Blog

Eating on the Amalfi Coast... and other travel tips

by Joyce Acciaioli Rudge

Eating on the Amalfi Coast... and other travel tips

I have somehow become the unofficial travel agent for my family, friends (and friends of friends).  Especially when it comes to Italy, where I spe...

Baptistry in Florence

by Joyce Rudge

Baptistry in Florence

Early morning walk past the amazing Baptistry #splendidflorence

Matera.....a medieval city

by Joyce Acciaioli Rudge

Matera.....a medieval city

Splendid Matera.....there is no place like it on earth.  Ancient cave dwellings from the Paleolithic era and "more modern" cave dwellings that wer...

SOF Candles added to the "Passeggiata" collection

by Cindy Barclay

SOF Candles added to the "Passeggiata" collection

We now offer candles in our passeggiata collection, available in white or black.

Now this is the kind of "heavy metal" I appreciate!!

by Joyce Rudge

Now this is the kind of "heavy metal" I appreciate!!

I come to Florence every year in search of magic. There is so much of it in every direction I look— the centuries of art, the creations of the ...

Dinosaurs are alive and well...and living in Florence.

by Joyce Rudge

Dinosaurs are alive and well...and living in Florence.

People come from all over Europe to buy carved trees from this garden center just outside Florence, the Renaissance city!

Mayor says no to McDonalds in piazza Duomo

by Joyce Rudge

Mayor says no to McDonalds in piazza Duomo

News recently broke about the potential opening of a McDonald’s in piazza del Duomo, in the building currently occupied by Universo Sport. McD...

Top Five Street Foods of Florence, Italy.

by Joyce Rudge

Top Five Street Foods of Florence, Italy.

Florence is world renowned for having the finest restaurants offering a delectable Italian cuisines prepared according to recipes perfected over th...

Inside the Innocenti Museum

by Joyce Rudge

Inside the Innocenti Museum

The new Museo degli Innocenti, or Innocenti Museum, will open to the public on June 24, 2016. We got a sneak preview of the inside before the dis...

Can you guess what these are?

by Joyce Rudge

Can you guess what these are?

They were used for securing horses.......note how much higher the street was in Florence in the 15th Century!! White outline has been added to...

Why Hitler refused to bomb this bridge...

by Joyce Rudge

Why Hitler refused to bomb this bridge...

During WW2 the City of Florence suffered a lot of damage and all of her historic bridges were destroyed......all except one.  The Ponte Vecchio -...

My Florence: Early Morning Stroll

by Joyce Rudge

My Florence: Early Morning Stroll

My Florence by Florentine Ann Antonini… These are two entrances to private gardens in via dei serragli that I pass in the morning. The giardin...