Romantic evening in Florence

I’ve been waiting a while to write this post. During the month of my 30th birthday, I got to celebrate a lot, to see my 30s in, in style. These celebrations started in Italy and the hubby and I shared a very romantic evening in Florence, where I was totally and utterly spoiled rotten.

It was our first full night away from the little lady, so it had even bigger meaning for us…we’d get to sleep! Woohoo! Who says romance is dead?

So we booked the most amazing air bnb right on the river, with views of the Ponte Vecchio (separate post on that coming soon!). In fact, the Ponte Vecchio was within touching distance. It really had the wow-factor and we were gutted to only be there one night, as we could’ve easily sat on our balcony and watched the world go by with a bottle of Prosecco, all night.

That’s how our evening started though. We made the most of the late afternoon sun, sipped Prosecco and ate Prosciutto on our balcony, watching tourists take selfies on the bridge and the Fiorentinian rowers make their way up and down the Arno River.

Before we knew it, it was time for our dinner reservation. So we quickly showered and dressed for the evening. We’d booked a roof-top hotel restaurant for our romantic meal, following a recommendation on a blog I read (Girl in Florence). It hasn’t been operating as a restaurant for very long apparently, but Hotel La Scaletta promised a dinner with 360 views of Florence…and oh, my gosh…it didn’t disappoint!

The hotel is located just on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio to the main city of Florence. I imagine most of you haven’t ventured over that side of the river, but it is certainly worth the investigation. It’s got a great buzz in the area and feels more like authentic Florence, where the Fiorentinians actually live. Less touristy and more edgy, we loved the area as soon as we arrived.

You enter through an unassuming door-way, which takes you into a tall stone entrance hall and open courtyard.

There is then a huge stairwell or for those lazy like us, a two-person elevator. A few seconds later, we were on the top floor and entering the hotel’s lobby. Now, I will be honest, the hotel looks a little dated when you walk in and to reach the terrace, you have to walk through a bit of a boring looking dining room. But don’t let this put you off, it’s well worth persevering.

Up a tiny stairwell and you reach…a terrace. A very nice terrace. A terrace with some cover and some stunning views. But not 360 views. Hmmmm.

We were greeted by a friendly smile from one of the waiters, who took our names and ushered us up another tiny stairwell. This one bent round as we climbed it and…oh…my…gosh…there it was. The 360 view we’d been promised. Wow. And that’s what we said, out loud apparently as the other diners smirked and explained they’d done the exact same thing when they walked-up the stairs. The terrace is tiny, with only 4 or 5 tables on there, which adds to the magic and romance of it all. But the views are simply breathtaking. Unobstructed and truly 360, you can see across to the Duomo and the Florence skyline and it feels such a privilege to be sat among the rooftops in this romantic city.

Grinning like a cheshire cat, the camera came out and we snapped-away to capture what was becoming a glorious sunset. The golden hour – what a perfect time to dine!

Menu in front of us, we chose our 3 courses and wine and settled-in for what we knew was going to be a wonderful romantic evening. The menu is fairly small but very good. Not the best Italian food I’ve ever eaten, but certainly above average and the location makes it all the more tasty. The service was wonderful too, with a special mention to the General Manager who was personable, knowledgeable and clearly passionate about his restaurant (he also suggested some good wines to go with our choices, so always a winner in my books!).

With the sun set and meal devoured, there was only one thing left for us to do…sit back, relax, sip wine and watch the beautiful view that unfolded before us.

Simply wow. This was genuinely one of those moments in life that I know we’ll always remember.

After our beautiful meal with a beautiful view, we strolled across the Ponte Vecchio where we sat on the curb, listening to the live band that was performing on the street, just because we could. Merrily holding hands and tipsily strolling back to our air bnb, we did a bit of late night shopping (oops, Italian leather handbag) and chatting to the locals.

A final night-cap on our balcony, was the icing on the cake for a wonderful birthday evening together.

What a romantic evening in Florence it was. 

 

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