It was the Best of Times...

Yesterday we did some urban hiking up the steps of the Campinile, which is part of the Duomo's complex of buildings. After paying our 6 euro, we took the first of 414 steps to reach the top. Luckily there were 2 landings to rest and enjoy the view at along the way, or I might have died. It was steep, and the further up one goes, the narrower the stairs get until at points you are winding up stairs to short to fit a whole foot on, and so tightly wound that you can only see 6-7 steps ahead. Still, it was worth it. The view from the top was incredible. Sadly, all those photos are on the camera, not the iPad, so they'll be posted sometime down the road.

After working our way down, which was easier though slightly difficult for me due to a fear of heights, we wandered over to the main line for the Duomo. Upon reaching the front, we learned that the exposed shoulders Jess was sporting by method of tank top wouldn't fly. No big deal since our hotel was 2 minutes away and the line only took us a few minutes to get through. Redressed, we returned and entered successfully. We took in the towering frescos, the beautiful marble floors, and the incredible dome. Though large, the Dumomo is not filled with artwork and did not take a ton of time. We actually spent more time next door at the museo dell'opera del duomo, which holds much of the original artwork and sculpture from the duomo complex. I loved it, and there was finally something in English to read so I would know what I was looking at!

Later in the day, we decided to double check the car rental situation as we plan to drive from Florence to Siena. It turns out that Florence has an automatic transmission deficit. My 2 disparate weeks of practice on manual transmissions with my brother's car in high school and Jessica's one practice session with a friend won't cut it in this crazy traffic. We're working on alternatives.

For dinner, we found ourselves at Acqua ai 2, a quaint restaurant that focuses on sampler plates. You can either order specific dishes, or samplers of salads, cheeses, pastas, and/or meat dishes. We decided to each start with a house salad. I know what you're thinking, "Jessica didn't get a caprese salad?". Not to worry, the house salad is caprese. Following that, Jess had the pasta sampler and I got a steak with a blueberry reduction sauce. Her pastas included fusili with porcine mushrooms, macaroni with gorgonzola creme sauce, rigatoni pomodoro, penne with broccoli creme sauce, and finally a pasta with bell pappers. Sadly, we didn't think about her aversion to mushrooms and blue cheese, but I found them all delicious so we shared plates. The steak I ordered was the real hit, however, and currently ranks as the best tasting dish I've had in Italy. If you're in Florence, don't leave without ordering it. Fully stuffed, we stopped for gelato and then turned around to call it a night.