Personal Experiences & Advice

valventures.blog

Learning how to navigate in a city filled with friendly people and fun places to visit!

Part I: Important International Travel Tips!

Travel insurance is always a good idea to purchase for comfort in case of lost luggage and/or delayed flights, etc. (CSA is a good one —-> CSA Travel Protection

Register with the US Embassy on their website. —> step.state.gov/step/ This is an important step to take in case your passport is stolen. If that does occur you will be able to go to the nearest US Embassy in the city you are staying and they will assist you.

Make copies of your passport to place in luggage and carry-ons for the flight

Take at least two credit cards and a check debit card with you. (Do not bring a savings account withdrawal card! It does not work in international ATM machines.) Many merchants prefer cash for purchases but credit cards are good for emergencies or larger purchases. Make sure to contact the credit card companies prior to leaving for your trip to let them know the dates of travel and check the fees for international purchases. When contacting your bank about the check debit card inform them of how much money you plan to withdraw on a daily basis. (On my first trip I didn’t realize why I couldn’t make a withdraw from a bank ATM machine. I contacted my bank from Florence, Italy and was told that I had to give them a heads up of a daily withdraw amount. ) Make the amount higher than what you plan and you shouldn’t have any problems.

Contact credit card companies companies, and especially, your bank, prior to travel. This avoids the chance that your bank will reject an amount you withdraw from your checking account.

Purchase Euros Before Your Trip? – Maybe not! Here is my take on the whole euro exchange/prep thing. I have talked to people who think it is a great idea to purchase a “starter” pack of euros from a travel agency. However, my personal experience was a travel agent in the US told me to pay a “fee” for a certain amount of my US dollars to be converted into euros. The amount purchased would either go up or down, depending on the international exchange rate for the moment. So, if I was given three hundred euros, there was a chance that the worth in US dollars would be less by the time I got to Italy. The other option was to go to an exchange booth either in the European airport or final destination. I learned quickly that the exchange booths attach extra fees on top of the fee for exchanging your US dollars. My tip: Go to the ATM machine at the airport you first land in. Do not use the exchange booth in the airport or any European city. Exchange booths charge exorbitant fees and you will walk away wondering how you lost over $100 of your money in the transaction!

ATM Machines: It is very important to use an ATM machine that is associated with a bank. If you use a random ATM machine on the street you will find your final bank statement with a fee of at least $30 or more dollars attached to each transaction! Of course, your bank will automatically attach a fee for each transaction but it will be much lower. (For my bank it was $5 per transaction.) Furthermore, take out a larger amount at one time so that you don’t have to keep returning to the ATMs!

ATM Scam Alert: Each time you use an ATM machine always cover your hand as you are putting in the security access code. There are tricky little thieves all over the world who have discovered ways of randomly replacing the cameras in ATMs and/or stick gadgets within the machine to steal your information. For a closer look at these scam methods check out this website: https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/3875481/atm-scams-money-criminal-tamper-card-machine-steal/

Leave copies of your planned travel itinerary at home along with credit card numbers and security codes for yourself and family members in case of an emergency. While it can be time consuming, it is worth the effort.

Luggage Tags and locks: While there are no guarantees that your luggage won’t be lost, it is better to lessen the chances of this happening by protecting each luggage piece, including your carry-on, with special tags that can be tracked, such as a SmartTag (This is sold on Amazon for both Androids and iPhones.) and TSA locks or ties. Purchase special covers for your Passport and credit cards! RFID blocking sleeves can be purchased sold Amazon. They will protect your information from being scanned and provide great identity theft protection.

Special plugs for outlets: Prior to your trip make sure to purchase special plugs designed for European outlets to charge cell phones, use laptops, etc. Don’t bring an american hair dryer like I did on my first trip! The European outlets are not equipped to handle the wattage and you may find yourself in a situation similar to mine where the circuits over load and suddenly all the electric is kaput! (I was scolded by a hotel employee. Lesson learned!) Not to worry! Most hotels and other rentals are equipped with hair dryers.

Places to Stay

If you are not planning to go with a tour company and being bused to various hotels, renting an apartment is a great idea! Being on your own and staying in an apartment is a much more relaxing way to visit a city.
Airbnb.com – I love this website for finding places to stay in Italy at reasonable costs! I have used it a total of four times and never been disappointed. You can find a reasonably priced apartment for your vacation with air conditioning, WIFI, a washer, and even Cable TV! People rent out their apartments all year long throughout the world. In Italy, there are many to choose from. Just be sure to do it months in advance if you are planning a summer trip. Summer is “high season” for Italian hotel and apartment renters. The nice places get booked up quickly.

Airbnb includes a great option to add filters so you can easily narrow down your search with how much you want to spend, the amount of rooms, etc. There are also reviews from previous tenants and it is very easy to communicate with the apartment owners through messaging on the website. By the way, many of apartment owners speak English in case you do not understand any Italian!

Letzia, the apartment owner of where I stayed in the Romana District in June 2025, treated me to a lovely breakfast at a local cafe!

Taxi!

When I visited Florence for the first time with my mother in August 2013, we became lost for over an hour on foot. (Previously, the tour guide from Trafalgar said it was easy to find our hotel since all the streets were around the Duomo in the center of town. This was not true for us!) After walking continually for over an hour in circles, I decided that it was best to hail a taxi. Little did I know that the reason all the taxis sped by and ignored my frantic waving was because that getting a taxi in Italy is not the same as in the United States! You must either go to a specific area that has taxis stationed there or use a phone to call ahead.  That is why I am hoping to help you avoid any experiences like mine by clicking on this highlighted link of —>taxi locations which will help you find a taxi station area that is convenient for you in Florence….or you can just call for one!
Phoning a taxi can be a little tricky because after pressing the button for English you will hear an advertisement and then a fast-talking voice of an operator who may or may not speak English that well. These taxis are very high in demand, especially during the “high season” of summer. Therefore, it is important to know the correct address of where you are standing. I had many great experiences and only a few problems with Florence taxis. One year, a problem arose when I took a taxi to a tanning salon (Yes, I said tanning salon…I just wanted to try it.) The ride there was great! However, when I telephoned for a return ride, the operator appeared to have trouble understanding my location. It took over a half hour for the taxi to find me!
Here are a few taxi phone numbers:
055.4242, 055.4390, 055.4798
 Another option is to use a new taxi app on your cell phone! I have never tried it but I certainly will on my next trip! This may be used on an iPhone or Android: it-taxi-app
Personal Experience\Taxi Tip: Many of the taxi drivers speak very little English but they are skilled drivers and will understand how to get you to the proper destination. (I had many conversations with taxi drivers in Florence and each one was courteous and dedicated to their job.) You do not need to tip them. If you are planning to take a taxi from the Florence airport, a ride to the center of town will be a flat rate of 20 to 22 euros plus 1 euro per piece of luggage. A nice way to show appreciation is to round up the fare to the nearest euro. Frequently, I tipped an extra euro if I felt a driver was super friendly. 

A Lovely Little Tour – Museo Bottega Firenze

Last summer, I took a tour in the middle of Florence, that is very low in cost but high in interesting information about the history of a family owned store which created the Biscotti di Prato. These famous biscotti cookies originated with Antonio Mattei in the mid 1800s. The tour was easy to arrange online and when I arrived I was welcomed warmly and given a cup of water. When the rest of the tour guests arrived a table was setup with biscotti cookies in cups and Vin Santo wine for dipping. I cannot even express in words how delicious these cookies were. Other soft, round sweet cookies were given in a small dish – just right with a cup of coffee! I would loved to have brought some home but I was told they would only stay fresh for a day or two. You can order their cookies online at the website: https://www.antoniomattei.it/it/chi-siamo. The staff tried to call a taxi for my return trip to the apartment but none were available. I decided to walk! They were so kind and gave me a yummy, complimentary muffin to take with me.

Cooking in the Chianti Hills with Luca & Lorenzo

What an amazingly fun and informative cooking tour this was! Lovexfooditaly is comprised of Luca and Lorenzo, two friendly individuals who live in the Chianti Hills of Tuscany! They run an all day cooking tour from their beautiful home! It starts at the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence. Lorenzo usually comes to greet everyone and rides the train with tour groups. He talks about the founding of their incredible business. Upon arrival at the destination, not far from their home, people are divided in two separate cars for a final ride. Luca and Lorenzo are not only knowledgeable about Italian cooking, but extremely hospitable and funny!

When our group was brought to their gorgeous home, it was a full day of cooking, laughter, and enjoyable conversation. We started out with learning how to make tiramisu on their front porch at a long table. After that there was wine and some tasty snacks. Then we all went inside to participate in making our own pasta. This was so much fun and a real challenge for me! I never knew how much work it took to make the dough just right by using a rolling pin. Seeing their adorable pets was also a nice experience! One of their cats was a beautiful Maine Coon and one of their cute Jack Russell terriers accompanied us to the kitchen. The final treat of eating what we created was amazing and delicious! Luca and Lorenzo are so much fun and a delight to visit. I highly recommend visiting their website and following them on Instagram! Just go to https://www.lovexfood.com/cooking-class-in-tuscany/ to discover more information.