Lovely Linens from Busatti in Arezzo

I think there is a saying in this house that goes something like: You can never have too much linen. My husband already knows that, yet during a holiday to Tuscany he took the company call to fly back to London for a day's meeting, leaving me all to my own devices....

Normally this means visiting museums or churches, which is quite a safe activity as far as my husband is concerned. And that had been the plan, to take the train from Florence to Arezzo and see the Piera Della Francesca fresco series of St Helena and the True Cross in the church there.

And when I had imbibed as much as I could of Della Francesca's powerful serenity, I took a long lunch, and when the shops opened again, it was time to see if perhaps there was any nice linen for presents....

I have to say if you want a nice, edited shopping experience, Arezzo is the place. There are some lovely shops - and some particularly fabulous linen shops, including that of the family owned firm Busatti which has been going since Garibaldi wore a red shirt (was that linen?) If you are ever visiting Florence - do take time out to visit this wonderful place, won't you?