Picnic Over Florence

Warning: This blog posts contains many food pics that will make you very hungry.

Today was a very long, but very fun, day. In the morning, my roommates and I started off our day by going to my favorite coffee shop which just so happens to be on the corner of my street (that's very dangerous). I've already friended the bartender, who gave us all a generous discount (2 euros for a croissant AND coffee, plus no charge to sit down which is usually added to the cost of the food in Italy). Usually, I'll have a cappuccino but I was still waking up and knew we had a long day ahead of us, so I ordered an espresso (which is normally served in shot glasses). I also got my favorite croissant which looks normal on the outside, but is filled with the most delicious cream on the inside. I missed them!

From there, my roommates and I headed over to the Mercato Centrale Firenze to get fresh food for our picnic. The Mercato Centrale Firenze, which is only a few blocks from our apartment, is a huge two story indoor farmers market with at least 50 vendors (and probably many more). They sell anything from flowers to dried fruit to fresh pasta to cheese. From there, we went to a very large Conad (the supermarket) and picked up some additional food such as the pastries below. YUM!

We then quickly stopped at a 99 cent store to pick up paper plates and tupperware. We then returned to the apartments, packed up three large grocery bags full of food, blankets, and drinks. From there, it was picnic time! But first, we had to walk 1.5 miles to get to the perfect spot. Luckily, it isn't too hot here in Florence and it was a very cloudy day so it wasn't unbearably hot. After climbing a million stairs and walking up steep hills, we finally reached the Palazzo del Michelangelo.....

And I'd say the view was SO worth it!!!!! 

Here are me and two of my roommates, Alison (left) who also goes to American University and Audrey (to the far left). As you can see, we were quite happy we were done with that trek!!!

After soaking in the view, we decided to find a place to eat because by that time, it was already past 2pm. We ended up at the Giardino Delle Rose (a garden).

We ate family style, sharing pesto and pate on sliced bread topped with Padano cheese (my new favorite), salami, prosciutto, dried mangoes pineapples and coconuts, assorted fruit (kiwi, cantaloupe, grapes and pineapple), nutella, and pastries.

On the way back from our picnic, I stopped to snap this picture while crossing the Arno. I love the reflections of the buildings and bridges in the water!

We took a different route home because I wanted to walk through the Uffizi and Palazzo Vecchio. Here's a shot right outside the Uffizi!

By then, it was 5pm and our day still wasn't over. We decided to check out some of the local stores! We went into leather shops, book stores, and clothing stores. There are many "saldi" signs up now (which means "sale") so it is a great time to shop for winter clothes here. I bought a long, black coat that was 70% off, so I would say it was a successful shopping trip. 

Well, it's ciao for now!