Firenze and Lucca Tidbits

Still in Florence, and here are a few favourites from the last few days. Today we went to Volpi e l'uva for "lunch"...aka vino and a few snacks. This included a few salamis, and a couple fantastic crostones (bigger crostini). The favourite was the crostone with salsiccia, sausage, very delicious, especially with prosecco. This was washed down by a couple glasses of chianti, one was a riserva, and one was not. We were joined by one of the servers, and chatted for awhile. Lovely, overall. Cappuccini this morning were taken at the bar of Robiglio, and a good chocolate cornetti. Jeff says it was the best bomboloni so far, but my favourite cornetti and cappuccino has been at Chiaroscuro. Of course, it is hot, so we had to cool off with gelato after lunch. And so we headed to gelateria della Carrozze, my favourite of all time in Florence. I had yogurt and limone. The yogurt is rich, and the lemon, just cools everything off. Last night, we had a fantastic dinner of items pulled together from mercato Centrale, including ravioli with pumpkin and cappellacci with spinach and ricotta. The mozzerella di bufalo was beyond outstanding. One of the highlights so far was Fabio Picchi's Teatro del Sale. Picchi is larger than life, and we were fortunate to hear him speak before the entertainment began. At first, it is a little uncomfortable, as you try to figure everything out, and the kitchen is yelling, but then you get the hang of it; wine out of tumbers and fantastically delicious food all in good company. We also were able to sneak a photo... luckily before we asked.... Now that we are members, albeit temporarily, I want to go back again and again! We also had a delicious lunch in Lucca at Ristorante Giglio in gorgeous surroundings, spectacular service, and absolutely delicious food. Tortelli lucchese were rich beyond words, and my tortino di porcini (a pastry with porcini mushrooms, ricotta cheese, on creamed chickpeas) was equally delightful. Now, it is time to shop!