What do you wish someone had told you about Tuscany?
Sep 19th, 2012, 12:23 PM
#41
leslie, here's the link to the firenze card:
http://www.firenzecard.it/index.php?...&id=50&lang=en
il museo san marco is no 24 on the list and is covered by the pass.
the trouble is that you would have to be seriously keen to get to enough museums in the 3 days to make it worthwhile. also the transport part of the pass is hardly worthwhile as you are likely to do much more walking than using buses.
http://www.firenzecard.it/index.php?...&id=50&lang=en
il museo san marco is no 24 on the list and is covered by the pass.
the trouble is that you would have to be seriously keen to get to enough museums in the 3 days to make it worthwhile. also the transport part of the pass is hardly worthwhile as you are likely to do much more walking than using buses.
Sep 19th, 2012, 08:54 PM
#42
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annhig and kybourbon- realize the Firenze card is expensive and we'll never make it to all the museums. What appeals is not having to make individual reservations and pop in and out as we please. Most of the museums and gardens we want to see are covered by the card. And right about the transport-we're real walkers.
Had to laugh at the discussion of the Tuscan mushrooms! Worst case of food poisoning I ever had was in the little town of Bolinas near Pt Reyes in California, where we hike a lot.
NeoPatrick-am so glad we're not actually staying IN Siena, but at an agriturismo nearby. Hope the celebrations from the Palio won't still be happening when we're there in October! Am really looking forward to seeing Siena, though.
Know we're picking some locations that will be full of other tourists (aka The Rick Steves Effect) but hope in October will not be as bad as in the summer. We'll have a car for the Tuscany portion of our trip and also hope to poke around and find some small towns that are not as crowded as well. The four of us have a great time just wandering around interesting neighborhoods at home without having to have fancy restaurants or shops...just interesting architecture and gardens. San Francisco is great for that, so imagine the Tuscan hill towns will be a dream to just wander around and get lost in!
It never ceases to amaze me how great people are on this forum taking their time to help others out. MILLE GRAZIE!
Had to laugh at the discussion of the Tuscan mushrooms! Worst case of food poisoning I ever had was in the little town of Bolinas near Pt Reyes in California, where we hike a lot.
NeoPatrick-am so glad we're not actually staying IN Siena, but at an agriturismo nearby. Hope the celebrations from the Palio won't still be happening when we're there in October! Am really looking forward to seeing Siena, though.
Know we're picking some locations that will be full of other tourists (aka The Rick Steves Effect) but hope in October will not be as bad as in the summer. We'll have a car for the Tuscany portion of our trip and also hope to poke around and find some small towns that are not as crowded as well. The four of us have a great time just wandering around interesting neighborhoods at home without having to have fancy restaurants or shops...just interesting architecture and gardens. San Francisco is great for that, so imagine the Tuscan hill towns will be a dream to just wander around and get lost in!
It never ceases to amaze me how great people are on this forum taking their time to help others out. MILLE GRAZIE!
Sep 20th, 2012, 09:58 AM
#47
realize the Firenze card is expensive and we'll never make it to all the museums. What appeals is not having to make individual reservations and pop in and out as we please. Most of the museums and gardens we want to see are covered by the card.>>
in which case, leslie, go for it. I know that I regretted not getting a museum card in Paris when we were there last and not having to queue is certainly a luxury worth paying for.
BTW, it is worth looking at some of the opening times, not least so that you avoid the crowds. for example, the museo San Marco opens [i think] at 8.15 am; i got there at about 8.30 am and it was pretty empty but by the time I left at about 10am, the numbers had built up substantially.
and sometimes, the palazzo vecchio opens until close to midnight - when there is hardly anyone there at all.
in which case, leslie, go for it. I know that I regretted not getting a museum card in Paris when we were there last and not having to queue is certainly a luxury worth paying for.
BTW, it is worth looking at some of the opening times, not least so that you avoid the crowds. for example, the museo San Marco opens [i think] at 8.15 am; i got there at about 8.30 am and it was pretty empty but by the time I left at about 10am, the numbers had built up substantially.
and sometimes, the palazzo vecchio opens until close to midnight - when there is hardly anyone there at all.
Sep 20th, 2012, 09:00 PM
#49
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annhig,
Great advice on museum opening times...I actually went to the Firenze card site and made a list of all the museums we want to go to and noted the opening times and days closed. Will check again once we get the card. This will help us plan on seeing things close together and also where to take a break (some beautiful gardens). We tend to stay up late, so good to know about Palazzo Vecchio staying open until midnight sometimes Thanks!
Great advice on museum opening times...I actually went to the Firenze card site and made a list of all the museums we want to go to and noted the opening times and days closed. Will check again once we get the card. This will help us plan on seeing things close together and also where to take a break (some beautiful gardens). We tend to stay up late, so good to know about Palazzo Vecchio staying open until midnight sometimes Thanks!
Sep 21st, 2012, 06:27 AM
#50
my pleasure, leslieq.
if you are keen to group activities together, I should tell you that from the other side of the piazza san marco, you can catch the bus up to Fiesole [maybe free with the firenze card] where you will get lovely views over the city, as well as the chance to see the cathedral and/or to walk up to the monasterio di san francesco, where there is a very interesting [and free] museum in the crypt, showing all the treasures collected by the monks on their travels, including some egyptian mummies! if you walk down through the gardens, it will bring you to the roman amphitheatre, and back to the centre. We had a nice lunch at the restaurant that has tables out under the trees in the square, which was also patronised by local builders, which is always a good sign!
back down in Florence, also in the piazza san marco, but this time on the corner with via Cavour, is a very nice cafe with waitresses who wear the most elaborate uniforms I'd seen in a long while. the food is pretty nice too, though they operate that weird system whereby you decide what you want, then go to the till to pay for it, and finally take your ticket back to the counter to collect your order.
buon viaggio!
if you are keen to group activities together, I should tell you that from the other side of the piazza san marco, you can catch the bus up to Fiesole [maybe free with the firenze card] where you will get lovely views over the city, as well as the chance to see the cathedral and/or to walk up to the monasterio di san francesco, where there is a very interesting [and free] museum in the crypt, showing all the treasures collected by the monks on their travels, including some egyptian mummies! if you walk down through the gardens, it will bring you to the roman amphitheatre, and back to the centre. We had a nice lunch at the restaurant that has tables out under the trees in the square, which was also patronised by local builders, which is always a good sign!
back down in Florence, also in the piazza san marco, but this time on the corner with via Cavour, is a very nice cafe with waitresses who wear the most elaborate uniforms I'd seen in a long while. the food is pretty nice too, though they operate that weird system whereby you decide what you want, then go to the till to pay for it, and finally take your ticket back to the counter to collect your order.
buon viaggio!
Sep 21st, 2012, 06:33 AM
#51
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When you see a road sign with an arrow pointing to Firenze and/or Roma, it doesn't mean you are close to either, it is an indication as to which way to go to get on the A1 which would eventually take you to one or the other.
Sep 21st, 2012, 07:32 AM
#52
When you see a road sign with an arrow pointing to Firenze and/or Roma, it doesn't mean you are close to either, it is an indication as to which way to go to get on the A1 which would eventually take you to one or the other.>>
they are a bit like the signs to the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican museums - just because you see the signs it doesn't mean that they're nearby.
they are a bit like the signs to the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican museums - just because you see the signs it doesn't mean that they're nearby.
Sep 21st, 2012, 09:14 PM
#53
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Wish I had another week in Florence after getting some of these great replies. About the road signs...sounds like the last time were were in England and Ireland dealing with the roundabouts. You had to know what was BEYOND the town you were heading for in order to be able to stop circling around and actually get out of the roundabout. We started getting so dizzy at one we just picked a random direction in order to get out of there, and sure learned our lesson!
Thanks annig and uhoh_busted (what a great moniker!)
Leslie
Thanks annig and uhoh_busted (what a great moniker!)
Leslie
Sep 22nd, 2012, 04:40 AM
#54
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I'm convinced that the best way to navigate in Italy is not using a navigation system, mapQuest printouts, or written directions. Route numbers and street or road names seem to mean nothing. But with map in hand you simply look for the place names of where you are heading. And to leslieq, yes, that includes looking ahead on the map to know which more major town or city lies directly beyond the town you are going to. Not unlike being in Tuscany and having the decision between Milan and Rome when you are simply going a few miles. Even the roundabout exits are much more easily followed by simply looking for town names instead of route numbers. And when a town appears at two exits -- then you need to be ready to decide if you want the "blue one" or the "green one" -- the green one being the one approached by the autoroute rather than the secondary roads.
The only roundabout we circled twice on our recent trip was when we were to enter an autoroute from the roundabout. The toll booth was huge -- maybe 6 booths -- and I didn't think it necessary to tell Peter which roundabout exit that was. But he sailed on around it. When I said, "don't you see the tollbooth?" he replied, "oh, THAT! I thought that was a big gas station".
But we did miss a major turn heading south on the Autoroute towards Rome. I was following printed directions and the signs we had to choose from listed half a dozen towns each way, but none of them matched the half a dozen towns mentioned on our directions (except Rome which was indicated both directions). By the time we had passed the exit and I realized it should have been that one -- we had to go 20 miles or more before we could make a turnaround, or in our case go onto the GRA and figure out our way back north! In retrospect, if I had been looking at a map I would have known which direction to go by the names of towns they did list. I'm still not sure why those weren't the names we were told to look for.
The only roundabout we circled twice on our recent trip was when we were to enter an autoroute from the roundabout. The toll booth was huge -- maybe 6 booths -- and I didn't think it necessary to tell Peter which roundabout exit that was. But he sailed on around it. When I said, "don't you see the tollbooth?" he replied, "oh, THAT! I thought that was a big gas station".
But we did miss a major turn heading south on the Autoroute towards Rome. I was following printed directions and the signs we had to choose from listed half a dozen towns each way, but none of them matched the half a dozen towns mentioned on our directions (except Rome which was indicated both directions). By the time we had passed the exit and I realized it should have been that one -- we had to go 20 miles or more before we could make a turnaround, or in our case go onto the GRA and figure out our way back north! In retrospect, if I had been looking at a map I would have known which direction to go by the names of towns they did list. I'm still not sure why those weren't the names we were told to look for.
Sep 22nd, 2012, 06:52 AM
#55
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First I want to say that I found driving in Tuscany (at least outside of Florence and Siena) to not be difficult at all. We have stayed in the Chianti area and in Southern Tuscany and it was very easy to drive to all the little towns. I agree that mapQuest printouts and written directions are not the best (in our experience they were not useful at all) but I think that having a good GPS and some good maps for backup really does make a difference. There are several threads on this forum about this topic and I see strong opinions both ways but we are definitely in the pro GPS camp.
The times we used a GPS made the driving experience much more enjoyable for both my wife (our navigator) and I than the other times we did not have a GPS. I have heard stories where a GPS gave people bad directions but ours worked very well for us. To be honest I made a few wrong turns even with the GPS but they were all driver error - not bad GPS directions. Sorry to disagree with you Neo but I see a good GPS as another tool to make the driving parts of a vacation a little less stressful.
The times we used a GPS made the driving experience much more enjoyable for both my wife (our navigator) and I than the other times we did not have a GPS. I have heard stories where a GPS gave people bad directions but ours worked very well for us. To be honest I made a few wrong turns even with the GPS but they were all driver error - not bad GPS directions. Sorry to disagree with you Neo but I see a good GPS as another tool to make the driving parts of a vacation a little less stressful.
Sep 22nd, 2012, 04:41 PM
#56
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I didn't mean to imply that a GPS might not be a good tool. Frankly I've never had one. For our recent three day rental through AutoEurope (EuropeCar) we were only offered a one week GPS,which was ridiculously priced for just three day's use. But we were told we could probably pick one up when we got our car for a daily rate. But we couldn't. They didn't have any English ones available.
My point was that following city directions signs for me has been the most successful way of traveling in Italy.
My point was that following city directions signs for me has been the most successful way of traveling in Italy.
Sep 22nd, 2012, 10:01 PM
#58
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Very helpful points about driving in Tuscany, NeoPatrick and john183. Am not sure about getting a GPS. We haven't reserved one or even asked about it. My friend made the car reservation so not sure she even inquired. We'll check when we pick up the car, though.
We have Android phones and the GPS function has served us well several times. Thanks for the information and suggestions.
leslie
We have Android phones and the GPS function has served us well several times. Thanks for the information and suggestions.
leslie
Sep 23rd, 2012, 05:00 AM
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leslieq, the issue with an Android GPS is if you are like us -- US phone owners traveling in Europe, activating the GPS while roaming for an entire day would be simply cost prohibitive. I think it might even be cheaper to simply hire a car and driver for the day!
