Danielle, it's good to read something optimistic in these troubled "over-dopamined" times, about inspiring people to seek quality. Off the beaten track tourism, people eating well, and reading books again. Of course, this is rarely reflected in general media, so all the better for democratic platforms like this to highlight countermovements.
Small family owned leather shops, coffee roasters, pottery shops--i found all of these in Florence. Quality handbags, coffee makers, beautiful pottery. The pottery shop I visited did not produce the folk pottery-- elegant and unique pieces. The husband-wife artists showed us how the pottery is painted. Look for the local talent.
Danielle: my degree was called "Literae Humaniores" (from a very famous university in the UK), and so I entirely endorse your thinking on studias humanitatas; looking forward to your post on that kind of topic. And happy to see you again on Jan 8. Felice anno nuovo!
Danielle, it's good to read something optimistic in these troubled "over-dopamined" times, about inspiring people to seek quality. Off the beaten track tourism, people eating well, and reading books again. Of course, this is rarely reflected in general media, so all the better for democratic platforms like this to highlight countermovements.
Thank you, Nick. True luxury is quality, consideration, and depth. Sometimes you need to pay for it, but very often it’s free. Especially in Italy.
Small family owned leather shops, coffee roasters, pottery shops--i found all of these in Florence. Quality handbags, coffee makers, beautiful pottery. The pottery shop I visited did not produce the folk pottery-- elegant and unique pieces. The husband-wife artists showed us how the pottery is painted. Look for the local talent.
Danielle: my degree was called "Literae Humaniores" (from a very famous university in the UK), and so I entirely endorse your thinking on studias humanitatas; looking forward to your post on that kind of topic. And happy to see you again on Jan 8. Felice anno nuovo!
On the flipping of the exchange rate, if you go to lesser-known places, you can stay for like €140/night which includes breakfast :)
Absolutely. And there are more and more boutique hotels in the less popular places that are nicer than the 5-star hotels in the cities.
Flip side, that should say