We plan to explore Florence by foot today. Last night I ate my first authentic Italian meal at a place called Dante's.  We were greeted by a lovely man who offered us any table in the place. It seems as though he did double duty because upon our arrival, he was wearing a white apron and then he was our server 5 minutes later. We started with a house wine also named, Dante's, which was a Chianti Classico. We paired that with a Caprese salad with the best Buffula Mozzarella that I've ever had. We shared a Polenta Fungi with locally grown Puccinni mushrooms and a Penne pasta with crispy pancetta, tomato sauce and red pepper flakes. The jet lag was catching up with me and I couldn't hold my eyes open for dessert.  

We almost didn't to eat anything because 12/26 is a huge holiday in Italy, St. Stefano's day - which almost everything is closed. Only a few coffee shops and restaurants are open. 

Our apartment is awesome. It is a split loft style in a super old building next to the Arno River. There is a wrought iron staircase that leads to the loft bed upstairs, and let me tell you, this staircase is super duper tiny!

Our house host whom we rented from, Vivianna is gracious and gave us insider tips of where she likes to eat and explore. She told us how to avoid getting charged tourist prices and what to expect where. Tomorrow we may go to Sienna if we can figure out which bus to take. 

Ciao!