Florence Shop List. - Page 3

Whether the watches are your taste or not, a visit to the original Officine Panerai store is a great use of 15-20 minutes and not out of the way by any mean - the upstairs is a mini-museum of the history of the brand with a bunch of 1930-1940's watches to illustrate the story. The shop people are exceptionally nice.

I'll third the recommendation for La Giostra.

If you are there in the fall, order the pici.

One of the most memorable meals I ever had was at a friends winery in Greve. The cook made fresh pici, a local pasta. The seasonal dish was made with wild boar and fresh porcini's in a tomato-like ragu. Get a great bottle of brunello (bad idea in Greve) and life is good.

my mistake.....it is Porta Rossa

I transcribed it wrong from the business card

the website has the right address

Sartoria Seminara
10, Via Calzaiuoli

I am there for the annual Paneristi GTG, which is called P-Day. Its not officially sponsored by Panerai but all the Panerai collectors from around the world come together for a weekend.

As for Hidetaka, I've been to his shop previously. See my post from last year: http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?p=1384488

You can rock up to most especially after tourist season, but its helpful and more secure to book ahead.
Theres nothing quite like the torture of wandering the Borgo San Jacopo with a bunch of starving people, smelling ribollita wafting out the doors of every fully boooked restaurant at 10pm. Trust me.

I m sorry i meant book when youre in Florence. If im new in a town i tend to book first night ahead and then take a stroll around some of the others (assuming the area is not too big) to check them out. Sometimes you find ones that no one has recommended that are just as good. There are relatively few - like Enoteca Pinchiorri whose fame gives them a long waiting list. Although for me it seems like a travesty of Italian food. Tastes amazing but too pompous and never enough of it.

Just returned from Florence--first time and wont be my last. For beautiful shirtings fabric, I had a great experience at Casa dei Tessuti. Romolo and Romano Romoli are the shopkeepers and were extremely helpful and kind.

Updated as at Oct 09. Arturo & Co. Via Porta Rossa, 50r Arturo & Co has closed its Via Porta Rossa location. The place is boarded up and abandoned. My guess is that its closed for good. Liverano & Liverano Via dei Fossi, 43r Liverano & Liverano is amazing and is a "must visit". Principe Via del Sole, 2 An excellent store too. A huge selection RTW as well as a MTO service. Great location and certainly a store one may get lost in. Prices are mid tiered. Surprised to find a Principe in Pisa too. Tie your Tie Via dei Federighi, 7r Always great to drop in and have a chat with Simone. A great store. Ceri Vintage Via dei Serragli, 26r A hidden gem but a little hit and miss since its a vintage store. Didn't have any interesting men's wear during my visit. They have recently taken deliver of some very nice off cuts of leather hides. Pity that they are heavy, otherwise there were a few nice pieces that Zee's in Hong Kong could do wonders with. Someone mentioned Boggi. Interesting store carry mid market RTW. Think the GANT of Milanese tailoring. Finally, no one here seemed to mention the discount shopping outlets located in the outskirts of Florence in the green hills of Tuscany. There are several of these but I only had time to visit one, which was sadly called "The Mall". Its located about 35 minutes from Florence and the outlets at this location included: Burberry Bottega Veneta, Ermenegildo Zegna, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Hogan, La Perla, Loro Piana, Salvatore Ferragamo, Sergio Rossi Tod's, Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent. The stock last season and factory seconds. Most items were priced between 25% to 60% off before any VAT refunds. To get there, a shuttle bus service is available at 25EURO per person. Alternatively, there is a public bus service from the Florence SITA bus station.

Need a briefcase?

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The Best!

Just got back from a brief Italian trip including Florence. Did not get much opportunity to shop but did want to add to the restaurant discussions here. Cibreo is definitely worth a visit. It comes across as a tourist trap, and it clearly caters mostly to tourists – but that's true of almost all Florence. Don't be put off... the style is a little cheesy, including the fact there's no printed menu, but they sit down and talk you through then menu. However, the food really is good and includes many things you will not find outside Italy. The lamb's brains were off the menu when I visited, which saved me the dilemma of choosing between my desire to try new things, and my fear of what their texture would be like. The tripe salad, roast pigeon with mustard-fruits, and pappardelle with hare sauce were all excellent and, as I say, rare treats outside Italy. The wine waiter gave us good advice and his recommendation was far from the most expensive on the list. Desserts were less remarkable but by that time we were pretty full anyway. Another treasure in Florence is La Pentola d'Oro (the pot of gold) - on a corner slightly off the beaten track. There's a tiny ground floor space and a larger basement where they assume the tourists want to sit. We asked for the ground floor - wooden tables, benches and stools, right next to the kitchen. This place is fascinating - they aim to reinvent Tuscan cuisine by reaching back to Etruscan history. The food is experimental but very satisfying, and unlike anything I have ever had before. The place is very informal - there was an Italian couple next to us and the wife was breastfeeding her baby at one point. The menu changes a lot, apparently, and is only in Italian, but ask for Brunhilde (really) who is charming and translates excellently despite repeatedly apologizing for her English. We stayed at the Hotel Savoy which is very central and highly recommended. It's certainly 4 star, maybe 5, without doubt one of the nicest hotels I have stayed anywhere. THICK linen sheets which were changed daily whether we wanted or not, an extremely firm bed which actually turned out to be excellent for my back, Hermes soap and products in the bathroom. The small bar is very nice and looks out on piazza della Reppublica - great for people watching - and you are right round the corner from Michelangelo's David and everything else. The hotel restaurant is pricey and just OK, but was fine for our first night as we'd just arrived. Breakfast is expansive and expensive. None of these restaurants had a dress code as far as we could tell. We wore blazers and were among the better dressed. Ladies would not need to get dressed up. Of course, even when casually dressed, most Italians look pretty stylish!

Need a beautiful briefcase?
Go to Ottino. I have one over
20 years old and the lock still works.

http://www.ottino.com/index.html