Make it your New Year’s resolution!

Italy and coffee go together like a horse and carriage. Modern coffee culture (Starbucks etc etc etc) was formed here pre WWII. The American soldiers took a liking for the beverage back to the states and it was a slow evolution to the Starbucks coffee culture that eventually emerged. Ironically, there are now Starbucks in Italy, even in Florence, which makes me a little sad.

At my local bar (which means caffe or coffee shop), they take coffee seriously. I can get a rich creamy cappuccino any day of the week for 1.40 Euro, which is less than $2. Crazy!

I noticed this sign hung in my bar and I have translated it for you below. It should convince you about the level of expertise in the coffee served here!

One of the great glories of living in Florence is the meeting of interesting people from all over the world. I have made some incredible friends from different countries around the globe.

The latest friend acquisition is Kelly who has a farm in New Zealand where she raises miniature donkeys! These two little ones are her latest babies!

You really can’t be a true Florentine if you don’t try some of the earthy foods they like here. That includes offal, such as lampredotto and trippa. I have not eaten either one, so I can never be Florentine.

But, I did go to a Florentine restaurant that specializes in these foods and I sat at a table with friends who DO like offal.

For any one of my readers who wants to try these foods, here’s the restaurant we went to in the Oltrarno.

The 2 dishes above are at the top: ravioli made with lampredotto. The bottom dish is trippa.