This is it!!!

Well, we have 9 days to go... For starters, I should tell you all should know how to get there:
Visualizzazione ingrandita della mappa
Visualizzazione ingrandita della mappa

Hotels vs. Serviced Apartments

No matter how early you try to prepare for these things, the bulk will always be done last minute. This is true on so many levels, and it's useless fighting it. You always think you have so much time still to take care of things... Until you don't. I can't believe we're little more than a month away!

It just so happens that the first weekend of May marks the beginning of tourist high season. Yes, I know. It sucks and so does any manner of excuse for a price increase in a crisis!

Which is why everyone who's asked me, upon deciding that it's time to start making preparations for their trip, has been advised to book an apartment as opposed to a hotel or b&b. Not that I'm anti b&b's. Some of them are quite charming and are good if you're planning to spend only a night or 2. But price wise, b&b's in Florence can be misleading. They're not at all cheap. Not to mention hotels. If they aren't branded or recently remodeled, chances are you're going to get an old room with no air conditioning and a lousy breakfast. So if you're planing at least a week's stay, look into furnished apartments, especially if you're a party larger than 2 people.

Florence is a culinary hub, surely. Full of every kind of trattoria, pizzeria and restaurant you'll ever want to try. But the food markets are a treasure trove too, and if you're into cooking, you might get excited by the fact that ingredients change everything. If you weren't so impressed by your cooking skills before, that might change with your new tools at hand. It's certainly worth a try, isn't it?

I've made friends with Sarah of Apartments in Florence
http://www.apartmentsinflorence.net/




They have a large selection of apartments and studios, central and on the periphery depending on what you prefer and how many people you're traveling with.


And Cristina of http://www.residenzadecerretani.com/ whose building is smack in the center by the Duomo and it doesn't really get much better than that.




Both of them have been exceedingly helpful to me and our guests about finding the right apartment for their stay.

In case there are still some of you who haven't finalized your accommodations, take a look at their sites!

the Villa

Villa Castelletti

I think the hardest thing we've encountered so far was choosing the Villa. I'm almost sure we didn't see as many as other couples do on average- we saw about 10-12 before deciding, but for us, given that I work out of town and we both only had weekends to devote to site inspections, that was a considerable number.

It just so happened that on this particular Sunday we brought both sets of parents with us to see this villa. Claudio had seen it while I was away for work, but he'd told me how much he liked this place and that it would probably be his vote if I liked it too.

It's stately, simple, and has a forest thing around it. 

I love the driveway, which circles down around this mini labyrinth style garden. It really is quite promising.

Long cypress-lined driveway, classic tuscan postcard.



There's also a lake!

 

We were all pretty much sure that this was the place.

There's also a little bed and breakfast attached to the property which can be reached via woody footpath. How's that for drama? There are only 21 rooms, which already include the bridal suite. This little place's claim to fame is it's apparently Kirstie Alley's favorite place to stay when she visits Florence. Yay. Maybe that might mean the food is good?

http://www.villacastelletti.it/inglese/borgo/HomeBorgo.htm

They're going to option the rooms for us at a special price until the end of the year, after which they'll be open and available at the regular price. So if you're interested to spend the night after the festivities, be sure to book in advance! It'll be great to have brunch all together!

Florence.

Welcome to Florence.

Claudio and I met here Seven years ago. That hardly seems possible, and yet here we are!

Most important on your to-do list will probably be accommodations. I'm going to post a list of our favorite hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels and serviced apartments so that you have a choice of where to stay depending on budget and length of stay. Part of the reason we chose to get married in May aside from the weather in Tuscany and the longer days, is because summer in Manila means no school for the kids and vacation season!

If you have the two weeks to spare, I recommend you stay at least that! There's so much to see. Shopping or no shopping.

When choosing where you want to stay, keep your map handy. Anywhere in the historical center is convenient and lovely, you may just want to avoid the area near the train station. Florence is a safe town, but I think it can be a general rule to avoid hotels near train stations anywhere in the world.

Let's start with a short list. I'll update as I remember.

Residence Hilda:

I remember it being cheaper when our friends came to stay here about 3 to 4 years ago, but if this is within your budget and you're only planning to stay the weekend, you're right by the Duomo smack in the middle of town, and it's a good option.

Il Salotto di Firenze:

This is a champion bb in terms of location. You're on via Roma, right in front of Luisa Via Roma, and so if shopping is on your agenda, you're going to like this place. It's simple and sparse, but in a city like Florence in the springtime, I doubt you're going to want to spend too much time lounging in your room.

Academy Hostel, via Ricasoli 9. www.academyhostel.eu

 

Update:

As hostels go, this place is very unhostelly. It's new, clean, and I know first hand that the service is EXCELLLLLENT. So if you're on a budget and don't mind hostel bathroom situations, you might want to stay here. You're a two-minute walk from the Duomo and a few steps away from the Accademia.

San Frediano Mansion:

I've never actually stayed here but it's a nice area, a lot of cute stores and quaint restaurants and bars. Could be a promising discovery!

These are our suggestions to start with. Coming up next, apartments for longer stays and things to do in Flo!

Welcome to May 5, 2012

Yet another wedding blog!

No, this isn't Really a wedding blog.

We are, however, getting married and so what better way to make use of this site finally, than to help our friends with destination wedding details!

I am also going to use this as a place to vent. I am going to complain about my unbrideliness with regards to planning, fretting, and planning... we're at T-6 months to the day! And you're going to want to ask me where we're at? In love, but without too many concrete plans. We have the villa, and the honeymoon! The two most important things, in my opinion.

So friends, welcome to our wedding plans! Claudio and I are thanking you all in advance for coming!