Florence on Fleet Feet

Monkey Launchers can be a useful tool on the Italian rails.

The train into Florence was slower than we anticipated. For a reason still unknown to us, we stopped about 30 minutes from Florence and sat in the train for about 2 hours. This made us pretty late getting in to Florence. Luckily, I used the time to call ahead to tell the hotel that we were delayed. The owner sounded surprised and told me that our reservation wasn’t until two days hence. Problem.

Apparently when booking accommodation online, you should be doubly careful when using an iPhone as they tend to have some quirks. The owner, Marta, was cool enough to call around and find us a place with a room for the night and made arrangements to meet us the following morning. Near disaster averted.

Protip: When stranded on trains, it is good to bring along a monkey launcher. If you don’t have one, then download the Monkey Launcher game for your iPhone to help pass the time.

The Santa Maria Novella train station (SMN) in Florence is straightfroward, direct, and easy to navigate to and from; just about all you could ask for from a train station. at 11 oclock at night, it is easier just to queue for a taxi than try to find your way across town with luggage. The taxis may run a little slowly that late, but they’ll get you where you need to go.

Sojiourno Pitti is located in Piazza Pitti, on the far side of the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge). The place is super basic, but relatively clean and had enough space for us to squeeze into the dorms at the last minute before the staff left for the night. There is no internet, breakfast, coffee, or anything resembling a welcoming atmosphere, but as the saying goes, any port in a storm.

The next morning we made it to Afossi, right next to the Santa Maria Novella station we arrived at the night before, and were greeted by Marta, the Croatian ex-French teacher who runs the place. The room was huge and Marta was full of information. I split to get some laundry done and Jo took off in search of ice cream.

Florence was to be our base of operations for the next few days while we checked out a number of nearby locations; Pisa among them. Florence itself has a few tricks to be aware of. Order at the bar, you will save yourself some service fees. also, the tables under the canopies outside have a tourist fee associated with them. ask for the tables that aren’t an extra cost. some bars have them. If you want to get around in the city center, everything is easily walkable, but if you need to leave the old town, take the bus. You need to buy tickets at an odd ticket booth on the east side of SMN.

The statue of David is ensconced in a fancy museum, but there are two identical copies for free elsewhere in the city. One on top of Michelangelo Hill above the city and another in front of Palazzo Vecchio near the heart of the old city. The latter has a whole gallery of fantastic statues piled around it that I would recommend making the trip to go see. It’s free, so mount up.

While Joanne and I were walking around the David statue, an American woman walked up next to us, stared intently at the statue for a few seconds and then asked what we were all thinking, ” Where is his… oh wait… is that it?!”

The statue is rather disproportionate in lots of ways, but it is uniquely beautiful. That sentence describes a great many people I know. Yes, you are probably one of them.

Florence is home to a lot of great things. Take a walk. Ask questions. People will help you out. See what you find.

Wrap Up:

Plan Ahead. Florence is popular enough that you will want to book accommodation and museums well in advance.

Walk it. Florence is easily conquered on foot.

Ask about what tables and restaurants implement a stranieri tax.

If you are leaving the city center, use the bus. It’s cheap and predictable; not common in Italy.

Free are abounds. If you didn’t reserve museum spots ahead of time, just explore. The library’s ancient text section is a hidden gem!

Use Florence as a base camp to visit nearby sites. Pisa, Tuscan wineries, and Siena are easy targets. Piazza del Campo in Sienna is a day well spent, even if the races are not on.

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