Florence Siena Chianti Lucca Pisa San Gimignano….TUSCANY

My most recent trip to Europe was to Italy… Tuscany specifically. After a decade of standing up a tech start up, I took a break from work to slow down and take some time for myself. I had completely burnt out on work and was non-stop pushing myself until I could push no more. The break was a time to allow me to take a deep breath, handle some personal health issues, take time to spend with my daughter, visit friends and travel the world – simply enjoying life in the moment. It was the first time I REALLY disconnected in a decade. No email, no one to call back, no fire drill to handle – just me taking it all in and enjoying the moment.

Knowing I would be going alone, I wanted to make sure that I planned out my trip very carefully so that I could really take in the city, the countryside and see all the important things in the region. I’ve been to Italy several times prior to this, but I had never been to Tuscany before. I used several different resources to plan 1) Viator 2) Kensington Tours 3) general web research.

In planning for the trip, I looked for high rated hotels near the city center (wanted to be walking distance to everything) and of course wanted the hotel to be nice (no, I’m not the hostel type in my mid-40’s). I found several and was mindful of three main components 1) cost 2) location and most importantly 3) reviews – I landed on the FRAME HOTEL.

My flight from Orlando arrived in Florence around 2:00 PM on Friday afternoon and I was picked up by a private driver in a Mercedes with a guide (arranged through Kensington Tours). It was about a 30-minute drive from the Florence airport to my hotel.

The Frame Hotel is a beautifully renovated hotel located right in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of town. When you enter the hotel, there is a circular staircase heading up to the rooms and all the walls are lined with different versions of the Mona Lisa. The interesting story about this hotel (that I didn’t know until I was there) … The Frame Hotel in Florence is located in a historic palace and is known for its unique history. The building, formerly known as Albergo Tripoli, is where the famous Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci was recovered in 1913, two years after it was stolen from the Louvre in Paris by Vincenzo Peruggia. Hence all the different Mona Lisa artwork that now hangs on every wall in the hotel.

The first night I had booked a food and wine tour in Florence at 5:00. I dropped my bag off, freshened up and looked for the meeting spot. Since I had just arrived and didn’t know the lay of the land just yet, I decided to take an UBER to the location. *Note: The UBERS in Florence specifically are more like private cars and are quite expensive. Once you know your way around the city you can walk everywhere or if you want a car, the taxis are suitable. Once dropped off, I met up with the group (all couples except for me) which I had booked through Viator. This was a food and wine walking tour of Florence. The guide was knowledgeable and absolutely lovely. We stopped at several different spots throughout the town, tasting wines, cheeses and foods local to Italy and overall had a very immersive experience. My favorite part – the wine window where we all stopped to buy a glass of wine through a tiny window in the side of a building.

Over the course of the rest of the trip, I took many tours booked through both Viator and Kensington Tours (all pre-planned and pre-booked). When booking tours for different locations, I start with a simple web search of MUST-SEE things in that location. I read through the lists and look for things that seem interesting to me. Then I look through Viator for similar activities and/or other highly recommended activities. Once again, always going with the highest reviews – the last thing you want to do is spend money on something that is poorly planned, sketchy, unsafe or a general rip off. Another important thing to note: always book your tours ahead of time. If you wait until you get there, the tours will be sold out and you will miss out on all the cool things that you could have scheduled. I ALSO recommend scheduling FREE days where there is nothing planned. You need to rest in between trips so you don’t burn out and end up not enjoying all the amazing things you are seeing.

For this trip I did a combination of several Viator and Kensington Tours. I had never used Kensington Tours before, so this was my chance to try them out. They offer high-end tours with private drivers, tour guides, luxury cars – they are great for people that want to experience things in style. Highly recommend if you are apprehensive at all about booking things for yourself or if you are unsure; they take care of everything, and it is all top-notch service, vehicles and tours (all English speakers).

I stayed in Florence the whole time (didn’t switch hotels this trip) but I made day trips to all of the following places: Siena, Chianti, Lucca, Pisa and San Gimignano (some group trips, some individual trips with a private driver). When deciding on a group or individual trip, I recommend some combination of both. For many people it can be intimidating walking into a group of people on your own, but I have met some incredible people this way and it’s fun to experience things with others. It’s also nice sometimes to have a private driver all to your own without anyone else’s limitations. The only thing I would say is that I typically prefer smaller groups, so no more than 8 people in the group total. All places that I visited were incredible, different and all worth seeing for different reasons. One of the most comical stops was in Pisa where I watched hundreds of tourists “holding up” the leaning tower of Pisa in all of their pictures. I took many wine tours and just enjoyed living in the moment as I soaked in the rich wine and olive history of Italy.

Outside of having your tours pre-booked, I also recommend bringing layers (never hurts to have a good pashmina or shawl with you), good walking shoes and a cross body or shoulder bags that you can drape across the front of you. Shoes are important because you WILL be walking many miles per day, no matter where you go, and the streets are typically cobblestone. The cross-body bags are recommended 1) for safety (harder to steal) and 2) for ease of access - you can easily grab your money or sunglasses without setting your bag down and your hands are free to try samples and free to touch/pick up all the souvenirs you are sure to buy. I have an amazing Canvelle bag that is a black fanny pack that looks like a nice fabric but is in fact made from recycled bags (yay earth friendly!) – it is my MUST have for traveling. Big enough to hold everything, but not so big it’s a pain to carry.

Obviously, all the different resources are listed below – but sharing this information hopefully makes it a little less scary to go out into the world on your own and explore. I have had so many rewarding experiences and friendships come out of traveling solo and I have NEVER regretted a single trip.

-Carrie H.