Florence and Pisa

Well, I have been here before when I was a teenager, but this time I had an opportunity to go with my wife. We were on a tight schedule (sometimes she wishes we weren't!).

We left Rome via train, and it was a comfortable morning train that only took about 2.5 hours. The cost was about per person. Florence is truly the Renaissance capital, and you could just feel it as soon as we arrived at the train station.

Upon arrival, we took a city bus to our three-star Hotel Meridiana. It was convenient, clean, and very affordable; it was only 50 euros for us, including breakfast buffet. It's located only 10 minutes from the train station.

That afternoon, we went to Pisa, and in the evening spent time in Florence downtown. Then, in the morning, we had a city tour of Florence. I will share more!

Quick Tips:

City bus was convenient and only 1 euro for wherever you had to go. Stay close to the train station, as that area is very convenient to tour operators and very close to the famous squares and nightlife. It's a great place for shopping, by the way, especially for leather and shoes.

Best Way To Get Around:

Foot and bus are what we used mainly.

We chose this hotel for the price and comfort. It was very affordable and not overpriced. The bus stop is very close to the hotel, and breakfast was above average and included in the price.

It's not far from the Academia Museum, about 1km, and nearby markets.

We embarked on this coach/bus tour and it started from across the Florence Rail Station. I pre-arranged this from the U.S., and it was only a bit of challenge to find exactly where we were supposed to wait for our tour company other than that all was smooth.

It took about 1.5 hours or so to get there. We had a guide to get us there, and once we got to Pisa, we were handed over to another guide.

There she gave us detailed history of "Miracle Square" Piazza Miracoli. There were plenty of tourists there and plenty of time to take photos and just absorb the beauty of the archeticture.

However, if you plan to climb the tower, get tickets right away; they aren't letting a lot of people on the tower, as they are still stabilizing it. It is safe, but they don't want to overdo it.

We spent several hours there and walked around, had some gelati, and headed back to Florence.

Of course, bring comfortable shoes and clothing--it is hot! Pisa is known for gypsies (that is what our guide warned us, anyway), but we had no problems.

We took a morning city tour of Florence. We went to where most tours start, which is the across from the train station. We had a funny tour guide. She was hilarious. I wish I remembered her name, but she was critical, sarcastic, and funny - and she would take a few phone calls as she guided us. It was distracting but funny at the same time!

Anyway, we headed outside the gates of Florence, and from the outskirts we saw a fantastic panoramic view of city - just beautiful you saw the domes of churches and the city gates. Fabulous!

Then we headed towards the famous town square and saw the church and baptism building. Forgive me, but I forgot the names. It is in the famous square with the clock tower, and we toured those and saw the statues in the square, such as Perseus with the head of Medusa.

From there we saw the famous streets and alleyways. Remember, Florence is the home of Pinocchio! We walked until we got to the famous Academia Museum, and unfortunately, you can't take photos, but the most famous statue of them all was the statue of David, and there was also the Prisoners statue. Both are by Michelangelo. It was just unreal.

That was the end of the tour, which took about 3.5 hours, and after that, with the admission ticket, we had the rest of the time to ourselves. There was a lot to see, but we dashed out of there, as we had to catch the next train to Venice.

Next time I would like to spend more time there and maybe even take a tour with a nice lunch!