ITALY

Hi again!

It took me a little longer to get this post done than I originally thought, but hey, sometimes life gets busy. I know everyone can relate. Anyways, back to Italy. Since this is a brand new blog, I'll be trying out some different variations of blog posts along the way, but the content will always stay the same - sharing my favorite places I've traveled to and the food I ate during the trip.

So, Italy! I had some pretty high expectations for the food in Italy based on things I've heard/read/been told, and I am telling you, it still exceeded expectations. The pasta. Pizza. Gelato. Wine. All of it was hands down the best I have ever had. Thinking about it as I write this post makes me so excited for the day I get to return to Italy again (ya know, when life goes back to normal and we no longer are living through a global pandemic). I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite restaurants I visited during my week in Florence. It's hard to pick only a few, but if I put them all in this post it would easily be a mile long. As a side note, while in Florence, I stayed about a 5 minute walk away from the Duomo. If there's one thing I would suggest seeing while in Florence it would be this cathedral. The size, detail, color, and space it takes up is truly amazing and nothing like I had ever seen before. Now for the fun part....

I already highlighted Signorvino in my last post, which was the restaurant we had lunch at on my first day in the city. That night, we got dinner at Trattoria Zà Zà. They are known for their truffle sauce that they use in a variety of ways in a variety of dishes. We ordered the ravioli dish with their signature truffle cream sauce, and wow, did it not disappoint. Between the fresh pasta and the strong truffle flavor coming through the sauce it was one of the best dinners I've had in my life (not exaggerating) and we knew instantly we would be coming back to that restaurant later in the week.

This picture really doesn't do it justice, but if you zoom in on those ravioli, you can see the pieces of truffle throughout the pasta sauce.

The next place I wanted to share was more of a place to sit down and have a nice glass of wine and some light appetizers. We each got a glass of wine and shared this bruschetta seen below which included fresh tomatoes, basil, olives, and olive oil on fresh bread with asiago cheese. I have tried to recreate this dish since coming home, and the flavors just don't come even close to being comparable. This was enjoyed at Le Volpi e l'Uva, which was located down a quiet side street that was really only wide enough for mopeds or the occasional local in a car who has no fear of those skinny cobblestone streets.

Are you getting hungry yet? I had such a hard time narrowing down which restaurants to cover in this post because they were all the best at what they did. Maybe someday I'll do separate posts for my favorite gnocchi, pizza, or gelato and can include more from Italy then (because why not?). The next place that is a must visit when in Florence is All'Antico Vinaio. They are famous for their paninis and have two storefronts which may seem odd until you see how long their lines are every. single. day. We lucked out and got an early lunch mid-week so we didn't wait very long. I would suggest going around this time because otherwise the line is a mile long down the road and you will wait for quite some time. If your only option is to go when the line is this long though, I suggest toughing it out because their truffle sauce they put on their paninis is unlike anything I've ever have. The panini I got also included prosciutto and arugula. YUM. Disclaimer - the servings are massive, but the prices are so affordable.

Since this post is already pretty long, I'll wrap it up now, but just know there are countless other restaurants throughout Florence worth visiting. I like to use sites like Tripadvisor or read other travel blogs prior to traveling to get a feel for the best spots to eat at, but definitely ask locals where they would suggest too because we got some of our ideas right from the source! To close, I couldn't make this post and not include at least one dessert so I chose the best one I had in Italy - a chocolate chip cannoli. I have always been a big fan of cannolis and growing up in New England, I always get them at Mike's Pastry in Boston when I'm in that area. Of course though, everything just tasted better in Italy. This cannoli was enjoyed while sitting right next to the Duomo. The perfect dessert in the perfect place to start my travel food blog. This little Gelateria, called Don Nino, also featured various pastries, all of which looked equally as good, but I couldn't pass up a cannoli while in Italy.

I think that will do it for my post on Italy... for now... in short, it was hands down the best food I have ever eaten and I so look forward to the day I can return and experience it all over again.