Skye being a very patient girl whilst we enjoy watching the sun set.
Monday, March 16, 2026
Sunday, March 15, 2026
Florentine Steak, Lasagne & Pear Ravioli
We’ve been having some AMAZING food in Florence. Here are some highlights for this week.
There is an Osteria about 100m from where we are staying that has the most amazing pasta, but we chose one night to have a Florentine Steak - it was easily the best steak we have ever had! La Pentolla dell’Oro https://lapentoladelloro.com/
Our lovely friend Donna told us about the pear ravioli in Florence 2 years ago & I’ve been searching for it on this trip & our last trip, & I finally found it! It is a pear and pecorino ravioli with a butter and sage sauce, and it was delicious! Steve had the Lasagne and it was also delicious (& recommended by Rick Steves). As a bonus they didn’t judge us for having an early dinner.
The Uffizi
We got up early and were at the Uffizi when it opened at 8.15, so that we could go in without the crowds. It was a beautiful gallery & the staff were all super friendly and helpful. The main lift was being renovated, which meant going into another building to access the museum (after buying our tickets and going through security), but it was worth it to see so much amazing art.
Selfie time! Because of where the Uffizi is located, it gives great views of Florence.
The view from the 2nd floor of the Uffizi towards the Ponte Vecchio
We were there so early, at times we had the place to ourselves. It was wonderful.
We were able to stop half way through and have a snack at the cafe on the top floor of the Uffizi (the cafe staff had very kindly helped us work out how to use the unusual elevator/stair climber to enable us to start our tour at the beginning).
Judith Beheading Holofernes by the remarkable artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Artemesia may have had some built up anger - the face of Holofernes is said to be that of her abuser, who had avoided justice several years previously. We don’t remember his name, but his face is recorded in her paintings.
There are good views out every window of the Uffizi.
The terrace of the cafe
Academia Gallery & Sketching David
We went to the Academia Gallery to see the statue of David by Michelangelgo
I was able to sit and sketch for a while, which was a lot of fun! I sat in almost this same spot a few years ago and sketched the same hand.
I’m pleased to see that this quick sketch shows I’m improving, which makes me super happy.
We went at the end of the day, and there was almost no one in the hall with David. When we first arrived this whole area was so packed with people I couldn’t even see the bottom of the statue - but we spent about 30mins in this spot and really enjoyed just soaking David in, without all the crowd of people.
Lego & Gelato!
Whilst I am going to be painting, Stephen is going to be putting together Lego sets and planning his next MOC (his own lego creation)
Firenze Lego Store
The Venchi chocolate and gelato store is next to the Lego store, which is a wonderful combination ❤
First Art Class in Florence (Watercolour)
I was lucky enough to have a one-on-one watercolour lesson with Irish born Florence resident artist Tom Byrne. I learnt a lot but was struggling towards the end. He was a fantastic teacher, I was just really tired.
The workshop was organised by The Florence Studio, who I will be doing my oil painting lessons with from next week. https://theflorencestudio.com/landscape-classes
Monday, March 9, 2026
International Women’s Day - Italian Style
It is International Women’s Day today & they are celebrating BIG in Florence. All museums are free for any woman to enter & all over the city women are being given bunches of Wattle (they call it Mimosa here), to show the beauty and strength of women.
We stumbled upon a pop-up bakery (The Mimosa Bakery), who had devine cookies. There were a bunch of women at the pop-up, celebrating Women’s Day & I mentioned to them this was very different to Women’s Day in Australia. All my experience of Women’s Day in Australia has been either at work (mainly in the ADF, but also attending some corporate Women’s Day breakfasts) or through Girl Guides, and that the women had to organise the celebrations themselves. The celebrations here seem much less corporate & much more authentic in their celebration of women (just my opinion). It was a lovely joyous celebration & we were grateful to join in.
We took a photo of Paddington with the cookies for Alice.
Back in the apartment the cookies we got to taste our cookies and they were delicious. The Mimosa Bakery is definitely worth exploring if you are in Florence when they are doing a pop-up store https://www.mimosabakeryflorence.com/
My Wattle (out of the plastic, it smells amazing - just like home)
At the Markets yesterday, every stall was decorated with Wattle!
Osteria del Porcellino
We went back to the Osteria del Porcellino for lunch & loved it, like we did 2 years ago. They didn’t remember us, but they did remember Skye ❤
Wild Boar Ragu
Catching a glimpse of the Duomo on our afternoon stroll
Enjoying the sun, The Arno & the Ponte Vecchio ❤
A splurge in Rome
This is from a few days ago, but I didn’t get the chance to put up the photos. We splurged on a suite at the Sofitel Roma Villa Borghese, using ALL our Qantas frequent flyer points from the last few years. It was wonderful to have a soft bed (all the beds on our holiday so far have been very firm) & a deep soaking tub. This gave us a great chance to relax and recharge before moving to Florence.
We had a very small balcony that overlooked the Villa Borghese Gardens.
The staircase in the hotel was beautiful.
It was such a fancy hottel, the remote control for the TV came in a leather box!
They spoiled Skye with treats, which was a really lovely touch.
A big soft bed was very welcome.
We took full advantage of the Villa Borghese Gardens for Skye. Whilst we were at the hotel we had delivered a “rollator” to give my neck a rest from the cobblestones and horrendous pavements in Italy. I’ve named it my chariot, because we bought it in Rome.
The rooftop restaurant & bar had an amazing view over Rome.
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