04/09/2026
One night in Florence before flying to Berlin to visit my daughter Esmeralda.
We began with aperitivo at Rivoire on Piazza della Signoria — a Negroni for me, Italian beer for Captain Hugh — looking out at David and the Fountain of Neptune as the piazza slowly lit up for the evening. There is something about that square at night: the statues glowing, the day’s crowds thinning, the whole city settling into itself.
Then a short walk through the old streets to Trattoria del Chianti for a proper bistecca alla Fiorentina, done exactly as it should be.
For our Penthouse Serena guests: Florence is only about an hour and a half from Montepulciano, and we are happy to arrange a private driver — for a full day among the museums and piazzas, or an evening of aperitivo and dinner, with no one counting the Negronis.
Some cities reward even the briefest visit — Florence most of all.