Did I mention I went to Italy for a textile tour? I've been back a couple of weeks now, working through the photos and trying to digest everything I did and saw. The next few blog posts will be about the trip, but I broke it into a few pieces for readability. Photos of my time in Florence prior to the tour are here; most of them have identifying text in the Info section of the photo.
I'd booked myself into the Handwoven Textile Tour with the Tour Studio; I'd tried to join them last year but it was cancelled when the other participants backed out. That ended up being ideal for me, since I'd spent so much time in Japan last year. It was the first time they'd run the tour, so there were no reviews, so I wondered how it would go... It's Italy, right? It would have to be good?
I flew into Florence a couple of days prior to the tour start to get some of the jet lag out of my system before meeting up with our guides, Sarah and Simon, and the four others on the tours. For the first two nights, I stayed at the Hotel San Firenze on the Piazza di San Firenze; it's in a great location, with lovely quiet rooms, and a great breakfast. During the first couple of days, I saw the outside of the Duomo (line to get inside was hours long), the Ponte Vecchio and other points of interest around the old part of the city. I had tickets for the Uffizi Gallery (pro tip, get your tickets online ahead of time!), which was amazing, and did Elyse Weiner's IJourney Florence audio walking tour. This tower was on Elyse's tour... it's one of the older buildings in the area, and sits on top of some Roman ruins... And it's right across the street from a charming little store that sells some amazing trims!
Note that there's a lot of must-see places in Florence that I didn't see. The reason is that DH and I plan on spending a couple of weeks in Italy for our 25th anniversary next year, so I was saving a couple of special places to see for the first time with him.
I'd been in touch with the rest of my tour mates prior to the tour; they all belong to the same weaving guild in Rochester, New York. These ladies are amazing weavers, and were a pleasure to tour with and I wish they lived closer! Two of them, Gretchen and Eileen, were already in Florence the night before the tour, and were kind enough to include me in their dinner plans at Il Santo Bevitore, saving me from eating alone again at a sidewalk cafe. Great choice! Turns out Eileen is a foodie. After dinner, I walked back to my hotel across the Arno, watching lightening striking in Florence's dramatic skies, the Ponte Vecchio in the distance...
Eileen and I met the following day and toured the Florence museum of Anthropology. They have a lovely international collection, but few local artifacts. We checked out Casa dei Tessuti, an amazing fabric store, then had gelato at an amazing place that I was unable to find later... and returned to our tour hotel, Palazzo Guadagni. That night we hooked up as a group and started the tour...
I'd booked myself into the Handwoven Textile Tour with the Tour Studio; I'd tried to join them last year but it was cancelled when the other participants backed out. That ended up being ideal for me, since I'd spent so much time in Japan last year. It was the first time they'd run the tour, so there were no reviews, so I wondered how it would go... It's Italy, right? It would have to be good?
It was extraordinary.
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| Torre della Pagliazza at the Piazza Santa Elisabetta; 6th or 7th century tower now part of the Hotel Brunelleschi. |
Note that there's a lot of must-see places in Florence that I didn't see. The reason is that DH and I plan on spending a couple of weeks in Italy for our 25th anniversary next year, so I was saving a couple of special places to see for the first time with him.
I'd been in touch with the rest of my tour mates prior to the tour; they all belong to the same weaving guild in Rochester, New York. These ladies are amazing weavers, and were a pleasure to tour with and I wish they lived closer! Two of them, Gretchen and Eileen, were already in Florence the night before the tour, and were kind enough to include me in their dinner plans at Il Santo Bevitore, saving me from eating alone again at a sidewalk cafe. Great choice! Turns out Eileen is a foodie. After dinner, I walked back to my hotel across the Arno, watching lightening striking in Florence's dramatic skies, the Ponte Vecchio in the distance...
Eileen and I met the following day and toured the Florence museum of Anthropology. They have a lovely international collection, but few local artifacts. We checked out Casa dei Tessuti, an amazing fabric store, then had gelato at an amazing place that I was unable to find later... and returned to our tour hotel, Palazzo Guadagni. That night we hooked up as a group and started the tour...
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| View from the Ponte Vecchio |
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