We stayed in a nice apartment in Oltrarno. Even though it is on the other side of the river it was only about a 15 min walk to the train station or the furthest site.
Firenze Card was a great help. Just plan your time. By the way Rick, we got in all of the sites in 3 days plus a couple of extras. It was a great idea. We never needed public transportation.
We took a Tuscany in One Day bus trip operated by Viator. We left Florence from the train station at 8:15. Went to Siena. Visited the Siena Cathrdral. Then we went to San Gimignano. Had anice wine lunch inluded at a local winery. We were not really impressed with San Gimignano. The towers are more interesting from a distance than up close. Then to Pisa. Going to the top of the tower was not included but they will arrange it for you. We got back to Florence about 7:30. It was a great introduction to these towns. Our tour guide, Stefano, was great. Had it not been or this tour we would not have gotten to these towns this vacation.
On to Cinque Terre.