Hi sis mama squeak! I'll try my best to answer your questions, pagpasensyahan mo na sis medyo mahaba, here it goes:
3 nights in Florence and 2 nights in Lucca I think is enough time I but think it will be very tiring. Chianti and Siena are nearer in Florence, so it's better to visit there while you're in Florence. Walking distance lang naman all the tourist spots in Florence like Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Duomo, Mercato Centrale, San Lorenzo Market and Galleria Láccademia (where you get to see Michaelangelo's David),but unfortunately we weren't able to go to Galleria Láccademia kasi you need to be really early there para hindi masyadong mahaba ang pila. Regarding a reasonably priced trattoria, we ate at Trattoria Zaza just beside Mercato Centrale
. For outlet shopping, I just mentioned that the deals from Barberino are not really good, so it's better to visit The Mall I think. We haven't been to Chianti but I researched some good wine tasting areas there beforehand since I thought dun nga kami magstay. For wine tasting, try going to Le Cantine in Greve in Chianti (
http://www.lecantine.it/cantineUtente/degustazione.php) where you get to buy a prepaid card and taste different kinds of wines in one place and also Museo del Vino in Greve for a guided wine tour. Then afterwards head to Castello di Vicchiomaggio or Castello di Verrazzano for some fantastic views.
Regarding Lucca, ah dito ako madaming masasabi. Lol. We stayed not really near the walls but 30 minutes up from the city center, in a small town called Ghivizzano. We did our wine tasting here in Lucca, just a 10 minute drive from the wall in a place called Fattoria Sardi Giustiniani
http://www.sardigiustiniani.com/. Here, you can just walk in and pay 8 euros per person for a guided wine tour of the vineyard, cellar and wine tasting for 5 different kinds of wine. Bf and I enjoyed our time here because our guide ( I forgot her name but she is Greek), was jolly and super makwento, we also did the tour with an old Danish couple and it was super fun. You can also buy some of their wines onsite. What I meant with the coffee in Lucca is that it is so cheap. A cup of cappuccino only costs 1.20 and it is really good (Italian coffee never fails
) I think we're having 3-5 cups coffee a day the whole time we're in Italy. Lol. They also have a market within the center every week but I don't know exactly the schedule. It's also nice rent a bike to cycle around the walls, bike rental costs 3 euros per hour and can be found near the entrance. For shopping, I discovered a leather shop in Lucca where they sell real leather bags, wallets etc. that they make onsite. As in pagpasok mo pa lang, amoy mo na agad ang leather. Lol. It's hard kasi to distinguish the real leather in Florence kasi dami na daw manloloko dun, so I avoided buying there. The name of the shop is Officina della Pelle and I highly recommend it. For colorful leather items and some leather souvenirs, there is an outlet of Mywalit inside Piazza Anfiteatro. There is also a Benetton Stock Outlet located along via A. Mordini, and an outlet shop just along via Anfiteatro (outside Anfiteatro) named "Inoutlet". We just discovered the latter accidentally but they sell Italian leather boots for outlet prices, yun nga lang broken sizes sya.
From the city center of Lucca, you can go up to the mountains and check the small town of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana (around 30-40 minutes). It's very quiet here but also very scenic and nice to go around. We went inside the castel (spooky!) and then just explored this charming town. On the way to Castelnuovo, you will pass an odd-looking bridge in Borgo a Mozzano named Ponte del Diavolo. Here you can stop for a bit of picture-taking. Hehe.
Regarding the Italian drivers, yes they really arehorrible. My bf is a very careful driver and yet mangilan ngilan beses kami muntikan maaskidente. Siguro within the city center they are careful but on the way to the mountains, for example if you plan to go to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, they are the worst. And also you can see old people cycling on the highway and seems they don't care. Lots of cars overtaking and almost taking the other side of the lane. The weather when we went there was ok but not really great because 2-3 days it was raining. Also there are lots of lightning and thunderstorms in the evening
. But do not let the weather ruin your trip and just enjoy Tuscany, tutal weather naman is always unpredictable. Hehe.
I hope I answered all your queries sis. If you have any more questions you can PM me or ask again here. Enjoy Italy!
