliflower puree and sauteed chicory.
It was so great to see those guys, who are by now hopefully safe and sound back in New Orleans. We'll be seeing you in just a couple of months!
And, to leave you with a little taste of Florence in your mouths, here's one last glass of Vin Santo with yummy almondy cantuccini.
girlie
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