Best known for its permanent exhibit of Michelangelo's David, the museum also houses his unfinished "prisoners" (a must see), a passel of 13, 14, and 15th c. locally produced paintings (madonnas galore!), a wonderful collection of medieval Russian icons (more madonnas!), a musical instrument collection, and a strange room filled with plaster busts from the 19th c. Way too much to see.
To finish the day, I took myself to a recommended local trattoria, Il Grillo Parlante, for a celebratory dinner. Though the ebullient waiter complained at first about how slow this time of year was, before long the place was filling up and lively.
I had a traditional three course meal and some red table wine. First was the antipasto, a selection of items on olive oil drizzled toast.
Then the "primo" course, a bowl of pasta and meat sauce (my favorite part of the meal).
The "secundo" course was grilled fish with olives, cherry tomatoes, and, oddly, French fries (which came as a surprise). Ok, but not great, would've been better without the fries.
Finally, for desert I had teramisu. Earlier, the waiter bypassed my table as he was lighting candles, so I said that I was celebrating my birthday and would like my table candle lit, too (an oversight for which he was most apologetic). Later, when he brought the teramisu, there was a birthday candle in it and a table of students from London singing Happy Birthday. A perfect end to my special day. Happy Birthday to me.
2 comments:
What a great birthday post. I wish we could have been with you to celebrate. Your name came up a lot last night at Aunt Betty's birthday dinner. At one point, Richard pointed at his meal (Italian-American cuisine) and said, "Scott, I don't care what you're eating in Florence: look at this food, baby!" I guess he liked his meal.
Happy birthday! It sounds like a great way to celebrate.
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