La Dolce Toscana

27/10/2016

Why visit Italy during the off-season? Here are 5 reasons why this is the best time of year to take a trip!
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=48

Now that our months of Italian summer fun and sun and sand and endless gelatos are coming to a close, I'm starting to mentally prepare myself for the change in the upcoming months of cool and cold breezes, steamy afternoon cappuccinos, crackling fireplaces (often with a steak or sausage bristling aw...

27/10/2016

So much to see in this incredible corner of the world......!
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=66

It is known that Florence is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy, but all around the magical Tuscan city there are many other interesting towns that are easily reachable for short day trips and are truly worth visiting. You can arrive there by car (if you do not have yours, you can...

27/10/2016

What to do with those autumn mushrooms? Grazie Nonna Anna for this oh-so-yum recipe that the whole family loves! http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=74

Everyone in my neighborhood affectionately calls her Nonna Anna, because it sometimes feels like she is everyone's grandma. She's actually my neighbor, Antonella's mom and Anna's grandaughter is my daughter's "amica del cuore", literally "friend of the heart" which is the Italian way of saying "best...

25/10/2016

Getting ready for a long winter...THE TRUE TUSCAN RECIPE FOR HEALTHY HOMEMADE TOMATO SAUCE...a.k.a...LA POMAROLA!
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=72

It's that time of year again! September in Italy means the tradition of mammas and nonnas stirring at the stove, pots of steaming homemade tomato sauce ready to be stored away for use during the long winter months when tomatoes are no longer season. In any farmer's market in Italy in September, you…

25/10/2016

5 INSIDER TIPS FOR TRAVELING ON A BUDGET IN FLORENCE & ITALY
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=77

Having a limited budget as you travel doesn't mean you can't enjoy the same experiences other travelers have. Many times the difference is simply about being smart and knowing where to go or even better yet, having a local let you in on those secret spots that only they know of instead of falling in...

20/12/2015

Gotta love Christmas in Italy! !
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=65

Christmas is on its way and the Italians are ready to celebrate! By the time December rolls around, supermarket shelves and displays in coffee shops, bakeries and bread shops are literally overflowing with colorful and festive traditional sweets to bring in the holiday season. Afterall, Italians tak…

14/12/2015

Florence is always breathtaking but during the annual F-LIGHT FLORENCE LIGHT FESTIVAL it is just amazing!
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=64

This year's 4th Edition of F-LIGHT, Florence Light Festival will run from December 8-27, welcoming the holidays with a celebration of life and light in an evocative journey through the majestic squares of Tuscany's capital city. As the sun sets and the evening falls over Florence, visitors are invit…

09/12/2015

Finding fresh baked at the local bread shop this morning!

09/12/2015

Nothing like some good old hearty Tuscan cooking to warm you up when the frost starts biting! Here's another delicious kale recipe! http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=63

Tuscan cuisine comes from centuries-old peasant traditions and is full of delicious hearty soups and stews with lots of grains, legumes and seasonal vegetables at its base. No time is better to delve into my favorite Tuscan cookbook than this time of year when the morning frost makes it harder and h…

09/12/2015

Perspective on

09/12/2015

keeping watch over his city

25/11/2015

http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=62

When people visiting Tuscany ask me what are the best places I can recommend they visit, I often have to hold myself back from overwhelming them with too many ideas. Of course it's essential that first time visitors see the main destinations: Florence, Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano, Lucca... but someti…

18/11/2015

Check out our favorite Instagram picks this week -- Autumn in Tuscany!
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=61

10 of our favorite shots this week that capture the mood of Autumn in Tuscany. Every week we pick 10 of the best shots on Instagram that represent Tuscany and Italy in its true spirit. Here are this weeks favorites, from castles to abbandoned churches, from archways through the green hills of Chiant…

13/11/2015

style and tart with apricots/custard in a buckwheat crust

13/11/2015

Picked up some - I LOVE fall shopping!

13/11/2015

November means kale in Tuscany! Our recipe for today: Crostone with Tuscan Kale!
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=60

It's November and we have now stepped in full swing with Tuscan kale at farmers' markets and on the Tuscan table. One of my favorite recipes, and so simple to prepare, is the "crostone di cavolo nero", or, Tuscan kale toast (sounds more appetizing in Italian though!). This is a perfect appetizer and…

04/11/2015

Check out our Instagram picks this week - the essence of Tuscany!
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=59

10 of our favorite shots today that captures the essence of Tuscany in this particular moment in time... Every week we pick 10 of the best shots on Instagram that represent Tuscany and Italy in its true spirit. Here are this weeks favorites, from that special Tuscan sunlight, to pecorino cheese and…

04/11/2015

http://nyti.ms/1WkCxJB

9 Classic Italian Sauces You Should Master is a group of recipes collected by the editors of NYT Cooking

04/11/2015

49 YEARS AGO TODAY. Remembering Florence's devastating flood of November 4, 1966, the day the Arno river overflowed and destroyed the city. There will be a mass held at 11:15am at Oratorio della Madonna delle Grazie (address: Lungarno Diaz 6) to commemorate the victims. At 11:40 there will be a procession led by city authorities that will end at Ponte alle Grazie, in the middle of the bridge where the river will be blessed by the priest and a crown of laurel leaves will be tossed into the waters.
http://www.fotolocchi.it/it/

Il più grande archivio fotografico sulla storia di Firenze e la Toscana: un patrimonio in cinque milioni di immagini su moda, sport, personaggi famosi, paesaggi

30/10/2015

My view on the way to work this morning...who else can boast of vineyards, hills and castles out their car window?

30/10/2015

It's Spring in Florence today! 20°C/68°F...who's that peeking out from being the sun?

30/10/2015

What fun celebrating the olive oil harvest with Tuscans!
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=58

Despite the chilly weather and the fact that I am a total summer enthusiast and beach freak, fall is one of my favorite times of year in Tuscany because it's harvest season - and that means....lots of my number one passion: FOOD! October and November in Tuscany are full of food festivals, the year's…

28/10/2015

VILLA ELEGANZIA voted favorite Tuscan villa by our guests - just 30mins from Florence!
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/villas.php?id=20

Villa Eleganzia is a magnificent villa spread over three floors, located in the Tuscan countryside just outside of a small town in the Valdarno area. Due to its location on the top of a small hill,...

28/10/2015

Book your WINTER IN TUSCANY vacation now and enjoy the rhythm and charm of Italy's off-season! http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/index.php?s=tour&id=3

The off-season in Tuscany is a special time. The casual daily rhythms slow down, the crowds have left, village life returns to its natural pace. Gone is that bright sun that drenches Tuscany in extraordinary colors in summer...but winter has its own mystical shades evoking nostalgia of long-ago time…

28/10/2015

Dante keeping eternal watch over his beloved city...

26/10/2015

Olive oil gelato? SO YUM!

26/10/2015

Visit to the local olive mill for a taste of Tuscany's 2015 oil! Nothing more divine than cold-pressed EVO!

26/10/2015

TOP 10 STREET FOODS NOT TO BE MISSED WHEN IN FLORENCE
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/blog/index.php?post=57