Winter Shopping in Florence

The other day we decided to do the traditional “passeggiata in centro”(a downtown walk),looking  for presents  and practising  window shopping  we had  not done for so long .

It was nice to enjoy the atmosphere of coming festivities with all the beautiful decoration in the shops and lights in  the street.Many people  were  walking around  looking  for gifts,for a special  dress for last day’s eve- at least something red to wear as it is  good love luck.We spent time at the Christmas market in front of Santa Croce  Church,  and loved the dried fruit stall.

Then a  hot chocolate at Venchi, one of the most trendy shops with such a  a variety of Italian chocolate.

We stopped at Bizzarri for some dried herbs.   This  shop is fantastic with its ancient appearance full of bottles with dried herbs, reminiscent of the wizards of Harry Potter but in reality it is the place for generations of people who love natural medicine.

For friends who like wood work, we visited Bartolucci .The shop set up personally by Francesco with the scent of wood shavings, with the music reproduced on vintage radios, with the cheerful colors of the articles. A store that excites and amazes!

Via Calzaiuoli is a main drag in Florence  filled with shops,but if  it is leather gloves you want,Pusateri is  the name to remember.

Pusateri has been the reference point for leather gloves for generations of Florentines, so much  that now on line there are even  their vintage gloves. It’s so nice to find  Italian vintage handmade items online, which means they have been produced so well that they last over time.