Happy May Day everyone!

While I may not actually be in Florence this May that doesn’t mean I have forgotten about you all! At the moment I am currently on a one month visit to America visiting my family and friends since I haven’t been home in a year and a half and one of my brothers is getting married in Texas. I envision myself in my bridesmaid dress taking a 2am dip in the Gulf of Mexico the morning of May 12th     ;-). I will obviously never stop working but I am going to try my hardest to embrace the word ‘relax’ and actually take some time to remember that I am human and not a multiple job working machine – blogging – coffee, wine addict and just veg out! 

Events you won’t want to miss this month:

• FESTIVAL: The Festival of Europe, May 7th – 12th.  an occasion to reflect on future Europe, a laboratory of communication between the European Union and its citizens and a display of the Union’s activities and its member states.In the city squares, cultural centres, theatres and schools, the cultural events, exhibitions, performances, educational and scientific initiatives and gatherings inflected according to the keywords of the European year – citizenship, participation, work, youth, culture, peace, democracy, future, will come to life. More info can be found at the official site.

• MARKET: I Profumi di Boboli- special market located in the Boboli gardens, May 16-19th. The location of “I Profumi” is the Orto della Botanica Inferiore. The products for sale at this special exhibition are a sign of nature and quality and represent the specific region they belong to: perfumes, candles, air-fresheners, aromatherapy oil, aromatic herbs extract, spices, flowers and fragrant plants, floral clothes, old printings, garden furniture and accessories. etc. website. 

• FLOWERS ON SHOW: Iris Garden by Piazzale Michelangelo – running until May 20th. Florence is in bloom and you should not/cannot miss walking up to Piazzale and checking out all of he beautiful irises in bloom (over 1500 varieties!). More info on how to get there here and check out some of  The Florentine’s photos from this year’s crop! Don’t forget about the nearby Rose Garden — I am absolutely obsessed!

• MUSEUMS: La Notte dei Musei – Night at the Museums! As if this weekend couldn’t already be more crazy, on the 18th (Saturday) many museums will be open until midnight for FREE! Check out the details here – this is all over Italy (and Europe), website.

• WINE: Florence Wine Town – May 17, 18th. Yet another reason for me to be bitter about not being in Florence this May, Wine Town is back again for a weekend full of high-quality wine, music, tastings – shows and more! Participating locations include Palazzo Pitti, Bargello { Loggia del Grano} as well as several palazzi on via Tornabuoni, via del Proconsolo and in the l’Oltrarno. You must purchase the wine card which costs 15 euros and has 5 points, any recharge is only 10.   Their facebook page is here for updates or else you can check the official site here.

• DESIGN: Florence Design Week. May 20 – 26th. A week of events related to design {in architecture, interiors, fashion, food, and music}  held all over various prestigious locations in Florence. Professionals from all over the world will be in attendance and you can check out the map &  news real-time here. 

• WINE FESTIVAL: Cantine Aperte, Open wine cellar day all over Tuscany. Last Sunday in May – this year falls on the 26th. This is actually one of my favorite events which I am bummed to miss. Basically participating wineries open their doors to the public for guided tours and tastings and a chance to live it up in the countryside one awesome Sunday. List of participating wineries are here. 

• FOOD: Florence Gelato Festival! Yep, the gelato festival is back in town from May 17-26th in various piazza’s around the city center ( Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Piazza della Repubblica and Piazza Strozzi ). As usual a gelato card will be needed for the tastings which costs 7 euros and gets you five {generous} tastings at any of the stands. Expect gelato contests, cooking shows and more..

I will be adding more events as they come up so if you see that I missed something, let me know and I’ll add it! 

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• Notte Bianca White Night program 2013 (girlinflorence.com)
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• Locals I love – Amy Mancino (girlinflorence.com)
• Why I love the ‘other side of the river’ in Florence (girlinflorence.com)