FLORENCE ITALY LINEN SHOPPING * GELATO

I'm here now, and it's the best of times and worst of times. The best is absolutely everything about this wonderful vacation. The worst is that my camera screen in shooting mode is on the blink. I'm unable to take any more pictures! I'll add some or do a new post of the pictures I took on the first two days when I return home. I've just been searching the interweb all night, googling my heart out in a quest for the most beautiful bed linens. They are probably to be found in Italy, and in fact I might have found them yesterday. But they are very pricey. They are my colors, though, and the quality is unbelievable, comparable to the sheets that I purchased in Milano 9 years ago. I know, I know, you want your guide to sheets. Here's what I've got so far:

King Sheets - I only buy King Size Sheets, and when you buy a good set in Italy, you generally get a 4 piece set that includes a top sheet with flanges or embroidery, 2 king size pillow shams with the matching flanges or embroidery (flanges are wide bands of a contrasting fabric, often attached to the main part of the sheet with hemstitching which is open stitching, formerly done by hand, now often done with a zig zag stitch or twin needle stitching on newer machines. The last sheet is your bottom, plain with no flange or embroidery, and it will not have elasticized corners. When I bought them in the past, that bottom sheet didn't tuck under the mattress very securely, so plan on possibly using a matching bottom sheet that you already own. My mattress is a 15" thick pillow top, so the bottom sheet might work better for you if your mattress isn't as bulky as mine.

Thread Count: Italians do not go by thread count. They don't have to. These sheets are lovely and soft and you can often tell that the thread count is high by the density of the cotton. And yet, it's still so soft. It's about the quality of the cotton, not the quantity of the threads. It's nice to find a shop that specializes in sheets and linens, where they tell you the sheets are made in their own small workshop.

Stores:
TAF : Stands for Tablecloths Artisans Florence - This store is located on the main street north of the River from Ponte Veccio. There are two stores across the street from each other at 17r and 22r Por S. Maria. They are known for their Embroidered hand made linens. One store carries linens for children and babies, the other carries the tablecloths and bed linens. The bed linens are located on the second floor, and the sales person will show you the current selections of sheets in your size. Yesterday, I saw beautiful embroidered, white on white, and pastel pink/blue/yellow small flower embroidery king sheets, 4 piece sets for 160 Euros/set. This translates to about $230. The sheets are very soft almost a sateen finish. They also carry a line of sheets made of not-as-soft cotton which are 85 Euros for a 3 piece set with top sheet and matching shams. The designs were one color embroideries, not as intricate on the pillowcases, but very pretty considering the price. They also carred real linen sheet sets - anywhere from 400-600 Euros/set. They have a few intricately embroidered coverlets as well as a couple of metalesse coverlets upwards of 400 Euros, but they are not going to be making them anymore, so you may do better with the price on those items. There was also at least one sale sheet set in a discontinued design. A good stop, but nothing for me today.

Pratisi - Frette - Bellora - These are all carried in their own stores here, and there are sales this month, but I haven't priced them yet. I prefer something not carried in the US which is why I'm sharing my sheet-shopping-in-Florence research. You can price these high end designer linen lines at home and online, and they will be expensive and gorgeous. I'm going with something made by a small atelier...something that can only be found here in Italy.

Gelato - There is quite a bit about Gelato on the world wide web, and this is a very subjective topic. Tonight we tried Grom near the Duomo.
Grom is loved by many, and I must say the texture was really creamy and good. I had flavor-of-the-month which was Sour Cherry coupled with Fondante which is dark chocolate gelato. The Fondante was tasty and rich; the Sour Cherry had very little flavor. Three in our group enjoyed their Pistachio, but the children were not impressed with their vanillas, and my sister in law didn't think there was anything special about the coffee flavor. My brother's mint and lemon were light and refreshing. I think people love it because it's natural, and that creamy texture is more like ice cream than gelato. Somehow it's not sweet enough for me. My brother finished all the vanillas, and we took the little ones down the road to the
Festival de Gelato which is always hopping, and which is the Baskin Robbins of Gelato in Florence with it's 48 flavors. Festival is popular with young people - I think it's a Florentine fad just now.
Corona - is just a stone's throw from Festival, and really really good. Corona will only give you one flavor in the Piccolo size, and the Fondante was yummy. My sister in law LOVED her coconut gelato from Corona, though, and pronounced it her current favorite.
La Carraia - This is where we had gelato on our first night. It's near Santa Croce at Via de'dBenci 24/r. Definitely my favorite so far. Much better than Grom. The Ciocollino and Fondante were wonderful wonderful. That same night we discovered a lovely little geleteria on Via De'Neri just around the corner, and I'm looking forward to going back to that one before the trip is over.
Borso - This is on that main drag north of the river after Ponte Vecchio, and their smallest size is like a large. The Fondante isn't that hot, and the Creme Caramel flavor should have been much richer.
I still want to try Vivoli and Perche No and Caribe, but will continue to seek out something new and different. Each gelatafficianado has a way that they choose a gelato place, and mine is to look for one that has been in business since the beginning of gelato creation in a rich looking shop with dark wood and fancy lettering. And yet, my favorite so far was very understated and kind of new looking!
Stay tuned for more on linen shopping in Florence, as well as the best in Gelato.