The Terrific3 travel blog

Well, my good sleep streak was broken last night by a just Ok night of sleep, probably because we ate way too late (7pm) and went to bed with a full belly. That’s never good for my body, I’ve found!

Woke up today, it was pouring, and I had a run on my schedule. So run I did. It was great! And turned out to be the only rainy part of a pretty nice sunny day.

The kids were happy to get some screen time as I ran and a slower morning.

We got up to leaving the apartment around 930am and mostly just wandered, window shopping, buying a couple things here and there, and wandering over to a restaurant in the Santo Spirito neighborhood that was known for good gnocchi. Gnocchi was tasty but their tagletti in walnut cream was tastier and it was such a cute small place and cheaper than most of the tourist traps.

We then wandered home, stopped for gelato, chilled for a bit and off to our cooking class with our friend Sheila at Towns of Italy. It was a pasta and gelato making class with Jon and the kids loved it. Z wants to make ravioli from scratch when we get home. It was pretty easy overall, though I would have to figure out a vegan version for myself (I don’t travel vegan but am vegetarian).

After the class, we reunited with Sheila and her lovely daughter M who came in from Milan where she is spending a semester abroad for college. We wandered the setup for the Xmas market at Santa Croce piazza.

And now I’m putting the boys to bed, sleepy and feet sore from many days of walking. Over 25k steps today, which is 14.9 miles. It’s amazing how easy it is to have a walking lifestyle here. So many people walking, and on bikes. So few in cars. And despite all that pasta, not a whole lot of obesity here in Florence. There is something about our highly processed food and terribly sedentary lifestyle in the U.S. that is bad for all of us. Movement is not built in and has to be manufactured into lifestyle. Also, you can eat as much pasta and pizza as you want here and never feel bloated. Our chef at our cooking school said it’s because the type of flour used in the US is much more gluten heavy. The food does seem much lighter here.

Tomorrow we head to Lucca for a day via train. I’m excited.