Here's what Lori, a TalkTuscany.com traveler, had to say about her experiences in Florence as well as other parts of Tuscany, Italy. She wrote to share her travel ideas and suggestions.

Walking tour made Florence a special experience

By Lori H. of Sacramento, CA

Dear Dan,

Here are some notes for your website and a link to what I think is the best walking tour in Florence. I think a walking tour is a must, given Florence's historic city center is really a well preserved, world-renowned, architecturally significant site.

Walking tour - Here is the half-day tour I took that was very good, and they limit the number of people in each walking group:

I observed the other walking tour companies.  Their groups were larger, making it more difficult to hear, and often times the tour leader had English as a second language and it was difficult to understand what they were saying. 

Our tour leader had a degree in either art history or architectural history.  She included a few of the smaller, but significant, art, murals and architecture in the old city center that I believe the other groups did not see.  And she had lots of interesting stories to tell about Florence's development as the birth of the Renaissance.  

So cool!

Favorite restaurant - Here is a link to my favorite restaurant in Florence.  The dining rooms are beautiful and intimate, the food and service excellent, and there is a wonderful gelato shop a few doors down named  "Vivoli" to finish off the meal before you stroll back to your hotel, serenaded by very talented street musicians.

Special frescoes - Just north of the Accademia is San Marco Church and Monastery.  Over 40 frescoes by Fra Angelico line the monk's rooms, many are intriguing studies of hands and heads.  The interior gardens are peaceful.  From the courtyard you will see Angelico's "Annunciation", one of the most beautiful Renaissance paintings in Florence.

Here's something we learned - In renting a villa in Tuscany, determine how you want to spend your vacation time and how much driving you want to do.  While our "villa" was beautiful, had a large swimming pool and was surrounded by farms and vineyards (here's a link to see it), it was also remote and the area overall lacked signage.  Given we didn't pack a detailed map, we got lost a few times and weren't sure we'd ever find the place after dark!

We were to stay there a week, but after a day or two of "chlling," we were ready to experience Tuscany and found ourselves driving several hours a day to other destinations.

San Gimignano was a real treat - This medieval hilltop city, with remaining towers, is surrounded by beautiful gently rolling hills and farms as far as the eye can see.

When You're Near Rome - It's a surprisingly easy trip from Tuscany. Who knew?  From Arezzo, we took a non-stop train and arrived in Rome in less than 2 hours.  "Hop on, hop off" busses are lined up just outside the train station, and you can spend as much time as you want at the Colessium, the Vatican, Trevi Fountain and other points of interest, and arrive back in Tuscany by nightfall.  Perfetto!