If you happened to be in Florence or Fiesole last weekend,  you may have noticed a beautiful parade of vintage cars driving through town.  Over 80 gorgeous cars braved the wet weather and luckily the constant downpour of the last week did ease up enough for some of the convertibles to take […]

Whatever you call them, they are all Delizioso!   It’s Carnival time again and for anyone in Tuscany at the moment, it’s the time to find their favourite sweets at the local bakery.  Called by many names all over Italy but known as Cenci here in Florence, these fried but light biscuit treats are just […]

              Il Fiume in Piena It’s been raining non-stop for what seems like weeks and the Arno river is flowing angrily and rising quickly.  Murky, swirling water now covers where there is usually long stretches of green banks and what is commonly known as The Beach here is totally under […]

So the holidays are over and it’s now back to work.  The Autumn Winter 2013 Pitti Uomo trade fair started yesterday and the fashion parade of visitors is as impressive as ever.  The city is full of incredibly dressed men and women and the majority of them make their fabulous appearances all look so effortless. […]

Well Christmas passed by like a flash and here we are in 2013 already!  We were very fortunate here in Florence to have had lots of sunshine and some very mild days across the Christmas break.   We spread our Christmas celebrations out, visiting Emiliano’s family in Cecina (near Livorno) on the 22nd & 23rd December and then […]

In the last month, I’ve been to Verona, London twice and New York.   London is so beautiful at Christmas and I felt really privileged to be there at this time to admire the Christmas lights.  My travels have not finished yet as next week I have to go to Amsterdam for a conference.  Travel […]

On this day, the 4th of November in 1966, Florence was literally underwater as the worst flood in the city’s history caused major damage and destruction.  Our local fruit and vegetable shop’s owner, Simone sent me some amazing photos of our street and the surrounding neighborhood with me so I thought I would share them […]

GETTING MARRIED IN ITALY Exciting news announced last month advised that now you can also marry in some other very special locations in Florence……… for a price of course!   For example, you can now marry in the Sala di Lorenzo in the Museo Bardini surrounded by Vasari frescos for €1,250.00, The Giardini delle Rose […]

 But First! I can’t start this post without mentioning and congratulating my very talented sister who had her first book on cakes published here in Italy.  It hit the book stores last Wednesday and I’m sure it will be a huge success! It’s called La Torta Perfetta di Toni and available also on Amazon.   […]