Friday, November 24

Day 25 WE HIT THE WALL TODAY!

I wish I had a more exciting day to describe for you all on our last full day of our trip. We aren't coming back from Europe until Monday, but tomorrow we leave in the evening on a night train to Paris. We will be sleeping in bunk beds called couchettes and leaving Florence at 9:00 and we stop in Milan for 25 minutes then get on the sleeper train and arrive in Paris at 10:00am! We have Sunday in Paris, then we leave Monday so, while we have most of two more days left and a few hours on the third day, this is the last day we will be going to sleep in the same place we are waking up the next day. We had a big dinner of pasta and bread and between that and the constant moving the past 24 days, we just couldn't get out of bed!!  We left bed at 4:00 to get ready for our special dinner, but other than that, we didn't move all day!  We made a reservation right when we got here for the restaurant we went to tonight.  I did a ton of research. Florence is known for its steak. I'm particular it's Bistecca ala Fiorentina. It's typically made with this special type of beef called Chianina beef. It's like Italian Kobe beef. The cows are treated like kings their whole lives and the steaks are legendarily great!  They are traditionally served very rare with just salt, pepper and fantastic olive oil. The idea is, you actually are supposed to taste the beef flavor which is extraordinary!  With beef this good you don't need anything else and cooking this particular type of beef makes it chewy and tough. When it's rare, it's tender, juicy and the flavor is unlike any steak you'll ever have in your life, I promise you that!  I wanted to find a place that really specialized in it and get it someplace awesome for our most special meal of the trip. The place was perfect!  A true temple of beef!  It was without a doubt the best meal of the trip!!  The steak is magical!  It's a porterhouse cut, so there's a filet on one side of the bone and a NY Strip on the other. I am typically a NY Strip guy, but I can honestly say, the first bite I had of the filet part was one of the great bites of food I've had in my life!  They serve it with 3 little things of different sauces, but it didn't need anything!  WOW!  Emily has been looking for a cake she has had called a Nonna Cake. They had it here, the 1st time we have seen it in Italy. We got it for a small dessert and it was really great also!  A wonderful evening after an uneventful day. Of course we HAD to finish the night with some gelato from our favorite shop around the corner! Another magical evening in Florence!  It will be tough to leave here. It's really easy to get into a groove here and find your routine for living life the way they do here!  Without the working, of course!! LOL. The thing I always tell myself when I feel this way, though is, I will be back here one day, I will make sure of that!  So, that makes leaving a city like this a little easier. But, I'll tell you, Florence gets into your blood and stays in your soul!  It's a truly special place!  We have just loved our time here and can't wait to return!  Anyways, tomorrow we are supposed to have our final cooking class, a pizza making class!  It should be amazing!  We can't wait. We are gonna go to sleep now and get up early for our class and then pack and leave for Paris again!  That doesn't suck!  ðŸ˜œ. Hope you enjoy reading about Florence even a tiny bit as much as we've enjoyed being here. TRAVEL!!  Travel often!  Come to places like this that steal your heart over and over again so you feel like you actually KNOW a city like this.  This is my 4th time here and I can picture directions of how to get to all the places I love and I know all the streets and my favorite restaurants.  And that's a wonderful feeling. Nothing makes you realize what a big, fascinating world we live in like traveling. Nothing makes you feel as much like a citizen of the world like traveling does. I never knew how much I loved art until I came to Europe the first time. After that, I realized how amazing the Detroit Institute of Art is and how many great things we have all around us. Knowing what a treasure a man like my friend Todd Warner is!  Without traveling, I'd never have had my mind expanded like it is. I am so grateful to have parents that took me to Europe for the first time and showed me that it's not as difficult as it feels sometimes to just GO and see the world!  I especially want to thank my Father, for giving me the inquisitive mind that I have and my desire to explore!  Dad, you're the best! I wish you'd come travel with me again to Europe some day so I can show you MY Europe!  I love you, I love you all!  Thanks for sharing this journey of a lifetime with us!  We are so grateful for what we have and all of you who have helped us get here!  And thanks to my wife Emily!  The best wife, friend, business partner, travel companion and person I've ever had the honor to know!  The trip isn't over, but I felt like I needed to say these things!  Thanks for caring!















1 comment:

  1. Even though it is early morning here, my mouth is salivating over your dining experience. Lovely. I too love Firenza and have great memories of our trip.

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