Our Day in Florence (aka, earning our bistecca)

So we climbed the duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence today. 463 very narrow, at times circular steps to the cupola about 375 feet up. It was amazing. And a little terrifying.

It was a gorgeous day. Here is the view of the campanile (bell tower) from the duomo:

And the campanile can also be climbed, and it only has 414 steps, so of course any normal-thinking human being would say to themselves "Let's do both! On the same day!"

I think Paolo is a little worried about us. He says he doesn't think he has ever heard of anyone doing both climbs on the same day. And he lives here.

And what do you do after you have climbed 877 steps and 680 feet or so? You go out for bistecca alla Fiorentina.

Some local wine to help the ibuprofen get to work

Roberto cuts our 3 lb steak:

You do NOT order this medium. Asking for well-done probably gets you physically removed from the premises.

And Roberto was smart. "I let you relax!" And he let us alone for about 15 minutes, which turns out to be the exact amount of time you need to finish your wine and let everything settle, and then checking out the dessert case seems like a great idea.

This massive pile of tiramisu is safely stored inside my stomach now

Marscapone and fruit. Because the tiramisu wasn't enough, right?

We'll let you know if we can move tomorrow.