Yes, she is always incredibly helpful, and I am always grateful for her input.

A new low, even for Zeppole. Absolutely despicable. Such a sanctimonious bitch.

Good thing she can't bear to look at another post.

>Good thing she can't bear to look at another post.<.

We can but hope Mellen. :)

>>>Good thing she can't bear to look at another post.<<<

You know Stepsbeyond will keep reading anyway even with the "sensitive stomach".

The restaurant in Gubbio looks very familiar, but it's been 5-6 years since I was in Gubbio and I've forgotten the restaurants I chose.

Ger,

Im glad to hear you enjoyed pretty Spello. It remains one of my most favorite towns. Love all the flowers and beautiful views.

I know you have been on Fodors long enough to recognize the disturbed behaviour patterns of zeppole/sandralist/massimop. Just ignore as usual.

Do continue!

That restaurant looks similar Ger but I don't think it's the one; if I find it on my trip receipts I'll post the name.

Spello is IIRC known for good Umbrian cuisine and Il Molino was I believe one that had particular mention. We ended up at a different one next to it on the last trip, for lunch, and had a lovely and yes very tasty meal.

I've enjoyed La Taverna on a couple of different occasions and we also enjoyed our meals.

Ger we did have one lunch at the dining room at Brufani; incredibly old timey service and very formal; we were the only ones in there! Memorable meal though.

The idea that a Milanese cutlet is "19070s" will come as startling news to the Milanese, who have been eating for more than one century, continuously, and still do enjoy eating it>>

Ger, you can count me amongst the ignoramuses who thinks that the milanese cutlet [especially outside Milan] is rather outmoded. But then, what do we know?

Finishing off my restaurant reviews in Florence. Thank you all for your continued support :)


The Restaurants in Florence.

I had not planned well for eating in Florence. I am might have done better. A problem was the price/quality comparison based on the wonderful food and cheap prices in the Veneto and Umbria.

Saturday 30th September: Florence: 4Leoni

http://www.4leoni.com/

The restaurant is highly rated, and always very busy.
I ordered the Spaghetti alle vongole to start, which was excellent.

I ordered the Tagliata Manzo (medium rare) as the main course, my bad choice, as I don’t understand Italian meat cuts. Grilled, I only eat either rib-eye or sirloin, and this was a rather tough cut that had no fat in it – maybe what my Mother would call ‘round steak’, which she considered only good for stewing? Or perhaps a rump steak? I ordered medium rare, and it came VERY rare, almost mooing, and chewy. I sent it back, and it came back very well done, and even chewier.

The restaurant is large, and staff insufficient to deal with the influx of the busload of Scandinavian tourist that arrived when I was trying to get my waiter’s attention. However, my waiter was wonderful, and I left him a tip!

Bill for food and half-bottle of decent wine and water was 60 Euro.

Sunday 1st October: Florence: La Posta

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau...e_Tuscany.html

It was a rainy dismal day. Just around the corner, was a family-run restaurant that I had visited and enjoyed in 2014. It is old-fashioned, like eating at your granny’s for Sunday dinner. I loved it in 2014, and loved it in 2017.

For the starter, I ordered the seafood risotto, hard to resist. WOW: it was incredible! It was so large, I thought I could not possibly finish it, but I did, every morsel!

For the main course, I ordered lamb chops. They served three perfectly cooked little beauties, pink inside and fat seared on the outside. Absolutely perfect!

Bill for starter, main and veg, accompanied by an excellent half-bottle of wine, litre of water and an expresso was 71 Euro.

I highly recommend this restaurant. It is worth the money.

I was having so much fun reading along... when that jerk popped up. Next time I"ll know better than to read any of her(?)postings.

Anyhow... LOVE the report. You went to all my favorite places, ate like I would and drank wine like I would. Who could ask for anything more??

Looking forward to the rest of your story.

(PS Is the cutlet like the thing NYC's skinny socialites used to eat in the '70s or is it more like wiener schnitzel? I'd never pass up a good schnitzel. )

We had a local Italian restaurant that made this fantastic brined pork chop lightly breaded and served with amazing lemon aioli. When it was good it was really good, but when it was bad, it was really bad! I think that’s why that restaurant didn’t survive. I tried to duplicate the thing unsuccessfully

I ordered the Tagliata Manzo (medium rare) as the main course, my bad choice, as I don’t understand Italian meat cuts>>

nor me, Ger. The restaurant I ate in a few years ago described this dish on its english menu as simply "cut" which intrigued me so much I had to eat it, but I had more luck and it was very good, though so rare, as you say, it was still mooing.

Honestly so far I don't think you've done too badly apart from the steak - the rest sounds really good, if rather more expensive than elsewhere, but you were in "tourist central".

I am really enjoying your culinary reviews. I am now missing Italy...time to go back.

The Trip Report

I have posted about the hotels and restaurants first for two reasons:

1: These are the topics that most interest me in trip reports when I am doing my initial planning, and I think I am not alone in that.
2: I almost NEVER finish a trip report, so best to get those recommendations out there at the start

The journey to Padova/Padua

I had a 0725 flight on BA from London City airport to Venice Marco Polo. LCY is only 20 minutes’ drive from my home at that time of the morning. Increasingly, I plan my vacation around where I can get to from LCY, as the thought of travelling across London to LHR and LGW, and then dealing with the massive airports, is stressful.

The flight was great, the service was excellent and there was not even the smallest turbulence on the journey. It was a very sunny day, and the view of the Alps was incredible. It was a great start to the holiday. Then, I landed in Marco Polo airport …..

The airport was overwhelming. We were taken by bus to Immigration, and it was just brimming over – the line-ups were outside the terminal, onto the tarmac. However, once we got inside, there was an EU passport track, so it only took about 5/10 minutes to get through. The hoards spilling over onto the tarmac, were for those that had non-EU passports. God love them – it would take at least 2/3 hours to get through, and it was warm and humid. I heard Canadian accents and saw the Maple Leaf flag, and felt nostalgic.

The baggage hall was challenged trying to deal with the amount of luggage that was arriving. There were at least three international flights: From Japan, Philly, and Toronto (1000 passengers); all those unfortunate people that would be lining up for the next 2-3 hours. I would never want to arrive in Venice on a non-EU passport on an international flight.

My bag finally arrived about 35 minutes after I landed.

I had checked out various options to get to Padua – by bus/train, by bus directly. I HATE taking the bus/train after an early morning flight! Two days before, I decided, Eff IT!, it was the first day of my holiday, and I was going to take a limo. SO I had booked:
https://www.veneziaportaest.com/it/

90 Euros, from Marco Polo Airport to my hotel in Padua, and an extra 10 Euros for them to meet me at arrivals. Well worth the money. Train and bus for same journey cost about 20 Euros to Padua station, then taxi to hotel about 15 Euros.

The driver was waiting for me, when I finally retrieved my luggage. I boarded a comfortable SUV, and I was on my way to Padua. The day was gloriously sunny, and I was glad I had taken the limo.

Padua

I had booked into Hotel Methis, as described above, for my stay in Padua.
http://www.methishotel.it/en/
https://uk.hotels.com/ho268167/?tab=description

After unpacking and showering, I asked the lovely receptionist Marco, who had studied Economics in Trinity College Dublin, for a restaurant recommendation. He recommended three, and I decided on, Osteria del Capo, which was a highlight of the trip:
http://www.osteriadalcapo.it/

After an excellent late lunch, I just wandered around the town. Sometimes you just fall in love with a place, the first time you visit: It is a good fit for you, it feels like home, somewhere you could live in and be happy and content. This is how Padua felt that day.

It had been a very early start, so I returned to the hotel early, and planned the next day. I booked my tickets for the Scrovegni Chapel, which I should have done weeks ago.

Here are some pictures from my wanderings:

pix.sfly.com/Od2gXkc9


Tomorrow: More Padua

Thanks! Wonderful pictures.

Great pics, Ger. Makes me want to give Padua another try.

Thank you for the culture trip link AND for reminding me of our lucious lunch at Taverna al Lupo. I don't particularly care for egg dishes and even I savored and enjoyed the eggs and truffles you mentioned.

Ger - I can see why you liked Padua - great food, lovely hotel and beautiful buildings. On my list!

Thanks guys for continuing to follow.

Re Padua:

I was talking to my niece about it over dinner on Sunday. I loved it because it felt like somewhere I could live, not just visit. Because of the fact it is a university town, it has a wonderful vibrancy: full of energy and life. It is small enough to be intimate, but large enough have everything one would need to be content, and has great rail links if you need be be in a big city.

Ger, wondering how you enjoyed the Scrovegni chapel, I thought it was wonderful, but not everyone does.

Nice report! Will stay tuned for more.