I just received an email from one of the women who traveled with us on last fall's Artful Tour of Florence & Venice. Christy, who's now a friend, sent me a link to an article from Budget Traveler titled What $100 Buys in Florence. "We went to a lot of these shops, didn't we?" she asked.
Yes, we did. And the lovely shops where you can find leather gloves for under $25, hand-made soaps for $15, marbleized paper notebooks for about $30 listed in the article are only a beginning.
As owners of Time of Your Life Tours, Teresa and I are always on the look-out for unique shops and great buys in Italy, and Florence is one of our favorite cities for shopping. There are a lot of treasures you can find for well under $100.
We know where artists sell beautiful small paintings for tiny prices, a shop that specializes in olive oil and olive oil products (I especially love the lip balm), kitchen stores for gadgets, pottery stores for gorgeous Italian dishes, markets for specialty pastas and vinegars, and much more.
Perhaps you'd love to bring all your friends silk and cashmere shawls. We know where you can get a great deal on a fantastic selection of colors. We know tiny jewelry stores where everything is made on the premises (and only 1 or 2 customers can squeeze in at a time), where you can find stunning earrings and other pieces for about $40.
And that's just the beginning. As Christy knows, we can help our clients find whatever they are looking for whether it's lingerie, Italian art supplies, gifts for children and babies, or a butter soft leather bag for themselves.
Our tours specialize in art, but we love to shop too! Italy is a great place for beautiful handmade goods of many kinds, where attention to detail is an art. I can't wait to get back to Florence in October....I am already working on my list of Christmas gifts. Oh, and I want to remember to pick out my Christmas cards there, too...
Thanks for the link, Christy!
