A cantinetta & a Cibreo trattoria

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The crush of people in Florence was utterly overwhelming. Our immediate reaction was to run a mile, so we escaped down a few side streets and made a wonderful discovery for coffee and sustenance … a bakery and pastry shop called Cantinetta del Verrazano. Two double espressos and a couple of air-light twisted pastry fingers, as close as you can get to a palmier (called sfogliatine in Italy), and we quickly forgot about tourists and aching soles. After burning off the sugars walking along the Arno River, crossed by the famous Ponte Vecchio, it was time to find Cibrèo for lunch. Hirsh has dreamt of going back ever since our first visit many years ago . . . and what do you know, it’s still going strong, helped along by Trip Advisor. Hirsh has already shared the secret of my yoghurt pannacotta . . . the most unbelievable flavour combination of Greek yoghurt, turmeric and lemon, drizzled with olive oil. Yum. When our waiter took away the plate he said deadpan, “You didn’t like it at all.”