We got pasty from Café Gilli at the Piazza della Repubblica. It was wonderful. We just walked around, not sure what to do first. We ended up at the Palazzo Vecchio. Rick Steves calls describes the art here as "mediocre magnificence", but we enjoyed it. There are lots of paintings depicting Roman mythology, which Isaac is into so it had his attention.
After that we walked over to the Uffizi, there was a small line, but I was afraid my kids would only tolerate one line and if it was only going to be one line, I wanted them to see David.
When I began planning this trip 2 years ago, I knew the smart thing was to make appointments to see David and the Uffizi. But I didn't do that. We took a trip a few years ago to
We walked to the Academia and got there about
This time the kids were impressed by David. They even enjoyed the rest of the art in the building. We kind of picked a theme which was how babies are portrayed. My kids noticed these artists must not have spent much time looking at babies because they are all out of proportion. We played pick the ugliest baby. Okay so we are not art connoisseurs.
(Sarah wants the pink luggage)On the way back we passed a store with really cheap luggage. Isaac's suitcase handle broke on the way to
On to Sarah's favorite activity was shopping at the
After that we are ready for a rest back at the hotel. At about 4 I asked the kids if they wanted to try the Uffizi. Isaac has had enough but Sarah is game. We luck out again and stand in line only a half an hour. I confess, to my disappointment, we never found the room with the Botticelli collection. But we did see a lot of babies! I never realized there was such a common theme of showing the baby Jesus playing with baby John the Baptist. He's so cute with his little animal skin romper. We also got to see Michelangelo's Holy Family. It made up a little for the Sistine Chapel being such a disaster.
We rested before dinner. We went back to the piazza della Signoria and this time chose Il Cavallino, which was recommended by Rick Steves. (When I got home I saw it is also mentioned in Fromners).
For antipasti Isaac has his usual prosciutto. I decided to try the ribolitta, a hearty vegetable and bread soup that is so thick, it's almost like a casserole. The waiter suggested I pour olive oil on top. The house wine was wonderful and when I told the waiter he said "I know" Sarah and I order roast beef and potatoes. Isaac gets a steak.
Of course the steak is pink when it comes. And so is the roast beef. I thought it was wonderful, when I make roast, I always have to overcook it or nobody but me will eat it. Sarah says it makes her sick to see meat that red. It's embarrassing, but at these prices, the kids need to eat, so I apologetically tell my waiter about my silly children who can't eat red meat.
He's okay with sending the steak back but is horrified at the idea of overcooking the roast beef. "But this IS roast beef!" He insists.
"I know," I say sympathetically. "Can ya cook it a little more please?" Back it goes. The poor cook probably feels he's being asked to commit a culinary crime.
When it comes back, Sarah eats it all, but Isaac leaves parts of the steak uneaten because it's slightly pink. I suggest to Isaac maybe he shouldn't order steak anymore. The thing is, he likes it when he can get it burned enough. Total bill was 66 E.
More gelato on the way home. I guess you just can't get 2 E gelato anywhere nearby in
Before we go back to the hotel we stop at the pig (who is right under our hotel window) and rub his nose and feed him coins
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