Faux Pax?

Today was a good day for us here in Florence. We finished getting everything unpacked and put away from our suitcases - well, mostly everything. :) Our kitchen is functional (water and gas hooked up, and most cabinets up), slowly we're getting boxes cleaned up...there is still more to do but we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Tonight, to celebrate our kitchen being usable, we went out for one last dinner on the town (for awhile, anyway). We decided to go to our favorite restaurant in the city, which we affectionately call "The Trot" (I think the real name is Trattoria il Cantanori, or something like that). It's an awesome place where, for 10 Euro, you get water, wine, a pasta dish, a meat dish, and a side dish. The cost also covers the sitting fee, which is sort of like the tip. It's a great deal and the food is amazing. Ross went almost every week when he was here for STINT and has gone back each time he's returned to Florence since, so the family who owns and works at the restaurant knows him and has come to know Colton and me.

Like every time we go to "The Trot" we were greeted warmly by "Papa." He played with Colton for a bit, took our orders, and left. I ordered "ribollita" for my pasta dish - a Tuscan stew (see links if you're interested in more info about ribollita and a recipe - one of many possible ways to make it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribollita, http://www.ribollita.com/eng/ricette/21.htm). This stew is made with olive oil, bread, many veggies, and beans so, seeing that everything in it is Colton safe, I shared with him. At first he wasn't too sure about it but soon enough he came to love it. He reacted to it the same way he reacts to cornetto and gelato (see previous post)! Soon enough we drew the attention of everyone in the restaurant - they were getting a huge kick out of watching Colton eat it! They seemed very stumped by the fact that we chose to feed him this dish. At one point I heard the "Mama" of the restaurant say, "Well, it is vegetables so it should be ok!" They were so entertained by Colton's love for ribolitta that they actually told every patron who entered after he finished, "That boy ate ribolitta!"

I wonder if I unknowingly committed a cultural faux pax by sharing my stew with C...but it didn't seem to offend so no harm done, I guess! :)

Since I don't have any pictures to share from the story above, I figured I'd include a random video of Colton playing at the park near our house last week. He has come to love the swings! It's a little long (a minute and fifteen seconds) but I know our family will want to soak up every second of Colton time they can get, so I refrained from editing. Enjoy!