Travels in Italy (2) - Tuscany

We had five days in Tuscany, and in those five days, with a car and a trusty TomTom we covered most of the area. I have no idea why but both The Boyfriend and I had very high expectations of Tuscan food. For some reason we seemed to think that even if we ended up in a Tourist Trap food would still be much better than your average restaurant. As if any restaurant in Tuscany was automatically destined to be better than the rest because of the region's culinary heritage. How wrong we were. Of the ten meals only three were memorable. Another three were goodish, and the other four were either okay or crap. They are ranked in a complex equation of quality of food + view or venue + price, and by complex I mean we just vaguely remember which ones were the best -a suprisingly difiicult feat (but understandably difficult if you look at how much wine we consumed, sometimes I'm amazed we even managed to take photos of the stuff). Anyway, here goes.

Travels in Italy (1) - Florence

After two months of hectic work for The Boyfriend, and exam season for me, we decided to reward ourselves with a holiday. The first stop of our two week trip was Florence. 

We had two days in Florence. Four real meals and The Boyfriend and I were determined to make the most of them. Having been so busy we failed to book any restaurants (a big no-no in Florence, especially in summer) we turned up at midnight on Friday, armed with three guidebooks and absolutely no knowledge of Florence or Tuscan cuisine. Of our four meals - two stood out Il Cernacchino and Trattoria Cibreo.

da Polpo

The Boyfriend's move to Covent Garden three months ago was easily the best decision ever. Not only do we have Opera Tavern, my new favourite place, Machiavelli and Laduree but now we have da Polpo, yet another Russell Norman restaurant. 

La Fromagerie

I've been dying to go to La Fromagerie for ages. My normal cheese place " La Cave a Fromage", in South Ken, has been seemingly getting further and further away -  a product of my increasing laziness and lack of desire to leave the Holborn/Covent Garden/Mayfair/Marylebone area.  So one day my cheese and wine buddy - The Bestie and I decided to try it out.