It's Friday and both a new day and a sad one as it's our last day in Florence with the kids. We set them free to explore while we did the same with a note to be back to the condo at a time certain to go for our celebratory dinner of Bistecca Fiorentina at Trattoria Mario. Explore they did and came away with some really lovely items from a market at the Duomo.
At Berlucchi Winery, Laura gifted us a wooden box normally used to house two bottles of wine, but one which I expressed a desire to purchase. JR and I figured out how to take out the trash and then went to the conveniently located Mail Boxes Etc to mail the box - as well as the few items of long sleeved shirts, hat and gloves I packed as they were WAY too hot for this climate for me. Afterward, JR and I then wandered streets, explored art supply stores and a market in Piazza Santa Croce. It was our first real day of no rain - hallelujah!
Trattoria Mario was everything they promised it would be. Intimate, fantastic service, tasty food and a jovial atmosphere with a mostly open kitchen where you can watch them cut and cook your meal. We ordered the Bistecca Fiorentina to share. If you haven't experienced this treat, it's a tomahawk steak individually cut, brought to your table for approval - like a wine - and kissed over the flame of a grill with minimal seasoning. What is delivered, is a well crusted sear over a steak cooked rare. If done correctly it is the most amazing piece of meat you've ever had - buttery soft and super flavorful; almost no knife necessary.
We drank wine, ate this delicious steak, enjoyed each others company and made a big fuss over the guys who cut and cooked the meat (as well as our fab servers). They even let Kat take a video of the 'cleaving of the meat' by opening the gated kitchen door and putting on a show. It couldn't have been more perfect.
We returned to the condo to pack up our stuff - Kat/Cleo to take a flight home and us to move to our forever - OK, two month - home. After we went to bed, the kids returned to The Red Garter to enjoy one last night of Karaoke.
No comments:
Post a Comment