I stayed at the Hotel Davanzati. After flying in from Paris I took the downtown shuttle bus to the train station. I should have taken a map because I was walked to the hotel (which is totally doable) however I got lost so my short walk took a bit longer. The hotel was great and I posted a review in the other forum.
I bought the Firenze card For me it was worth the convenience of skip the line but more importantly I loved not having to reserve s specific time I could go whenever I wanted. I paid the extra 5 euro to get wifi and the bus pass which isn't sold at all locations and I "upgraded" across the street in front of the train station (church is behind). I didn't intend on using the bus pass but since I happened to be across from the train/bus station went to the Piazza de Michelangelo which started my visit of right! What a view for my first day in Italy!
The wifi works ok but only near the hotspots, basically the main piazzas all have wifi. I used it to periscope family back home.
My favorite things were David, seeing the famous Renaissance artwork, the view from piazza de Michelangelo, gelato from Vivoli and De neri, the sandwiches at al'antico (the line goes very fast) and how close everything is. I could not for the life of me get my bearings though and got lost more than once. After walking so much I gave up and started to wear my runners I had packed for the CT. I found that there were many tourists wearing casual outfits including shorts for men. I felt quite comfortable in whatever I wore (not like in Paris)
I planned on taking the bus to Siena but I was low on energy so I decided to stay in Florence. I went to the Centro Market, not what I pictured at all. I had a roast beef sandwich at whatever the famous place is downstairs. It was nothing to write home about but then I saw at the next table a group on a food tour and they were eating the pasta, guess I should have gone for that. Or upstairs where the food counters are :/
If anyone stays at the same hotel I found the restaurant to be good at the corner (right if you are leaving the hotel)
Thanks to all who helped me plan this trip!
There are no replies to this topic.