h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm about half way through an article on Florence covering some places to eat, things to see and history. If you want to raid it feel free.
As for advice:
1. If you are going to speak Italian learn what you say to different age groups - old people get very offended with informality.
2. Italians love talking about star signs! and food. and family!
3. Italians take great pride in ignoring any rules or laws of the road - pedestrians are fair game.
4. If you try to speak italian they really appreciate it and respond in English.
5. Only tourists eat pizza.
6. Don't drive into the cities. Italian drivers are lunatics and you will be forced to pay for protection on your car.

This is cool. We will definitely want to raid your article. Thanks for this. Much appreciated

Sam

I'm sure Ginger will mention it, but here's the tip I passed on to her and Doug before their visit, and now I have the number I'll include it:

If you're going to visit the Uffizi (and if you're in Florence, you should), be aware that there's a queue of 2-3 hours to get in. BUT if you phone ahead on 055-234 7941, you can pre-book your tickets. Then, when you arrive, you bypass the queues and walk straight in!


Now that's hitchhiker guiding!

We are going on our honeymoon to Tuscany, flying to Florence to start and then hiring a car/catching trains to see more. I will take your article with us and let you know how useful it was and see if we can add any other useful bits and bobs. (Your tip re phoning ahead sounds like an absolute winner! Do they speak English if you phone that no.? Or would it be best to get the hotel to do it for us ?)

They will speak English. Alternatively, when you get to Florence go to the Pitti Palace and ore book a ticket there. Also in Florence, il Bargello is a must-see as is the Piazza della Signoria. A very good restaurant is the Trattatoria Antellesi

Hi Luigi,

With a name like that it sounds as though you should be able to speak Italian anyway! Have a great time there - we were on honeymoon there ourselves last summer, and it was absolutely perfect.

On your travels, make sure you go to Siena, which is still touristy but not so overwhelmingly as Florence. The cathedral is beautiful and the city centre is ideal for strolling. We had a villa about 10km from Siena, on a hillside overlooking fields of sunflowers, and it was completely idyllic.

Enjoy,

Gary

Thanks for the tips ! Our travel plans are now more certain and as it happens the second week is going to be spent in Sienna! We are renting an apartment, from a company called Tuscany Now //http:www.Tuscanynow.com, which is on the edge of the city (5 minute bus ride from the end of the 600 yd drive!)It has it's own pool (shared by the other 5 apartments in this old farmhouse conversion) and we are greatly looking forward to lounging about for the first fews days after our mini tour of Florence and Rome. Incidently we are going to be there for that crazy horse race they have around the town square! Should be fun.

Luigi is the Italian for my English (Welsh?) name. I have an Italian friend who calls me that and to be honest I quite like it ! The same goes for Mani.

Oooops, that should be http://www.tuscanynow.com
How do I get this to be a URL ?

Oh it does automatically - how clever !
I'll just carry on talking to myself I think ..... mutter, mutter....