It rained all day Monday. It did keep things a bit quieter on the streets last night, though!

I wanted to get my ticket to Paris today so I could also make hotel reservations and know my schedule. I went to the ‘travel agency’ as recommended by the apartment manager. They charge a small fee to do it but was supposed to be worth it not to have to try to get one at the station.

The woman who helped me was not very friendly but she got the job done. I was going to take the night train, going from here to Milan, changing trains then having a sleeping berth on the way to Paris. It was supposed to take about 12 hours.

Well, she said their was a problem with the tracks or train or something so the night train wasn’t available. Seems kind of weird to me since both Italy and France have such good rail systems.

So, I am now leaving on Sunday at around 1:00PM, going to Milan, and then taking a train to Paris. I won’t arrive in Paris until about 11:30 at night. Long day of travel, but at least I might be able to see something of the countryside.

I had looked at a website on Sunday that told what things were open on Monday. The Bargello was supposed to be open, according to this site, so I decided to go there. It is just a block away from the apartment so I didn’t have a problem finding it. However, it was closed. Closed 3 out of 4 Mondays, not 2 like the website had stated.

I stopped at Verazzono’s and got a pastry for breakfast and also picked up a small loaf of bread to go with the soup I was planning for dinner.

Cream filled ‘brioche’

Then I went to the little vegetable market across from the apartment and got some vegetables to make stock with my leftover chicken and then a chicken vegetable soup. The really cool thing about the markets here is they will sell you just 3 stalks of celery, a little parsley and thyme, and other things. They will even cut a cabbage in half and sell half. Makes sense to me.

I started my stock with chicken bones, onion, leeks, garlic, thyme, black peppercorns, parsley, carrot and onion. I let it cook for a couple of hours before turning it off to cool. Then I decided to go get some lunch and maybe go to Santa Croce. Santa Croce contains the tombs of many famous Florentines, like Michelangelo and Galileo.

Chicken stock

I was wandering around to see if I could find one of Megan’s recommended restaurants and stumbled across one that Rosemary had suggested, Benvenuto. So, I went in. It was the first place I have been in Europe that actually had linen napkins.

There was a list of the chef’s recommendations for the day along with a more extensive menu. I decided to go with the chef’s. I ordered an antipasti of Tostone with Tuscan Kale, Cannelini beans, and lardo. I also ordered the Spaghetti with Sardines. I said that would be enough and the man at the table next to me nodded and said yes.

I realized as I was sitting there I had left my phone at home, so no pictures, again! Dang! So, I people watched out the window and also watched the guy next to me eat. He was taking pictures of his food too.

The Tostone was a large slice of toasted bread with beans, then the cooked kale and topped with thinly sliced lardo. The guy next to me asked if I knew what I was getting, and I said yes. He said he had it the day before. Must be a regular.

Lardo is a type of charcuterie. It is fatback that has been cured with rosemary, and other herbs and spices, in marble vats for months. It melts in your mouth and the whole thing was excellent!

The spaghetti was made with chopped fresh tomatoes, a little bit of orange bell pepper, capers, garlic, and sardines. It also was very good and I couldn’t finish it.

The waiter was not very attentive to me, or really any of the people around me. But when a couple of young women came in he spent quite a bit of time discussing the menu with them. Guess it pays to be young and cute.

I was so full that I decided to walk it off instead of going to Santa Croce. Maybe I will never make it to any of the museums! Who knows?

I ended up back at the apartment, strained the stock, and chopped up the vegetables for the soup. Carrots, celery, onions, leeks, garlic, and a huge head of Black (Nero or Tuscan) Kale.

Wasn’t sure at that point if I would end up eating it, however. But by about 7:30 I decided I would eat a bowl. It turned out very good and was full of plenty of vegetables. I had found some barley and very small pasta in the cupboard so I added a bit of that too. I topped it with a little cheese and bread.

Chicken and Kale Soup