Florence Diaries: Markets, Perfume & The Ultimate Steak Night
Starting the Day Right at W Florence
First full day in Florence! This is our 4th time here – 2012, 2017, 2019 and now 2025. We were last here just before COVID threw the world into a meltdown. I remember that it seemed a lot different back then – less busy mostly. This time it seemed there were lots and lots of people out and about. It could have been the time of travel though – we have typically been here in late August or September and not the middle of Summer.
As the W Florence was still in soft opening, we thought we would try out their breakfast. They had an option for buffet plus one item from a la carte or eggs menu. Ros chose Eggs Florentine plus smoked salmon (toast, poached eggs, spinach, ricotta cheese) and I had Eggs in Purgatory plus bacon (toast, tomato sauce, baked eggs, parmesan cheese). We both had the option of going up to the buffet, but we were full after those meals. There were only a few other people in the restaurant at the time we were there, it would be interesting to see how they handle a full restaurant.
On the list today was a perfume making session (around lunchtime) and Florentine steak cooking (dinner time).
Markets, Leather Finds, and a Dash of Luck
We made our way, via the Porcellino Market (where they had the bronze wild boar statue). They were doing a little bit of work on it, plus we didn’t have any coins, to drop into it – with the theory that it will ensure a return visit to Florence. It’s worked three times previously, so we would need to do it again before we leave …
I’ve learnt something from previous trips – if you see something you like and you really want it, grab it – you may not remember where it is. My purchase was a leather (what else would it be?) toiletry bag. I had been looking for one previously but couldn’t find one. This time I did though, bonus.
Custom Perfume Making at the Perfumery
As we continued to wander toward the perfumery it was a little early so we went a further few minutes to Santa Croce. This is where the Leather School is where I’ve got wallets on previous trips. We didn’t have time to go in this time around, so we just grabbed a gelato and drink and had a bit of a break before heading back to the perfumery. Upon arriving, there was still a group going and we were up next – but it would just be the two of us, so we were able to kick it off earlier.
The process was fairly straightforward – they had “base notes”, “heart notes” and “top notes” in a pyramid structure. You chose three scents from the base and heart and two from the top. Each step involved writing the name of the scent on a piece of cardboard, putting a drop or two on the cardboard and then giving it a good old sniff. If you liked it, keep it and work out whether it would be one of your final three. If you didn’t like it, get rid of it. There were 10 scents in each group to go through, so it was fairly repetitive but interesting to smell all the different smells. At the end of it, out of the three base notes you picked which one was your favourite and you came up with your overall scent. The favourite base note would be the dominate base scent. The lady who was doing the ‘mixing’ (for want of a different term) arranged all of the cards into a specific order, smelling the combination and adjusting each time, until she came up with the final one to smell. Following that it was time for her to do her magic and come up with the combination of drops for each one. We need to let the perfume stay in the container for 30 days before giving it a go – so mid-August we will see whether we came up with perfection, or near perfection!
Wandering Florence, Leather Temptations & Pizza Breaks
The walk back to the hotel was quite nice – just meander through Florence’s cobblestoned streets, without worry about where exactly – just walk in the general direction of the hotel. We came across the Duomo again and given we were nearby, it wasn’t far to go. We had a little rest in the hotel before heading out to the Central Market (Mercato Centrale) to grab something to eat. The entrance was through more leather markets, so we had another view of lots of different handbags, belts and everything else on display.
After wandering around the food hall, twice, we settled on sharing a pizza – potato pizza with ham and a few different cheeses. You knew it was fresh as they made it in front of you. There was another pizza place that had slices, but you just weren’t sure how long they had been on display for. The pizza was nice and hit the spot.
As we were eating, we were talking about previous visits and a particular handbag that Ros bought. I found the picture of it and a copy of a receipt – the store was apparently out the front of the market somewhere. We wandered around a bit trying to find it, went into a few different ones, but couldn’t find the exact one. That didn’t stop us though – Ros found a nice bag, or two, to add to the collection. Another store on the way back to the hotel called our name and we picked up a gift or two, and maybe another handbag …
The next store on the way back to the hotel wasn’t as bad – it was the gelato store. We had a little snack, to keep us going until our evening tour where we would cook a Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Florentine Steak – 1kg T-bone).
Private Florentine Steak Cooking Experience
We arrived at I’Tuscani right on 6:30pm for the start of our Florentine Steak cooking. I was expecting a large group, but it was just the two of us. Score! We were seated at the table and given some starters of ham, cheese and a wine from Chianti. Enrico, the owner, came in a little later to start our cooking demonstration. He had two cuts of beef, about 3cm thick – one t-bone and one sirloin on the bone. He used this as an example of Bistecca alla Fiorentina and asked us to guess which was the more tender – the sirloin on the bone. He then said which one would have more flavour, again the sirloin one. He said that the t-bone version is what the tourists want and the sirloin version is what the locals want.
On the bench were about 15 thick cut steaks, ranging in price from 110 Euros to 160 Euros (for a 55 day aged steak) – each had a price tag on them. These would be served up to customers later in the night.
He started cooking by putting the bone end up on the grill. No salt, no pepper, no seasoning on the steak, just the plain meat. After a bit of time, it was my turn to put the meat side down. It was rotated after a few minutes to get the usual criss-cross pattern. A short time later he said that the steak was ready to flip. Ros had the pleasure of flipping the steak and then a bit later rotating it again.
Following his instruction, it was time to take the meat off the grill, season it, serve it and eat it. I cut it up per his request and then got it put on the plate. The seasoning was salt chunks, rosemary and sage combination, pepper, parsley. I didn’t have the height right for the seasoning so had to do it a bit higher. Then slowly cover the steak with extra virgin olive oil … lots of it.
They served the steak with just some potatoes. The steak was perfectly cooked and delicious. We started devouring it and part-way through he brought out some wipes. He said “for the bone, you pick it up and use these wipes after”. Rightio, when in Rome. We gave it a good crack and were able to eat about 90% of it. He brought out some more wipes for us to use …so we ate more steak till there was nothing left.
Just as we thought everything was done, he brought over dessert - Cantucci and Vin Santo (almond biscuits served with dessert wine). You had to soak the biscuit in the dessert wine for about 5 seconds then eat it. It was delicious, but there was only so much one could eat. We gave it a good crack and had two biscuits each, out of the 6 until he filled up the dipping glasses of dessert wine … you guessed it we ate all the biscuits.
During this time people were entering the restaurant and being seated. After a short while, a waiter would bring out one of the steaks on a plate to display it and agree that it was what they wanted and then start to prepare it – exactly the same as ours had been, but this time by the cook, not Enrico.
Wrapping Up Another Memorable Day in Florence
Feeling absolutely full, we rolled ourselves back to the hotel to chill out for what was the rest of the evening.
