Five Things to Love about Florence with guest bloggers An Affair with Italy

© Copyright An Affair with Italy

I'm thrilled to have the stylish and gorgeous girls Julie Adams and Emma Scott founders of online magazine An Affair with Italy taking us to some of their favorite Florentine addresses. 

Julie and Emma travel the world capturing beautiful, heartfelt, inspiring and often unexpected stories about all things Italian. Having just returned from a recent trip to Italy, Julie and Emma share five reasons to fall in love with Florence.

1. The Bar at The Continentale, for the incredible view of The Ponte Vecchio.

On one of our first nights in Florence, Julie and I excitedly bounded up the stairs to the roof top bar at stunning hotel, The Continentale. We had been told the view was spectacular but actually... it was breathtaking. A drink at The Continentale roof top bar is a must do on any Florence trip. 

©Julie Adams for An Affair with Italy

©Julie Adams for An Affair with Italy

Address: Vicolo dell’Oro

2. For gift shopping we love to visit Ortigia.

I first discovered the small Italian soap and scent company Ortigia when I stumbled across the wonderfully vibrant shop on a previous trip to Florence. As a designer, I fell in love with the bold, hand-drawn illustrations of palm trees and leopards silhouetted against an array of Sicilian landscape-inspired bright colours. Initially, the visual brand drew me in, but it’s the product that keeps me coming back – beautiful scents, luxurious textures and formulas of natural indigenous Sicilian ingredients. I adore the translucent soap range, each tinted in a different colour (I’m collecting every fragrance). Ortigia is one of my first stops whenever I visit Florence.

©Julie Adams for An Affair with Italy

Address: Borgo S. Jacopo 12/R

3. For a local Florentine experience - visit Mercato di Sant’ Ambrogio in the early morning... and pop in to the famous Caffè Cibrèo for a coffee and brioche at the bar. For a truly authentic Florentine experience you can’t go past the Cibreo Cafe – incredible food and a wonderful atmosphere. You will feel like you are part of the Florentine world. And while you are there, watch the locals descend on the adjacent Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio markets for the freshest of local ingredients. 

Make sure you don’t leave without your own bundle of goodies – perhaps a punnet of juicy tomatoes or a wonderfully pungent slice of mouth-watering cheese. 

©Julie Adams for An Affair with Italy

Address: Via del Verrocchio, 5r

4. Treasure hunting at Piazza dei Ciompi

Anywhere I go I love a bit of vintage treasure hunting, so I was thrilled to discover the Florence 'mercantino' or flea market, found at Piazza dei Ciompi - a wonderful collection of shops and stalls selling antiques, art, old books and various vintage bits and pieces.  The stalls are set up in the shadow of Vasari's Loggia del Pesce, but on the last Sunday of the month vendors come from outside Florence and the make-shift shops extend out to the surrounding streets.

©Julie Adams for An Affair with Italy

Address: Piazza dei Ciompi

5. For an unforgettable stay look no further than JK Place....your home away from home.

From the moment we walked through the doors of the elegant JK Place, Florence we knew we had found somewhere very special.  Mr Ori Kafri, the genius hotelier behind the brand, truly understands service.  His philosophy: when you come to JK Place consider it your home away from home. Mr Kafri has gone to great lengths to ensure at every moment of your stay you feel a warmth and care, normally reserved for moments with family and friends.  Somehow you feel like you're the only ones in this stylish boutique hotel....with your own private service staff.

Image Thanks to JK Place, Forence

Address: Piazza Santa Maria Novella, 7

Let's speak Italian

© Copyright Millie Brown 2011

Let us suppose you have taken my recent advice and you have made a couple of trips to the Institut in Villefranche, you are conversing easily in French and are still madly in love with everything French.........but maybe, just maybe, you ventured over the border to the east and fell under the spell of  Italy and everything Italian, the spirit and passion of the Italians, their food, their art, their history......and of course their language.

Is there a more romantic, beautiful sounding language in the world?  I will leave the answer to you. I love both French and Italian equally, however I certainly don't speak both equally as well, having only recently commenced my Italian studies.  Lets just say that in Italy I am very used to confused faces staring back at me, even when I am sure that what I just said was a sentence of grammatical perfection, their looks make it clear that I must either be completely delusional or my accent is somewhere near atrocious, (or horror of horrors both)!

© Copyright Millie Brown 2011

I am however making progress and I have two wondeful Italians in Florence to thank for that.  If you are lucky enough to spend any amount of time in this divine city why not dip your toe in and get started.  Just be aware that when you do decide to let 'your version of Italian' loose onto the unsuspecting Italian public you too may not always get the response you hoped for.   However maybe you will not be quite as delusional about your ability to form that 'perfect' sentence as I clearly am!

Marcello Ciao from the school Spirito Italiano http://www.spiritoitaliano.com/ and Lucia Ducci are my 'picks' and I can not speak highly enough of them as people and as teachers.  Both have helped me enormously and I love their company, their humour and their PATIENCE!! (God love them, they have needed every ounce of it with me). Lucia is contactable on her email address; lucia.ducci@libero.it.

Separate to Marcello's teaching is his business as an agency for some wonderful apartment rentals in Florence.  While hotels are great for short stays, apartments are my choice of accommodation for any stays over a weeks duration.  I have enjoyed the peace of mind that organising an apartment through Marcello brings, you can ALWAYS be sure that he will do his absolute utmost to make sure you are 110% happy and comfortable. http://www.florenceapartmentitaly.com, he is a delight and so are his apartments.

Note: Learn Italian audio:
For those of you who cannot get to Italy to study the language, I can highly recommend the book 'Teach yourself Italian' by Lydia Vellaccio. I used this method prior to commencing my studies in class. I found it extremely useful and practical (2 cd's are also included). Unfortunately it is not available for sale through my Amazon shop however click here to purchase.

Buon weekend à tutti

Millie x

All photos are copyright, do not download, thank you :-)

©copyright Millie Brown 2011

If you would like to share this on your facbook page, please click 'f' below, thank you :-)

Loving and living in Florence

My favourite busker, I pay...he blows a kiss!

For many reasons I never imagined loving any other city in the world as much as I love Paris....Florence was my happy surprise.  Two very different cities, however I feel as passionate about one as I do about the other, and for quite different reasons.

The Adelaide magazine, Adelaide Matters, recently asked me to put pen to paper and write 10 things I love to do in Florence. The only problem I had with that was keeping it down to 10.

I would like to share just a few of the experiences mentioned on that list as well as some of my first black and white photos of Florence taken while I was at photography school.  I developed and printed these images in the school darkroom and it became my 'home' and my obsession.  If I was not traveling somewhere or walking the streets of Florence that is where I was to be found, day and night, and I loved it.

Santa Croce
One of my favourite areas of Florence is Santa Croce.  Start in Piazza Santa Croce and visit the Franciscan Basilica, this church is the burial place for Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli, among other illustrious Florentines. It is also home to some of the most famous late Medieval and Renaissance art in Florence, including frescoes by Giotto, and Donatello’s crucifix.

While you are in the church, take the time to visit the monastery and the Scuola del Cuoio (The Leather school).  Even if you are not in the market for exquisite hand made leather products it is  pure pleasure to wander the the old monastic cells and witness the artisans  at work.

Cibrèo Caffé and Trattoria
While you don’t have to go far in Florence for a good coffee, take a few minutes of your time to make your way to Cibrèo Caffé (two steps from the wonderful Sant’ Ambrogio food market). Here you will enjoy a warm atmosphere and delicious Italian pastries and coffee with the Florentines. 

A further two steps away is Cibrèo Trattoria. Fabio Picchi, the chef and owner is himself a Florentine institution and is the man behind the Cibrèo Caffé,Trattoria and Ristorante. For excellent food at half the price of the Cibrèo Restaurant go to the Trattoria.  It can get crowded and you may be sitting on a communal table, but it only adds to the whole experience. Arrive early, they don’t take bookings at the Trattoria.

San Niccolò
Cross over the Arno river to the (Oltrarno) and the area of San Niccolò.  Make your way towards Via di San Niccolò and  the old gate of San Miniato.  This area is the heart of San Niccolò and is a corner of Florence that is both vibrant and relaxed. 

While here, take a coffee or a panini at caffé Il Rifrullo followed by a to die for gelato.   Another favourite place to eat in this area is Enoteca Fuori Porta, which is situated just past the old gate and city wall as you make your way up Via del Monte alle Croci to Piazza Michelangelo.  This is a must do walk, you won’t regret the climb, the view as you walk up and from the Piazza is worth the effort, I promise. 

Bardini Gardens

The Bardini gardens have only been open to the public for a few years and are the less  crowded alternative to the better known Boboli gardens. I advise entering from Via dei  Bardi #1 red, in San Niccolò (the entrance ticket includes a visit to the Boboli gardens). The gardens are situated on a slope overlooking the city,  and if you sit and sip a wine in the loggia you will enjoy yet another superb vista of Florence. 

View over Florence from the gorgeous Bardini gardens

Enoteca Pitti e Gola Cantina

Exit the Boboli gardens at the Pitti Palace,and then head over to the wine bar directly opposite, Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina, sit on the terrace looking onto the Palace, ask the boys to recommend something from their excellent wine list and order the homemade Ravioli, it quite literally melts in your mouth!! 

Brancacci Chapel
If you are an art lover, you must not miss a visit to the Brancacci Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine. Here you will get to marvel at one of the most famous pieces of Renaissance art in the world, the frescoes depicting the life of St Peter painted by masters, Masolino and Masaccio.

There is so much to do, see and experience in Florence, it is impossible to put it all in a simple list, I hope to be able to share more notes from one of my favourite cities in the world again, I have so many!

Have a great weekend  Millie x

All photos are copyrighted, please do not download :-)

©copyright Millie Brown 2011