Sam:
Ok, I knew you to be an expert when I saw your comments on Neapolitan pizza! The best pizza I've ever had was at a cheap hole-in-the-wall in Naples. We must *definitely* find Cafe Italiano! Followed by gelato at Vivoli, of course - the spouse and I are biiiiiiig fans of Italian gelato. I have a little book of the best gelato places in Italy, and I'm pretty sure Vivoli is in there, and it has maps, so we should be able to find it if the two are that close to each other. Just in case, though, I'd appreciate the addresses (cross-streets, if possible) for that and the other restaurant you recommend. I have a good map of the city, so the address and a cross-street should be sufficient.
What's a German market???
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Lisa, the German market is a just a collection of tents selling various things German. Not all markets are the same, but there is one here in Chicago and its very similar: hot chocolate, chocolate covered fruits, various meats served on buns, pretzels, and many crafts as well. If memory serves me, there was also a merry-go-round.
I never had a solid grasp of the street names in Florence as they often change block to block, so I don't know the cross streets. I did find their addresses online though.
Il Latini is located at Via del Palchetti 6R. I can tell you that the restaurant is pretty much due west of the Duomo and Piazza della Republica. It is past Florence's equivalent to Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive, Via Tornabuoni. It's not a far walk from the center of town, but perfectly outside of the tourist route. I think they might be closed on Monday.
From Vivoli's website:
You may taste Il Gelato Vivoli ONLY in Firenze
in 7, via isole delle stinche
tel. +39.55.292334
So that's where Cafe Italiano is also. The entrance to the pizza place is on the same side of the same street as Vivoli. It's NOT at the corner where the sign is. It's tiny, and the room is small. They are probably closed on Monday, too. I bet most restaurants are, in fact, unless they are touristy places.
Someone mentioned gardens. I think it's called Palazzo Pitti, and there you'll find the Boboli Gardens, named after the famous American pizza crusts (j/k). They are nice, and actually, if you get to the higher ground you'll find great photo ops of the city and the surrounding hills. I think one place is called the Knight's Tower, and back in my Nikon N80 days it was there I encountered someone with a D1X - I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. How foolish of me, considering where I had been living for a year! Even better for photos is a short bus ride up to Fiesole. It's a public bus, so you can buy tickets in coffee shops and Tabacchi and ask which bus goes there.
You're gonna have a great time! I hope I haven't missed you by writing so much here. And if you get a chance, try to take note of where the scaffolding is on the Duomo. They continuously clean it. During my residency, it did not move one inch from the southeast corner, so I'm always interested to see how slow they really are at their restoration projects.
Buon Viaggio!!
Sam