Addendum 2: The Other Blog

Also, if you can't get enough of reading about a trip to Italy that you weren't on, Jordan's blog has her impressions from Florence (and Venice, and Prague, and Berlin). Good reading, even if she doesn't appreciate being part of my constant quest for gelato.

Addendum: Tagliarini Magnifico

Meena's friend-of-a-friend comes through again: herewith, the recipe for pasta "magnifico," as discussed previously.

A note on shapes: was this dish made with "tagliarini"? "Tagliatini"? "Tagliolini"? "Tagliatelle"? There are so many shapes; I'm not even sure if all the ones I just named actually exist. Even this recipe is ambiguous about the preferred shape. But when we ate it at Garga, I remember the pasta being long, thin, and flat. Based on the info found here, I'm going with "Tagliarini Magnifico." However, I leave the spelling in the recipe exactly as I found it.

As to ingredient proportions, hey, you're on your own.

Tagliatini Magnifico from Ristorante Garga

In a pan add butter to coat bottom. On medium heat sauté Lemon zest, Orange zest to infuse the butter then add fairly thick shaved sheets of parmeggiano cheese, then cream and cognac and lower heat to low-medium till sauce thickens; then at the very end add a pinch or so of fresh mint (to taste). I would start with a pint of cream and a ¼ cup cognac for amounts but we will all work on the details as we practice.

Boil large pot of SALTED water (they usually have 2 TBL per quart or more (the rest of the salt will drain out with the water) Once boiling, add the ITALIAN (I recommend Barilla) pasta of choice (tagliarini= fettuccine) for the recommended amount of time on the package. Drain the pasta but don?t rinse. Add the sauce to the pasta in the pasta pot and toss and coat!!!!!

Business class - 11.03.06

We collapse in our seats after our terminal run. They are enormous, plush business-class seats. Highly adjustable, even laying out flat for sleeping. Individual video monitors. And, most important right now, a flight attendant offering water and champagne.

The flight is nine hours. Neither of us sleeps. We watch movies and eat a lot. And then we are home.

Munich Airport - 11.03.06

Oh, man. I hate Germany. Frankfurt's airport was small, crowded, and smelly. Munich's is large and pleasant, but we have no time to think about that as we run a hellish gauntlet.

Bus from the plane to the terminal (what is with the Europeans and these buses?).

Passport control, with a bored and slow-moving German processing a lengthy line.

A long jog through the terminal. We pass our gate. It is behind glass. Apparently there is a security area contolling access to these gates, so we will have to go down to it and double back. People are boarding the flight.

Another passport check. We are stopped so a lady can scan our passports. Again.

A security line, complete with metal detectors and luggage x-ray. Perplexing. Didn't I do this in Italy? What greater threat could I possibly be right now than I was then? I haven't been outside any secure areas. The line is long and the Germans are frankly botching the whole procedure, stopping the entire line for individual scans of each passenger. We take advantage of the business-class line, except there is no advantage. It's as long and slow as all the others. Our flight leaves in 10 minutes because, and how could I forget this part, Lufthansa has gone ahead and given us just a 50-minute scheduled layover to accomplish all this. And then they were 10 minutes late out of Pisa. We are fuming.

Finally, we run to the gate and board. This flight also leaves 10 minutes late. The pilot says he is waiting on a few passengers with late connections.

Pisa Airport - 11.03.06

We feel pretty good after having saved ourselves from ourselves, and take a deep breath in the airport waiting area. We wait at our gate for a bus which will take us out onto the tarmac to meet our plane. Such efficiency.

Santa Maria Novella bus stop - 11.03.06

Success! There is also a Florence-Pisa bus. Which is faster than the train. And which leaves at 10:00. We find this information on a photocopied page on a station door. All that is left to us is to figure out where and how much.

There's a man in a yellow vest selling tickets. He takes our cash, and points us to the spot. The bus rolls in 10 minutes late.

Santa Maria Novella taxi stand - 11.03.06

Our driver has pulled around to the taxi stand and is chatting with other drivers. We ask him about fares to Pisa airport. Maybe 150 euros, he says. That won't do.

Santa Maria Novella ticket machine - 11.03.06

The next train is at 10:30. It gets to the airport at 12:07. Crap.

In a taxi en route to Santa Maria Novella - 11.03.06

Time is a concern right now.

It is 9:15. We have a flight from Pisa at 12:50. Trains take an hour and a quarter to get to Pisa Airport. And, oh yeah, we haven't really examined the train schedule.

So we panicked this morning and packed in a rush, checked out, and hopped in our taxi. Now we are, either tragically or comically, depending on your perspective, sitting behind a garbage truck. It is blocking one of Florence's myriad of one-lane streets. It has a hydraulic arm which is lifting and and dumping a large trash bin. We watch impatiently. The arm sets down the bin. The truck moves forward 10 feet. There is a second bin. The truck slowly lifts and dumps this one. Please, please, please, get out of the way.

We all move forward, the truck with its little caravan trailing. We pass a side street. It's one-way the other way. The truck passes a second side street. Please, please, please, be one-way our way. It is, but, oh, I mean, come on, there's another trash bin right here. The truck stops again. Our driver is feeling resourceful. We're almost in the intersection, and he squeezes past, turning left. We are moving again.

Hotel Morandi - 10.03.06

The plan is to go find dessert. We filled up on antipasti and soup at Za-Za and we don't want a full dinner. Before we can rally, though, I crash. I am asleep at 8:30.

Zanobini - 10.03.06

We're looking for wine, olive oil, and chocolate. We find two of the three here. It's an excellent little wine shop, complete with service counter where you can order by the glass. We stock up on things in bottles, and leave heavily burdened.

Trattoria Za-Za - 10.03.06

We feel drained from shopping, so we drag ourselves to Za-Za near the San Lorenzo market. We sit outside with some wine and some excellent crostini (some with mushrooms, some with cheese, some with smoked salmon). The sun sets and we start to feel better. Then it is cold again. We move inside and order some soup. Za-Za is just what we needed. Time for one last shopping run.

Window-shopping - 10.03.06

We've dried off at the hotel, and we have dry socks on. Dan and Jordan have left, the weather is nice again, and Meena wants to shop. So we're wandering the streets looking into Italian windows at Italian fashions. But nothing seems to inspire Meena, so after a few halfhearted forays into stores, we give up.

I don't even feel like having gelato. Is there something wrong with us?

Under an awning - 10.03.06

We are halfway back to the hotel. The weather has gone from sunny, to drizzly, to thunderstormy, with hail, in ten minutes. We have been scuttling from overhang to overhang to get out of the rain. When pebble-sized hail starts falling, we just look at each other. We sure did not see this one coming. But Dan and Jordan have a train to catch, so we bundle up and run.

Gilli - 10.03.06

What? How did we end up back here?

Who knows, but is is a nice day out, so we figure it will be a pleasant place to sit. Sideburns is our waiter again. We still don't like him. The pasta is unmemorable, but not bad, I think. Meena really likes the tagliolini with lemon butter.

Mercato Nuovo - 10.03.06

No one is really in the mood for commerce. Jordan buys a scarf. I lobby for a really orange one. I am voted down in favor of blue. Whatever. True style isn't always popular.

Who wants lunch? We do.

Bar Vivoli Gelateria - 10.03.06

Well, it's in the neighborhood. You can't not stop there.

Santa Croce Church -10.03.06

We are back to Santa Croce, this time when it opens. It's big, it's Gothic, it's dark, and it's cold. I love it. This is so much cooler to me than the Renaissance churches like the Dumos (Duomi?) we have been seeing. Simpler, but more forbidding, and kind of creepy.

This particular Gothic church is full up with the tombs of famous Florentines. Galileo is here (the Church was kind enough to un-excommunicate him and bury him here about 100 years after he died; I guess they figured, if you can't beat "science," join it). So is Michelangelo, whose tomb has a bunch of sculptures by other people. Bummer for him that none of them are as good as his. Also Machiavelli, author of The Prince (and a chancellor of the short-lived Florentine Republic), and Dante, author of the Divine Comedy (really a worthwhile read just for the grody bits about the punishments available in Hell, BTW). Oddly enough, he's not actually buried there. It's just a monument. OK, whatever.

Pasticceria Robiglio - 10.03.06

I don't fully understand the Italian method of eating breakfast. I mean, I have no objection to the light-breakfast concept; coffee and a pastry is fine with me. But I don't get their tolerance for the typical breakfast-acquisition method, which goes something like this:

1. Enter pastry shop/coffee bar.

2. Fight way to "bar" portion of counter; typically this is a narrow sliver comprising 1/4 or less of the total counter area in the store.

3. Flag barista and order espresso or cappuccino.

4. Throw elbows at your neighbors while grabbing for the sugar.

5. Option A: remain at bar drinking coffee, impeding coffee-commerce for all others. Option B: step back from bar, stand in center of shop with cup in hand, and consume, impeding all shop-entry and egress.

6. Throw dirty looks at anyone who gets in your way.

Today we are getting this full experience at Robiglio, which we entered just about 10 seconds ahead of a wave of customers. We have hesitated and so are nearly swept away in the crush. Meena fights her way through and delivers four cappuccinos and some pastries. We are standing in the middle of the shop with hands full, and nowhere to put down our cups and saucers or our pastries. We are, in short, at a breakfast impasse. There is nothing to do but wait until the current carries us to a little sliver of open counter where we can stand and consume. Dan finishes first and flees the shop; the rest of us follow as quickly as we can, breathing deep like freed prisoners as soon as we reach the street.

Total trauma. Emotional devastation topped with foamed milk. I just want to go back to the hotel and start the day over.

Central Florence, with no gelato - 09.03.06

It's now after 11 PM. We have dragged ourselves all over Florence. We have overeaten at dinner. Wine has been consumed. We should be making a beeling for the hotel, preferably in a taxi.

But Dan and I are searching for a gelato place that is still open. No luck at the first couple places, and then a brief huddle to discuss strategy. Exhausted Meena speaks the truth: "I want to go HOME." And I suddenly realize how tired I am. So no gelato tonight. We head for the hotel.

Osteria Santo Spirito - 09.03.06

We like this place immediately. It's on a pretty tree-lined piazza south of the Arno, it's cozy inside, and it's not another museum. We sit upstairs, share a bottle of wine, and ponder the courses. The pasta dishes turn out to be bigger than the waiter suggested, and so by the time our entrees come we are nearly gorged. But it's good, and so I find room for dessert as well.

I am also hoping for a gelato stop on the way back to the hotel.

Golden View Open Bar - 09.03.06

Down the hill, over to the Ponte Vecchio (supposedly one of the must-sees in Florence, but..eh), and into the Golden View Open Bar, with great big windows looking over the Arno and toward central Florence. We collapse, nibble on little panini, and drink negronis, classic Italian aperitifs. Classic, and strong. But I had to try one.

Piazzale Michelangelo - 09.03.06

Why not cap a long day of walking and museums with . . . a hike over the river, up the river, and then up a hill to the Piazzale Michelangelo. We are thinking it will be 25 painful minutes, and it's getting late, so we are racing the sunset. We want the sweet late-afternoon views of downtown Florence.

The walk is very pleasant. The neighborhood south of the river is pleasant, and the hill (actually a long flight of steps) is really not bad. OK, minor fib: I for one am very out of breath at the top. But the view is worth it. In addition to a copy of David (we have seen the original and both of Florence's copies today), Michelangelo's piazza has killer views over the river to downtown Florence. We take it in and snap photos. If you want to see pretty pictures, check with Dan and Jordan; I understand they are quite handy with a camera. If you want abominations, my photos should be posted soon.

Piazza di Santa Croce - 09.03.06

We are outside Santa Croce, an impressive Gothic church containing the tombs of many famous Florentines. Unfortunately, it appears that this church will be a gelato casualty. Our detour to Bar Vivoli has us outside the church at 5:05 PM, and the ticket office has just closed. Take that, Dante: I just passed up visiting your tomb for some cioccolato and a side helping of crema.

Oh well. We have overscheduled the day anyway, and have now hiked the length of Central Florence at least three times today. So we should just take a long break, right? Wrong.

Bar Vivoli Gelateria - 09.03.06

Supposedly Florence's best gelato spot. Or not, depending who you ask.

I try to argue with Meena that this is not the right place. We are standing out front under a sign that says "Bar Vivoli." But I am convinced we are at the wrong address. I am an idiot.

The gelato is the best I have had all week.

Galleria dell'Accademia - 09.03.06

Next stop is the Galleria dell'Accademia, home of Michelangelo's David, and some of his unfinished sculptures (the Prisoners), which I like a lot. The guidebooks talk a lot about how, metaphorically, these human figures are trapped in the marble and blah, blah, blah, but I just like seeing something that's halfway between "large rectangle of marble" and "finished sculpture of a human form," to get an understanding of how you approach a task like that. I cannot fathom how one "does" sculpture. It's a total mystery to me.

Oh yeah: there are some paintings here too. Eh. I'm happy with the Michelangelos.

Piazza della Signoria - 09.03.06

We are done with the Uffizi. It's smallish, as I said before, and we are out (even through its gauntlet of gift-shops) in under two hours. We take a few minutes to photograph the interesting statues in the piazza, and then head for lunch.

Uffizi Gallery - 09,.03.06

The gallery is a not-too-big museum full of beautiful paintings. Our reservation is for 8:45, the first admission of the day, so we follow the line of tour groups up the stairs to the 4th floor (or, if you're in Europe, which we are, the 3rd floor; can't we all get together and standardize this one little thing?).

We have of course been building to this moment, the Uffizi being pretty much the ultimate can't-miss thing in Florence. Which makes it feel a little bit like an AP test in Art History or something. Every room we enter presents new works of art which I keep thinking I am supposed to have studied up on beforehand, so that I can quickly and deftly identify and mentally check off the important elements in each work: perspective, color, subject matter, composition, and so on. Instead I am hurriedly checking my crib sheet (DK's excellent Florence and Tuscany) for an overview of what's in each room, then wandering from painting to painting and making my own decidedly non-AP-level assessment: "This one pretty, that one creepy, that other one unbearably ugly - ooh, this one nice!" It actually works pretty well, and I enjoy the gallery.

There's a painting in one of the late-Renaissance rooms of a man with red hair who looks kind of like me. Weird.

One gripe that we all share: many inexplicably roped-off rooms. Why are they hiding so many paintings from us? Didn't we pay our full 9.50? Is it like this in summer? Who knows?

Before we talk about the Uffizi Gallery - 09.03.06

We have to get this out of the way, for those who know Dan and me and remember the hippie days with the ponytails and the Tevas and the listening to Phish and the going to Phish concerts with all the other dirty hippie Phish fans and their noodle-dancing and their tie-dyed clothes: yes, Dan and I have been repeating that line from "You Enjoy Myself," over and over ever since Dan and Jordan arrived in Florence, feeling so clever and laughing every time.

Boy, man: won't Uffizi, drive me to Firenze?

Stupid? Yes. Childish? Duh. Annoying? Just ask Meena or Jordan. But oh well. You can't very well expect us to grow up, ever, can you? And this is our big chance to repeat that line, ad nauseam, in Florence. So you can see that we have no choice.

Cafe Rivoire - 09.03.06

The four of us are inhaling a very quick breakfast. It is 8:15 AM, way earlier than anyone should be awake on their vacation. But we have a big museum day today - the Uffizi and the Accademia. And we think we're going to hit at least one big church, the Piazzale Michelangelo, and parts of Oltrarno, south of the river. Basically, this is our Big Scheduled Sightseeing Day. So the cappuccinos at Cafe Rivoire are especially important, and we drink them with our game faces on.

Ristorante Don Chisciotte - 08.03.06

Our friends Dan and Jordan arrive from Berlin. As usual they are jet-setting around Europe and have deigned to stop in Florence to hang out with us before their weekend in Venice. We are dining in swanky swankitude in the nicest Florentine restaurant we've yet been to. Don Chisciotte specializes in seafood, so I quickly learn to say "I am allergic to shellfish" in Italian. With that small issue worked out, we can enjoy a lovely meal.

Our waiter looks like Balki from Perfect Strangers. Dan remembers the theme song. No one is surprised.

Mercato Centrale - 08.03.06

It's like the Mercato Nuovo, but bigger, stretching for several blocks in all directions. There's also a farmers' market, which shuts down by 2 PM each day and which we are too late to see. No matter; non-edible Florentine goods abound. Meena is not wearing a jacket and the afternoon has turned a little bit cool, so every leather vendor in the market is calling to her to step over and try on this or that beautiful calfskin coat. She checks out a few, but remains strong (and jacketless).

Gelateria Carrozze - 08.03.06

I conveniently lose my way after lunch and we happen to end up near the Ponte Vecchio and a gelateria I've been told to try. Delicious.

Gilli - 08.03.06

Stop right there with your Bennifer jokes. We're not talking about the famously terrible movie (whose title you'll note is spelled differently). Gilli is a cafe on the Piazza della Repubblica. It's a really nice day and Gilli is a really nice place to spend three hours eating lunch, drinking some wine, writing postcards, and people-watching. Our waiter, whom we do not like and have nicknamed "Sideburns," is only too happy to leave us alone most of the time to do our thing. We practically have to tackle him to order dessert. The outdoor dining atmosphere is lovely, but the food is nothing special and the cappuccinos cost six euros, so we mark this down as a mere touristy diversion and get on with our Florence mission.

Not San Gimignano - 08.03.06

We exhausted ourselves in Siena yesterday. So we get up real late and immediately scrap our plan for a day trip to San Gimignano. Beautiful medieval Tuscan hilltop town, you will have to wait for some other day.

13 Gobbi - 07.03.06

It means "13 hunchbacks." Whatever. It's a good restaurant. I try ribollita (Tuscan bean soup) for the first time and am not disappointed.

Enoteca Italiana - 07.03.06

On the other side of Siena there's an old fortress. For some reason this fortress contains a wine bar. It looks and feels very much like a tasting room in Napa or Sonoma, and they even offer wine classes on weekends. Their English is like our Italian, though, so we have trouble figuring out what we can taste by the glass. We grab a table, order a bottle of Chianti Classico, and drink it while waiting for our bus. Fortunately, the bus stop is not far.

An electric appliance store in Siena - 07.03.06

We have voltage converter issues, so we've been hoping to find a new one. Our camera batteries are running low. We happened upon this store and figured they'd be able to help. We ask the lady who runs the place, "Parla inglese?" She shakes her head no and just stares at us. But we are not to be deterred. I spy what I want behind the counter and start pointing. We pantomime and guess at the right words, and she is at least able to point at the two plugs and say, "This U.S....this Italy." Good enough for us; we buy it and go.

A gelateria overlooking Il Campo - 07.03.06

I don't care that it's cold and windy. I want my ice cream. Fortunately, we find a place that has indoor seating, and windows high above the square. Lemon + strawberry = crazy delicious.

Il Duomo, Siena - 07.03.06

This is a big and impressive cathedral. Better than Florence's. There, I said it. What are you gonna do about it, Florence? Only gripe: the entire facade is draped in scaffolding, so we have no good photo opportunities.

A side note: what, you might ask, is a "Duomo"? Is it a cathedral? A church? A church with a dome on it? We have decided we are willing to accept Wikipedia's definition. (The short version: it's a church, sometimes a cathedral, and whether it's got a dome is irrelevant.)

Il Campo, Siena - 07.03.06

From Rick Steves' Italy 2006: "Siena seems to be every Italy connoisseur's favorite pet town. In my office, whenever Siena is mentioned, someone moans, 'Siena? I looove Siena!'"

We found this sort of hilarious when we first read it. Now, though, we must both admit, we looooove Siena.

It turns out the main square was not hard to find. We've grabbed a map at the tourist information office, and we are currently busy not using it, because the sun has come out so we've seized the moment and encamped at a cafe at the edge of the piazza. We have a half-bottle of wine, some bruschetta, and a perfect view of the tower and city hall. There are no cars on Il Campo, and there are relatively few of us (by which I mean foreign tourists). It's the sort of perfect hour you're looking for when you come to Italy.

Then the sun goes, the wind arrives, and it's winter again. We bundle up and head indoors.

Siena - 07.03.06

We have gotten off the bus at what looks like the end of the line. We're pretty sure we're in Siena, but we have no idea where. We pick a direction and march.

En route to the SITA station - 07.03.06

We want to go to Siena today, an hour away by bus. But as usual, we're running late. We're mostly adjusted to the time zone, but we still struggle a little to wake up in the morning. Since I'm on vacation, this normally wouldn't bother me, but it is still winter and there's only so much daylight.

So it's 11:30 and we're trying to catch the 12:05 bus. We've got sandwiches bought on the go. Meena's is mozzarella, tomato, and basil, and mine is prosciutto and cheese. We walk fast and eat. After three bites, we realize we've got one another's sandwiches. We trade, and Meena is sad because the little taste of Tuscan ham has made her realize the grave error of her vegetarian ways.

I screw up with the map and we walk the long way around the train station. But we catch our bus.

Teatro della Pergola - 06.03.06

Our hotel has given us passes to a classical music concert. Mikhail Pletnev is going to play the piano for us. The Teatro is a lovely old building. We are seated on the floor level, in the center. Before the show we gaze up at the private boxes that line both side walls. How do we get to sit up there, we wonder.

Once the performance begins, I feel out of place. We are not huge classical music fans, and we don't attend any concerts at home. We are here because it seems a classy, Florentine, Renaissance kind of thing to do, not out of any real appreciation for the music. We are poseurs. But it's kind of nice anyway. We are tired enough to leave at intermission, though.

Accademia - 06.03.06

We return here for some quick pizzas. "Quick" in Italy means we are done in only ninety minutes. OK, maybe we did slow it down by ordering more of that chocolate cake.

Mercato Nuovo - 06.03.06

They still make a lot of leather, silk, and wool products in Florence, and a lot of them get sold here, outdoors, to tourists (and a few locals) looking to bargain. We look for scarves, wallets, and gloves. And we gaze longingly at a selection of leather jackets. Sure they're 150 euros, but they'd be so much more back home...

Meena loves to shop, and it turns out that she also loves to haggle. She walks away quite pleased, with two bags full of deals, deals, deals. As my father would say, "Wow. Looks like you 'saved' a lot of money today."

On the way to Mercato Nuovo - 06.03.06

Yes, we just ate a pile of ice cream. Yes, we know we'll spoil our dinners. Yes, we know it's not good for us. But everyone walking by seems to be eating a Belgian waffle smeared with Nutella. It looks too good not to eat, so how can we resist?

In the end, though, they're kind of disappointing. No real reason; they just look a whole lot more delicious than they are.

Perchè No Gelateria - 06.03.06

I am an ice cream fiend. Florence is often said to offer the world's best ice cream. This is a match made in heaven, no?

Yet this is our first gelato stop, on day three in Florence. We have been slacking in our efforts, though there are gelaterias every four feet. We have been endeavoring to find "recommended" places, and they're a bit more challenging. Perchè No ("Why Not?") is, it turns out, worth the wait. I go straight for the chocolate and caramel flavors, losing myself in ice cream heaven. Meena has both straight chocolate and something that tastes like chocolate and rum. I am only too happy to finish what she can't.

Top of Il Duomo - 06.03.06

There are 463 steps leading from the cathedral nave to the top of the dome. We pay six euros apiece for the privilege of climbing them all, two in a long line of boisterous Germans and Italians, clambering up a winding, cramped, 14th-century stairwell. In some places the up and down stairs are the same, and we squeeze against one wall to let the descenders by. Claustrophobia and fatigue dissipate instantly upon emerging at the top. All of Florence lies before us. It is windy and cold, but the sun is shining and we are happy to snap a billion photos and take in the view.

Piazza San Marco - 06.03.06

We want a quick lunch, so we buy panini from a small shop across from San Marco. We sit in the sun on the piazza to eat. Prosciutto and cheese on fresh foccacia. So good. Now we can try to salvage our lost morning.

Hotel Morandi - 06.03.06

It is 11:30 when we wake up. There was noise outside our window all night, and neither of us slept until nearly dawn. Not fun.

Garga - 05.03.06

Meena has a friend who has a friend who lived in Florence once. This friend-of-a-friend e-mailed us a list of restaurants to try. So far, she is hitting it out of the park. Tonight we are at a small place called Garga. We start out with pasta Magnifico, wherein we learn what cheesy, creamy pasta sauces have been missing all these years (it's lemon and orange zest -- not to mention a light hand on the cream). Entrees of steak and tuna follow. I am in steak heaven here in Tuscany. They love to serve the stuff. Cheesecake and tiramisu for dessert, capped by an espresso. No grappa tonight, but it's just as well since we've gotten well into the house wine again.

Meena goes home especially pleased because, in addition to being full of divine food, she has mastered two key Italian restaurant phrases: "ho una prenotazione" (I have a reservation) and "il conto, per favore" (Check, please -- especially critical since the Italians simply won't bring it without being asked).

All over central Firenze - 05.03.06

We are Americans on vacation, and so we are on the march: Duomo, Piazza della Signoria (it is sunset, and I click-click-click away, taking photos that are stunningly beautiful up until the moment I press the shutter), Ponte Vecchio, Oltrarno, Palazzo Pitti, Santa Maria Novella. Finally, we window-shop in some of Florence's swanky stores, waiting for our dinner reservation.

A pizzeria - 05.03.06

Before our long walk, we stop for pizza, which is sold (cheaply) by weight here. It's like having your father cut you a piece of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving; the vendor moves the knife and you make approving gestures when he is finally poised to cut just the right-sized piece. I also drink a bottle of Coke, my first in over two days. My lips curl in an addict's smile.

Il Duomo - 05.03.06

We wake up to find a sunny afternoon. Time to hit it. We start by the Duomo, where the sun is hitting the facade and the campanile. We both snap pictures furiously. My photos of the trip will suck; I was born incapable of creating even the most basic point-and-click composition, and years of practice have not improved my aim. But I will try anyway, because after all, if a man goes on a trip to Europe and comes back without any photos, did he in fact go to Europe?

Hotel Morandi - 05.03.06

Jet lag has us confused, and a downpour has begun. It is all we can manage to walk back to the hotel. Time for a long nap.

Behind Il Duomo - 05.03.06

The rain has scuttled our plan for a long walk around Florence. We opt instead for the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, which is filled with art reflecting the building and history of Florence's cathedral. We dodge large tour groups and spend extra time taking in Michelangelo's Pietà, one of whose straining figures is actually a self-portrait. It's an impressive piece. But why did he make the hands so big?

Piazza della Signoria - 05.03.06

We are eating brioches and fruit salads at Cafe Rivoire, across from the Palazzo Vecchio. It is cold and rainy, and breakfast is overpriced. But the view is unmatched.

Accademia (not the museum) 04.03.06

After a 3-hour nap, we walk five minutes to the Piazza San Marco and the Accademia restaurant. We've asked the concierge to make us a reservation, but that was clearly unnecessary; it's 7:45 on Saturday night and the Florentines can't be bothered to make it out to dinner that early. As our leisurely meal stretches out toward the three-hour mark, the restaurant will fill with a garrulous mix of locals and tourists, but for now we are just Really Early.

Our waiter speaks good English, greatly easing our anxiety over this first venture out into Florence. From the start this meal confirms what everyone has been telling us about Tuscany: You Will Love The Food. Even evil Italian-food-no-liker Meena appears to be a convert. Things that we find especially memorable at this meal:

1. Mushroom strudel. Light and flaky and, well, mushroomy. (I'm not possessed of the facile vocabulary of a food critic, OK?)

2. The house red: half-liter, eight Euros. And it's eminently drinkable.

3. Rich and wonderful desserts, including the owner's own version of a dark chocolate cake.

4. The waiter caps the meal by offering us complimentary grappa. Feel the burn.

After gorging like this, there is only one thing to do. We sleep.

Florence - Hotel Morandi - 04.03.06

The cabbie who takes us from Santa Maria Novella seems to be driving in devious, fare-jacking circles. But Florence is all one-way streets, and this is the most direct route to Via Laura 50, the Hotel Morandi alla Crocetta. The hotel is sort of dream-European-vacation charming: small, historical, every room unique and filled with artistic and structural flourishes. Our host Rolando shows us our room, and its private terrace; it is, he says, one of the best rooms in the hotel, and we believe him. We love it immediately, and go straight to bed at 2 PM.

Pisa - Campo dei Miracoli - 04.03.06

The Field of Miracles is swept by powerful wind gusts, and by a wave of Japanese, American, and Italian tourists. We like the look of the place: green grass, with the Baptistry dome, the Duomo, and the famous Tower spaced pleasantly around the area. We opt not to spend the time and euros to climb the Leaning Tower; instead we go inside the Duomo. It is, like most cathedrals, dark, hulking, and very impressive. Now we are really tired; we return to the airport and get on the train to Florence. I sleep.

Pisa - Bus #1 - 04.03.06

We leave our bags at the airport and get a bus downtown. We're American tourists, and so of course we have a list; the Field of Miracles and the Leaning Tower are on that list. We view Pisa through the bus windows during the ride. It's our first look at Italy, and so it's fascinating, though Pisa is fairly nondescript. Pisan youths seem to be very into graffiti. What interests me most are the winding, narrow streets, down which our bus plunges fearlessly. Heaven help the first double-parked car or careless pedestrian.

When everyone else gets up and gets off, we miss the hint. The Duomo recedes in the rear window of the bus. We play it cool and get off at the next stop.

Pisa Airport - 04.03.06

Meena asks me, has anyone ever grabbed your suitcase off the belt by mistake, so you had to chase them down before they left with your stuff? I say no, and within ten seconds someone is laying hold of my suitcase. He is far away around the bends of the luggage belt, and by the time I make my way to him, he has realized his error. My bag is back on the belt, and has made its way to where I started from.

Frankfurt - 04.03.06

There is a lot of snow on the ground here, and it is cold. We struggle to find our way to our connecting flight. The snow, it turns out, has wrought havoc with a multitude of departing flights. We walk through a maze of sprawled, sleeping human forms; the corridors and gate areas are filled with stranded passengers, and the terminal smells like it could use a shower. There is no gate posted for our flight to Pisa, though it leaves in an hour. We find a Lufthansa counter and check in. They post the gate number, and we run to make the flight.

We must go through passport control and customs, then back through airport security, which annoys us. Also, our passports are stamped "Frankfurt," and we realize that, now that we have entered the EU, we will not be getting the Italian stamps we had coveted. In our sleepless state, this registers as a major disappointment.

We must ride an overcrowded bus to our plane. The ride lasts just short of forever. I sleep on the plane, and then we are landing in Pisa.

Envoy Class - 03-04.03.06

We have both flown in the front of the plane before, but today we are definitely overawed by the international "Envoy Class (TM)" experience. We spend time fooling with the 6-way automatic seats. My footrest adjustment does not work, and I am genuinely upset. We examine the video-on-demand options and peruse the menu, selecting our dinner courses. We eat too much, drink free wine, and are unable to sleep much.

PHI - 03.03.06

We eat a quick lunch and wait around for our flight to Frankfurt. It is snowing hard there, it turns out, and our plane is late in arriving. We board an hour late.

IAD-PHI - 03.03.06

A lady has apparently managed to smash her carry-on bag into something while boarding, breaking a bottle of wine. She is embarrassed and does her best to help the crew clean up. The floor, and most everything she has brought with her, are stained a deep red. We are slightly delayed while they finish. The plane smells like wine. We fly to Philly.

Dulles Part II - Terminal G - 03.03.06

Our multi-connection tickets take us first to Philadelphia, so we must fly a United Express puddle-jumper. This means we are in Terminal G at Dulles. To get to Terminal G, you walk right past all the big people-mover buses, around a corner, outside to the tarmac, and down a flight of stairs, to a cramped shuttle bus. This bus drives you for 10 long minutes to a corrugated-metal shack on the far reaches of the airport. You are then marched inside to a large and chaotic waiting area. There are at least 12 gates here, all handling short-hop East Coast flights, and the passengers for all those flights are crammed into this one large room. Flights for Charlotte, Jacksonville, and Allentown are called and boarded. We find a relatively quiet corner, sit, and try to breathe deeply and ignore the pandemonium until, finally, they call our number.

Dulles Airport - 03.03.06

The counter agent is rude to us. Our tickets involve many connections and four different airlines, and so they are paper rather than e-tickets. They are also tickets for Florence, but we are no longer flying to Florence; they've closed the airport to repair the runway, and United called us weeks ago to say they were changing our final destination to Pisa, 50 miles west. They have not mentioned that they will need to reissue the paper tickets we have been given, and now the United agent has to do it. This has clearly made her angry at us. We just shrug and stand there waiting, unwilling to argue about who is to blame for the snafu. She fixes the tickets, and when she returns to us, she is quite friendly. We think she has noticed that Meena is a 1K frequent flier, and so has put on her good-customer face for now. We are off to Terminal G.

Departure - 03.03.06

We take a cab to Dulles airport. Our cabbie is Ethiopian and listens to American country music, turned way up. He asks if we like country music and I say no. He turns it down and doesn't talk much after that.