Last night from the Hotel Grifone we had a walk around to see if there were any other restaurants that we had missed on our earlier survey. Since we didn't find any however, we ended up at the restaurant promoted at the hotel, which was it was just around the. Order from. Since the hotel is in a mainly residential (apartments) area it is not surprising that there are not any other restaurants.
The menu was divided between seafood and meat dishes, plus pizzas. For entree we chose a seafood antipasti plate for a change and it turned or to be a good choice. There were two different cheeses, several different fish/seafood varieties sliced very thinly, and a couple of different ham types. One of the seafood offerings was like a brawn but made with seafood instead of meat.
For main course, Garth had chosen Escalopine con Funghi, while I had Spindieri (grilled kebabs) which had two different kinds of sausage, beef, and chicken, as well as capsicum and tomato. The picture in the menu showed just two of these but three quite large ones arrived. I could only eat two and Garth valiantly tackled the other one. A bottle of Chianti was a perfect accompaniment.
After breakfast this morning we checked out a bike shop around the corner as Garth wanted a tube of grease. They didn't have the grease but they had some lovely bikes - drool, drool. Then Garth wanted a hair/beard trim so we went to a place we had seen last night and he got that done before we headed back to the hotel to check out.
When we arrived at our next hotel, in the west/central part of the city we could not get the room as it was still quite early so we checked in, left our bags, and went awalking. Firstly, I called in at a pharmacy to get an expectorant to try to rid of some this rubbish I keep coughing up. Strangely, I have not problems breathing while cycling - even when breathing hard going uphill.
After that we just mosied through the streets and alleyways towards the Ponte Vecchia, and having a stand up coffee on the way. I showed Garth the Conad store as he wanted some stuff, and then the Pitti Palace. Also showed a restaurant we could use tonight to have the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina. Before crossing back over the Ponte Santa Trinita we had a gelato from one of the shops I used when I was in Florence before.
Walking back into the city we were looking for the Via Della Vigna Nuova which is where I had found a small Aperetivo place. At the Strozzi Palace Piazza we stopped and had a light lunch, Garth having a club sandwich and me a Caesar Salad. While there we realized, through the magic of iPhone, that the street we were looking for was just of the end of an alley running off the top of the Piazza. Walking down there verified this but I didn't see the Aperetivo place, possibly it only opens in the evenings. We will try again later.
When we got back to the hotel the front door was closed so we found somewhere shady to sit at the bottom of Piazza del Santa Maria Novella until 2pm when we reckoned they would be opened up again. The door was still closed at 2pm so we rang the bell and the door opened by remote control. Our room was still not ready so we had to wait awhile but eventually got in and our luggage was taken up the stairs by a porter.
Now all I need to do is get the wifi to work and we will be in business.
