Pienissima

Pleuve and I spent the morning in Oltrarno, which literally means "the other side of the Arno [River]". I enjoyed walking the streets aimlessly with her and encountering graffiti-laden alleys. Those made for some of my favourite shots in Florence so far. It helps that I had a model/muse with me!

 En route to Angela Caputi, Pleuve's favourite shop in Florence

Pleuve in Borgo della Stella

Then we walked to Antico Ristoro di' Cambi, a restaurant whose Florentine steak (bistecca alla fiorentina) my aunt highly recommended.

I wasn't mentally prepared for the meal. I had always imagined eating it for dinner. But since we were in the area and had to try it eventually, we went for it. I exchanged many panicked glances with Pleuve as we awaited the 1 kg of steak to be shared between us. When it arrived, it didn't look as humungous as I had feared. Meno male. It was lightly seasoned with salt, medium rare, and perhaps the most tender piece of steak I've ever had. It's a definite must-eat in Florence!

 La bistecca alla fiorentina

Luckily we were able to finish, and I must say that it was enough meat for me for a few weeks. It amused me to hear Pleuve say a few hours later that she could go for another one. I think I'm good for my whole stay in Florence.

We crossed a bridge to have my first chocolate frappé of this trip (and Pleuve's first one ever) at Vivoli and then we saw the exterior of Santa Croce, one of Florence's many beautiful churches.

We crossed the Arno again to visit the Piazzale Michelangelo. It was an even more beautiful sight when illuminated by a perfect sunny day.

Piazzale Michelangelo

On our way down I noticed that a gelateria sold brioches con gelato, something I had tried with the ragazze in Monreale. Pleuve ordered one with nocciola (hazelnut) gelato and raved about how delicious it was. (That's right, gelato count 2 for Pleuve in one day.)

Later on, we waited for the sun to set on the Ponte Santa Trinità.

Shortly thereafter, we heard an American guy yell "Peace out, [profanity]!" and then proceed to jump from our bridge into the river. He swam to shore as quickly as it took him to fall into the water and ran to rejoin his friends on the bridge. Below is the only proof I have: his wet footsteps.

Thanks to Pleuve's blog-sleuthing and research, we went to a small restaurant called Trattoria Nella for dinner. Luckily we were able to squeeze in at 7:30pm before a birthday party for 35 at 8:30pm. The restaurant is run by twin brothers.

 Grilled eggplant

Pleuve's tagliatelle with funghi porcini sauce 

Ricotta and spinach ravioli with walnut sauce

Today's word of the day is pienissima. It is the superlative form of the adjective "piena" which means "full". If you do not understand why it is today's word, you need to scroll up and reread. It not only applies to the food we ate but to how well we spent our time today. And the best part was, everything was experienced with ease, in the true spirit of Florence.