For Visitors to
Florence
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Stories From
Florence
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| Be sure to get
a MAP. Decent maps are available for free at the city's tourist
information offices. A map is important because the streets are laid out in a very irregular fashion and the street names change very frequently. This means that in a ten block walk the same street might have two or three different names! Look up to find street names on plagues set into the walls at corners and intersections. Names of streets usually begin with "via" or sometimes "viale" or "borgo" and "corso" for larger streets. |
"Beefsteak
for Solidarity" is an article that Zachary wrote for Anthropology News soon after he moved to Florence. It's a PDF so you'll need Adobe Reader to open it. |
| Consider
getting an Italian PHRASEBOOK. While many Florentines speak some
English, many do not or have trouble understanding American accents and
pronunciations. A phrasebook will help you pronounce Italian
words properly, and if people don't understand or if you don't
understand them, you can point to the phrases in the book. This
actually helps a lot! Also, most Florentines really appreciate
and admire foreigners who aren't afraid to try speaking Italian.
Usually, if they know English they will use it, but it is much more
polite to not assume that they do. |
More stories from Florence are
on the way! If you have one that you would like to share, please
contact us by email to zachary@discoverhiddenflorence.com |
| Wear good
WALKING SHOES. The downtown zone (called the centro storico ["chen-tro
stor-iko"] or historic center) is really best seen on foot, but the
pavement is very uneven in a lot of places and most streets and
sidewalks in the center are made of stone. |
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| The
best CURRENCY EXCHANGE rates come from ATM machines (called bancomat in Italian) which are
present at every bank and inside of post offices. Italian banks
don't charge fees for non-customers to use their ATMs and the amount
you withdraw will be taken from your account at the official
international exchange rate without any other fees or
percentages. This is almost always a much better value than using
any currency exchange service to change cash. If the ATM has an
English language option then choose "International cash advance" as
your transaction type. If not, then choose "circuiti internazionale".
This is not an actual advance, but a regualr withdrawal from your
account. |
|
| TIPPING is not
customary in Italian taxicabs or restaurants. In restaurants it
is common to have a coperto
or cover charge of two or three euro added to the bill. This is
usually notated at the bottom of the menu. Waiters and bartenders
have a salary like any other job and don't rely on tips like they do in
the U.S., and so in some cases, tipping or rounding up a bill is even
considered innapropriate, so wait for your change even if it's only
fifty cents. |
|
| COFFEE BARS
are just called bars in Florence, while American or British style bars
are called clubs or pubs. Coffee bars serve beer, wine,
and liquor as well, and usually offer light sandwiches and pastries
throughout the day and pasta dishes at lunchtime. If you sit down
at a bar you will pay a table charge, even if you don't get table
service, so it's perfectly common and acceptable to stand at the bar to
drink your coffee or eat your sandwich. Expect to pay 80-90 cents
for a coffee at the bar, but up to two or three euro for the same
coffee at a table! In Italy caffe normale or 'normal coffee' means espresso. Espresso with a little steamed milk (like a mini cappucino) is a caffe macchiato ["caf-eh mah-kee-ah-toe"]. A typical Florentine breakfast is a pastry and a cappucino and most Italians won't have cappucino after the morning. |
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| RESTROOMS are
not available in stores and in coffee bars and restaurants are reserved
for customers. Order a coffee or a snack and then ask where the
bathroom is or look for the sign that says bagno ["ban-yoh"]. |