I’m just back from a week in Florence, a wonderful blur of bright sunny days, old streets, busy markets, stunning art and fabulous food. This was my first holiday in years without family, there was just Sabrina and I, on a proper grown-up holiday, and I can highly recommend her as an excellent travelling companion. We’re still friends, narry a cross word spoken, and with plans to repeat the exact same holiday in a year’s time.

The pic is of the wonderful Monna Lisa Hotel were we stayed, it’s actually taken from just outside the door of our room. And yes, it’s every bit as nice as it looks.

As you might expect, food played a major role in this excursion. I’m just left with an impression of wonderful food, from the vast buffet breakfast every morning to perfect coffees for €1 each everywhere we went.

Delicious pizza in Il Pizzaiuolo, a small restaurant run by a Neopolitan which is so (deservedly) popular that you need a reservation even on a Monday night.

Gilda’s Bistro, with its mismatched antique glasses and crockery, where the handsome and charming Umberto fed us unctuous cous cous, dotted with tiny meatballs, which he’d prepared specially for an anniversary party.

The feather light porcini soufflé produced as a foretaste of a perfect meal (in my case stuffed squid on spinach puree followed by hare rissolles and an indulgent dessert of chestnut roulade) at Cantina Barbagianni.

One morning I woke at what I thought was 7.30am and decided to go for a walk. Outside I realised it was actually 5.30am - so ended up wandering the narrow streets of a still sleeping city, having coffee with the stall holders who were just setting up in the Mercado Centrale, the Florentine version of Cork’s English Market, before sitting completely alone watching dawn begin to break over the Duomo, munching on a pre-breakfast of beautifully fresh walnuts and pistachios bought from the market.

I’m telling you, you could go alone to Florence and have the most romantic holiday of your life!

The hotel manager threw up his arms in horror when I asked for directions to the local Lidl: “You are in Firenze and you want visit Lidl?!”. Nonetheless I hopped on the number 6 bus and went. It’s much the same as Lidl here, with fewer vegetables (surprisingly), more pasta and better cheese (unsurprisingly) and all the familiar products about 15-20% cheaper accross the board.

This wine was an incredible €1.29, and others were similarly cheaper, but I suppose we can largely blame the high levels of duty here for that, rather than Lidl.

Pics from Florence later, when I get them organised.

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