Blowfish...thanks for all the helpful tips! Who needs travel books when you have "friends" with great advice willing to share!

Glad to be of assistance cliquot1. You are oh so right about the "friends" one can meet on this forum. I met three "girlfriends" on this forum while we were all in various planning stage for trips to the Middle East. That was almost 4 years ago, and we still keep in touch. In fact one of these pals is arriving in Canada (from Florida) to see our beautiful west, and come to our home for a visit - and we've never seen each other - only photos.
So you just never know where a question or answer will take you!!

blowfish, what an amazing amount of info!

We're returning for Florence for our second time over Easter and didn't have enough time to walk up to the Pitti Palace. That's definitely on our list, as will be Galleria Pallatina and Boboli Gardens per your recommendation.

Blowfish, your description brings back all of the reasons I love to visit Florence - simply wonderful. Last time we were there, we stayed for 5 days, intending to make a day trip to Siena. We never had the time. I agee with those who say that, in three days, you won't have time to do all of the wonderful things available in Florence. Although I have been to Siena twice before and enjoued it tremendously, my suggest is to concentrate on Florence with only 3 days.

Jon-Jon and Sera, thanks, your info has helped me with my travel decisions too! I have been trying to decide how to move my family plus luggage between Florence and Siena and then back to Florence again, and your comments have really helped me decide what is best for us...I think we will take the train instead of the bus, because when Jon-Jon mentioned the train is more relaxing and you can get up and move around, and Sera mentioned the bus driver was speeding and it freaked him/her out, I realized exactly what would make me comfortable...I do get freaked out easily in traffic, and I think I too would find the train more relaxing. We will just have to get taxis with our luggage up that hill everyone has mentioned into Siena. Thanks, everyone! You have also helped me to decide that if I do hire a driver with a minivan to take us in one direction, I will probably prefer the scenic route through the Chianti area, instead of the highway route.

Suggest you stay in Florence the whole time. After seeing Florence we went to Siena and left after a few hours. Try staying at the Hotel Pendini. You can find the hotel at www.FLORENCEITALY.NET
Unbelievablely friendly, great rooms at a very affordable price right in the heart of the historical area. It's in the Republica piazza, right across from the Savoy Hotel at 25% of the cost. Don't sell yourself short on Florence. It's incredible. Enjoy!

KAlan, thanks for your advice. I will look at the Hotel Pendini. I've heard of it. Right now I have crazy reservations in Florence...I can't believe I've done this...I reserved 2 nights at the mucho expensive Plaza Lucchesi and 1 night at the very reasonable Hotel Ritz. Just my luck, on the nights I need in Florence, there is a price increase for the Lucchesi!!! I have realized it's insane to change hotels right in the same city...I need to commit to 3 nights in 1 hotel in Florence. (That's one reason I want more information on the Hotel Ritz.) However, I won't give up my 1 night in Siena. :) I want to wait until the day-trippers leave in Siena, and then stroll around with my husband in the evening, pretending I am back in the medieval times. (I adore reading and writing fantasy, in case you can't tell.) I look forward to 1 night in a place where I won't have to feel like "Oh, no, I have to hurry, I am missing one of the most famous museums in the world...eeek...can't leave anything out!" I am sure that I will love everything we do in Italy, as our trip is well planned, thanks to all of the good advice from you all. Thanks, everyone.

Melissa

If you decide to use a tour guide as discussed on another post, schedule him to pick you up in Florence, tour on the way down to Siena, and have him drop you off. Same for the reverse direction. Since he charges by the hour and not by the mile or per person, you will find this to be the most affordable and enjoyable way to commute.

Joeyrm7, thanks for the advice. I think you are right, hiring a good driver/tour guide is the best solution with only 1 night in Siena and the necessity to get a family of 5 people plus luggage between Florence and Siena and back again to Florence to catch the train on to Venice. Or else I may hire the driver in one direction, and take the train in the other direction. The only trouble with getting the train is we would still have to get taxis to and from the train. Did you tour in the Chianti area on the drive between Florence and Siena, and what did you enjoy there? We will only have time for a half-day drive, because we need to save time to see Siena!

Message: Melissajoy
Cancel your reservation at Plaza Hotel Lucchesi,you can do much better.We arrived with an e-mail that confirmed our stay but they stated it wasn't in their computer and didn't honor our reservation.

Bluebird, that's a scary thought. Florence is the only city on my schedule that I'm not feeling confident about my hotel choices. In fact, I'm so unsure that right now I've got 2 nights at the Hotel Plaza Lucchesi (expensive for my nights) and 1 night at the reasonable family-owned Hotel Ritz in a family suite. I need just 1 hotel that I can feel confident about for my family. We need 2 rooms in a centrally located spot in Florence which is quiet at night for sleeping. The nights we are there in June are very busy nights and some hotels are already full.

Try the Tourist House Ghirberti in Florence (check reviews on TripAdvisor.com or Slow Travelers in Italy.com)
Try the Hotel Palazzo Ravizza in Siena.
We're staying 4 nights in each in late September/early Oct.