Happy Tuesday! I really enjoyed all of the wonderful responses to my blog last Friday! Thank you for all that reached out! Summer is finally over~~ I said goodbye to the pool on Sunday. I decided to spend 2 hours with one of my forever friends Maxine…we have known each other since I was about 3…at the pool on Sunday while it was quiet and calm. I know there was a big celebration yesterday on Labor Day but I chose to work in the yard instead and have an easy day. Tutu LOVES to work outside with me…she never leaves my side. It truly warms my heart. So much was burned up from our extreme heat that I cut off dead leaves, trimmed fern, and cut back my begonias. I am mastering the art of keeping my angel wing begonias alive through the winter and then reviving them in the spring. One of the key elements is to cut them back and let them get full again instead of leggy before the cold weather hits. We shall see if I am successful agin this fall and winter!
I only touched on my magnificent trip to Florence in March in my Friday blog. One of the coolest elements of the trip was our hotel. Beast’s daughter Anna lives in Florence so she toured as many hotels as she could when she visited Anna in January to pick out one for us. We picked Ad* Astra Hotel for many reasons. The palazzo is still owned by the original noble Florentine Torrigiani family. It was originally a hunting lodge in the 19th century. There are still family members who live there….on the ground floor where the gardens are. The hotel is on the 2nd and third floors. We stayed on the second floor in a room right off the salon where they served an outstanding breakfast every morning . The outdoor balony went across the entire salon and wrapped around to a private terrace outside our room. We woke up to church bells ringing every morning…it was magical! The room had the original terrazzo floors, a claw foot bathtub in the room ( very strange to me!), and a huge bath with a walk in shower and double sinks. There was not a closet…just an armoire for clothes. It was very much like staying in a guest room in a home. The double doors leading to the private terrace was incredible. The tower we had a view of was originally built to look at stars in about 1820. The garden is one of the largest private gardens in Europe~~ and is around 18 acres. We were not allowed to walk in the garden….only enjoy lookimg at it off the terrace.One of thhe Torrigiani relatives was mayer of Florence in the last quarter of te 19th Century and did something similar to Baron Haussmann in Paris by creating wide promenades, squares, and areas for processionals. Now before you think I am all of a sudden a genius ( I am smart but not this smart!!!!) all of this research was done by Beast. This is exactly the type of information she gave me as we went through museums in Florence. I had a private tour guide all to myself!!!!!!! I arrived on a Tuesday afternoon and left the following Monday. My aunt and uncle had recently been to Europe and told me about a homeopathic medicine to take not to get jet lag. It worked!!!!!! I am not going to say that I was not a little tired on the first day…. but I arrived around 1:00 and stayed awake until 11:00!! We dropped our bags and immediaely hit the streets and went to a museum. It was amazing! Beast only let me shop a little in between museums….we had timed tickets… but I did shop on Saturday all day and we went to the Santo Spirito flea market on Sunday which was awesome. I did a WHOLE lot of Christmas shopping!!!!!!!!! The only bummer was carrying my treasures around with me ALL day….but it was so worth it! As I have mentioned in previous blogs Beast and I have been best friends since we were 12 years old….and I never grow tired of being with her for even a second! This was a trip of a lifetime for me…..we are trying to figure out where we will go next!
I LOVED watching football this weekend….LSU looked terrific!!! Harrison was thrilled!! Next weekend we get the NFL back. I am excited to see what the Cowboys will do this year!
Fall is upon us ( someone needs to tell that to the weather!!) Now that the pool is closed I will start on my Christmas presents. I have already taken inventory of what I have purchased. I love taking my time wrapping and making each present special.
I am wishing all of my readers a wonderful week ahead!
The front entrance of the hotel. There was a door bell to call someone to let you in. This was the entrance for carriges to the garden. We had a fob once we checked in to get past this gate.
The beautiful salon where we had breakfast. I am assuming this was originally a living room.
The doors were stunning going into our room! There was a double set of doors.
The view of the gardens from the terrace off the salon.
Oir first night there dressed for dinner. I could not believe I made it all day long on my first day there!
We were not allowed to enter the gardens ~~ they said for insurance reasons. Beast wanted to try~~ I said no that I did not want to get kicked out of the hotel!!!
A comical picture of me having breakfast! Our room was right where Beast was standing taking this picture. I ate breakfast in the long terry cloth robe provided by the hotel every morning. I got a few sideways glances from other guests but did not care!
The DARLING lady who prepared breakfast evry morning. It was quite a spread!!!!
The door that is opened is our room. This was an extra terrace over some hedges.
The beautiful hallway from the first floor up to where the hotel started. The artwork and antiques were divine!
Beast’s daughter Anna joining us for breakfast. The row of hedges was all rosemary!
Just an amazing view!!!!!!!!!
One night getting ready for dinner. The sweater was mother’s~~ I had to take a piece of her along the trip with me! I thought I took a picture of the whole room but sadly did not. You can see some of the terrazzo floor going into the bathroom.
