Author: Lourdes Flores

An American living in Florence for over 10 years, Lourdes continues to explore and discover new places in Tuscany with the eyes of a tourist but with the experience of living in Italy. She shares her experiences on this blog and website, particularly offering lots of travel planning help on the Forum!

A Night at the Opera

May 2, 2013

Would you like to spend a special evening listening to some of the most famous operas in the world, without the need to go to a full opera? The Odeon theater hall just off Piazza Strozzi and the Ensemble San Felice present a new initiative for lovers of classical music. A “Night at the Opera”…

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Tuscany in Virtual Reality

April 22, 2013

Is this the new way to travel? We ran across this video of a 90 year old grandma trying out the new Oculus Rift virtual reality headpiece and she was “traveling” to Tuscany! So we then had to look that video up and it seems a pretty nice rendition of the Tuscan house and outdoor…

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Dream Weddings Do Come True

April 18, 2013

If you’re a prince or princess or not but have the funds to finance a beautiful, dream wedding in Florence, Palazzo Vecchio will work with you to make your dream come true! This week, the daughter of the king of plastic Aloke Lohia, one of the wealthiest men in the world according to Forbes magazine,…

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Duomo di Siena: Visit the Door to Heaven

April 17, 2013

As we mentioned in our recent post, the Duomo di Siena has opened up access to the higher levels of the cathedral to let visitors enjoy the cathedral and Siena from a new point of view. The entire area under the rooftop has undergone extensive renovations with an area set up shows tools used to…

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The Door to Heaven: A New View of the Duomo in Siena

March 28, 2013

Starting next week on April 6th, visitors to Siena can enjoy a spectacular new view of the Duomo and the city of Siena! After several years of restoration, the Duomo di Siena has opened up areas in the upper part of the cathedral that have not been used in centuries – not counting the workers…

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Easter in Florence? Here’s what to do!

March 27, 2013

Are you in Florence this Easter weekend? Go see the Scoppio del Carro, of course! If you also want to visit some museums, we have official confirmation (finally!) that the Uffizi and Accademia, among other Florentine museums, will be open this weekend and on Easter Monday! The Uffizi Gallery and Accademia will be open on…

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Il Palio dei Somari: Porta Nuova Wins Again

March 26, 2013

In case you did not make it to the Donkey races this past weekend in Torrita di Siena (close to Montepulciano), you can plan to make it next year! The Porta Nuova contrada won again for the 2nd year in a row, Aquila (Eagle) being the name of the winning donkey! Here are some pictures…

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The Palio dei Somari 2013

March 22, 2013

Looking for something to do this weekend? Head to Torrita di Siena for some donkey races! Torrita di Siena is a small medieval hamlet to the southeast of Siena, not far from Montepulciano. Since 1966, the town has organized the competition between the town’s neighborhoods, very similar to how the Palio in Siena and many…

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Ghiberti’s Northern Baptistery Doors Gone

March 20, 2013

As we recently shared on our Facebook page (make sure “Like us” to keep up to date with latest happenings in Florence), the Northern bronze doors of the Baptistery created by Lorenzo Ghiberti are about to undergo a complete restoration for the first time ever in over 600 years! The removal of the doors from…

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Resurrexi: From the Passion to the Ressurection

March 5, 2013

A new exhibit just opened a few days ago in Siena by the Opera della Metropolitana to celebrate the Year of Faith and in time for Easter. Called “Resurrexi, from the Passion to the Resurrection“, the show lets visitors see how mankind has understood and depicted the last moments of Christ’s life in some of…

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