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Post by Portia
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Hi there Fragrant Fumies,
Our recent trip was a bit light on the fragrance stops. We really wanted to see what each city is most famous for. While in Florence though Anna-Maria put her dainty foot down. We could look at art & churches all day & night but we had to go to the Santa Maria Novella Basilica which handily combines all three of our interests. It’s a church and cloisters, very old and it has one of the oldest still extant apothecaries/farmaceutica which is now centred around fragrance and tea.
The church you can see today was begun in 1279 and was finished around the middle of the 14th century.
Inside it resembles Cistercian gothic churches, the nave separated from the aisles by wide bays and covered with gothic vaulting (Edited from museumsinflorence.com). There are some lovely frescoes inside too if you get a chance.
Santa Maria Novella: Florence 2016
From the moment you enter Santa Maria Novella shop in Florence you are transported back in time. You are also reminded of the extraordinary amount of money the church has at its disposal. The place is exquisite and we were surprised at how busy, and how much money people were spending. It was like a fragrant feeding frenzy.
I have a set of these tablets keeping my wardrobe pest free and fragrant. They were a gift and my very first Santa Maria Novella. I love them and they are still extremely fragrant years on.
The homewares section is fabulous. It took ultimate restraint to keep my wallet in my pocket.
Anna-Maria and Jin being looked after by the extremely beautiful and helpful SA. I was not going to buy anything but then I spied some smaller bottles which turned out to be soliflore extrais. I tried and fell madly in love with the triple distilled jasmine extrait, the sample I tried which lasted 3 days on my skin through showers and general living. Sadly the product they sold me is gone in about 2 hours, it’s really gorgeous while it lasts though I am disappointed.
Anna-Maria was so sweet and bought Jin & I a set of the soaps as a thank you for sharing our holiday! Woo Hoo! Can’t wait to use them.
Here is the Triple Distilled Jasmine Extrait. I am sad now that I didn’t order tea. Next time.
Florence 2016: Photo Essay
The Duomo is the heart of Florence. It’s free to enter and the floor and dome are gorgeous. You can walk to the cupola up the top but Anna-Maria had done the one in Vienna and that was enough.
All through Europe we lit candles and asked God to bless our friends and family with bountiful lives, peaceful and funfilled.
On the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge, no wonder Italian is a romance language) ignoring the jewellery shops but watching the people.
View of the Ponte Vecchio from the next bridge, it was a lovely walk along the river.
Anna-Maria was overcome by David. She needed a few moments to stabilize.
We caught the local bus up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. A perfect winter day with dappled sunlight over the city. It was a beautiful afternoon and from the bus we saw some amazing parts of Florence that you would otherwise miss.
Anna-Maria had a pre-mixed alcoholic beverage at the lookout. She was so happy.
Our dinner in the hotel was a complete disaster so we decided to go around the corner to the international restaurant of choice for the hungry and weary traveller; McDonalds. YUMMY!
Next night we had the best steak I’ve ever had in my life. The three of us shared 1.2kg of steak cooked to perfection. It came with salads and baked potatoes. OMG! So freaking delicious. If you are Florence you MUST go here and have the Special Florentine Steak.
I hope you enjoyed a snapshot of our amazing journey through Florence. There is more holiday to come next week.
Have you been to Florence? What is your favourite part?
Portia xx