Day 7: Pear Ravioli from Trattoria 4 Leoni

This morning we left Cortona for Florence. We arrived in the city and took an hour long bus ride to reach our hostel, which is strangely located in a forest. After meeting up with Chloe and her friend Becca, we set off towards the center of the city to see the sites. The main attractions of the city lay on the banks of a beautiful river with several bridges connecting the two sides. The area is filled with expensive shops (especially gold and silver shops on one of the bridges), leather stores, churches, and palaces. The area was vey pretty and quite clean, although almost everything was overpriced for tourists.

After wandering the city, we went to Trattoria 4 Leoni where I had made a reservation several days in advance. The entire menu was in Italian so the waiter had to translate every item. We started with a glass of wine and an appetizer of eggplant, tomato, and mozzarella with an arugula pesto on the side (featured in many of the restaurants dishes.) We enjoyed the fresh vegetables before moving on to our main courses. We tried a fried chicken and vegetable dish, a fish in tomato sauce with potatoes, and the famous pear ravioli. The fried chicken dish was crispy with tender chicken inside, flavored with lemon on the outside. The fish was soft and flavorful, going well with the side of potatoes, also drenched in the tomato sauce. Lastly, the pear ravioli, which two of us ordered and shared, was the group favorite. It was both savory and sweet, with the sweet flavor of the pear offset by the asparagus.

Finally, we tried two desserts, the restaurant's famous cheesecake topped with fresh fruit and a tiramisu. The cheesecake was much lighter and fluffier than the traditional American cheesecake, which a crispy crust. I suspect it was made with ricotta or some other fluffy cheese rather than cream cheese. The tiramisu was also amazing. It had a perfect ration of cream and sponge cake, filled with flavor, and topped with coffee powder.

Overall, Trattoria 4 Leoni is amazing. If you are ever in Florence, definitely go!