Solo Traveller Adventures: My Return to Florence, Italy

I have told friends that so far, Italy is my geographical and spiritual soulmate. Of course, if I continue to be blessed enough to travel to more new places, this may change but what will not change is how connected I always feel when I am in Italy. And moreso, in Florence.

I first visited Firenze back in 2010. I had a lot on my mind at the time. Funnily enough, I also pondered whether I wanted to take a vacation this year, but again, I went with God and jumped on the plane and I thought, one of the most relaxing and wonderful trips ever was my trip to Florence and so I added it to the itinerary and in fact, it was the primary destination as I stayed here the longest.

Someone asked me why I love Florence so much. It’s hard to put into words why you may love a place as much as you do.

If I had to liken it to a boyfriend or lover, I guess one could say I love Florence for its -

Warmth – My first visit to Florence was my first visit to Italy, and the city set me up for the fall I later had in Rome. The friendliness and warmth generally from the people I met along the way made me feel at home and ever so comfortable. Rome was the complete opposite as you know – cold, bordering on hateful (#travellingwhileblack). Before I left, I told one of my Italian friends that I hoped Florence had not changed, or that the love I felt five years before was not a one-off. But like an old friend, Florence welcomed me back with open arms.

Smells and Tastes – Robin Leach said ‘In Italy, they add work and life on to food and wine’. Florence, to me, is synonymous with great food. Add amazing Chianti wines and you are never short of gastronomical pleasure. The food was the main highlight of the trip!

The best ossobuco ever 

I took a lunch break in Fiesole and decided it was the perfect time for pizza

Chianti! Chianti!

Beauty – Florence and the rest of Tuscany are like a living postcard. One sight that always captivates me, no matter how many times I see it, is the magnificent dome of the Duomo rising into the clouds, looking down on the city. You have to see it to understand how jaw dropping it really is. I think what I also love about Florence is that it is a city that does not have that stifling city feel, like Paris or Rome. Add to the fact that it is in Tuscany, and you are a heartbeat away from rolling green hills, vineyards, fresh country air and a much simpler life, and Florence is really pretty damn perfect.

The moment the Duomo starts peeping above the city is my fave sight
while walking through the streets of Florence

View from Fiesole

The romance of Florence - sunset over the River Arno

Next I will tell you about the best experience I had in Florence this time around and of course, it involved food.

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It's Wine O'Clock - Trip to Swiss Wine Country

After a great night out with adventures into Swiss fondue, we prepared ourselves for the next mission - to visit Lavaux - a region in the canton of Vaud, or as I like to call it, part of Swiss wine country. I was very excited for this and the weather seemed to cooperate ever so slightly as the rains abated, though the sun never really quite joined the party.

Lavaux is beautiful, framed by the gorgeous waters of the lake and with the Swiss alps nestled neatly in the background, though on this day we could barely see the peaks behind the grey of the now non-threatening clouds.

Beautiful views from the top of the vineyards

The wine villages below us 

We took the wine trail through the vineyards to the lovely town of St Saphorin, where we stopped for a bite and of course, had some wine. The trail itself takes you through the terraced vineyards which stretch for miles (and miles!), with the Chasselas grape being master (or mistress) of the vineyards.

Our lunch break was at a small, unpretentious village pub-like establishment (you know how I "love" pub-like establishments), but this was Switzerland and the dish of the day, comprised of perfectly cooked lamb, spinach and roast potatoes was fantastic.

Assiette du Jour!

With our bellies full, we took a less scenic stroll to the town of Rivas, the central town of the region and the location of the Lavaux Vinorama, where we would sample some of the best wines the region had to offer. Exciting!

After a short film about the life of the wine grower or le vigneron (during which time I unashamedly stole a few winks), we were led back upstairs to the main event - the tasting. We were actually supposed to taste 3 wines, but our dedicated host was a real gem, and between us girls, we managed to taste quite a few reds and whites - each exquisite (though there was one red which really did not make love to my palate at all!). Paired with bread and sticks of puff pastry, our afternoon wine tasting was decadent and is a must for anyone visiting this beautiful area of Lausanne.

Wines everywhere, at every turn...

Lovely whites from the Lavaux region in Switzerland

Our reds -all for us!

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All Italian Fine Wine and Foods - All Italian, All Good

While I did go to Italy earlier this year, I did not need to fight up with getting a visa, nor did I need to get on a plane to experience a little taste of Italy earlier this week. Instead, through the graciousness of our hostesses, TriniChow and Learning Patience, I took a second trip to Italy with just a quick drive around the corner to All Italian Fine Wine and Foods, for a wonderful evening with some amazing local bloggers at a T&T Bloggers' Lime.

Nestled neatly on Rust Street, Port of Spain, just next to Paprika, All Italian is run by the warm and accomodating Francesca and Ossie and is a wine lover's paradise, with a wonderful assortment of Italian wines. But while it may indeed seem that way, man (and woman) cannot live on wine alone and this gourmet shop also offers an assortment of cheeses, pastas, sauces, coffee (hubba hubba) olive oil and treats. A visit to this cute little shop is just what Santa recommends for the holiday season, especially if one has friends who are foodies. If you have a taste for a specific type of wine, Francesca and Ossie are well placed to recommend some amazing choices for you - the assortment is vast and you have your pick of your whites, reds and Prosecco. You have your picks of just about everything actually - everything needed to create an evening indoors for yourself and friends, or to make a friend or relative very very happy.

It was a great combo of great wine, great bites, and great convo with some awesome bloggers.

All Italian Fine Wine and Foods is located at 15A Rust Street, Port of Spain. Tel: 683-4162.

Biscotti!  Biscotti!

Wonderful assortment of pastas

Pasta pasta pasta at All Italian Fine Wine and Foods, 15 Rust Street, Port of Spain

Wines and the perfect bits and bites

Prosecco at All Italian Fine Wine and Foods

I do accept gifts. December is birthday and Christmas month.  Lovely gift idea!
Wine, coffee, sauces, pasta. This is amazing!

A delectable assortment of desserts available at All Italian Fine Wine and Foods

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Post-Wine Sale Dinner at Shesha Cafe and Lounge

With everything that has gone on this past week, not to mention the South-bound traffic being worse than usual,  it was a perfect Friday evening for some dinner and girl time, and Shesha Cafe and Lounge was picked to be the place for all this bonding and eating. I am glad we decided in the end to move outside despite the hookah love on the terrace, since it was a nice evening and well, we were a noisy bunch. But what else is new?

While I had been there for lunch, with a fantastic hummus victory being achieved then, I had not patronised the cafe at dinner time.

I am always impressed by the high standard of the customer service here, and special thanks to Duncan and Crystal for being such gems and for being completely outstanding. Of course, we were also well fed. What I did not see on the menu first time around was the meats section, quite possibly cause I was not eating meat that week and simply did not see it (possible, but not likely), but of course when I saw the magic words "pork loin", well, you know what came next. Really nicely cooked in I think a red wine sauce, and topped with grilled pineapple.

I was so hungry and this Pork Loin at Shesha Cafe and Lounge did the job and then some

My friend had the rack of lamb, and together we shared a side of the patatas bravas, which were very more-ish. Too more-ish because we almost did order more.

My friend was really impressed with the Rack of Lamb at Shesha Cafe and Lounge

May I also make yet another plug for their cream of pumpkin soup which is just amazing and which I took to go for Saturday lunchie time. I can be convinced to do anything when really good pumpkin soup is on offer.

I looked at their cocktail list longingly, but in the end, I had a glass of non-alcoholic wine with my meal as I am still on medication. However, there was nothing that prevented me from buying real wine, which is what I did pre-Shesha. Oh lucky me that Vintage Imports is just across the road and that their awesome annual sale was on. I did not even realise that their South branch had closed until I saw the sale ad and saw there was no South branch. Oh, my South people have let me down yet again. Anyway, it was a good afternoon for wine shopping and I got the last bottle of my favourite poison on the shelf at the time. Small yaay. And again, perfect perfect customer service and drinkie vibes. I am a happier woman this morning.

Note to self: park car on wine store's premises instead of across the street so you can buy more wine without worrying about the weight of wine purchases and breaking your precious cargo en route through the rain.

Love all the pretty colours. Thank you Vintage Imports for being awesome!

This is just one of my faves. Not sharing this!

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Naughty, Naughty Friday night

Wine and cheese at The Naughty List
Photo credit: Lime.tt

We headed to The Naughty List last Friday – a wine and cheese after-work event. This was to precede our attendance at the Friday night premiere of the locally produced version of “Les Miserables”. Bad idea.


Well, bad in the sense that both the wine event and the musical were excellent individually. But put together, not the best outcome. Lol.

Besides the excellent girlfriend vibe and company, the selection of wines at The Naughty List was exceptional. One had a choice of one of three wines in the reds, whites and blush wines, so you would have had three glasses of wine, or more if a friend did not want to use all their wine chits.

I confess that wine is my Kryptonite. While not an alcoholic – my consumption of alcohol is limited to the occasional happy hour, or wine with dinner – I do have a high enough tolerance for spirits. I can have quite a few cocktails and be completely a-okay. Wine however, while not debilitating, makes me rather sleepy, particularly red wine. I don’t have to tell you what went on when we got to the theatre. Lol.

What I will say is that in-between winks, the talent of the students starring in this musical was exceptional. I was particularly impressed with the young man cast as Javert, and the young lady cast as Fantine. Unfortunately, the combination of the wine and a long work week got the better of us and we did not stay til the end, but a job well done to the producers and young actors. I am again impressed with the quality of our musical productions in this country. Great talent abounds.

I would also like to say I wish there were more of the recommended cheeses for a more exciting wine and cheese pairing exercise. Not sure if people ran off with trays of the camembert for example, but I would have liked to have had more than 1-2 cheeses for my wine. Maybe that would have helped. Lol. Maybe I am just greedy like that.

We however did end up in Haagen Dazs, in search of more caffeinated beverages, where coffee was ordered, a pick me up having becoming necessary.

Still did not stop us from enjoying champagne the following evening. The grape is a brilliant fruit and should be enjoyed with friends.

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