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Here's what I remember of Florence, Italy...

Taking prohibited pictures of Michelangelo's David (without flash).

Being sonically accosted by the University of Southern California marching band playing Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" in the Pitti Palace gardens.

And gelato. Perfect gelato.

In 2006, we took a trip to Italy on a whim (thank you, Expedia, for your last-minute deal). Having never visited Italy, we didn't know exactly what we wanted to do, where to go, where to stay. But we had heard about Bistecca alla Fiorentina, and that seemed like enough to build a vacation around.

In the days before our trip, we came across some advice on gelato: if the pistachio gelato is bright green, run away (food coloring); and look for the gelatario that keeps its frozen fat hidden in canisters. I have no idea if the advice is more right than wrong, but it certainly served us well. Just steps from the Duomo, we found Grom gelatario.

Nearly every night during our stay, we stopped by Grom for a fix of extra-dark chocolate (cioccolato extranoir), hazlenut (nocciola), and cream with candied lemons, oranges, and citrons (cassata siciliana). One of my favorite memories of our visit is sitting on the steps of the Duomo at sunset, loving where we were right at that moment, and finishing off another cup of Grom.

I know foodies go on and on about how important it is to have high-quality ingredients (which typically means shelling out a bunch of money, which comes off feeling snobby and elitist). But for a couple of bucks, Grom gives you a cup of perfection with quality and craft that you can really taste.

Fortunately, Grom has opened up several locations in the States. We have two here in NYC, one on the Upper West Side that I could see from my office window if they would just relocate the Hearst building. The other one is down on Bleeker. And I just looked on their website to see where else they are in the US (hello, Malibu), discovering a new shop is opening up soon in NYC. Six short blocks from my office. Pure joy.

Also on Grom's site, they give careful attention to food allergies. They have a handy chart that shows which of their flavors will work with your allergies/dietary restrictions: gluten, eggs, milk, dried fruits and nuts, and vegan.

A few weeks after we returned from Florence, we discovered we were expecting our first child. I'd give at least a little bit of credit to the Grom.