Rediscovering Florence

Brunelleschi's Dome - the fourth largest in the world,
the crowning glory of Florence Cathedral

Just before Easter Kevin and I had the opportunity to revisit Florence, en route to catching up with our friend Lyndall in Chianti. It was nearly 30 years since I was last there, and even longer for Kevin.

The Arno River, looking towards the Ponte alle Grazie

Happily not that much seems to have changed, except there are probably even more tourists these days. Florence is still one of those truly special places where you pinch yourself and wonder how there can be so many beautiful buildings, bridges and piazzas in the one location.

Uffizi Tower in the Piazza della Signoria

Santa Croce (built in 1294 but the marble facade was added in 1863)
- burial place of Michelangelo, Rossini, Machiavelli and Galileo Galilei

The arch at the Piazza della Repubblica

Banksy-style take on a traditional image

The Baptistry is at the forefront of the cathedral buildings
- look at that full moon!

We stayed in a moderately priced hotel only a few minutes' stroll from the Piazza del Duomo. The Paris Hotel is housed in two prestigious renaissance palaces - Palazzo Venturi and Palazzo Mondragone - and we were charmed by its enormously wide staircases, stratospherically high ceilings and opulent soft furnishings. Then there's the breakfast room with its vaulted ceiling covered in frescoes, and the stained glass windows... not to mention the breakfast itself. It included teensy weensy little morsels of heaven called bomboloni alla crema - it was hard not to over-indulge!

Renaissance styling in the Paris Hotel, situated on the Via de' Banchi

Ornate staircase in the Paris Hotel

The view from our bedroom

The breakfast room with its beautiful frescoes on the vaulted ceiling

The terrace that links the two palaces together - Paris Hotel

Never fear, that breakfast was more than worked off by about five hours of walking as we explored Florence on a glorious Spring day. 

We took advantage of the Florence Free Tour, which genuinely is free, though of course you are asked to tip at the end if you are satisfied. It would only be the tightest Scrooge who wouldn't tip generously - the tours are fantastic and the guides incredibly knowledgeable.

After the tour we had a bite of lunch and then wandered at our leisure until Lyndall collected us in her car in late afternoon.

Facade of Florence Cathedral, with Giotto's campanile (bell tower)

The Ponte Vecchio - Florence's medieval closed-spandrel bridge,
with its many shops and restaurants

Another view of the cathedral

Florentine humour!

It's understandable why Florence is such a tourist mecca and a 'must see' on most Europea travel itineraries. To stroll through a city filled with centuries of the world's greatest architecture and design, eating incredible food and enjoying great shopping with stylish boutiques and amazing art galleries... it is hard to beat.

The world's best gelato (mine dairy-free, of course)

We now have a connection with Italy, given our friend Lyndall's house is in the heart of Tuscany. Both Florence and Pisa's airports are within 1-2 hours of Lecchi-in-Chianti where Lyndall's house is located, so I hazard a guess we'll be returning to Florence. This time we hope not to have 30 years between visits.

Until next time,

- Maree xo

Shrewsbury: A Medieval Delight

Castle Gates House - late 16th century

Last week we had to jaunt up to Shropshire for Kevin to attend an interview. It was a tiring trip in the dark on a Monday night after putting in a full day of commuting and working - close to four hours of driving. Thus we arrived without being able to see much of our surroundings until the following morning.

It's been some time since we've stayed in a 'traditional' B&B and it was clean and comfortable with a wonderful host, but very dated and cramped and not exactly cheap. It reminded me of my first trip to Britain in the 80s. Thank goodness there are choices these days.

The English Bridge, over the River Severn
- one of nine bridges that cross the river in the town

Decoration on The English Bridge 

St Chad's Church and entry gates to The Quarry

Quarry gates detail

While Kevin was put through his paces over four hours I was at leisure to explore Shrewsbury.  What a nice town.

It's completely encircled by the River Severn and its most famous son was Charles Darwin.

In addition to a vast number of impressive churches, there's a castle and a very nice green space in the form of The Quarry park and The Dingle.

The Quarry

Crocuses announcing the arrival of Spring

Bronze statue of St Michael, The Quarry

And then of course there is the Tudor architecture. Lorks a-lordy!

None of your mock Tudor rubbish - these are the real thing, with a number of buildings dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries. There are well over 600 listed properties in this town that has somehow retained pretty much its original medieval street plan.

Cobbled streets, timbered buildings and narrow lanes abound.

Golden Cross Passage

The Old Market Hall, The Square

St Mary's Church

The Jesse Window (1345), which was moved to St Mary's Church in 1792

Strangely most of the old churches now have commercial cafés housed inside them. I suppose with dwindling congregations you have to be creative in earning the funds to maintain and restore.

I chose to lunch at The Golden Cross, and was initially attracted by its gorgeous exterior. On closer inspection I discovered it was even more lovely inside. What's more it had no fewer than five vegetarian dishes on the menu!

The Golden Cross - a gorgeous lunch venue!

What an absolute find! I had one of the tastiest meals I've ever eaten in the UK, and the soft lighting, tinkling music and excellent service made the whole experience a real pleasure. 

Shrewsbury is not just about Tudor architecture - there are also some very fine
Georgian and Victorian buildings

Laura's Tower, Shrewsbury Castle

I spent more than four hours wandering around Shrewsbury and barely scratched the surface for interesting things to do and see. It's a town fairly unique not only for its architecture but also the fact that most of its shops are independent, rather than the monotonous string of chain retailers that you find everywhere else in the UK. Such a pleasurable change.

There are lots of good pubs and restaurants, and a market hall housing a charmingly old-fashioned array of fresh produce stalls as well as hand-made goods and pop-up cafés. 

Shrewsbury Cathedral (Roman Catholic)

View from Laura's Tower - eastwards

The thing that struck me most soundly however was how friendly everybody was. Shrewsbury is full of very pleasant people.

Sadly we won't be moving to Shrewsbury but I enjoyed exploring this lovely town.

Until next time,
- Maree  xo

Weekend in Notting Hill

Last weekend Kevin was attending a Canberra Grammar School alumni event near Kensington Palace so we decided to spend the weekend in London, specifically Notting Hill.

Our home for the weekend

We chose to stay in an Air BnB property - a nice little basement flat right opposite one of the area's landmark pubs, the Sun In Splendour. It was a two-minute walk to Notting Hill Gate tube station and about the same distance to the famous Portobello Road markets.

A constant stream of tourists on their way to the Portobello Road markets

Being such a popular stop on the tourist route it must be very tedious to live here, particularly in high season, and I was reminded of my life in the Sydney beachside suburb of Manly and its surrounds for a number of years. Finding a parking space on a weekend, and even trips to the supermarket, were feats of endurance. I don't envy the residents of the immediate area at all. 

Yes, folks - for the paltry sum of £11.5 million, you too could be living the Notting Hill dream...
I was in fits of laughter at the absurd prices in the local realtors' windows

As entertaining as the markets are, I enjoyed just as much strolling around the streets admiring the houses - rows of cute little terraces painted in cheery colours, sometimes just the front door but often the whole building, and the grander, more elegant large houses on quieter, wider streets. 

I marvel at the wealth in this city, yet my socialist bones are appalled by it.

The markets on Saturday have an antiques focus, but there are lots of other interesting wares and the streets are lined with boutiques, cafés and restaurants.

Ooh-ahh, how I love a good interiors boutique and Notting Hill does not disappoint on this score. Many of the stores here I've read about in interior design magazines for years - it was a treat to be able to browse their gorgeous wares, and I have to say their reputations are deserved.

And what would a weekend away be without sampling the local cuisine?

We scored a free breakfast at The Electric Cafe due to some terrible cock-ups with orders, so we won't complain too loudly. The Full Vegetarian (which is how I could be described after I managed to eat about two-thirds of it) was pretty good but then again we had waited more than 30 minutes for it. Still, their bathrooms were super gorgeous with subway tiles and vintage sanitary ware, and I was wishing I'd taken my camera in with me!

The retro diner feel of The Electric Café

How many hipsters does it take to cook a breakfast?
We had a ringside seat while we waited... and waited... and waited for our meals

On Sunday we decided to risk the 'no bookings' policy at famous Aussie chef Bill Granger's establishment. We queued for 30 minutes before eventually gaining entrance and although there were some positives we wouldn't bother again. How does such a highly-ranked eatery manage to serve food that is stone cold? It was a treat to be able to order a 'Long Black' though, and the dishes on offer reminded us of the fresh, Asian/western fusion food of home. We do tire of being offered the same dishes everywhere we go in the UK. The English 'like to know where they are' and enjoy familiarity in food.

Queuing to gain entrance at Granger & Co

Good friend Lesley in Canberra, by chance, had forwarded me an email earlier in the week about an exhibition at Sotheby's - how fortuitous! It was in relation to the upcoming auction of some of the possessions of Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire - she of the glorious Chatsworth.

How gorgeous is the promotional window for the Duchess of Devonshire exhibition at Sotheby's?

I've always had quite an interest in the Mitford Sisters, such a fascinating and famous - and infamous, in the case of Diana and Unity - family. Deborah of course was the most socially successful, becoming mistress of one of England's most renowned stately homes. But I reserve a real sense of affection for Nancy because of her very witty and engaging novels. They bring to life another age, another world with its firmly established class structure. 

1 Old Vicarage by Catriona Hall

Were were tempted to bid on some of the pictures for auction but are glad we didn't - the lovely naive piece above was estimated to fetch £600-800 but actually went for £2,750. Still, it would have been nice to be able to say, when visitors admired it, 'Oh, this little thing! Yes, we picked this up at the Duchess of Devonshire's estate auction at Sotheby's...'

A display of some of the Duchess' gowns and other outfits

From Sotheby's we strolled through Mayfair, along Bond Streets (New and Old) with their ultra-glam boutiques where only the obscenely wealthy or the incredibly bold dare venture. 

Entry to Standbrook House, Old Bond Street

At length we reached Piccadilly with the intention of visiting the Royal Academy of Arts, but it was getting on for 3pm, we had to be back in Notting Hill within a couple of hours, we hadn't eaten lunch and we were a bit footsore by this stage. So we made do with an amble through Fortnum and Mason and the Burlington Arcade, followed by a light lunch at Cafe Concerto.

I found it impossible to pass by that bastion of Parisian confectionary, Ladurée, without making a purchase. Such a tiny establishment, but with the most appealing window display that all but picks you up forcibly and drags you inside.

A rainbow of macarons, luring the weak-willed inside

Mmmm... Kevin and the anticipation of our little morsels of Paris -
the Ispahan and the Chocolate Carre

We spent our queuing time trying to decide which delectable morsels to purchase. Although I'm partial to a macaron and Ladurée's are widely acknowledged as some of the best, we ended up choosing a couple of their more elaborate offerings. I feel we were quite restrained in our selection (see above) and Kevin was under strict instruction to protect our package on the tube journey back to our lodgings.

Well worth the wait - they were sublime!

All in all, a very enjoyable weekend. It was nice to make the most of being in London, instead of just suffering the drudgery of commuting in to work and back Monday to Friday.

Must do it again soon.


Until next time,
- Maree  xo