Italian Adventure

Probably our favorite place in the world to eat... Italy.  Pasta, pizza, lots of seafood and the best coffee in the world.  What's not to like?  This year we visited Milan and Florence, with short stops at places like Siena, San Gimignano and other little towns.  We did not have a bad meal.  The rainy and cold-ish weather could not put a damper (as much as it tried) to such a wonderful vacation.  Below are pics of the best things we ate...

Spinach and sausage pizza on our way to the center of Milan

Fritto Misto - Including what was by far the most tender calamari we ever ate

Fresh pasta with vegetables at a little bistro downtown Milan

An appetizer at Il Gnoccho Fritto, one of the most fun places we ate at

A great antipasto in Florence.  At the top (below the cheese) is bread with
Lardo.  Yep, that's basically lard (unrendered pork fat).  Delicious!

A little snack at Florence's Mercato Centrale.  Sausage, chicken, onion,
red peppers and bread.  All skewered and cooked in the oven.  

Our last dinner in Milan at a Michelin rated Sicilian restaurant specialized
in seafood.  Pictured is their Crudo plate (raw fish drizzled with olive oil
salt and pepper).  The shrimp was so fresh it reminded us of the raw sweet
shrimp we had in Japan.  The olive oil didn't hurt at all :-)

Doppio macchiato (our beverage of choice, a double shot of espresso with
a touch of milk).  The croisant had just come out of the oven.  This was the
last one we had before heading to the airport. 

Naviglio Grande in Milan.  A great, great area to live, eat and relax.  Our
apartment was just a few blocks on the left side.  Would move there
in a heart beat.   Maybe one day...