Florence by the Arno river is a must see. Ever wonder how it looks above everything? Well, first we recommend climbing to the top of the Duomo. Don't want to catch a line? You can see the Duomo from across the river from the Michelangelo plaza. If you are a real risk taker, then take your Mavic Pro to grab some great footage before the Firenze police grab you! It's illegal to fly within the city, however, on the country side, go for it. No penalties against it. Here is some footage we captured prior to knowing it was illegal thanks to one of the tour guides on one of the great tours. (More about the tour we took in blogs to come!)
Florence was the start of the renaissance. With exquisite art and people friendly streets, it would be hard to ignore how magnificent this little town is. The wealthy Medici family, a family of bankers with a passion for art and hefty egos, helped make Florence the epicenter of wealth. This is one gorgeous town.
Maneuvering around Florence - If you have a spirited soul and love the outdoors, It's highly recommended to walk everywhere in this town. There are taxis but no Uber here. Only Blah, Blah going further out of Florence which is similar to Uber. Florence isn't a big city, however, at the blink of an eye, you will miss something. Walking the streets constantly will you stay is a must if you would like to stumble upon small treasures you hadn't seen previously the day before. Taking the train to Downtown from one side of the river to another is so easy, a 2 year old could do it. For 1.20 euros you have the option of a roundtrip as long as you are in and out within 90 minutes. Remember topunch your ticket once on the train. If you are going a little further the inner city and outer city metro tickets all work on the metro and buses within the 90 minute period. The outer city metro and the bus systems are a little more perplexing and require some real resasoning to understand. Buses you must hail when approaching and you can buy a bus ticket from the driver for 1.50 euros. If they are out, you are obligated to get off on the next stop and try to catch another bus with tickets. Neglecting to do so, you could be caught and fined. A good Travel Hog would never ever do this in order to avoid trouble.
Want faster way to scoot around town and don't want to walk? A bicycle is ideal but just as a pedestrian, you have to be extremely cautious simple due to the zipping, rushing and anxious Italians. There is an accident almost every five minutes! Ok we are exaggerating here, but there are lots of accidents. Cars and buses will not wait, scooters, bikers and cyclist are rushing through narrow jammed streets. It's a huge mess and especially during the morning and evening rush hour. There is an app you can download called Mobike where you can rent a bike for a dollar an hour. It will show you all of the bikes near you. You map it within the app, scan it with the app and it will unlock the bike providing there aren't any technical issues with the bike. A Travel Hog had complications where the bike wouldn't unlock and it was charging time. Simply report it within the app and it will shut off so that you can go to another bike. Be persistant if you need to get a refund. You can find Mobikes almost everywhere in town and on the outskirts on both sides of the Arno river. Parking is anyplace that isn't private of illegal and the app tells you the no parking zones.