Shopping for food in Tuscany is a wonderful experience. You can purchase food from the local market. It's fresh and the vegetables taste amazing!
 |
| Fresh produce in the marketplace |
Or at the local coop. If you need a cart, make sure you have some change to unlock it from the rest of the carts. Also, be sure to put gloves on when handling the produce, it's a cultural thing. If you don't you will get the stink eye! LOL!
Visit the Uffizi Gallery. It houses some of the most favorite paintings in the world including Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and "Primavera."
In just a walk through the streets, you will see old water fountains or may cross over the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge. You can also see Brunelleschi's famous dome and the Florence Cathedral.
In the town square, you will see the Palazzo Vecchio surrounded by beautifully sculpted statues, including a replica of Michalengo's David.
We will be renting a villa in the countryside right outside of Florence! Casavecchia, the lovely Renaissance manor is set within a forty-acre estate of vineyards and olive groves.
Minutes from the wine center of San Casciano in Val di Pesa. The villa overlooks olive & grape farms as well as cultivated fields that cover the hilly countryside between Florence and Sienna.
 |
The villa is large, fully furnished, and contains spacious rooms with a living room, sitting room, dining room, entrance hall & kitchen with utensils, pots, pans & dishes. There is also a patio, private swimming pool, 17th-century gardens, and a spectacular view of the Tuscan hills.
 |
| View of the Tuscan Hills Next to the Villa |
The dining room and two of the bedrooms open onto a charming walled garden with shady trees. An old wooden gate leads from the backyard to a swimming pool positioned on a grassed terrace with lovely views of the countryside.
 |
| Private Swimming Pool |
Traditional Tuscan features such as tiled floors and high ceilings were preserved during a restoration of the house and are complemented by lovely antique furnishings. Cooking enthusiasts will appreciate the modern kitchen, and rainy day options include wireless internet and satellite television. An inside view of the rooms is shown below.
 |
| Double bed with private attached bath |
 |
| Double bed with private attached bath |
 |
| Double bed with private attached bath |
 |
| Twin beds with attached bath |
 |
| Twin beds with attached bath |
There are multiple ways to get to Tuscany. You can arrive by plane, train or automobile.
You will need a 'Biglietti,' which means a ticket in Italian before you get on the bus. The buses in Tuscany are really nice and the seats are cozy. Another added bonus, you get to watch the beautiful Italian scenery drift by the window en route.
 |
| Italian Bus |
To travel on the tram of Florence you must use Ataf and Linea travel titles. Both tickets can be purchased in the manner specified by Ataf and Linea, are valid within the limits of their duration. Tickets are not available onboard the tramway but can be purchased at each stop using the automatic ticket offices on every quay.
If you're planning on only visiting Florence, a car will not be needed. If you wish to visit towns and villages beyond the most popular destinations of Florence, Pisa, and Siena, then a car is almost a necessity. The Chianti hills, the Val d'Orcia, Maremma, Casentino, and hilltop villages in these areas in Tuscany are almost impossible to visit depending solely on public transportation.
 |
| The streets are Narrow in Florence |
A rental car is an extremely useful and practical solution to visit all of Tuscany. Practical because many car rental offices being in or near the main airports and train stations so that you can pick up your rental as soon as you arrive in Tuscany.
 |
| Cars in Tuscany |
If you want to stay in the countryside or are planning to visit the beautiful smaller villages spread throughout Tuscany, renting a car is actually the best solution. It will offer independence from the fixed bus and train schedules as well as from the random transportation strikes that tend to occur in Italy. You will be able to move from one place to the next at your leisure.
In Italian, "carburante" and "benzina" are both generic words for gasoline/petrol. But diesel is diesel in Italian as well, so PAY ATTENTION and know what kind of car you're renting so that you put the right type in the car.
Renting a car in Tuscany is extremely simple since you can reserve your rental car online before you head to Tuscany.
If you fly into Rome, taking the train from Rome to Florence is the most cost-effective transportation choice and removes the stress of driving in Italy or figuring out multiple bus transfers. As a glorious added bonus, you get to watch the beautiful Italian scenery drift by the window en route.
 |
| By Train |
From Roma Termini, Trenitalia's high-speed Alta Velocità (AV) trains leave for Florence's Santa Maria Novella (often abbreviated to Firenze S.M. Novella) station 3-4 times per hour during most of the day on weekdays—there are 68 trains per day.
Always check for updated time schedules, generally the first train leaves Termini at 6:20 a.m., and the last leaves at 8:50 p.m.
 |
| Train from Rome to Florence |
 |
| Flying into Tuscany |
 |
| Aerporto di Firenze Perterola |
 |
| Toscana is Italian for Tuscany |
 |
| Michelangelo’s "David" |
 |
| Botticelli’s "The Birth of Venus" |
 |
| Duomo basilica |