Florence Journal

Florence & Tuscany Bike Tours

Bike tours, both in the center of Florence and in the countryside of Tuscany and the Chianti hills seem to have exploded in popularity in the last few years. Perhaps it is mix of affordability and doing something that is good for you that is drawing so many people to this type of tourism. In any case, there are several bike tours from many companies available in Florence, below are a few ideas:

TUSCANY BIKE TOUR


FLORENCE BIKE TOUR


FLORENCE SUNSET BIKE TOUR

La Tranquilla

La Tranquilla is a quiet two bedroom luxury rental apartment in the heart of Florence on Borgo Degli Albizi. The entrance is through a courtyard out of a Florentine fairy tale:

La Tranquilla has a comfortable living room complete with satellite TV, WiFi, and double sofa bed (140 cm wide), as well as a dining area and a fully equipped kitchen. There are two lovely, bright colored bedrooms (one upstairs and one down) each with a queen size bed (160 cm wide), and one new and spacious bathroom with shower. Off the living area is a small private terrace, a perfect place to enjoy sitting under the Tuscan sun.

Although the apartment is updated with modern amenities, it also retains many original features such as wooden paneled ceilings and traditional Italian terracotta floors. It is extremely quiet and tucked away and makes for a very peaceful home away from home. From 1,700 euro a week in high season. More information, and online booking, here.

Palazzo Uguccioni, self catering apartments in Piazza Signoria

We want to mention Palazzo Uguccioni today for a few reasons: we just finished making their website, many of the photos of Florence on the home page are my original shots, and (not least) it is a great place to stay, right in the heart of Florence. We highly recommend it if you are a looking for a holiday apartment in Florence:

C'è acnhe un sito di lingua italiana: Palazzo Uguccioni

Lonely Planet Blogsherpa

Florence Journal is part of Lonely Planet's Blogsherpa beta. That means you can find our posts on the Lonely Planet website.

There are a ton of other good traveler/tourist/expat type of blogs in this program - below are the current members:

• HappyTimeBlog
• Seat of our Pants
• UnpoppedCollar
• AlpacaSuitcase
• EvertheNomad
• JustWandering
• Uncommon Travel
• LexParadise
• AViewtoaThrill
• TravelWithDenDen
• ToddsWanderings
• This is Ghana
• MyBellaVita
• AfricaAttraction
• SophiesWorld
• MalaysiaAsia
• Photito
• FreeWheelings
• Coconutradio
• SendtheBuggerBack
• PatrinaDoesTheGlobe
• MelHotorNot
• BnEHotorNot
• TeachTravelPlay
• ALadyinLondon
• sunsetmood
• FunneKotter
• IndianBazaars
• MatthewTed
• IamKohChang
• GrandCycleTour
• IMovedToAfrica
• InsideTheTravelLab
• CheapWeekendBreaks
• Vagabond.com
• Nateaniale
• CamTheBrink
• TuckJoeTuck-
• MusicRoad
• BearShapedSphere
• MyKindofTownandAround
• TravelingNaturally
• BrokeAssStuart
• BackpackingontheCheap
• AnnetteLyttle-
• DoveInnBedandBreakfast
• TheViewFromFez
• GleniaCampbell
• GirlsForGhana
• WhatUpVienna
• RexFiles
• ThePlanetD

European Vacation Sale

From Expedia - these offers are good for 5 more days:

Last Week to save: European Vacation Deals - Flight + 4 Nights from $702! - Expires 3/31/10

Venice Travel Blog

Durant and Cheryl Imboden have been running the successful and influential travel website Europe For Visitors for a long time - as long as I can remember there being an Internet! Now it seems like they are either living or spending an extended time in Venice, where they are blogging about the day to day life there - good stuff - check it out: Venice Travel Blog

New Tuscany blog

I have been working on a new blog for Tuscany Rent Direct - Tuscany Blog - it is a place for them to both feature the villas and apartments they have for rent, as well as post news, travel tips, and things to do in Tuscany and Florence. They also have links to weather and Florence events, and will be featuring content from Chianti News magazine, like an interesting article about the festival of St. Luke in Impruneta:

"The festival of St. Luke the evangelist, the patron saint of artists and doctors, is celebrated on October 18th (the actual festival date changes from year to year - check the Comune website for the actual date). Impruneta, a municipality in the province of Florence on the hills between the torrent Ema and the river Greve, has been celebrating him for over 1,000 years with an old cattle fair."

You can also follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rentdirect and become a fan on Facebook (where hopefully we'll get around to posting special offers, etc. in the near future!).

Villa Rentals In Florence

I have been consulting for this website, Tuscany Rent Direct, that specializes in direct to consumer rentals in Tuscany, including Florence, Siena, Chianti wine country and beyond. They have a nice and ever expanding selection of apartments in Florence, and I think after a few months, we have made some positive changes to the user experience of the site. If you get a chance, check it out - and if you or anyone you know is looking for a rental villa or apartment anywhere in Tuscany, please pass this along!

Also - if you own a villa or apartment in the region and have it listed for rent or are considering it, check out their options for owners. There is a 6 month free listing offer available and you get a lot - photos, floor plans, Google map locations, SMS alerts, etc.

Agriturismo in Tuscany

We get a lot of questions about where to stay in Tuscany, especially in wine country. Here are a few suggestions of places we know and highly recommend:

Borgo Casa al Vento - the owner is a good friend and the property and wine are great. This is in Gaiole, so if you want a base closer to Siena than Florence and the wine country south of there (Montepulciano, Montalcino) it is a great choice - and you are still in the heart of Chianti Classico. Suites, rooms, and a villa are available. Pictures of the 2009 harvest here.

Fattoria Corzano e Paterno - fantastic family run winery and farm, they make exceptional sheep's milk cheese from their own herd, as well as excellent wine. Closer to Florence if you want to take in the sights of the city. A "real" agriturismo - this is a working operation! See video below for a little more insight.

Fattoria Rignana - one of the first places I fell in love with in Chianti. Just on the edge of Panzano, deep in the woods, the wine is amazing, as is the villa, with its own chapel and fantastic pool overlooking a valley full of vineyards, olive groves, and the hills beyond. Breakfast served outdoors in season. Great restaurant nearby. Pictures of the 2008 harvest here.

For all of the above I would definitely rent a car.

Tuscany Rent Direct

We just found a new website that is offering villa rentals in Tuscany without any commissions or fees - Tuscany Rent Direct. It is pretty useful for finding properties and has some nice built in tools, including locations on Google maps, and the ability to automatically translate your emails to the owners into their own language (so if you write in English and they might have a hard time understanding it, with a mouse click they can read it in Italian for example). They have a couple of hundred properties listed already and are adding more every day.