Golden View Bar and Restaurant Florence, Italy

On our first day in Florence we went exploring a bit and found by good luck the Golden View Open Bar & Restaurant for lunch.

It is just off the Ponte Vecchio and overlooks the Arno. We choose it, because it was in a classic building, but the interior was modern with clean cut lines and had reasonable prices, plus that glorious views over the river, opening up the classical architecture of Florence before our eyes.

We were surprised how much space there was, when the waiter brought us to the back, walking along the stylish Bar area, where we found a large dining room.

We were offered a seat with a view over the river, which we gladly took. All glass doors leading to the terrace were open, allowing a breeze to come in. The table was on the smaller side, covered with white table cloth. The dining room looked elegant with contemporary artwork on the walls and was kept in white and silver. Pretty soon the menu arrived.

We had a wonderful and refreshing Aperol Spritz, a bottle of still San Benedetto water, Insalata Ponte Vecchio and a Fuego Pizza. The salad was made with green leaves, local ham, olives, parmesan shavings, courgette and crusty bread. Regional extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper were provided, so that I could make my own dressing. The pizza was topped with spicy pepperoni, tomato sauce, cheese, peppers and a lot of red onions. Everything was delicious and fresh.
 
The staff was attentive, not intrusive, which is always a plus and made us feel very welcome.

Cost were 56.50 Euro (ca. 78 USD) including cover charge.

We are going to return definitely when we are in town again.


 

©2013

The Fusion Bar & Restaurant Florence, Italy

On the last evening of our stay at the Gallery Hotel Art in Florence, Italy we went to the Fusion Bar & Restaurant, located on the ground floor of the hotel.

The interior was contemporary and airy. There is also an outdoor terrace with plush sofas in earth colors and dark wooden tables.

The music in the background was upbeat.

The bar is the center piece, where guests can also enjoy the drinks and watch cocktails being made. The rest of the space is set up restaurant style.

We were warmly welcomed and handed the bar menu. We not only wanted a cocktail - we also were looking for dinner, so we asked for the restaurant menu.

We had a large bottle of still water, two Violetta Valery cocktails with Stolichnaya vodka and Francacorta Bellavista Cuvee, salmon fillet with green beans, tortellini with burrata cheese, Italian sausage and fennel and strawberries with goat’s cheese mousse.

With the cocktails came wasabi peas and other nice snacks. The presentation was unusual. The Violetta Valerys came in their own cooler - another glass filled with crushed ice and a lime. It looked stylish and the drinks tasted devilishly good.

We loved our main courses too. Everything was very upscale and delicious.

The dessert was interesting. The strawberries were marinated in balsamic vinegar. The mousse was velvety and creamy. It wasn't sweet at all and a great finish to a fantastic meal.

The service was unobtrusive and there when we needed it. We had an enjoyable evening.

The cost was 78 Euro (ca. 105.30 USD).

Only remembering the fine cuisine and drinks makes me drool and I'd love to go back immediately.

©2013

Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, Florence, Italy

When we booked the Gallery Hotel Art, a Lungarno Collection property, which belongs to Salvatore Ferragamo we received free entrance to the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo beside some other perks. Normally entrance costs 6 Euro (ca. 7.90 USD).

The museum is located in the basement at the headquarters of Salvatore Ferragamo at Via dei Tornabuoni.

We were greeted friendly. In order to pay no entrance we had to show our key card and fill out a form.

The museum was entirely different than what we expected. There were some Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, designed by the master himself and some of his tools. The museum, though, evolves around myths, fables and fairytales and how shoes/shoemakers have influenced culture over the centuries.

There were video installations; one was inspired by Salvatore Ferragamo's autobiography, telling how he managed to make a pair of shoes for his sister without ever learning how to do it.

The museum is good, but in our opinion it has too few Salvatore Ferragamo designs exhibited and makes it difficult to learn something about the company's history.

We needed around 45 minutes to see the complete museum. Photography isn't allowed.

Would we return? If the entrance is included in our overnight rate at a Lungarno Collection hotel, yes. Otherwise the price feels too high for what you get.

©2013

Museo Gucci, Florence, Italy

Museo Gucci is located directly on Piazza della Signoria, near the famous Neptune fountain. It is housed in a classic building. Originally it had fallen into disrepair, but was restored to the highest standards. It not only houses the museum, there is also the museum's store and the Caffe.

We were greeted warmly and paid the 6 Euro per person (ca. 8 USD) entrance. We were then directed to the beginning of the exhibition. There were two floors open, containing the permanent and changing exhibitions. The museum gave a good background what Gucci is all about. It started with suitcases, clothing and accessories from the 50ies and 60ies until the 90ies and some parts of newer collections. The museum left out Tom Ford's tenure as head designer.

The current exhibition was by a Portuguese artist and included a sculpture and video installations.

We enjoyed our visit very much and would return any time. Photography in the museum isn't allowed, be aware of this. From our experience for the viewing of the exhibitions, we would plan in around 60 to 80 minutes.

 

©2013

Gallery Hotel Art, Florence, Italy

We arrived with Volainbus / shuttle Bus from the Airport to the Florence Train Station and bought a return ticket, which cost 10 Euro per person (ca. 13.40 USD). The driver was so nice to give us directions to the Gallery Hotel Art.

The Gallery Hotel Art belongs to Salvatore Ferragamo's Lungarno Collection. This and having been the first design hotel in Italy were the reasons we choose this hotel.

The hotel has the ideal location, just steps away from the Ponte Vecchio, in a very quiet side street. The building was formerly a work shop for Salvatore Ferragamo.

The hotel was easy to find. The lobby looked like an art gallery and had an exhibition about bicycle racing going on.

Check in was friendly and quick.

Our rate included breakfast, free internet access, free entrance to the Ferragamo Museum and an upgrade at check in, if available. We were lucky and were upgraded.

We were accompanied by the bell captain to our room on the fourth floor, who also took our suitcase.

He gave us a quick room description. Then we were alone.

The room was large with twin beds pushed together, two chairs in front of the beds, a writing desk and a cupboard, containing the mini bar and storage space.

There was also a small hallway with a large wardrobe including safe.

The bathroom was medium in size. There was a double sink, weighing scale, toilet and bidet and a bath tub with shower combination.

The amenities were Salvatore Ferragamo Tuscan Soul.

The color scheme was brown, beige, black and white.

24 hour room service was also available.

We loved the details, like artwork depicting Florentine landmarks or that the leather handles to open the wardrobe were also made by Salvatore Ferragamo craftsmen.

We could see the part of the Ponte Vecchio from our window or looking in the next door apartments.

Everything in the room was comfortable.

There was also the biography of Salvatore Ferragamo and a Lungarno Collection magazine.

TV channels available were mostly regional but all important international channels were also there. Some channels also allowed changing the language by pressing a button via remote control. We watched one evening Bag of Bones with Pierce Brosnan on Italian TV using this service.

Breakfast was something to look forward to. We could have had breakfast at the Continentale or the Lungarno Hotel, but choose to have it at the Gallery Hotel Art, because we wanted to have a surprise element when returning to Florence and staying at one of the others within the Lungarno Collection.

Breakfast was served at the Hotel's lounge which can be seen as extension of the Fusion Restaurant and Bar. It was divided into different areas, insuring that the people flow was manageable. There were some hot items like bacon, scrambled eggs and turkey sausages, cold cuts, different types of cheese, fruits, cereal and much more. My favorite was the rice tart, but most of the days it was finished by the time we arrived. So if you want to have them better come early. All other items were replenished frequently.

The juice choice was good too. We loved the detox juice and the energizer, but there were peach, pear and orange juice available.

Other hot items, like omelets or pancakes could be ordered a la carte. They were charged extra. One of us had pancakes, and they were delicious. The cost was 6 Euro, ca. 8 USD.

One evening we also had dinner at the restaurant. It was fantastic and included 2 cocktails, a bottle of water, two main courses and two desserts. It came in at 78 Euro (ca. 104.40 USD).

All the staff was very friendly and attentive.

One example was the maid. On our first night the twin beds were pushed together, our preference. The next day, when the room was made up, the beds were separated. Before going to bed we pushed them together. The following morning the maid took note of what we liked and the beds stayed the way we preferred it for the rest of the stay.

Check out came too quickly. It was efficient and fast.

©2013