I lived in Florence for four months and visited Rome in that time! I can definitely recommend some places to go and things to do. I would also offer a few tips for dressing/blending in, purely because Europeans as a whole tend to be more forgiving towards tourists who aren't typical "tourists". Is there anything you're already committed to seeing?
Oh! Lucky you! And haha. Yes, tips are good. I like to think we aren't the stereotypical 'crazy Americans' but we are Texans and can talk loud ;) As for things to see, the only definite things are the major tourist things that most folks want to see. We know the Ancient Rome sites, the Vatican area, Pompeii and some art museums in Florence. My mother and her friend prefer trying to organize some tours to take us around to some 'day trip' type things, as they don't really want to deal with catching trains and doing those all ourselves. We've about agreed to try to blend a bit of what they want with organized either hiring a driver to take us around Tuscany etc. with doing it ourselves for the things that wouldn't be too stressful such as Pompeii (as it seems pretty step by step on what to do to get there on your own). Otherwise, we're pretty open on just making the most of our time without breaking a bank and killing ourselves doing too much in a short time.
If you're interested in day trips, there's a beautiful place about an hour outside of Florence called San Gimignano, which is jokingly called 'the Manhattan of Tuscany' because it has a ton of skyscraper-like towers. Pisa is also very close (and you'll get to see another cool historic landmark!). You should absolutely get up early to visit the Mercato Centrale (they have a ton of dried fruit and nuts--a cheap snack that travels well); you can even have lunch there at a few of the stalls. The Mercato is also very closely located t the leather market, which is awesome and very inexpensive! Good place for durable and beautiful souvenirs
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Oops, too many characters!blahblahcakes64January 4 2015, 16:09:00 UTC
-If you sit down in a cafe, they charge you more (it's a service fee, since Europeans don't do tipping). If you're just stopping for a quick drink, be like an Italian and drink your espresso/cappuccino/caffelatte standing up at the counter. Like with the gelato, tourists can be overcharged for coffee--an espresso should really only be 1,50 or so. American drip coffee just doesn't exist there. An Americano is the closest thing to a black coffee. If your family tends to put in a lot of milk and sugar, just order them a caffelatte and put in one packet of sugar--that's as close as you're going to get
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Re: Oops, too many characters!inellJanuary 4 2015, 16:18:58 UTC
Wow! Thank you so much for all the great information! It's making me more excited (which probably isn't good since it's like 15 months away LOL). How is train travel? would you suggest just moving by train or possibly renting a car in Florence to see countryside and smaller towns? Is that something where a guided tour is better than doing it your own? For Florence and Rome (if you know), what areas would be best for doing hotel searches? Haha. I'm sure I'll have tons of questions as I get more research going! Thank you again for the advice!
RE: Re: Oops, too many characters!blahblahcakes64January 4 2015, 16:42:52 UTC
I haven't done a ton of train travel, but it's honestly pretty straightforward. There are automated kiosks, so you don't need to worry about going up to a desk or anything. This is another place where going early to get your ticket is good (the lines can get long and people are REALLY SLOW about technology
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