An Edible Voyage

September 2021 Having hiked 166km across the Apennine mountains on the Via Degli Dei, I was in dire need of excellent coffee.  Fortunately, two places in Florence came up trumps, both handily in the city centre and with only a short walk between, it was easy to get my caffeine kick!  First up, Coffee Mantra on Via della Mattonaia serves Gearbox coffee, roasted just down the road in Florence.  The flat white was expertly crafted and there’s also a selection of hand brews on offer. Next up, Melaleuca, an Australian owned café and bakery alongside the Arno River, serving up bagels, avocado toast on sourdough and tortillas, cakes, cinnamon buns and great coffee.  I was really looking forward to sampling beans from another small-scale local Florence roaster, D612 Coffee Roasters, and they didn’t disappoint.  The homemade cold brew was refreshing, flavoursome and exactly what I needed on a warm day, deliciously citrusy served with a slice of orange.  As well as...

September 2021 If there’s one requirement that has to be fulfilled during any trip to Italy, it’s visiting at least one gelateria, and I firmly believe I found the best one in all of Italy.   And not just because I’d hiked 166km across the Apennine mountains to get there! As soon as we stepped off the Via Degli Dei in to the outer reaches of Florence, we had one mission, and one mission only.   Gelato.   Google Maps reliably informed us that there was a gelateria just a couple of minutes walk away.   Unassumingly tucked on a residential street, away from the throngs of tourists and seemingly frequented mainly by locals, it was love at first sight! With all of the Italian classics – Stracciatella, Hazelnut, as well as juicy fruit sorbets and rich chocolatey offerings of various darkness, it was a tough choice.   Rarely do I have two scoops but this felt like a two scoop occasion, plus it meant I could go for the winning combination of pistachio and dark choco...