The next morning, we woke up early and walked a few blocks to Café Gilli with possibly the best espresso of the trip and some awesome strudel. During breakfast, we took out our map and decided we wanted to explore to Boboli Gardens. 
We decided to walk to the Gardens, which was a bit of a hike, but we poked into shops along the way. We pre-purchased tickets before we left, which was a good idea because we were able to pick them up at the window instead of waiting in the long line.
The Gardens were beautiful and it was fun to roam around such a large green space. There were also many museums tucked in various nooks that were fun to duck into. We probably could have spent the entire day there, but it was hot and we were getting hungry, so we decided to head back towards the downtown area in search of dinner. We stopped at a restaurant that was a little ways off the main drag in an alley. I thought it would be a good place to eat because I saw a few locals eating alone. I had a great roasted pear salad with some of the most delicious, pungent bleu cheese I’ve ever had. My friend also had a similar salad, but hers was served with apples and nuts and a different cheese that was also very tasty. Between us, we split a plate of fried vegetables which were unbelievably fresh and lightly fried. Delicious.
After dinner, we wanted to explore the more immediate area around us, and we did so in search of gelato. We ended up stopping at a place on a corner near one of Florence’s bridges. I had a cup with dark chocolate (my favorite) and cherry. The cherry was great- a sweet cream base and cherries macerated in some sort of alcohol were mixed in. Delicious combination. We ended up wandering around for a very long time because we got a little lost. However, we were able to scope out the shops we wanted to go to the following day and we eventually found our way back.
Interested in more Italian adventures? click here for popular regions of Italy for Villa Vacations!
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