Tuscan Seduction - Day One - Florence

I had always wanted to visit Italy and I am glad I waited until I could go with someone who could truly appreciate the beauty, antiquity, lifestyle and attitude of the wonderful region of Tuscany. The day after our wedding, Stephanie and I boarded an AlItalia jet at LAX and flew non-stop (16 hrs) to Florence, Italy. it was a long but comfortable flight - overnight (an excellent decision) - and we arrived in Firenze at dinner hour - took a short taxi to the lovely HOTEL DAVID, an intimate boutique hotel on the south bank of the River Arno and settled into our new digs.

The Hotel David is a beautiful 19th century building with antique furnishings, large clean rooms with huge comfy four poster beds...

...a friendly bi-lingual staff, complimentary happy hour food and wine every night and a fantastic sit down hot breakfast every morning with meats and cheeses and eggs and fresh espresso and cappuccino made to order - we were delighted to say the least. I cannot imagine a better place for a honeymooning couple within 15 minutes of all the major sights of old Firenze.

Steph and I enjoyed the complimentary wine and cheese buffet at the hotel before heading out for our first real Italian meal.

I had heard about a great Pizzeria in Florence on this side of the river and after asking the hotel staff determined that it was only a few blocks away so off we went (I found out later that it was not the the correct place but that is another story we will write about later). We walked along the beautiful Arno River looking at the ancient roman Obelisks and other centuries old structures - we had a great view of "La Dome" and all of Old Florence from this vantage point and the Ponte Vecchio and other ancient bridges were arrayed in front of us just like a postcard.

We found the restaurant and had our first real Tuscan Pizza - it was excellent (but was just a hint of how AMAZING the food would be on this trip).

We were tired from the long trip so we only had a short meal - and I soon learned that the "tip" is included with the cost of the meal so I didn't have to leave additional Euros (a mistake I did not make again) and on the way back to the hotel we enjoyed the beautiful moonlit views of the river and city.