On the back of so many positive reviews, decided to book with Paolo for a Pisa / Florence shore excursion from Livorno (private tour with 8 people).

First off, the van was clean and comfortable.

Unfortunately, Paola wasn't our guide. Instead, it was Giuseppe. He was on time meeting us but really started off on the wrong foot but trying to present a history lesson while we were still in the parking lot of the cruise terminal. So we sat there for 5-7 minutes right from the start and immediately hit traffic leaving the port which totally killed the mood from the beginning. We all woke up early and were looking forward to a quick start. Giuseppe could've easily spent the time driving to give us some commentary.

He said he's been a tour guide for 30 years and it shows as he very clearly wanted to do things his way rather than asking the group what kind of tour we wanted. Giuseppe stated that he wants his guests to fully understand what they're seeing and for him, that means detailed history and repetition (literally repeated certain facts 5-10 times).

Our group wanted to maximize our time and see / experience more rather than stay in one place and listen to long commentary but Giuseppe didn't want that. After the Pisa stop (which was nice - Giuseppe dropped us off right at the entrance and was there waiting for us when we finished), I literally had to tell him how we wanted the rest of the tour to go. At one point, we had to pretend to sleep so that he would stop talking incessantly.

Because we really didn't have the same outlook, we completely forewent the planned walking tour of Florence and had him drop us off for free time.

I don't necessarily think Giuseppe is a bad guide, but I think his greatest weakness is not asking / caring what his guests want, preferring to do things his way only.

I emailed the above feedback to Paolo to which she responded:

"Buongiorno everybody

This is the 1st complain I am receiving from him from years.

You booked a tour with a licensed guide, it’s quite normal that is trying to introduce the city and talk, it would be have beed strange the opposite

Of course we the guide we need to be flexible and understand the clients needs. He has a lot of patience usually and this is all be surprise what you wrote to me

About the Mayor, you asked why we need to pay 1 euros to go to the bathroom, we don’t have any control on this, this the mayor decision

James thank you to say is not a bad guide, as he is not, but thank you for your feedback.

He is very upset of course of what your wrote down, but in the this busy season as this one is, is possible not to please everybody"

***

To clarify: No one asked why bathrooms cost 1 euro. It's a private bathroom and they can charge whatever they want. The issue was that many in the group needed to use the restroom. We passed a McDonald's where we told Giuseppe we would be happy to stop and he did not. That was the issue. Just one of many examples where Giuseppe simply did not read the group's wishes.

We took numerous tours during our month in Europe. All the other guides knew when to talk and when not to talk, even in join-in tours. This was a private tour and Paola's guide made no effort to ask/ascertain what our group wanted from the tour.

On a related note, I just found a TripAdvisor thread where Paola revealed that Giuseppe is actually her partner/husband... which explains a lot.

So, YMMV but you might want to confirm which guide you're actually getting on the day...

Giuseppe was very knowledgable and Paola was so helpful :) 

We went for a full day tour to Pisa & San Gimignano on 10th Nov and 3 hours tour in downtown Florence on 11th Nov. 

On 10th, Giuseppe fetched us at the hotel around 0830 hours, we headed to Pisa to visit Leaning Tower of Pisa. Along the way, he briefly explained about surroundings that we passed by. 

Luckily the weather was great, we had to enjoy spectacular view from top of the Leaning Tower. Later we spent around 2 hours wandering Pisa town. There were many architecture attractions in Pisa and we’re glad that Giuseppe shared chronicles of Medici family during their ruling and how they used to be leading banker in that era, the influence of Roman and Gothic in development of architecture in Florence and so many interesting knowledge. We stopped for lunch at Bangla Tanduri and Doner Kebab & gelato tasting at La Bottega del Gelato, located near Garibaldi statue opposite Arno River.

Later after lunch, we continued our journey to San Gimignano. Being in Tuscany, it’s hard to take your eyes off the panoramic landscape of rolling hills, olive orchards and winery. Giuseppe was so considerate to stopped at few points so that we could enjoy the views and a quick photo shots. 

We spent about 1 hour wandering around San Gimignano. We were very fortunate to witness sunset reflecting over San Gimignano. After coffee break, we headed back to hotel in Florence. 

The next day, Giuseppe brought us to down town Florence. It was drizzling yet we still enthusiastic to walked. We visited Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore area, then passed by Via De’ Tornabuoni, the high fashion street of Florence, proceed to Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery down to Piazzale Michelangelo in south river bank of Oltrarno district, we had chance to wandered around Ponte Vecchio. Since it’s still early, most of the shops were still closed. 

We’re very thankful to both Giuseppe and Paola for being so flexible to arrange the tour. It’s definitely perks of private tour where we can add and drop according to weather, time, our health condition.

I will always remember Giuseppe said : “In Florence, we change historical moment in every step!’, in deed he’s right. After touring with Giuseppe, we definitely had better understanding about Florence and indeed, we had fanatstic time. Thanks again Giuseppe & Paola :) 

Xo, 

Nur, Liza & Zaida

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia