Fabulous Florence

It is difficult to choose the highlights of a city like Florence, which offers so much to the visitor. The city is filled with museums, churches, and the palazzos of famous Florentines. That is to say nothing of the fabulous shopping in its shops and markets. Let us just say that you could see more free art in one day in Florence than anywhere else, without even stepping foot in a museum.

Quick Tips:

Check the opening/closing times of all museums and plan your visit accordingly. Different museums are closed on different days and have unusual opening hours. You wouldn't want to miss out because you didn't plan.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking and walking! Sure, it looks like renting a motorbike would be fun, but walking is easy, and you'll never get stuck in traffic. There wasn't a single day that I regretted not having access to a car.

Pensione Scoti has been in the hands of its new owners for several years, and is a rising star in accommodations. While it is fondly remembered as a budget guesthouse with shared facilities, the owners have installed bath facilities in every room and have increased the prices accordingly. Still, at 90 euro per night, the 16th-century palazzo on Florence's high fashion street was an amazing deal. Hotel Scoti is 10 minutes from the Santa Maria Novella train station, and situated across from the Palazzo Strozzi on via Tornabuoni.

There is a palpable nostalgia for this hotel, which has been operating for 70 years. During our stay, a grandmother brought her grandson to see the hotel where she had honeymooned. The original frescoes in the homey lobby are still there for her to reminisce over. The rooms, on the other hand, have been spruced up considerably, the owner is proud to tell us.

Our room was decorated in rustic Tuscan style, and had a comfortable bed. The wooden shutters opened up to a beautiful view of Florence's red rooftops. Our bathroom was clean and comfortable.

The owners do all the work themselves, from the room-cleaning to serving breakfast. You can also call them at any time during the day to ask about the city or just chat. The Australian woman and her Italian husband are wonderful hosts, and I really enjoyed our stay with them. They also have magazines in every language in their lobby to peruse. The owner even lent out her hair dryer to another guest! This friendly atmosphere made me feel like I was staying with friends rather than in a hotel.

To go on about breakfast, it's quite bountiful for 5 euro per day. It includes several pastries, coffee, juice, and jam.

This hotel might not be the most accessible, and I feel that I should warn any wheelchaired visitors of this fact. The hotel is located on the third floor. There is an elevator, but it is really small. Actually, we had to send up our luggage in two trips. The staircase has plenty of room and is another method of going up and down. And hey, if you can go up the stairs, you'll probably want to, so that you can work off all that great Italian food.

All in all, I would definitely come back here on my next visit to Florence (and I rubbed that boar statue, so I'll be back). Although the prices may go up in this improving hotel, it is still a great deal for its friendliness and location.

Finisterrae, a Mediterranean restaurant in a narrow street just off of the Santa Croce, is a terrific place to spend an evening. With world fusion music setting the atmosphere, you are led to one of four rooms. As English-speakers, we were put in the English-speaker room - Greece. It had soft lighting, whitewashed walls, and a delightful nook where two diners could sit. The bar is themed, Moroccan-style, and even has hookahs. Even the bathrooms were really amazing and definitely worth a trip, if only to touch up your makeup.

The restaurant attracted a trendy crowd, judging from their attire. Everyone at the restaurant was young and hip, including the tourists. I can't say enough about the great music. Much of it was Arabic-influenced electronica, which I love.

The food was also very good, and a welcome break from the Italian food that we'd been eating every day for a week. I ordered the grape leaves, an appetizer big enough to be a meal. For an entree, we both ordered the maghreb from the Moroccan part of the menu. It was a delicious combination of grilled vegetables, savory meat, and couscous.

In summary, there wasn't a thing wrong with Finisterrae, except for our bulging tummies afterwards.

In nice weather, Finisterrae has private gardens for dining. I can only imagine how lovely they must be, if they are anything like the other rooms.

This beautiful building was formerly a civic building and also a prison. It has a long storied history and that atmosphere provides a backdrop to the gorgeous Renaissance artworks that now inhabit the building. Among the many art museums in Florence, the Barghello is less popular than the Accademia and the Uffizi, so lines are shorter.

The Barghello exhibits works of art from Michelangelo, Donatello, and Brunelleschi among others. It is primarily a museum of sculpture. It also displays artisan crafts in ivory, gold, and Venetian glass.

Cameras are permitted, sans flash.

Even children may enjoy this museum, with its display of arms and armor. Also, you can play "Spot the David" because the Bargello has several David statues, none of them Michelangelo's.

Mercato Nuovo isn't exactly new since it was built in the 16th century. This is a small covered market, confined by a colonnade. At least, it looks small when packed with stands of merchandise. At night, deserted, it looms large and would seem like a proper gathering place for Socrates and his students.

The market specializes in souvenirs, with luggage, leather coats, and pashminas taking center stage. Most of the market stands sell the same merchandise, but the prices do differ.

The main attraction of the Mercato Nuovo is without a doubt the boar statue. Legend has it that anyone who rubs the boar's snout will return to Florence. Don't get caught under a tour group! My girlfriend was sitting next to the boar, taking a picture, when a huge tour group came by. She was not able to get up because they were throwing themselves all over the boar, all trying to rub its snout at once. I guess it's a good thing that they all want to return to Florence.

You only have to walk north of the Duomo to stumble upon this sprawling market. The goods sold here are too numerous to name. The stands do seem to group by merchandise, with rows of designer knockoffs in one area, and leatherwork in another. I wouldn't let myself be deceived that any of the Prada or D&G labels were real, but there are supposedly some good buys here. There is a real market atmosphere, with the hawkers calling out for your attention.

I picked up a soft pink belt here, Italian-made, for 15 Euro. I bargained him down from 18.50 Euro. I had seen similar belts elsewhere for 12 Euro, but you can only do so much bargaining.

It is said that the design of Boboli Gardens formed the basis for all other European gardens, including Versailles. Boboli Gardens, built by the fabulous palazzo of the Medici, is now a public garden to be enjoyed by all. Its cypress alleyways, statues, rose garden, and pools are lovely spots for photography, contemplation, or a romantic walk.

Eating out in Florence, as in Venice, does not limit one to restaurants. Markets and grocery stores provide a variety of food options. Although there was a distinct lack of prepared food in the grocery stores, we were able to pick up very inexpensive wines and liqueurs, along with other snacks. Another good source of food is the cafe/bar, where you can order sandwiches or breakfast pastries, along with coffee, and take it to go or eat at the bar.

Florence has far better restaurant options, with more variety. You can even get international cuisine, such as tapas or Chinese. Also, the extra charge for taking a seat didn't seem as common in Florence. However, most restaurants charge for "Pane e Coperto" (bread and knife). This ranges from one to three euros per person, and is not worth arguing over. Also, servizio (service) of 10% is generally included in your bill and you should check before tipping.

For Internet access in Italy, there is no better place than Internet Train. This is a great little franchise where you can buy a prepaid computer use card. You can also make printouts here, if needed. The card can be refilled and used at other Internet Train locations, which are all over Italy.

There are 13 locations in Florence, which we used to check our e-mail and make hotel reservations. With 13 locations, we were always near one, which is good because I got lost a lot in Florence.

Anyway, these places are clean and from a information security standpoint, I felt it was safe to check my e-mail here. The computers were also fast and up to date. Also, it was inexpensive, only costing a Euro for 10 minutes. In Belize, I paid 25 cents per minute for a slow 14.4k connection.