Belts, Bottles, and Boozy Walks: A Farewell to Florence

A return to Santa Croce’s Leather School

We only had one tour booked today—5 pm—so we had the morning and early afternoon free to explore at our own pace. Our first stop was the Leather School at Santa Croce Church. This hidden gem was introduced to us on our very first visit to Florence, and we’ve made a point to return every time. Previously, you accessed it through the church, but this time, it looked like that route might be closed. Either way, we found our way in.

I was on a mission: belt and maybe a wallet. The belt was easy—got the right size and a quick “3rd hole” fitting from the staff. The wallet hunt was trickier. I’m picky, especially about wallet design and functionality. There was a gorgeous ostrich leather one, but at €410 (about $750 AUD), it was far too steep. In the end, I found the perfect one in Tuscan Blue—classic and practical. Mission accomplished!

Gardens, grapes and hemp robes

Out the back of the school next to the church they had Saint Francis (of Assisi) gardens. There were a mixture of herbs, grape vines and plants (nettles and hemp) in the garden beds. They used to use the nettles and hemp to make fabrics. In the portico as we exited, they had a variety of the plants hanging upside down drying out. No doubt to be used at some stage to make a robe.

Coins, markets and midday cocktails

On the way back to the hotel we stopped past the wild boar statue at the markets. We did the customary coin in mouth, rub the head process and so we will be back in Florence at some stage in the future. I was looking for a particular style belt, different to the one I bought from the leather school, but they were not the right size and I didn’t want a dodgy “cut” job done there and then.

Upon making it back to the hotel at 12pm, our room was still being cleaned so we ended up in the lounge downstairs to have a cocktail. Ros had a coffee-inspired one and I had a strawberry one. Both were quite nice, but we were ready to get into our room and crank the air con.

Exclusive tour: The wine windows of Florence

By 4:30 pm, we were on our way to the meeting point for the wine window walking tour. It turned out—much to our surprise—it was just us. Another accidental private tour!

Our guide explained how wine windows were first used during the bubonic plague to serve food, wine, and oil. Naturally, they saw a resurgence during COVID too. Our walk took us to both active and inactive wine windows, each with its own story. The first stop wasn’t serving anymore but was once part of a church that sold wine.

Wine, thunder and tales of the Medici

We started walking in a direction we had not been in Florence, before arriving at our first wine window (but this one was not active). It was in a church and in the past the church actually sold wine. The square it was on had a great view down the street to the Duomo. The guide did mention there was a building that was an orphanage on the square but was now had a daycare in it – so at least they picked up the kids at the end of the day. When it was an orphanage, there was a carousel-type approach for people to put the baby into the wall and then it would spin around and the child would go into the building. Quite sad to think of the reasons why people may have felt the need to give up a child.

We wandered up the street towards the Duomo and came across our first wine window that was active. From there we had a prosecco and chatted about the history while we drank. It was starting to drizzle with rain a little bit so we stayed close to the building. Finishing the drink we were off again. We were wandering the streets towards the San Lorenzo church where we got a bit of history about the Medici Chapel in there. We were talking yesterday about visiting the Chapel as it was just around the corner from the hotel, but seeing photos of the inside, we would need quite a bit of time to explore it. We’ve added it to the list for next time. The rain was starting to get heavier, plus we had some lightning and thunder.

We continued to wander, this time past the Duomo and then through the street where clothing etc. costs a bucket load. By this stage it was pouring rain. Our next stop was just around the corner. At this one we both had a rose. Thankfully we were able to sit underneath the alfresco and drink our wine and wait out a bit of the rain. Our journey continued back towards where we started, nearby our hotel. We had passed a number of windows that were no longer in use. The wine window tour itself ended at a little place that did wine tasting. The next phase began!

Tasting trio: Sips, salami and Chianti

Our waiter introduced us to the process – we would taste three different wines and have them paired with ham, cheese etc. Our first was a white wine – it was quite nice and went well with some cheese and salami. The second was a rose and again was nice and went well with artichoke, ham and bruschetta. The final was a Chianti Classic that paired with truffle mushroom, and a prosciutto. By the end of our time there we were more than a little tipsy after those three drinks plus the ones we had walking around.

Dinner delights and rooftop sneak peek

Dinner was booked at the hotel for 8 pm. We barely made it back in time—tipsy and very ready to eat. We started with spiced beef and baby octopus, then shared a lemon-sauced pasta that was simple but heavenly. Dessert? Of course. Ros had tiramisu, and I went for a caramel and peanut butter creation.

To top off the night, the Food & Beverage Manager, Gabrielle, arranged for us to get a sneak peek at the not-yet-open rooftop. It had stunning views over Florence and will definitely be a hotspot once it opens.

The last pack: Preparing for London and beyond

Back in the room, we repacked our bags and weighed our souvenirs to stay under the 32kg limit. Tomorrow we’re off to London and Windsor before wrapping up the trip in Dubai. Florence—you’ve once again delivered. We cant wait until we come back.