The Purple Penguin

We took the train which is a nice way to go though we didn’t get much sleep. So were a bit tired the first day. The other problem was the train was late – both ways. We were two hours late into Florence and about an hour late into Paris on the return. We booked plenty of leeway into our change at Paris (about 5 hours) so no worries but many people were trying to catch the 11.30 Eurostar service – the train got in at 10 so it would have a been a close run if they didn’t know exactly how to get to Gare du Nord!

Definitely book museum tickets on the web before you go. Be aware that you may need to exchange your voucher for an actual ticket. At the Uffizi we headed straight for the door which was marked ‘pre-booked tickets’ only to be told we had to go to door 3, then back to door 1 to enter. Not a big deal but can save you some walking.

Florence has lots of museums, plan carefully! Best line of the holiday was overheard while we were in the Uffizi gift shop: “Hurry up! The next museum closes in an hour!”

Check the web for museum opening times as these change. Some museums have early closing as well.

Go to the popular museums earlier and if you find yourself in a room with a huge crowd just wait a minute or two. Most of the large crowds are tour groups and they tend to cruise through the museums looking at the highlights and don’t tend to stand by them for very long.

There is a lot of information about rip off restaurants in Florence but we really didn’t find that a problem. Perhaps we got lucky! We did check the guidebook for the types of food we wanted and found that generally it was all good. Note that service is generally included in the price and if in doubt ask. They didn’t mind and one place actually pointed out that it was included and we shouldn’t leave a tip.

And finally, if you can, stay at Hotel Balestri! And if you can ask for a particular room, get room 502. It has a small terrace with table and chairs with views over the river to Ponto Vecchio and the view out the window is of the Palazzo Vecchio. There is also a larger terrace which is shared amongst the four rooms on the 5th floor with views over the city, including the Palazzo, Duomo, and Santa Croce. It is within easy walking distance of most things in the city, only minutes from the Uffizi and Santa Croce. The staff is very nice and very helpful.

Also we booked through Railbookers. Very nice, very helpful and I think we got a good on the hotel and travel. The only compliant was that on the way out on Eurostar our seats were not near each other. But that was solved in a person very nicely moving for us.