Behind us, the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella
Our two days at the Hotel Roma, as Carol noted, right on the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, were wonderful, as we recovered from travel fatigue and began to realize we were in Florence! After lunch at the tiny Ottaviana cafe (sandwiches that are ubiquitous in these little storefront cafes) we walked back to the square and found an elegant outdoor cafe right on the piazza, and right next to our hotel, the JK. We had expensive and truly wonderful coffees and desserts there.
Limoncello
After a rest, dinner at Pensavo Peggio, an atmospheric trattoria down a narrow little street, with 4 tables downstairs and (it sounded like) many more upstairs. We ordered an Italian feast: Appetizer course — a huge platter of charcuterie — 4 kinds of meats, 2 cheeses. The the first course (Primo). I had crepes stuffed with a broccoli, spinach and parmesan filling, covered with a cheesy cream sauce. Carol had garlic/tomato sauce on some kind of pasta, long and round like spaghetti, only thicker. On to the second course (Segundi). I had thin strips of beef in a truffle sauce, while Carol had spaghetti and meat balls. Everything was delicious, but quite salty. That seems to be the style here — except for desserts, the food has a lot of salt. We could not finish, we were so stuffed! So much for trying every course! The waitress offered us a lemoncello on the house, and of course we enjoyed it!