Vivoli, Florence - One of the things in life worth living for

Vivoli, Florence - As one reviewer says; its gelato is one of the things in life worth living for ('la crema di Vivoli è una delle cose per cui vale la pena di vivere').

First point, Vivoli is a little hidden away, but then the back streets of Florence are an amazing place to amble of an evening, if it wasn't for the motorini you could imagine yourself to be back in renaissance times wandering through a warren of ancient lanes amongst palazzi and atmospheric churches. 

My approach was made at night, after a late meal and with a pure end of the week feeling. Travelling on your own can be fun, but I need to work on my ability to visit bars and pubs alone on a Friday evening (even with a book to hide behind). With a gelateria I'm on safer ground. 

Suddenly, as if by magic, I came across Vivoli. Down a back street, away from the crowds but still tucked away between Santa Croce and Il Bargello. A little peace of heaven and an important part of the time when I lived in Florence. 

I can't always have pistachio and coffee, so one of my other favourite things is to ask in a gelateria is what flavours they recommend. At which point they usually ask back 'fruit or chocolate?' At which point I sometimes reply 'both'. And the server was on the wrong side of grumpy so the both option was more fun. However, I didn't dare ask to try anything.

Cream of orange and chocolate orange were the flavours I ended up with. Both were delicious, with the orange having tiny bits of sharp tasting orange peel mixed into the gelato. Very gooey, I prefer a slightly colder gelato but perhaps this reflects how late I ate here.

The verdict

Not the most generous of portions, but then it is rich and very tasty indeed
I ordered: Size: 2 scoops @ € 2.00 Flavour(s): Orange and chocolate orange
Check out the Vivoli website if you want to know more. Although you may find that Vivoli need to fix their website first!

A gelato with a view - Gelateria Santa Trinita, Florence

I recommend the Gelateria Santa Trinita in Florence for a gorgeous setting, great service and most of all for incredible servings of gelato. 

My visit was post dinner, stuffed with pizza and enjoying a warm Spring evening wander around a city I know well. I was planning to visit my favorite gelateria in the whole wide world (more on that in a future post) when I walked across my favourite bridge in the world into the warm inviting lights of the Gelateria Santa Trinita. 

Gazing dreamily at the beautiful gelato selection on offer, I was approached by the server who was incredibly helpful and let me try a few of the flavours (all places should offer this, walk off if they don't). 

Finally, I plumped for my absolute favourite combination - pistachio and coffee. I can report that it was absolutely gorgeous in the city and country of gelato, you'd hope so. And the pistachio wasn't green, which I like! You can see the generous portions below.

They also have a poppyseed gelato (sesame nero), which I need to return to try.

The price was also fine, Florence is not all that expensive a place (especially for ice cream), unless of course you like shopping on Via de' Tornabuoni. 

Find out more via the Gelateria Santa Trinita's website.

The verdict

A bargain
I ordered:
Size: 2 scoops @ €1.90
Flavour(s): Cream of pistachio and coffee