Florence & beyond

Wonderful, wonderful suggestions! So much to think about - and I may be back with more. Many thanks to all of you: wish you were along on the trip with us:)

First, two thoughts about art in Florence aside from the obligatory Accademia and Uffizi. 1) The Duomo museum. It's located across the street from the left rear of il Duomo. It has all of the treasures and scuptures of the Duomo. If not out on tour, the "Gates to Paradise", the original metal carvings on the doors of the baptistery are there. Also there are Brunischelli's working models of the dome. I actually enjoyed this museum more that the Uffizi. 2) A guided tour of the Vasari Corridor. It was closed when we were last there but it now looks to be open for private tours. Here's a LINK to place where you can get tickets. You can also do this with Viator. For a possible day-trip to Assisi, we've done that and I have several thoughts. 1) The travel time by train to Assisi is about 2hrs30min. Some runs are a bit longer, 2) Some early runs will require train changes. This is OK. The 7:00am run looks best because it gets you there by 9:35. This run has two train changes. The first train would be a 180MPH high-speed to Arezzo where you would change trains. You can take the 8:02 run with no train changes but you won't get to Assisi until 10:43. 3) Trains in Italy show the final destination and not necessarily the station to which you are traveling. If you take the 7:00am run, the destination of the high-speed (ES9501), as now shown on the current schedule, should be Napoli Centrale. You would never know that this is the train you want.
4) The Assisi station is not in Assisi. It's actually in Santa Maria Degli Angeli. The sign in the train station say Assisi but... The point here is that you are not yet in Assisi. (More Coming)

Here's more of my message. 5) The main streets in Assisi are quite steep. The huge Basilica is at the bottom. Most of the hilltown is up the steep hills. 6) The hint here is after arriving on the train, there is a bus stop in front of the small book store/shop next to the train station. Go in there and buy a ticket on the Line C bus. The Line C bus goes all the way to the top of the hilltown. From there, you can tour the town by walking down the steep streets. I guarantee that it's much better than touring up the hills. You save the Basilica for last. 7) The nicer restaruants close from 4-7. We really wanted a nice dinner but couldn't wait until they re-opened. So perhaps a nice lunch.
8) The best tasting gelato we had in Italy was in Assisi. Can't remember where so you might try several places. 8) Think everything is 700 years old there? The buildings are but the shops are just great as they are built into these very old buildings. A bit above average I would say. Here's a LINK to a shop in Assisi. Here's another PICTURE For a possible second day trip, CAF Tours (www.caftours.com) in Florence (Grayline) has a one-day bus trip to both San Gimignano and Siena. You get about 90 minutes in San G. and about 4 hours in Siena. The stop in Siena includes a guided tour. We took this tour on our last visit. Here's a LINK to a picture of the main street up through San Gimignano.

If you have the financial means, I would highly recommend hiring a private guide/driver. You can then design your own day trip(s) on your schedule. In March 2011, we engaged the services of Florence Tour (www.florencetour.com&#59; [email protected])for a full-day trip into Tuscany (San Gimignano, Volterra, Monteriggioni, and Siena). Florence Tour is owned by Giuseppe Aulisa and his wife, Paola Migliorini. Giuseppe was our driver and guide. He dropped us off near the center of each town and we agreed upon a meeting time for departure. It worked out very well.

As an art lover, you may not even want to leave Florence. Do not skip the Bargello Museum or the Pitti Palace. Siena is an easy day trip by bus. I believe San Gimignano is also, but I haven't been there yet.

Do you have Rick Steves Italy? He has lots of listings for places in Tuscany and Umbria, along with directions from Florence. You will see that some places, like Siena, Pisa, and Lucca, are easy to get to from Florence, while others (like Assissi, per Larry's instructions) require more time and changes, and still others are not really accessible without a car.

Assisi is easy by train, but I'd suggest more than a day trip to Assisi, if that era suits your interests and you have the time. Also, the Eremo della Carcieri above Assisi is quiet and beautiful with lovely medieval buildings and paths in the forest; it's still an active Franciscan friary/convent, so decorum is maintained, which helps the experience. San Damiano below Assisi is also one of my favorite places there. Ravenna has amazing Byzantine-style mosaics and fascinating history. It could be done on a long day trip by train. It aso can be done as a detour on the train trip from Florence to Venice, if you are planning time in Venice. I gave myself a few days there, which was nice. But if you love art, you might not want to leave Florence. If you like the early Renaissance, don't miss the convent of San Marco. San Miniato al Monte has to be one of the most beautiful medieval churhes in Italy, with no appreciable Baroque rework. The Bargello has a surperb collection of sculpture in a historically interesting building. While I'm not a fan of the David, upstairs there's a delightful collection of International Gothic panel paintings. And there are wonderful surprises in many churches, even small ones.

Be careful about trying to do too much. That said, Assisi is really beautiful and we loved our 2 nights there, and wished we had stayed 3. Here are some photos I took of our trip to Assisi in May 2008. Happy travels. (And, yes, the Bargello in Florence is amazing.)

Another vote for the Museum of San Marco (formerly a Dominican convent). If you go to the Accademia (and why wouldn't you?), be sure to go to the Pinacoteca upstairs after you see the David and the other sculptures on the ground floor. I was in the Accademia a few weeks ago and there was a temporary exhibition with a pink-fleshed, yellow-haired David in the courtyard at the exit; it was so hideous I had to turn around and go back to look at the real one just to erase the memory. Assisi is beautiful (good advise about starting at the top of the town), as is Siena. You can rent a car, but my experience is that the driver misses most of the sights! San Gimignano is beautiful as well.

Another vote for the Bargello museum. Enthralling place. Remember there are over 60 museums in Florence. Not a typo. Even though you state you are fairly confident about what you want to see in Florence may I add these options for you to consider? If you like frescos visit both the Palazzo Vecchio and Gallery Spedale deli Innocenti. Ghirlandaio's " Adoration of the Magi," is in the latter. Museo di San Marco focus is Renaissance paintings. For a bit of a change and to see how the other half lived try visiting the Horne Museum which showcases the private collections of art collector and English art critic Herbert Percy Horne. Personally I adored the Museum and Cloisters of Santa Maria Novella and the Silver Museum. As far as day trips from Florence you can take an easy bus or train ride to charming Lucca. Enjoy a bike ride around the walled city, or sit on the many benches that line the wall and enjoy a picnic lunch while watching joggers, walkers, bikers, and families pass buy. Defintely visit the Palazzo Pfanner (admission fee). If you like art then you'll enjoy the craftsmanship of the Filippo Juvarra designed Italian Gardens there. Stunning. If it's still there near an entrance into Lucca is the Petroni Stefano cheese shop. His cheese's are made from goats milk. Divine. Great stuff for the picnic lunch or as a snack with some fruit later in the day. Lucca is a lovely respite from Florence.

If you are into food - we had an amazing time on Alessandro's Italian Days Food Experience in Bologna....quick and easy train from Florence. Check out the reviews on tripadvisor - we can't wait to go again next time we're in Italy. We had such an incredible time we're still talking about it after being home for 2 months.