Le Osteria Amici

Even in Tuscany, the land of the Sangiovese varietal, which yields Chianti, Brunello, Vino Nobile, and any number of Super Tuscans, sometimes, you crave a Guinness. (Or, if you're itching for another type of experience, a Super Harp. Took me about three outings to realize "Super" didn't actually mean "really, really good." It meant -- as normal people have likely already gathered -- 9% alcohol ... Sometimes, I can be a little too slow on the uptake, and a little too quick on the intake. And, no, you can't prove that was me stumbling through Piazza della Signoria singing That's Amore back in 2007.)

In any case, when you want a Guinness in Florence, there's one place to go above all others in a city with a surprising number of similar establishments.

The Friends' Pub is on Borgo San Jacopo, a mere 160 meters -- that's about 525 feet -- from our apartment.

Uh-oh.

An Irish pub in the heart of Florence, owned by a couple of Korean guys who speak fluent Italian.  Only in America, er, Florence.

And we're off...

With Heather off teaching, I caught up on some reading and, in quick succession, was serenaded by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and John Lee Hooker. When Cab Calloway was next, I realized I was listening to the Blues Brothers soundtrack. In a town where a Kardashian just got married -- in preparation for her divorce -- one whose entire family is famous for, as far as I can tell, being famous, it was nice to bask in the fabulous, non-horribly embarrassing kind of American culture.  Now, where can I listen to some Trane ... ?