Honeymoon -- Day 6 -- Florence (Afternoon/Evening)

After trekking across Florence and before ascending the stairs to Piazzale Michelangelo, we stopped for a much-needed gelato at Il Gelato di Filo.

I had the gianduja and Jeff had limone. Mine was rich and creamy, just as it should be, and his was citrusy and refreshing. Once we finished, we were ready to tackle more stairs.

The views are definitely worth the hike, but don't expect a romantic experience. There are people gathered everywhere -- eating and drinking, taking pictures, and just lingering. There are also tons of carts and people trying to sell you things everywhere.

Our hotel is a couple buildings to the left of the yellow building, with the gray doorway.

Ponte Vecchio

The Duomo

We took pictures and lingered, ourselves, for a bit before we made the trek back down and across the river to our hotel. Our early morning at the Uffizi, followed by a long tour at the Accademia, climbing the stairs to the top of the bell tower, and then trekking up to Piazzale Michelangelo tired us out, and I was happy to sneak in a late afternoon nap.

We ventured out again in the evening and wandered in and out of shops on our way to dinner at Coquinarius. My friend had also recommended this restaurant to us, and we made a reservation a few days in advance to ensure we'd get a table. There was a little construction going on right outside the restaurant, so we walked around a bit before we actually found it.

Once we were seated, we ordered a .25-liter carafe of wine each -- Trebbiano for Jeff and Muledei (a Sangiovese/Syrah mix) for me.

The menu had a full page of salads, and I was seriously craving some greens and veggies at this point in the trip. (Copious amounts of cured meats and pasta can do that to you.) I ordered the Strega, which has arugula, eggplant, roasted peppers, zucchini, sundried tomatoes, and provolone. It was just what I needed. All the grilled veggies were so flavorful. Jeff went with the more basic classic salad.

For dinner he had tagliatelle with wild boar ragu. It was nearly as good as the one he had at Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco the night before.

And I had ravioli with mushrooms and truffle. My pasta was rich and buttery, but the ravioli were small and not overly stuffed, so the dish was satisfying rather than overwhelming.

Jeff tried the chocolate cake for dessert.

I went with the cheesecake del giorno (people on Trip Advisor say the cheesecake is not to be missed). That day's cheesecake was a "nut cheesecake" and tasted very hazelnutty to me. It was a light, smooth, and creamy cheesecake, which I prefer to dense, sticky cheesecake.

Next up: Day 7 -- Florence (Morning)