This morning we met with Elisa at the gate to take the bus down to Florence. We had a few hours before our guided tour so we did some exploring with Elisa. We stopped at a coffee shop and I had a cappuccino, then she took us to a perfumery that has been open since 1221 – the Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
https://eu.smnovella.com/pages/our-story
I thought most of the perfumes smelt funky, but they also had some teas, which all smelt nice.
After visiting the perfumery, we walked through some street markets and headed to an indoor food market. We parted ways with Elisa here and went inside to check it out. I stopped to taste some melon cream liqueur, some white truffle oil, pistachio cream, and pesto. I bought some of the oil, cream, and booze (which would all disappear quickly once back in Montespertoli). We did some more shopping around, and I bought myself a nice linen button up. Then, we met with the rest of the group at a restaurant that serves Florentine Steaks. This restaurant was quite expensive, but I assumed it would be a good place to get a Carbonara. I was wrong. It was probably one of the most disappointing Carbonara’s I have had. However, everyone else’s food was very good. Nathan and Kaitlin both had ravioli with truffles which was delicious, but they were disappointed to each get only 4 pieces. I did try a small bite of the Florentine Steak, and I really enjoyed it. This was my first time having steak in about 7 years! I understand what all the hype is about with steak now. Austin ordered Tiramisu for dessert, which was also really nice.
After lunch we had a guided tour of Florence. Unfortunately, it didn’t spike my interest. We stood in one spot for a long time while the guide rattled off facts about the different historic periods, then we moved about 50 meters and listened to some more facts. I decided to leave early, which I felt bad about, but I had been on another guided tour of Florence recently, where I learnt a lot about the city. Today’s tour was just not suitable for my learning style. We left early, grabbed something to drink and eat, and then got on a bus back to Montespertoli. We felt we had seen enough of Florence for this trip.
Back at the Castello, we relaxed at our place and listened to some tunes, then most of us went to the pizzeria in town again. This time, I had a Margherita with Buffalo Mozzarella. Much better than the shrimp one. There was also a market going on in the town this evening. Mostly people selling little trinkets, I got some cool sunglasses. Nathan and Jackson convinced me to get them because “I can wear them at the club!” I don’t go to the club, but I got them anyways just for fun. We went back and hung out at our place for a while after dinner and then we were off to bed.
