Everyone loves to travel to Florence, Italy.  And why not?  There's David at the Accademia, the Uffizi Gallery, and lots of other wonderful places to see.  It's a great walking city with everything within 15 minutes of each other.  There are great transportation connections to wineries and other small cities in Tuscany like Lucca, Siena, and San Gimignano.  And the food!  Probably the best in all of Italy.  It's no wonder why The Traveling Professor's small group tours to Italy and Florence always fill up as soon as they are offered.  Read about my two favorite hotels in Florence in today's Italy blog post. 

From all of my trips to Florence, and there have been many, I won't tell you what I do get tired from, but what I never tire from this the great food.  Vegetables, pastas, meats and even seafood. I'm not big on desserts, but believe me, Florence has that too.  From our Florence friend, Melanie Wilson, we have 3 restaurant choices for your next trip to this wonderful Tuscan city.  There is plenty here for those who like seafood, vegetarian dishes, and authentic Tuscan food. We'll tell you about the great pizza places in another post. 

Tuscan style food is some of the most popular food in the world.  There is la bistecca all Fiorentina, a healthy portioned t-bone steak. There is chingiale, the wild boar dish exclusive to the region.  Let's not forget the most traditional of dishes, the ribollita peasant soup made from beans and the unique black cabbage.  Anything with truffles is good.  Read The Traveling Professor's blog post to get 3 of his favorite dining spots in Florence.

For me, the best food is Tuscan food.  There is no better place to find it than in Florence, Italy.  I love going on our small group tours to Italy and especially Florence to sample the wide variety of (mostly) healthy and fresh food.  In today's blog post, The Traveling Professor lets you in on some of his secrets for his favorite places to eat in Florence.

Melanie Wilson is a colleague who lived in Florence for some time as a student.   She is like a food detective who goes out early in the morning or late at night to satisfy her culinary desires.   In today's blog post Melanie tells about her favorite places in Florence.   I suspect you won't find too many of these food spots in a guidebook, so when they ask you how you found the place, tell them Melanie sent you. 

Whether it be a small group tour to Italy or traveling solo, The Traveling Professor has some hotels in Italy you should know about.  Listed today is a luxury hotel in Sorrento, a convenient hotel in Rome, a luxury yet affordable place right in the middle of everything in Florence, and a canal side beauty in Venice.  Lastly, I talk about my latest find in Treviso:  a beautiful, romantic and roomy B&B that is perfect for a trip to this underrated Italian city.

On our Traveling Professor small group tours to Italy, over the years we have tried many, many different eating spots. Some work out well, others don't. But over the years The Traveling Professor has built up a list of reliable eating spots. Some are touristy, some are authentic. However, whenever we go there, we are sure to enjoy a good meal. Check out these spots on your next trip to Sorrento, Florence, or Venice.

The Traveling Professor is back in Italy with 10 travelers on a small group tour.  We arrived last Sunday and are about 3/4 of the way done with our tour.   We have been quite lucky with the weather with only a little bit of rain showing up today.   But to get the full scoop on our small group tour to Italy, check out today's blog post by The Traveling Professor.

I just returned from a tour with 10 travelers to Florence and the Veneto region (Padua, Verona, Vicenza, Lake Garda) and today I am on another adventure with 9 travelers.   We start in the sunny Amalfi Coast and wind up in unique Venice, passing through Renaissance Florence on the way.   On this tour we will be staying at the luxurious Grand Excelsior in Sorrento, the Il Guelfo Bianco in Florence, and the Hotel American Dinesen in Venice Check out my blog post about my small group tour to Italy and our itinerary.

I arrive in Italy on Friday for another small group tour to Italy.  We have 10 experienced travelers this time.  We are bypassing some of the traditional sites on this trip.  Although we stay in Florence for 4 nights, we will day trip to Lucca, the Chianti region, spend a couple of days in Florence digging deeper into this Renaissance city.   Then we go to the un-touristy city of Padua where we will base ourselves.  We'll spend some time there and also visit Shakespeare's Verona, Vicenza, and the better-than-Lake-Come destination, Lake Garda.  Look at the blog post for our itinerary.