Hotel degli Orafi in Florence

My favorite hotel in Florence is the charming Hotel degli Orafi. I have stayed there about 10 times in the past six years, usually for about a week at a time.There are many reasons why I like this hotel so much, and I’m excited to share them with you.

First of all, the location is idea. It is situated on the lungarno, between the Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi galleries.  Everything is within walking distance, whether you want to go across the river, or in the other direction, towards the Duomo and beyond.

Their staff is consistent; I see the same familiar faces each time I visit. Even the housekeeping staff stays the same. Each person I have encountered is warm and friendly. It really feels like home to me.

No matter how tired and stressed I am from overseas travel, as soon as I get into my room, which usually is room 403, sometimes 401, I feel completely at home.  The décor is calming, sheets are crisp and clean, and the view—well, you can’t any better than this.

Each of the rooms that I stay in overlooks the Arno and has a perfect view of the Ponte Vecchio and the Vasari Corridor. One can gaze out the window and imagine Renaissance daily life.

It is said the memory of a particular scent makes a strong impression.  Hotel degli Orafi takes care of that as well. In each bath, they provide a room freshener by the Ancient Pharmacy of Dr.Vranjes , in the scent Terra. This scent is warm and rich, and this time I purchased some to bring home, so that I may have the same scent in my own home.

Other touches include free bottled water daily in the frigo bar, a beautiful breakfast room-although I do get room service and watch the local news over tea, croissant and yogurt- and nightly turn down service which includes candies and  a weather report for the following day.

You can read more about the history of Hotel degli Orafi here, which by the way, is where A Room with a View was filmed.

And here are a few of my photos:

 Views from hotel room

Welcome Fruit Bowl

Breakfast Room Service

Enjoying the Vogalonga in Venice

We recently spent 5 glorious days in Venice and were fortunate enough to be there, just by chance,  when the 2012 Vogalonga took place. Probably just like we did, you are asking yourself,
“what on earth is the Vogalonga?”

The Vogalonga is a celebration of all types of  watercraft, which takes place in Venice every May. It began in 1974 on Saint Martin’s day, when a group of people interested in Venetian rowing got together for a regatta. Since the world was turning more and more towards motorboats, these lovers of Venetian traditions wanted to show their commitment to the older traditions and encourage others to do the same.They instituted a non-competitive regatta, the first of which took place in May 1975.
500 boats arrived that year, carrying 1500 participants, and nowadays there are about 1500 boats with over 5000 participants. It is an exciting day in Venice! The event, whose participants were originally only Venetians, has grown to include lovers of their oars from other parts of Italy, Europe, and beyond.

Early in the morning, from the windows of our hotel room which opened onto the Grand Canal, we got to see all the boaters travelling towards Piazza San Marco, where the regatta begins. There were sculls with crew teams, individual kayaks, and gondolas. The celebration of color and camraderie was so exciting on that glorious late May morning, and even as tourists and onlookers, we really felt that we were participating in an extraordinary happening.

Here’s a short video, taken from our window, of the rowers heading towards Piazza San Marco at about 7AM:

Online Shops- Do They Diminish The Fascination?

One of my usual stops when I am in Florence is at the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica Santa Maria Novella. Visiting and shopping there is a ritual of mine, as I always feel such a sense of calm upon entering; the scents are heavenly, and this ritual marks the beginning of a fabulous week time and again.

My favorite products are the Calendula Face Cream (one of the best face creams ever), Crema Viso Protettiva (for sensitive skin), and their potpourri. Other products I buy there are bars of soap (great for gifts), bath salts, and talcum powder, usually in their trademark melograno (pomegranate) scent.

But wait a minute, I can just order these online from their US distributor and have them shipped to my home! I have known this for a while now, but kept telling myself that I still needed to carry all these heavy (because I stock up for at least 6 months...) items back home directly from Florence, usually causing my bulging suitcase to be over the allotted weight limit.

So why the hesitation to just go ahead and order these products online? Does their easy availability from anywhere in the world make them less special? Does taking away the exclusivity make the products any less effective?

Of course the face creams are just as effective- on the other hand, yes, maybe these Italian products become less magic because anyone can buy them, and the allure is taken away a bit. Nevertheless I still adore them. I’ve given in, and am now anxiously waiting for the UPS man to knock on my door. Most probably I’ll still stop at the Farmacia on our next buying trip, just to get that unique feeling, and maybe even pick up a few new items to try.

Above you'll find a few photos of what the Farmacia looks like; and here is a link to some information. This shop is definitely worth a visit when you are in Florence, and will allow you to take a step back in time and imagine yourself back in 15th century Florence.

That Special Find? Buy It When You See It !

How many times have you been somewhere, your one and only time being there, and not bought what you really wanted? I used to have so many regrets upon return from a trip- years ago. So now my mantra is: buy it.

I would obsess and obsess about the wallet, the Italian jewelry, the outfit, the leather pocketbook, the boots---oooh the boots-and I’d end up calling overseas, reminding the salesperson who I was, and describing the item- and then would pay to have the item shipped to me. And I couldn’t rest until it was done- anyways- no more of that craziness- I just buy it when I see it.

It was impossible to let go of desiring that special something, whatever it was. But that feeling has mellowed somehow now. First of all, aging is kind of good to us in that way. It seems to either enhance or diminish certain idiosyncrasies. The ones it enhances we just have to live with; and the ones that aging diminishes, well, be thankful.

Nowadays, even though it is certainly true that we enjoy a global marketplace, and that stunning Italian necklace or soft leather pocketbook you passed up could possibly be found online, better to be safe – and then enjoy the excitement of unpacking when you get home.

Angela Caputi Collection

Annalisa Miniutti Collection

Passing on the Love of Travel

We were young ourselves, with two 4 year-old sons. And after several years of local travel, to the beach, to Disneyworld, and to all the fun places young parents go with their kids, we longed to go back to Europe, children in tow.

There were no plans of doing the grand tour of Europe like all the American painters did, or anything remotely like that. All we wanted to do was be there, and live. So we rented an apartment for two spring weeks in Piazza Sta.Croce in Florence.

We brought a dear aunt of our sons along, to help us when the two of them decided to run in three different directions and to have another adult around for the usual craziness.

It couldn’t have turned out better. The apartment was gorgeous, with plenty of bedrooms to go around, and kitchen and washing facilities to make dishwashing and laundry very convenient.

We spent our days doing simple things in Florence, made it child-friendly, with lots of time built in for just running around the piazza chasing pigeons- which turned out to be a favorite past-time of theirs. And I will never forget the blue skies- every single day of the trip. We saw not one cloud in 15 days! Cielo sereno, as they say.

And I got to run off by myself a few times to buy an italian leather handbag, some Italian gold, Angela Caputi jewelry, and gifts for all my friends while my husband and sister-in-law took the boys to the nearest park with a playground.

Over the years we have returned with our sons to Florence several times. One eventually studied there (or I guess what kind of passed for studying) for many months, and the other travelled there with a girlfriend, so proud to show her his intimate knowledge of the city. In both instances my husband and I couldn’t have been happier.

We have seen in our sons the love of travel extend to all corners of the globe, and are thrilled to see that they have embraced and assimilated it to be a part of each of them.