Our Tuscan Adventure begins

Ciao Italia.  I'm back and this time I am traveling with my wife and my sister Diane.  A lot of work went into planning but we at last are here.  We are starting our adventure in Florence for one night then onto the port city of Viareggio followed by three nights on a farm in the hills of Tuscany and finally back to Florence.   

The people of Florence have been very friendly and welcoming.  Our cab driver Ectore set a nice tone for the first day of our trip.  He gave us several suggestions of places to eat and let us know about the standard fare for cab rides so we wouldn't be taken later.   We asked to be let off at the train station and as we struggled to find our way, a local man stopped to tell us where we were indicating the name of the street.  We headed toward Via Faenza where our hotel was located but we didn't know which direction to turn. The same man appeared and pointed out the addresses on the buildings.  Good thing too because there were older numbers I'm guessing from a previous numbering system they never bothered to remove.  We will continue to rely on the kindness of strangers and when the strangers are this nice and willing we don't mind.

Then there was Francesco and Maria who own the Kattihouse where we are staying.  Francesco showed us to our room.  He pointed out several items of interest.  The place we are staying for the night was where the Medici would keep their horses while they stayed across the street.  If it's good enough for horses it's good enough for us.  He pointed to some art work on the walls and remnants from when the building was originally built.  Then in the room he demonstrated how to turn the lights on and off, a switch like you would expect but it was still nice of him, and even switched on the hair dryer for us.  I guess to show us that everything was in proper working order.  Francesco opened the window to show us the 4 foot statue, a symbol of the Medici on the building across the way.   His pride in this building is apparent in everything he says and does.  He had us run our hands over the walls in the hall to show us it is real marble as he was explaining how special we were because we were staying in the section that has only two rooms instead of four.   

We are exhausted since none of us slept for very long on the plane.  Still it's too early to go to bed so we set off to explore the city.   We got lost a little as we wandered around.  Getting lost is one of my favorite things to do in Italy.  You think you know the right direction but the streets rarely go straight for very long and steet names can change without any apparent reason.  Suddenly you are turned around and headed in the wrong direction.   What makes it so great is that even though you know you are lost you don't mind because as you turn a corner there is one of the iconic buildings or famous statues you cme to see.  In the hour or so that we were roaming we came across The Duomo, Ponte Vecchio,and the Uffizzi. 

Eventually we ended up at our intended spot, the Hotel Excelsior.  This was  one of the places Ectore recommended for a cocktail. We felt a little underdressed for this beautiful place but we were tired and thirsty and not about to go back to change.  We went to the top floor and were rewarded with beautiful views of the whole city.  We each ordered a spritz and of course they came with the customary small bowl of plain potato,chips.  Jackie and I grew to love the tradition of the spritz appertif on our last trip as an evening ritual before heading elsewhere for dinner. 

The drinks were pricey but came with complimentary appetizers.  They had all you can eat antipasti of very simple dishes of seasonal foods.  Everything was delicious and the view was spectacular.  We decided to make reservations for next week when we return to Florence.  

Our evening ended with a meal of pasta and grilled vegetables at a little restaurant around the corner from the Kattihouse.  Jackie and Diane went up to bed but I couldn't sleep without one last important detail being taken care of, GELATO.  I fininished the night with a stroll around the neighborhood carrying a cone with two of my favorites, pistachio and stratiatella.  This is how you live your life!