Festival of creativity – Anticipation

In two weeks Florence will host the event of the year, “the Creativity Festival”. The dates are from October 23rd to October 26th. Even if the event is close, we don’t know anything about the project rather than the themes and some slogans (vision, journeys and discoveries).

I received, however, a press release from a network composed by artists, designers and creative people who propose performance with an environment subject.

Whaleless.
Do it yourself: a funny and entertainment not only for adults but for children too. They will distribute one hundreds of whales in a A4 paper format where everyone can color giving the impression of a real school of whales, all done in hemp paper from an Italian factory, ECOLABEL http://whaleless.blogspot.com

Less clear is BREATHE
Breathe is and object that transports oxygen and it is a portable respirator connected to a glass sphere containing water and water plants; inside they developed the chlorophyll photosynthesis. http://artforartshake.com

I am a little bit skeptics on this: iFshines
This is an interactive installation done with water, sounds and lights. A map face done with micro cells of water crossed with lights and sounds that comes from a tube where people can blow in it making the installation moved, than an off screen voice pronounces these words: WHAT IF WATER IS ME, IF YOU ARE WATER WHAT AM I. It is a little bit complicated maybe once seen becomes more understandable.

A nice thing to see and easier to understand is the little plants inside some unusual places such as: plastic bags, a trumpet case, a magician hat all by Leone Cantini.

The entrance is free. Fortezza da basso from October 23-26
Thursday, from 3pm to 3am.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
from 10 am to 3am

Wine and food tasting in a tuscan restaurant

Every wednesday there's a wine or food tasting dinner at the tuscan restaurant Rifrullo.

Next wednesday, the 15th of October, there will be a special dinner with tuscan wine tasting.

Wednesday, 15ht October, at 8,30 pm at tuscan restaurant Rifrullo there will be a special dinner for appreciating wine tasting.

Wine tasting with the winery “CESANI” : with our sommelier you will discover some of the best tuscan wines.

- VERNACCIA S. GIMIGNANO 2007
- VERNACCIA S. GIMIGNANO “SANICE” 2007
- LUENZO 2006 – SANGIOVESE E COLORINO

MENU' of the dinner

APPETIZERS: Assorted croutons
FIRST COURSE: Courgette and saffron lasagne

SECOND COURSE: Thin-sliced beef “straccetti” with green pepper sauce
Roast potatoes and grilled vegetables

DESSERT: Coffee bavarese

26,00 € / person
Price includes food, wine, dessert, coffe, service. Everything!
make your reservation at info@ilrifrullo.com

Mediterranean massage at Urban Spa in Florence

Following a very stressful moment, I decided to try for a relaxing massage at Fonbliu’.

This urban spa is in Porta Romana, one of the nicest areas of Florence surrounded by the gentle hills of Florence. This small urban spa is one of the gifts that Florence, sometimes, offers to its inhabitants.
The environment is a very calm, clean, essential one. The girls who work there are extremely kind and they have a sort of relaxing attitude: “good for them”, I thought!
Once you enter they offer you a soft and perfumed white bath robe with a pair of flip flop: you enter in the cloakroom and then you exit beside the swimming pool forgetting about the chaos and the traffic just a few steps away from you.
I chose a massage called: Light of Morocco, a relaxing massage that helps untied tension not only physical but also emotional ones. This massage evokes the manual gestures done in the hammam and more than using argan oil (antioxidant) enriched with a patchouli fragrance, the girl used a mhakka: a little terracotta disc that activate circulation and it works as a peeling as well.

Now, I don’t know if she was good, if I needed to relax, if it was the terracotta disc, but I felt particular sensations: I was in peace with the whole world! My legs, my entire body was in complete relax when I left the spa and next time I think I will try the so called Nausica treatments, a special soft bed where you will be surrounded by steam, vaporized water, essentials oils, and at the end they offer you a massage as well…to try!
Last two things to say: men are going to have massage as well as women (I asked it for curiosity) and if you are lodged at Villa la Vedetta a splendid 5 stars hotel at Piazzale Michelangelo, they have a shuttle bus for the spa.

Fonbliù, Urban spa Piazzale di Porta Romana 10r
Tel. +39 055 23 35 385
Email: info@fonbliu.com
www.fonbliu.com

Florence Italy events october 2008

Santa Croce international market has finished... but don't worry! the little woody stand will come back at the end of November for the Xmas Market (the Heidelberg Christmas Market is one of the events in Florence for Noel). In the meanwhile what's going on in Florence?

We all are waiting for the 23/26 of October, for the big Festival of Creativity. 4 days of events, exhibitions, workshop, performances. (Free entrance). At Fortezza da Basso.

On this thursday (9, october) Rock Contest competition will start again at OMI. Discover new tuscan bands like Clevergroup , tenthousandnames or Neuromantik.. OMI music club Via Tevere 100, Sesto Fiorentino (Fi) 055308462

“Musica dei Popoli” at Flog Auditorium (via Michele Mercati, 24/b) 8 live concerts with 8 female singers. On saturday, the 11th, ANA MOURA from Portugal. More info here>>

Urban Spa in Florence

I have just received this press release:

Wellness leading company Gts gets to Florence at the renewed premises of prestigious Urban Spa Fonbliù.
GTS Group has been leading the Italian professional beauty and wellness industry for over 30 years, with more than 4,500 customers. GTS now gets to Tuscany at the renewed premised of Fonbliù, the only Urban SPA in Florence now improving its facilities through a further partnership with Villa La Vedetta, a 5-starred Relais&Chateuax already operating as a Urban Resort which attention and extreme customer care match perfectly with the SPA objectives.
FisioSphere treatment offer is constituted by genuine beauty and wellness treatment able to fulfil one’s senses and feelings in order to take care of oneself in a customised, global way achieving both effective results and unique pleasure moments experiencing a new sensory world.
Fonbliù improve their offer through a partnership with this Relais, the first Urban Resort in Florence, which main feature is represented by a quiet, sought-after ambience that makes a perfect match with Fonbliù concept in searching care for oneself, beauty and harmony.

I will go soon to this urban spa, to try some of their gorgeous massages...

100 little paper boats on the Arno river

A very particular event takes place in Florence tomorrow, Thursday, October 2nd at 5.00pm.

The artist Nicoletta Boris‘s one hundreds little paper boats will float on the Arno river between Ponte Vecchio and Ponte alla Carraia.
The Florentine performer will free the boats, one meter long and she will let them go along the river flow. The shape of the boats is very simple as she used the technique of the traditional folding of the paper. Then as soon as they arrive at Ponte alla Carraia they will be taken, let them dry and displayed for a charity auction.
The used paper is 100% biodegradable and plasticised with corn starch (mater-Bi). This material is given by the sponsor of the show, the Italian consortium for the recycling of paper and paper boxes.

What's on this weekend and the next...

Here some events of Tuscany on the weekends of October

10th edition of Boccaccesca: Certaldo food and craft festival, with lots of stalls and restaurants. Tasting and cooking lessons held by famous chefs, taste itineraries set up in the courtyards, gardens and streets of the old village.

Markets in Florence:

Farmers' market in Piazza del Carmine (4, october)

Pottery fair in Piazza Santissima Annunziata (4.5 October)

Crafts and flea market in Piazza Santo Spirito (12, october)

International market in Santa Croce (2 - 5, october)

Antiques fair: in the gardens around Fortezza da Basso, viale Strozzi (18, 19 october)

Chestnut Festival in several cities of Mugello: in Marradi (5,12,19,26 October), in Vicchio (12,19 October), in Lucolena near Greve in Chianti (19, october) in Vinci (26 October).

"Schiacciata con l'uva" festival. The schiacciata con l'uva is a typical tuscan cake made with bread and grapefruit.

Discover the Valdorcia and Siena province by using ancient locomotives and steam trains: get off at romantique stations, follow paths that lead to churches villages and castles, to taste local food and wines in typical farms. (5, 12, 19, 26 October). Leaving from Siena main station at 9.45/10.10 am and come back at 6.05 pm.