Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Poolside Cocktail Hour

When the temperature is searing in downtown Florence, what better way to relax than with aperitivo? 
Beautiful, delicious pre-dinner snacks washed down with bubbling, chilled cocktails at the hour of sunset seem to be quite a worthy way of paying tribute to the sanctity of food.


Understated, contemporary opulence provides the background for a poolside aperitivo at Villa Cora, located between Porta Romana and piazzale Michelangelo, also open to non-hotel guests (reservations recommended).




Hedges fronted by elegant statues
 on one side and tall evergreens on anothe
edge the pool.  The pavement 
is cream-colored marble 
with a glimmer of rose, and guests sit
 on brown wicker armchairs with 
white cushions.
    



Barman Luigi prepared two specialties:  
an Aurora (fresh squeezed orange juice, peach juice
and spumante) and a non-alcoholic Pear Moijito, 
garnished with mint.  



The drinks arrived with individual portions of Parma ham and cantaloupe, little sandwiches, a fried zucchini blossom delicately stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies, and raw vegetable sticks to scoop up guacamole or blue cheese dip.


A buffet of the same food is set up near the bar for a second helping.  The overall brown and cream color scheme is repeated in the smart attire of the waiter who brings drinks and finger food. 


On Thursday, the music of American, Italian and French rock, pop recordings as well as jazz classics fills the air.  Aperitivo at Villa Cora is served from 7 to 9:30 pm, Thursday evenings with music at 15 euro, 10 – 18 euro other evenings, depending on the drink ordered.

As dusk falls, the pool’s turquoise water slowly turns jade thanks to the illumination under the surface. 
Una bella serata. 












1 comment:

  1. Joyous to know about this information on the poolside cocktail party. Last month, I arranged a pool party with my friends at one of the exotic Los Angeles event venues. Did all the arrangements and had pretty good time there with them.

    ReplyDelete