Day 7 and 8 : Florence

Well, it was time to head back to Florence to drop off the rent-a-car (which we highly recommend to anyone travelling Tuscany) and to spend our final two days of our trip. We stayed at an amazing two story efficiency called La Contessina which was a perfect way to end our vacation. We all headed to the Pitti Palace, a humungous palace located on the southside of the city. The girls got a case of the giggles while touring the massive building so we knew it was time to head over to Rose's, our favorite wine bar. The girls struck up a conversation with David, our bartender who offered up Italian lessons and George W. jokes. He recommended an amazing osteria and even called in a reservation for us. On the way over, we popped into another one of our favorite wine bars called Frescobaldi for wine flights. While sitting outside, Leon (the dude that we saw in Siena three days earlier) out of nowhere walks right by us. We exchange stories and laugh about running into each other again. We then head over to Da Benci for dinner and we hit the food jackpot. We were able to sit outside amongst the locals while our server (Sandro) delivered us amazing food like pumpkin ravioli, Bistecca Florentine, pura di patate (which is really mashed potatoes), crostini formaggi and tuscan soup. It was the best nighlife and people watching by far. After our scrumptous meal, we headed over to a place called Mojo for cosmos and mojitos. We somehow found our way back to our room, late into the evening. Our final day in Florence culminated in new shoes for me, a leisurely stroll throught the central market, a visit to the Santa Croce cathedral, a final visit to Rose's and a late night meal at Zsa Zsa where we were seated in the cellar with the other tourists (grrrrr). We giggled non-stop in our room that evening over the last of the box of wine and the movie Orange County in italian. Nothing funnier than hearing jack Black dubbed in italian. The next morning, I took a 6am stroll by myself around Florence for my last cappuccino at the Gran Caffee San Marco and to see my last glimpse of the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio. The rest of our trip back to the states was uneventful except our dash through the Charles DeGalle airport in Paris to barely get to our connecting flight back home.