Hello fellow voyagers! I would like some help with finding a great tour / guide.
I am visiting Tuscany with my husband and teenage daughter in January. We want to spend a day in Florence, visiting the important art galleries (Accademia, Uffizi) and Pitti palace. I have been to Florence before and recall everything is walkable. That was before I got sick.
Problem is: I now have MECFS. On a good day, I can walk 300-400 metres before needing to rest. Other days... I'm lucky to walk half that. With lots of rest breaks to sit for about 5 minutes a time, I can do a day of sightseeing, on most days. I just don't know in advance if I'll have a good, average, or bad day. So I'm trying to plan the right visit for me for Florence.
I have done a lot of research and found some useful info, but not the "unicorn" tour or guide that I'm looking for.
I don't need a tour/guide to "skip the line" or buy tickets in advance for the galleries, because that's available to me with my disability. I also discovered that I can borrow a manual wheelchair in the Uffizzi and Pitti (none available in the Accademia though).
What I would like is a guide who can:
- spend about 3 hours taking us through the art galleries mentioned above and tell us the history of the artworks / galleries (bonus if they can swing some kind of folding chair that I can bring along), but then also:
- spend a few hours taking us to see sights around Florence in a vehicle (I see some tours have golf carts), stopping to discuss the history / architecture / cultural significance, take photos, and/or explore, and
- include some stops where there is great food to try - I'm thinking breads, cheeses, ham/salami, pasta, soups and/or gelato.
- And it's probably worth setting the expectation that we aren't wealthy so I can't afford a fully private tour at a cost of some thousands of dollars. Something at a reasonable cost would be appreciated, say less than $500 dollars (excluding cost of entry to the art galleries).
I have searched the web and am overwhelmed with literally thousands of tours and guides, all offering similar things, but none offering what I am looking for.
I'm also happy to split into 2 tours: say a morning in the galleries with one guide, and an afternoon seeing the sights and sampling foods. Or something similar. But a vehicle is really important, as I would hate to miss out because I'm having a day where I just can't walk as much as I want to, to experience everything.
I'll be very grateful for any and all suggestions on finding the right tour or guide. Grazie mille!