Florence Advice?
SO! There is a GREAT possibility that Matthew and I will be spending next Thanksgiving in Florence, Italy *insert massive squeeing here*. This weekend the travel operator that we purchased our Amsterdam trip from sent me an email with some sweet deals, and since I've been doing a bit of freelance, and we should be getting a hefty tax return this year (who knew massive medical bills were good for something?), we decided we deserved a bit of an adventure!
This would be the first time either of us have been to Italy, so I'm looking for some trip planning advice. We'll have 4 days in Florence (this includes the day of our arrival), but the tour operator also offers two additional bus trips. One half day bus trip to Pisa to see the leaning tower, and another full day trip to see Siena and the medieval town of San Gimignano. I can't decide if either of these trips would be worth it. I know the bus trip we took in Amsterdam was nice in the sense that we got to see the countryside and some towns we wouldn't have seen otherwise, but it was also a pain in the ass because it was basically shuttling us between tourist trap after tourist trap with no time for us to explore on our own. Also the folks on the bus tour with us were all older and quite obviously the kind of folk that enjoyed traveling on bus tours and being shuttled between gift shop locations..so that was kinda blah.
Also I know there is TONS to see in Florence...and I think 4 days is a good amount of time to experience the city. So I'm wondering if it's even worth leaving at all?
So what say you fellow travelers? Should Matthew and I just hang around Florence gorging ourselves on art, or should we take a day or so to explore elsewhere? And in that case should we try to organize our own trips abroad or take the tour bus route? And is Pisa/Siena even worth seeing this trip anyway?
So many decisions! XD
This would be the first time either of us have been to Italy, so I'm looking for some trip planning advice. We'll have 4 days in Florence (this includes the day of our arrival), but the tour operator also offers two additional bus trips. One half day bus trip to Pisa to see the leaning tower, and another full day trip to see Siena and the medieval town of San Gimignano. I can't decide if either of these trips would be worth it. I know the bus trip we took in Amsterdam was nice in the sense that we got to see the countryside and some towns we wouldn't have seen otherwise, but it was also a pain in the ass because it was basically shuttling us between tourist trap after tourist trap with no time for us to explore on our own. Also the folks on the bus tour with us were all older and quite obviously the kind of folk that enjoyed traveling on bus tours and being shuttled between gift shop locations..so that was kinda blah.
Also I know there is TONS to see in Florence...and I think 4 days is a good amount of time to experience the city. So I'm wondering if it's even worth leaving at all?
So what say you fellow travelers? Should Matthew and I just hang around Florence gorging ourselves on art, or should we take a day or so to explore elsewhere? And in that case should we try to organize our own trips abroad or take the tour bus route? And is Pisa/Siena even worth seeing this trip anyway?
So many decisions! XD