Guido the guide in Florence

[10july86]

JeterCab-

 

Thanks for your suggestion. I did email Guido this morning asking if he's still available for next July and if so to hire him. After reading such wonderful reviews about him I decided to suck it up and ignore the price. Afterall, this is a once in a lifetime trip and my daughter has been begging to see Italy for sometime now. I'll let you know what happens.

 

Brianne

[bigmjh]

You won't be sorry! BTW - Guido also pre-arranged tickets for us to see David ... when we arrived there was a line about three blocks long. Guido took us to the front (where he knew the person at the door) we were passed inside with no waiting. This alone probably saved us at least an hour or two of standing in that line.

[10july86]

bigmjh-

 

I emailed Guido today and he is all our when we dock in Livorno (on a Monday) next July. I know the museums are closed on Monday's but I'm sure he'll find some other wonderful things for us to experience. I would like to see Tuscany if possible.

 

If you have any suggestions I would appreciate it.

 

Thanks-Brianne

[Momof3kids]

Bigmjh,

We were wondering how you managed to book Guido for 2007? We contacted him and he told us he would book in late Sept. or early Oct. for next summer. He told us some people send there credit card info, but it wasn't necessary yet he would wait on us. Did you just go ahead and send it? We want to book him, but are a little hesitant to wait until Sept. or Oct. because there will be 2 RCL ships in port that day, and we want to make sure we have a private driver. Others, who sound good are booking now, so we are trying to figure out what to do. We hate to keep pressing Guido about it. We have already sent 3 emails. Any info would be appreciated.

[cmb1216]

Momof3kids,

When will you be in Florence? We will be there on Saturday, June 23, 2007. I am also hoping to book Guido and he also told me that he would not be taking bookings until the end of September. He is the only tour guide in Italy I still need to book.

Carol

[10july86]

cmb1216-

 

I just booked Guido today for July 2, 2007 for our family. He didn't say anything about not booking until Sept.

[cmb1216]

cmb1216-

 

I just booked Guido today for July 2, 2007 for our family. He didn't say anything about not booking until Sept.

 

Thanks - I am going to send him an email right now.

[10july86]

Good luck. I just emailed him today and got a confirmation. Let me know what happens.

[Momof3kids]

We will be there on 6/4/07. I am not sure about why he is booking some and waiting on some. Please let us know if anyone gets anymore info.

[PanchaO]

I just returned from the Mediteranian. We had Guido in Florence. He was great. He arranged for us to see David. We went there first thing and walked right in. He took us all around Florence and gave us 1 1/2 hours to shop. then he took us to a friends wine shop where we had wine tasting and fresh bruchetta and bread with balsamic vinegar. It was delicious. Next we went to Pisa. He charged us E600 for 8 people. Believe it or not, I booked him in June for August!

[Dorothy]

Jetercab-

I'm so excited to hear about your experience. Looking forward to your review. Guido is wonderful.

 

For those booking next year, don't panic. I didn't book that far ahead. Just ask Guido when to check back and then check back. I'm sure it will all work out.

 

PanchaO-That was Antonella's wine shop called, " Enoteca Ponte Vecchio Wine Shop". Antonella is fabulous, too. We ended up ordering an entire case of wine from her and still keep in touch. I'm glad you got to experience the wine tasting with her. Isn't she a love?

[lss111]

Does she ship the wine to US ?? LSS

[kadamon]

PanchaO-

 

Thanks for sharing with us about your experience with Guido. How much were the tickets to see David? Trying to plan how many euros we need to bring along for that excursion. Also, we would love to visit Antonella's but there are some kids in our group. Do you think it would be okay if we went with them?

 

We weren't fortunate (or fast) enough to book Guido himself but went ahead and booked 2 of his other 4 drivers for my family. (There's 12 of us!) We are really looking forward to it!

 

Marylee

[JeterCab]

Hi Marylee,

I was just looking at these figures last night when working on my review from the 7/30 sailing. PanchaO, correct me if this is wrong...the tickets were 9.5 euros pp and an additional 3 euros pp for the reservation. We purchased wine with our credit card. I believe The Church of Santa Croce also had a small addmission fee of 5 Euros pp. (We also paid for lunch with Antonella.) It may be fine to bring the children but I don't know if they'd enjoy being there. Perhaps ask how long you'll be there. We stayed for what I think many children would say was too long. Ask Guido his thoughts on this. Hope this info. helps...

[Dorothy]

I don't think it would be a good idea to have children in the wine shop. I thought it was a bit small and I would worry that they might bump into bottles.

 

In regards to shipping the wine. Antonella does ship the wine to the states. A case of wine cost me $200+ to ship. That does not include the cost of the wine. The wine is excellent, but I don't know if I want to spend that much again. If you have the means to purchase some and bring it back with you via ship and plane you may be better off. The reason it is so expensive, it has something to do with the FDA.

[PanchaO]

We ate lunch at the square near Il Duomo. Fast pizza, we didn't want to waste time. We would rather shop. We then went to the wine shop. We ate the bruchetta and tasted wine and were not charged for it. We bought perhaps 5 0r 6 bottles of wine. Nothing expensive.

 

As for children, it depends how old they are and how wel they behave. We had a 14 and a 16 year old with us..They were offered some wine even.

 

Next to the wine shop is a cute little store with Ventian glass jewelry and items in it. We bought a few items in there. (You know Guido gets a kick back from all these places, but that's what happens when you take a tour guide..they take you to their places!)

[lss111]

Thanks for the info, looking forward to our Guido tour in Sept. LSS

[rensak]

. We did not do lunch when we were there. I had mentioned to Guido, I wanted to do some wine tasting and we went to his friends wine shop. We had others in our group and they needed to do some shopping, so we dropped them first in San Lorenzo. His friend Antonella ended up making so many yummy snacks we couldn't think of eating lunch.

 

We have booked with Guido (well another driver of his since he already was taken!) - did you pay for the wine tasting? when I asked him about this he said it was 15E per person and included light lunch. Would probably prefer what you had.

 

Also can someone please let me know how much time is really needed in Pisa - one person in our group thinks we need 2 hours - from what I've been reading, looks like Guido/his driver will bring us right onto the field so we won't need to walk very far.

[Dorothy]

Antonella made homemade bruschetta and had a selection of goat cheeses that are from the tuscany region. That was plenty for us. We were stuffed with that and the wine. If you buy wine, it would be best to try and bring it with you. I had a case shipped and the fee just for shipping was $200!! The wine itself was very reasonable. Excellent wine too. All from tuscany and all estate bottled.

 

In regards to Pisa, if all you plan to see there is the Leaning Tower, we were there about 30-45minutes and that was plenty of time for us. We did not go into the tower, just walked around the outside. There is a long line of souvenir kiosks. This was all junk. I didn't spend a cent on any of it. San Lorenzo (in Florence) had much better quality of souvenirs.

[bigmjh]

Two hours to see what is probably the most beautiful city in Italy???

 

We were in Florence (with Guido) for about 4 hours ... and wish we had had 4 days. As it was we barely got a taste of the city. The only museum we went in was to see David ... the Uffizi warrants a full day in itself. We did not "shop" or spend much time in the many cathedrals. Yes, Guido drove us right up to the doorsteps of most of the tourist attractions ... which does save time. But you really MUST get out of the car ... EXPERIENCE the piazas ... the breath-taking beauty of Santa Croce ... wander past the gold shops on Ponte Vecchio ... sit an enjoy a glass of wine in the sidewalk cafes of Piazza della Signoria ... visit the tombs of Michelangelo, Gallileo and Machiavelli in Santa Croce. You will fall in love with Florence ... and you WILL wish you had more time there.

[rensak]

Dorothy, thanks for the info.

 

bigmjh, I had asked if we really needed 2 hrs in Pisa...would much rather spend the xtra time in Florence! Thanks for reaffirming!

[mcintyre9454]

We just returned from our Med Cruise with my family of five (myself, dh, son-20, daughter-19, and daughter-8) and by unanimous decision our highlight of the week long cruise was our day in Florence with the memorable Guido!!!!! I just can not say enough about this gentleman and how warm and welcomed he made our family feel. We had tour guides utilized for the Amalfi Drive, Messina, Rome and Pisa/Florence...and ALL the guides were great....but there is something about Guido that combines both the wonderful knowlege of the area AND an extremely endearing outgoing and friendly personality! We also went to Antonellas and she is equally endearing! Re: bringing a younger child along....my youngest is 8 years old. She felt totally welcomed in the shop by both Antonella and Guido even tho she couldn't partake of the wine. As a matter of fact, when Guido noticed that my daughter wasn't really eating any of the wonderful antipasta that Antonella prepared.....he "disappeared" for a couple of minutes and when he returned he had a "present" for our daughter.....a wonderful piece of pizza for her! He noticed on his own that she wasn't really eating (my daughter did not complain at all, so this was entirely Guido's insightful nature) and took it upon himself to venture out for a piece of pizza for her. Do not worry...Antonella'sw wonderful antipasta was not wasted at all.....the four of us eagerly gobbled up our daughter's portion! :D Honestly, I can not say enough wonderful things about Guido! And Dorothy, thank you so much for bringing Guido to my attention. We booked him on only 2 weeks notice after I read your review. Definetly a highlight of our vacation!

[bigmjh]

resak - I'm so SORRY ... in my haste (or poor eyesight!) I mis-read your post. I totally agree with Dorothy ... 30-45 minutes in Pisa is plenty of time ... and Guido will drive you within a few dozen yards of the tower ... not like the buses that park way outside the town.

[Dorothy]

McIntyre,

 

I am so happy that you shared a fabulous experience with Guido. You got the same feeling that we did with him. He is friendly. Kind of like an endearing old friend. Someone you feel like you have known. And that was so sweet that he went out and got your daughter pizza!

Antonella is great, too! I love reading about them and how much everyone is enjoying them.

[Momof3kids]

We have heard many wonderful things about Guido, and so we checked with him several months ago about being our private driver in Florence. He asked us to wait until Sept. to book for next year. He said it would be no problem to wait. After waiting over a month, we recontacted him. However, he will now not commit to being our driver. He told us not to worry he would send his best driver. However, I am slightly upset that after waiting for a month to book and being told no problem, that he now refuses to commit to who the driver would be. I realize several other companies don't guarantee drivers, but this is the first I have heard of it from Guido, and the first time he has indicated to us that he would not necessarily be our driver. We are wondering if anyone else has had this trouble? We have only heard great things about him, but are pretty frustrated at how this could turn out. We don't know anything about his other drivers, and want to know if anyone has used his company and gotten other drivers besides him. I am very hesitant to spend that kind of money on someone I have not heard of. What does everyone think?