Michele: I asked John G. again on the Asia forum and he' not interested! Boo Hoo on us. Oh well, we'll have to manage on our own. Maybe we can encourage him to write up a little worldwide shopping journal. Best, R

Florence: Check out the Leather School while in Florence. High quality leather items at reasonable prices that held up well to comparison pricing during our trip through Italy. <BR><BR>Go to Santa Croce Church, burial place of Michaelango, and enter the church. The Leather School is located in the far right corner of this church and there will be signs directing you where to go. <BR><BR>They will also put your initials in gold on anything you purchase at no charge if asked. They also have some small gift items.

-<BR>For those of us who haven't made it to Famaceutica Santa Maria Novella, what area of Florence is it located in? Anyone have address?

Deruta for pottery. It's just heavenly. Skip the larger shops at the bottom of the hill, and go into the heart of the town to the smaller shops. Sienna also has a lovely pottery pattern based on the duomo's black and white marble patter. <BR><BR>These types of pieces cost a FORTUNE in Boston, and where much more reasonable there - I wish I had brought more home.

Officina Profumo Farmaceutica Santa Maria Novella is near the train depot. It is at 16r Via Della Scala, just down the street from the Santa Maria Novella church. You have to be careful to find it because it is unmarked. You have to look down at the stoops (right hand side of street) and you will see the crest (SMN) engraved on the doors and stoop of the shop. If you get lost, just ask someone. Everyone knows it.

Italian shearling coats!!!!<BR>The name of the leather company that I bought 2 of the most beautiful shearling coats is called NOI. I don't have the address but it should be easy to find in a directory. You need to ask to see the 'second floor' selection if you want to see the line that they bring to NYC each year. Just across the street from NOI is a goldsmith that is on the 4th or 5th floor of a building. You would never know it existed. Someone from NOI can point you in the right direction. In both cases the prices were about 50% of what we saw elsewhere in Florence. I spent a fortune but felt terrific when I returned to the states and had the goods appraised by experts......real bargains.

Brunello Wine in Montelcino, Pottery just outside Gaiole in Chianti, olive oil & balsamic vinegar everywhere we went and my most favorite of all - 8 Tuscan glass vases in San Gimignano.

Katie, Florence is a great place to buy Italian sterling silver, glass, <BR>pashminas, museum prints for your walls. I found wine too heavy to carry and had to drink it all before I left!

Not to sound offensive but people that do not go to Famaceutica Santa Maria Novella while they are in Florence are just not really that "smart." The products are MUCH more expensive in the U.S. and that is IF you can find them. The store history goes back many hundreds of years and you should stock up because YOU WILL REGRET it when you get back and run out of product. The person that went with me went only for this shop and the Prada store. When I was there was only a few people in the store at the time because the store is well hidden and trying to remain exclusive. They don't want a lot of looky-loo rift raft in there yet the staff does not have the bad "attitude" that the designer bag shops do. They were more than helpful to assist in picking out there relatively expensive products yet inexpensive compared to our cheesy U.S. perfumes/skin care products. If you are a man traveling alone be sure to find out what "type" of product your wife wants ahead of time and she will surely be impressed by your gift.

leather items at the Leather School at the back of Santa Croce<BR><BR>pretty stationery from piazza stalls<BR><BR>richiarelli cookies wrapped like a present from a bakery in Siena<BR><BR>jewelery on the Ponte Vecchio<BR><BR>machine embroidered kitchen towels at the outdoor market in Cortona<BR><BR>anything you buy at a church store, ot especailly at a monastery is usually of excellent quality - don't miss Monte Olivet Maggiore

.<BR>A teapot in a small store in Monteriggioni. Well, since Monteriggioni is tiny in & of itself ... Every time I use it I think of that exquisite medieval walled town perched above plains of Tuscany.

I'm really glad we bought some of those colorful fine glass candies in Florence. They imitate a paper-wrapped candy. They were only a couple of dollars each....and my daughter and I bought eight to sneak into our luggage to give to Mom(who was with us, but elsewhere at the moment) at Christmas, later that year. I wish now that we'd bought more. We have them in a candy dish in our living room at home and they are always admired by visitors and remind me of Italy every time I see them. They're quite fragile, but easily wrapped and safely carried home...unlike the other beautiful Italian glassware that might get home in fragments.

Black truffle olive oil. amazing.

GUCCI outlet store

Up for J &amp; Z -- here's a thread about shopping suggestions you may find interesting.

Olive oil-we bought some in Castellina en Rada that is the lightest oil I have ever tasted..and we bought 15 year old balsamic vinegar in what looks like a perfume bottle. We might have been able to find the vinegar elsewhere but the$ seemed justified buying it there. There is a linen shop in Siena and one in Montepulciano that both have beautiful goods.

and the pepper jelly from the butcher in Panzano(which you should check out on a Sunday afternoon when he has various goods cooked up for you to sample while sipping wine he also provides. This guy recites Dante as well.

WOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!! I'm gonna be in florence for 3 months next fall and i can't wait!!! I'm salivating with all this talk about shopping! (now i have to save up even more)<BR><BR>Keep em coming!

here were some of my favorites after a month long trip:<BR><BR>I made friends with the most amazing aritist at Il Sigillo (she sells the most amazing etchings, watercolors, high end ceramics) … Borgo degli Albizi 25 <BR>Solo A Firenze/books, frames, gifts … Borgo SS Apostoli 37 Rosso (www. soloafirenze.firenze.net, cookbook)<BR>SIA/which sells housewares… Via Dante Alighieri 18 (near Amex office… )<BR><BR>Siena: there are tons of ceramica shops here but at Arcaico they sold many unique pieces/via di Citta 79 <BR><BR>these are just highlights ... i have tons of other ceramica stores if you're interested.

In addition to all of the above : ) consider buying eyeglasses in Italy! I chose designer frames that are a lot more fashionable and daring than anything I would have picked back home. I get compliments all the time, and every day it's a reminder of my trip. I had brought my prescription with me and they made up the lenses there, but you could always just buy the frames. And the price was a lot better than in the US!