A Secret Passageway………. Above ground! Everyone who has been to Florence has crossed the Ponte Vecchio at least once during their visit.  How many of you have looked up and wondered what is behind those beautiful circular windows?  For years I have wanted to walk the famous Vasari Corridor and last Sunday was fortunate enough […]

Even though I don’t love the cold weather, Autumn is one of my favourite times here in Florence.  The colours of the city are so beautiful as the leaves change colour and the days become shorter.  I was just looking back on some of my favourite photos from last Autumn and though I would share […]

It seems like just yesterday we were in t-shirts and shorts and now I find myself reaching for the winter woolies.  The seasons change here so quickly.  The temperature can change from one day to another and for the last week there was an icy wind blowing about letting us all know that Autumn had arrived.   […]

LEARN – TASTE – SHOP Learning how to cook in Florence – my first cooking class ever! I have always wanted to do a cooking course and last week finally got to take part in a class at the newly created Desinare Cooking School located in central Florence in the beautiful surroundings of Tuscan interior […]

With a Toddler! This afternoon I made pasta for the first time ever (well I did attempt ravioli once upon a time but they were a bit of a failure).  Matteo was pretty impressed with the machine and so of course he had to be my assistant.  My one fear was that he was going […]

Yes, the weather is this gorgeous at the moment……….     I have to keep reminding myself that it will be November next week! We only had our first really cold morning yesterday and as you may have heard, it has been raining so much in parts of Italy that many places have suffered from […]

Thomas Joseph Di Donato Today the 29th of July is the ‘official’ Due Date of Thomas, when I would have been 40 weeks.  Even though I knew that I would probably not go full term considering a cesarean was the plan at around 38-39 weeks, I certainly did not expect him to surprise us one […]

There is so much going on in Florence at the moment, mostly to coincide with the ‘Firenze Hometown of Fashion’ week.   Thanks to a bit of rain and a drop in the temperature this weekend, we went for a lovely walk into the center and the below photos are a little taste of what we […]

with PAMPALONI Looking at the photos above, and based on the decor and beautiful silverware on the tables, you would be mistaken for thinking that I am in a very expensive and exclusive restaurant,   You will probably be very surprised to learn then, that this is the cafeteria or Mensa as it is called in Italian of […]