ITALY TRIP REPORT-FLORENCE
Jul 22nd, 2003, 04:00 PM
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ITALY TRIP REPORT-FLORENCE
Took the early morning train from Monterosso to Florence, and thank goodness I bought my ticket upon returning from the hike the afternoon before. The times I had gotten from trentatalia.com had changed by an hour!
Arrived in Florence and although armed with instructions from the hotel, proceeded to get absolutely LOST. It being a Sunday afternoon, it took me forever to flag down a taxi to take me to my hotel. The Hotel Dali was recommended by the Fodorites and while inexpensive (40 Euro), it was a bit of a disappointment. Room was nice enough, but it was such a letdown after my lovely hotel on the CT. And Florence was HOT and the Dali did not have A/C in the rooms, only a ceiling fan. They were very helpful, though. They made my reservations for the Uffizi before I left the States and assisted me with dinner reservations while there. If you are to stay there, request a room NOT facing the street. The Dali is on a garbage route that starts at 6am and sounds like Armageddon.
Met my travel friends at the Uffizi for a tour and was impressed by the Botticellis but dismayed to find Titian?s Venus of Urbino was away on repairs. It was the painting I was most excited to see! After the museum, we wandered all over Florence, window shopping and examining leather goods on the Ponte Vecchio. When walking by the Duomo, we happened upon the letting out of Sunday services, which included an unbelievable procession through the piazza. After a quick clean up, we took the bus to the Piazza di Michelangelo to see the sunset over the city. We almost missed it due to the bus system being so difficult to maneuver. In retrospect, I have to strenuously suggest getting a bus schedule and figuring it out before you board a bus when you?re in a hurry. Every time we did that, we wound up miles out of our way and 20 minutes late!
The view from the Piazza was amazing and I recommend making the trip. Hundreds of people mill about, we enjoyed Heinekens while watching the sun dip down. Then we were off to dinner at Il Latini, which I had read about on the site, read about in the books, and heard about from other travelers. Started out bad, as they sat as at an incredibly filthy table belonging to previous diners. Il Latini is know for it?s lack of selections, abundant portions, and multiple courses. You get a choice between one or the other, and the courses just keep on coming. I had chianti, ham, prosciutto with melon, soup, a HUGE steak, sweet wine, limoncello, and biscotti. When the bill came, it was in the form of the owner who surveyed our table, thought for a moment and said, ?90 Euro?. For 3 people, it was unbelievable!
We tried to make it out for more fun but after a meal like that, we barely choked down a drink at the pub across from the Hotel Dali, the Robin?s Hood Tavern. The Robin?s Hood was recommended to me by friends that had gone to school in Florence, and it was filled with locals and tourists and blasted American hip-hop music all night long. 50 Cent is hardly a lullaby but I was so tired, I didn?t mind it a bit.
The next morning, we got up to hit the famous outlets we heard were outside of Florence an hour or so. But we missed the first bus at 9am and the next wasn?t until 1230pm so we decided to see the Museo di Storia della Scienza, which I heard had the first telescopes, microscopes and most bizarrely? Galileo?s middle finger in a jar. Absolutely worth the trip, the guidebooks were provided and easy to follow and the displays were fascinating.
We had just enough time to get back to the train station to catch the SITA bus to the outlets. The bus was comfy and air conditioned so I caught up on my sleep and was startled to arrive in the middle of nowhere. We hiked down a dirt path and there they were: Gucci, YSL, Armani, Ferragamo, Valentino. Gucci and YSL had a wall of shoes that were all 30 Euros. Unfortunately, even at discount prices, I still couldn?t afford much. After an hour, we were done and the bus to take us back wasn?t due until 5pm, 2.5 hours away.
With nothing left to do at the outlets, we headed for the outlet café. Low on charm and high on price, the idea of sitting there for a few hours sounded painful. We decided to walk to the next town and look for a café there. We stumbled upon a small bar/restaurant/town meeting hall and spent the afternoon gazing at locals and practicing our Italian with them. We had to race back to catch our bus to Florence!
My traveling companions left for Siena, where I was to meet them the following afternoon. I had dinner at Acqua al Due, a restaurant recommended by friends and Let?s Go. Incredible dinner, I had the Pasta Mista, which was 5 different pastas in different sauces. They brought the pastas one at a time, so I was never overwhelmed by the amount of food, just overwhelmed by the taste of it all.
I returned to the Dali after one more drink at the Robin?s Hood and again fell asleep to the sweet lullaby of 50 Cent.
The next morning, I slept in as late as I could and packed for my trip. Went to the markets at San Lorenzo and was delighted at all the wares for sale. Bought all my gifts for friends and family, I loved the handkerchiefs, straw hats, and faux Fendi wallets. And the marketplace indoors had everything you could imagine, and it was air-conditioned to boot! Had one of the best breakfasts there at a small café, and wished I could cook a meal with the foodstuffs they had available.
I packed up my goodies, and hopped my SITA bus to Siena, an hour?s drive away?
Arrived in Florence and although armed with instructions from the hotel, proceeded to get absolutely LOST. It being a Sunday afternoon, it took me forever to flag down a taxi to take me to my hotel. The Hotel Dali was recommended by the Fodorites and while inexpensive (40 Euro), it was a bit of a disappointment. Room was nice enough, but it was such a letdown after my lovely hotel on the CT. And Florence was HOT and the Dali did not have A/C in the rooms, only a ceiling fan. They were very helpful, though. They made my reservations for the Uffizi before I left the States and assisted me with dinner reservations while there. If you are to stay there, request a room NOT facing the street. The Dali is on a garbage route that starts at 6am and sounds like Armageddon.
Met my travel friends at the Uffizi for a tour and was impressed by the Botticellis but dismayed to find Titian?s Venus of Urbino was away on repairs. It was the painting I was most excited to see! After the museum, we wandered all over Florence, window shopping and examining leather goods on the Ponte Vecchio. When walking by the Duomo, we happened upon the letting out of Sunday services, which included an unbelievable procession through the piazza. After a quick clean up, we took the bus to the Piazza di Michelangelo to see the sunset over the city. We almost missed it due to the bus system being so difficult to maneuver. In retrospect, I have to strenuously suggest getting a bus schedule and figuring it out before you board a bus when you?re in a hurry. Every time we did that, we wound up miles out of our way and 20 minutes late!
The view from the Piazza was amazing and I recommend making the trip. Hundreds of people mill about, we enjoyed Heinekens while watching the sun dip down. Then we were off to dinner at Il Latini, which I had read about on the site, read about in the books, and heard about from other travelers. Started out bad, as they sat as at an incredibly filthy table belonging to previous diners. Il Latini is know for it?s lack of selections, abundant portions, and multiple courses. You get a choice between one or the other, and the courses just keep on coming. I had chianti, ham, prosciutto with melon, soup, a HUGE steak, sweet wine, limoncello, and biscotti. When the bill came, it was in the form of the owner who surveyed our table, thought for a moment and said, ?90 Euro?. For 3 people, it was unbelievable!
We tried to make it out for more fun but after a meal like that, we barely choked down a drink at the pub across from the Hotel Dali, the Robin?s Hood Tavern. The Robin?s Hood was recommended to me by friends that had gone to school in Florence, and it was filled with locals and tourists and blasted American hip-hop music all night long. 50 Cent is hardly a lullaby but I was so tired, I didn?t mind it a bit.
The next morning, we got up to hit the famous outlets we heard were outside of Florence an hour or so. But we missed the first bus at 9am and the next wasn?t until 1230pm so we decided to see the Museo di Storia della Scienza, which I heard had the first telescopes, microscopes and most bizarrely? Galileo?s middle finger in a jar. Absolutely worth the trip, the guidebooks were provided and easy to follow and the displays were fascinating.
We had just enough time to get back to the train station to catch the SITA bus to the outlets. The bus was comfy and air conditioned so I caught up on my sleep and was startled to arrive in the middle of nowhere. We hiked down a dirt path and there they were: Gucci, YSL, Armani, Ferragamo, Valentino. Gucci and YSL had a wall of shoes that were all 30 Euros. Unfortunately, even at discount prices, I still couldn?t afford much. After an hour, we were done and the bus to take us back wasn?t due until 5pm, 2.5 hours away.
With nothing left to do at the outlets, we headed for the outlet café. Low on charm and high on price, the idea of sitting there for a few hours sounded painful. We decided to walk to the next town and look for a café there. We stumbled upon a small bar/restaurant/town meeting hall and spent the afternoon gazing at locals and practicing our Italian with them. We had to race back to catch our bus to Florence!
My traveling companions left for Siena, where I was to meet them the following afternoon. I had dinner at Acqua al Due, a restaurant recommended by friends and Let?s Go. Incredible dinner, I had the Pasta Mista, which was 5 different pastas in different sauces. They brought the pastas one at a time, so I was never overwhelmed by the amount of food, just overwhelmed by the taste of it all.
I returned to the Dali after one more drink at the Robin?s Hood and again fell asleep to the sweet lullaby of 50 Cent.
The next morning, I slept in as late as I could and packed for my trip. Went to the markets at San Lorenzo and was delighted at all the wares for sale. Bought all my gifts for friends and family, I loved the handkerchiefs, straw hats, and faux Fendi wallets. And the marketplace indoors had everything you could imagine, and it was air-conditioned to boot! Had one of the best breakfasts there at a small café, and wished I could cook a meal with the foodstuffs they had available.
I packed up my goodies, and hopped my SITA bus to Siena, an hour?s drive away?
Jul 22nd, 2003, 04:11 PM
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Thanks for the report, sounds like a you had a nice time, we walked twice up to Piazza di Michelangelo, once to see the views and another time to hear the chanting monks (they were offkey and disinterested) but it was fun anyway.
More of your report from Siena?
More of your report from Siena?
Jul 22nd, 2003, 04:14 PM
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We're looing forward to your account of your visit to Siena. Please detail how you got from the SITA bus station to the old part of Siena +, of course, anything uniquely interesting - and the food too. (We're going to Florence & Siena in October so your report is of great interest.)
Thanks.
Thanks.
Jul 23rd, 2003, 04:31 AM
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The bus "station" is in the old city so is much easier than the train (which leaves you 10 minutes by bus from the city). The drop off point is Piazza Gramsci, right nnext to La Lizza park and the Fortezza.
Jul 23rd, 2003, 05:01 AM
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Hi HoneyB,
Thanks for your informative trip report.
For those who might need it, a great map of Florence, bus routes and schedules can be found at http://www.ataf.net/Default_EN.asp.
Thanks for your informative trip report.
For those who might need it, a great map of Florence, bus routes and schedules can be found at http://www.ataf.net/Default_EN.asp.
