Sabatino in San Frediano

This is quite a good place if you want a home made cuisine and not expensive at all.

This place is in a little corner just beside the gate of San Frediano. Prices go from € 2, 80 to € 3, 70 for a first course, for a second € 5,00, side dishes € 2,40 and coperto € 1,35. It is a quite simple cuisine. Where you can find only locals! All of us (five) had meat, T-bone steak, chicken; everything was following the classical Tuscan tradition.
It looks like to be at Grandma’s house!



As a dessert most of us had a delicious cake with grape juice, really good. Then after dinner (their kitchen closes at 10pm) we walked towards Piazza del Carmine at Dolce Vita, where we finished our evening in front of a bottle of champagne.
Trattoria Sabatino from 1956
Via Pisana 2r Firenze
tel. 055-225955
closed on Saturday and Sunday

Aperitif, restaurant, discos in Florence

I endlessly receive quite a few emails of people who ask me about places to go for aperitifs, restaurants and discos in Florence. Here below you can find a selection of places that we have recently reviewed.

Aperitif: the best aperitif of the moment is at MOBA at Terrazza Bardini but it is mandatory to reserve a spot, then Flo at Piazzale Michelangelo, great location and of course all the other places that they are known such as, Negroni, Zoe, Noir...

Dinner: typical restaurants in the centre of Florence could be i’Toscano, simple but healthy, then Marione or Trattoria dell'Orto or Osteria da Giovanni where you can taste the real T-bone steak. If you instead wish to try something different you can go to the San Niccolò area and try Zeb, Beppa Fioraia, Fuoriporta, Rifrullo or in Piazza Tasso: Tuscan food at Tranvai or Vecchia Bettola. If you are in Santa Croce area you might try the lovely Mucca sul tetto.

Discos: The famous YAB changes manager. The opening night is September 27th, ARE YOU GUILTY? The style will be twisted-sparkling house with old school and garage 90ties style (have you understood something????) Djs guests coming from the nicest clubs of the world: St Tropez, Miami, Ibiza, New York.

Sushi bar: After the summer break the famous fusion bar & restaurant at Ponte Vecchio opens with a new completely revised look and news: the sushi takeout menu.
Everyday from Monday to Friday from 11am to 3pm a selection of nigiri, rolls and sushi.
Nighiri and rolls, trays from 8, 16, 24 pieces (15-30-45 Euros)
Happy sushi menu: 64 pieces (set with 8 pieces)
Fusion starlight menu: 80 pieces (set of 8)
The Fusion bar & restaurant
Lunch at 12pm-3pm, aperitif from 7 pm until 9 pm, dinner from 7,30 pm until 11pm

A week end with... Madonna in Rome

Last week end was a very excited one: Katia and I went to Rome to see Madonna’s concert Sticky & Sweet Tour 2008. She was one of my idols when I was a teenager. This was the only chance to see her in Italy, so I took the opportunity.

So we arrived in Rome and we went to our B&B near the Termini station which not only was very close to everything but also very nice. After the check in we immediately went to Piazza di Spagna (Spanish steps) area. A walk trough Via Condotti to do window shopping and then we had a coffee at the famous Caffé Greco, luxury and historical café of Rome. Coffee was good, the waiters not at all. Quite nasty!
Then in the campo dei Fiori area we had a happy hour at a place called SABY’s: good cocktails for just € 4,00 accompanied with a dish of mixed bruschette, an aperitif snack with just four Euros, not bad!
After two mojitos we decided to go to the Stadio Olimpico. The impact with the stadium was very strong: there were already a lot of people, some of these people slept the night before with their tents outside the stadium to be able to be the first to enter and go under the massive stage.

We reached the first half of the grass: it was impossible to go any further… We sat beside a chubby girl dressed as a sadomasochist Madonna’s lookalike, she was funny, a character, then some Spanish boys, some couples, everyone was very calm.

Then punctual at 9,15 pm we started to hear the TIC TAC (4 minutes) and after along prelude, there she was. Madonna sat on a throne completely dressed in a very sexy kind of lingerie: she dances (even with Britney Spears), she sang, she played also a guitar, she dances alone and with amazing dancers. Pure energy at 50 years old! She teased the dancers; and she told something also to the Pope while introducing one of her hit of the 80ties, Like a Virgin. She sang the entire new album with a lot of old songs. At 11,15 pm she said goodbye to Rome and left the audience with pure adrenaline. After the concert we came back to our B&B exhausted but very happy to have seen an icon of nowadays.

The following day we woke up and we decided to go to Porta Portuense where there is one of the quaintest markets of Rome. The market offers everything from antiques to vintage clothing, from various knick-knacks to food. We also both something; then a quick stop in the B&B to take few photos with the owner of the B&B, Onorina and then back on the train to Florence.

the italian journey has begun

I discovered this blog thanks to the e-mail this guy sent to me (it was dealing with the change euros and dollars and ). It's funny because he speaks about Florence, my city, and Italy, through the eyes of a different culture and way of thinking.
This saturday I am leaving for New York (is there anybody who has some cool places to suggest me?) and probably I will have the same problem. Things that are normal for residents can be strange or inusual for tourists..

For example I never thought someone could be surprised by the number of the pigeons that are in the streets!!!

Music in Piazza della Passera

Music, theatre, art, photography during the September in Piazza della Passera, one of the nicest and most characteristic corners of Florence organized by the owner of the “4 Leoni “ restaurant, Stefano di Puccio.

These are the details OF THE PROGRAM:
September 8t: Gipsy Jazz with Jacopo Martini & Lollo Meier, a quartet band coming from Italy, Germany and Holland playing with 2 guitars, violin and double bass.
Tuesday, September 9th a multi-media concert with video and stories…
Alkord quintet, a band with elements who come form both classical and jazz studies, will play on September 10th with a mix of jazz and flamenco.
Thursday September 11th it’s the time of Giua directly from Sanremo, one of the most eclectic personalities of our music. She goes from Portuguese Fado to popular Italian and foreigner music.
Last day is September 12th with a show called “After the war arrived the music” project by Alessandro di Puccio and his orchestra Les Italiens, which re-discovered the ancient musical past of our Italian tradition. Boogie boogie with tarantella fusion, rumba, Mediterranean melodies and also Italian. The evening will be presented by the funny David Riondino.
In Piazza della passera there will be also a wine and food stand with a fair trade and economic solidarity. The proceeds will go to Friends of Angal. The festival is free of charge.

Rificolona and other week end events in Florence

6-13 September 2008: Videominute 2008 16th edition. This is an international video competition lasted one minute. Prato, Contemporary art museum Pecci.

September 7 th Rificolona. The parade starts at 8,50 pm in Piazza Santa Croce together with the sound street band. the parade will go along, borgo de' greci, via de' leoni, via de' gondi, viacalzaiuoli, piazza san giovanni, via dei servi until piazza ss annunziata. From 8 pm until midnight you can admire the night opening of the archeological museum and then the following day, september 8th you can go on partying at Circolo de' canottieri at the Ponte Vecchio. The feast of the rificolona is an old festivity that recently has been re-launched. Last year more than 10,000 gathered in Piazza SS Annunziata.

The same day:
in Prato there is the Historical Corteggio. V.le Marconi has already the Luna Park with 123 attractions, 28 stands full of gastronomic favours. On September 14th at 11pm grand final with fireworks.

Last but not least a friend of mine told me at in Carraia, a village near Calenzano (few km outside Florence) there is a horse fair, so if you like horses is the right place to be with races and free horseback riding. Events for kids too.

Vegetables and fruits in Piazza della Signoria

Saturday, September 6th, from 8 am until 8 pm in Piazza della Signoria the farmers will sell their products. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, jams, marmelades sold directly to customers from local tuscan farmers.

You will find 30 stands, one stand for producer, all the same, painted in cream colour. All these stands are owned by the city council of Florence and they are given to farmers each time there is the Mercatale.
Next markets will be on:
October 4th in Piazza del Carmine,
November 1st in Piazza Santa Croce and on December 6th, the last one, in Piazza del Carmine.
An opportunity to buy fresh fruits and vegetables !