Last Day In Florence, Espresso Con Panna And A Five Bob Note

Well, while not being our last night in Florence itself, it i our last full day to wander around the city. Tomorrow we're off on a tour of the surrounding area, including some wine tasting and some olive oil tasting (which I might post, just as a matter of interest). Today (and yesterday for that matter), we had remarkably few coffees which I haven't already mentioned.

We had dinner at Gilli. Fantastic meal, and I had a cappuccino to finish off, as did my mum. Both of us got latte art in the top (the first I've had all holiday!), mine a rosetta, my mum's a heart. The foam was lovely, with only a few larger bubbles (not large, but larger), and it was sweet and creamy. The espresso base was tasty, and more than complimented the quality of the milk.

As for Rivoire, tonight I had an espresso con panna, and a cappuccino. The espresso con panna is something I can't say I'm a huge fan of. Part of this is simply because I never know how to drink them, but also I find it a weak imitation of an espresso macchiato. It was, however, the last drink on the menu I needed to taste, so I had a go. I'll be honest, it was good. If you like the con panna, you'll love the Rivoire. The cappuccino, while not having any latte art, did have a perfect line of crema all the way around the edge of the cup, surrounding a solid white block of milk. I quickly remedied the lack of latte art with a cocktail stick and some etching. I'll get the photo up on Flickr when I get back. It was, again, a perfect cappuccino. Not complex, or mind blowing, but a solid capp; balanced, sweet and creamy.

As for the five bob note...well...I found five Euros on the floor. Awesome.

And that's about it really. Everywhere is closed tomorrow, so I don't know if there'll be any coffee, and we leave Florence on Tuesday. A quick heads up, I'm away next week as well, helping with my local church youth group in Scotland. There is very little chance that I'll have any internet connection, so I'll be silent for a while. I'll be taking loads of coffee and a french press with me. I might even do a comparison of french press pots if I find the time. We'll see.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed reading about Florence, and I really do recommend that any of you who love tasting different coffees, and seeing different techniques (something I've sen traically little of) come here. The food, the atmosphere, the sights, the people, everything is worth a look. And the Rivoire is where you need to go.

Cheers, and thanks for reading :)
Seamus