Trust and honesty first while boarding public transport???

Using the public transportation system is the best way to get to know a city. In Florence, they have trams, buses, electric buses that cover the city quite well.
You can buy your ticket at the Tabacco shops for 1,20 Euro per way. The ticket is valid up to ninety minutes. You can also purchase your ticket on the bus for 2 Euros.
Once you climb into a bus, it's up to you to validate your ticket. The driver is not responsible to check if you have paid your fare. The transport industry in Florence is based on trust. In fact, I would say, in most of Europe, if not all, it's based on trust and honesty. Should you be caught without a valid ticket, the fine is $40 Euros in Florence.

Now let's look at reality in the last four days.
As a diligent tourist, I have been paying the fares.
I have also witnessed people who get on and off without validating their tickets.
I have seen families get on, ask the driver for tickets, he has none left and yet they stay on to enjoy the ride.
I have yet to see a patrol officer checking for valid tickets.
So how is the public transport system sustaining itself financially? Was this just a sample size, I happen to look at, with the 90 mins grace period? Or is the tourism industry paying for the free transport to the 350,000 Fiorentines in Florence?

Which now brings me to the Montreal public transport...
We have hikes in fares every January, there are more attendants in our metro system to watch like a hawk, our turn stlyes are yet another means of patroling the situation. Yet the STCUM seems to run out of funds and needs to raise fees.
Why have we not put in more electric buses on our roads, like they have here in Florence?

A lot of questions....would be nice to have SOME answers.

Shopping in Florence!!!

Some of you may have noticed I was a wee bit quiet the first few days in Firenze. I felt a little out of sorts, when I took a bus ride to the town center, where The Duomo stands somewhat at the center and various piazzas surround it.
At first site, you are bombarded with labels like Prada, Gucci, Miu Miu juxtaposed with renaissance architecture. Something was not sitting well with me. I am used to seeing those labels with modern shops like in LA, New York. Here I flew all this way to be drowning in a sea of labels and feeling out of sorts.

I began meandering daily along the narrow side streets and walked through piazza after piazza, and I soon discovered they have tons of outdoor markets. Unlike our markets, these stalls or stands would be selling what I consider to be high end...purses made in lamb skin with beautiful buckles at 100 euro or more.
As I approached each vendor, I realised one common thing between them....they were all from the Middle East, more specifically the leather vendors were from Iran.
This amused me.

Being a desert dweller, I hate paying full price. I love bargaining, striking a deal, the whole dance between the buyer and seller....until both parties reach that zone to make the sale. And so I began dancing...
Let's just say, I am coming home with one too many leather purses, one too many silk scarves, one too many wallets...and proud that I didn't pay those crazy prices in the boutiques and most of all...all products are made in Bella Italia, not China!!!

Their leather feels sooooooooo soft!!!
So, if you are ever in Florence, don't pay their asking price...drop the asking price by 40%!

Chianti Region in Tuscany

I had the pleasure of joining a multi-cultural group today to head toward the hills in Tuscany in the Chianti region where we road a bus along winding roads with breath taking views of vineyards, olive groves, monasteries, fortresses and castellos.

We had a wonderful guide from Florence named Sabra, with no roots or ties to Israel, other than the fact that her parents were travelling along the mediterranean Sea and met a woman named Sabra. They were smitten with the name and the rest is history.

While travelling on the bus, she exlained about the Chianti wines. For one, Chianti wines have an old tradition, dating back to 1404. The Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III de Medici, protected the Chianti label and vineyards by establishing borders. Toscany is not known for the production of white wines. Their Chianti Classico red wines are a blend of three types of grapes, the main one (90% worth) being Sangiovese grapes.

We visited the Castello Il Palagio which dates back to 1252. As of the 15th Century, the castle became the ownership of the Republica Fiorentina who transformed it into a fortress. The castle does not have an authentic medieval feel, as sections have been rebuilt in the 1900s. It has a small chapel, a tower, a dungeon which now holds oak barrels of Chianti classico. This cellar is one of the main attractions of Il Palagio. They have also included modern steel containers which allow the wine to age accordingly.

We had an opportunity to sample three of their wines and a sweet desert wine, along with delicious tapas ( Pecorino cheese with a spicy jelly, garlic bread al olio, cured meats, and biscotti to dip in the sweet desert wine).
I sat at a table with two charming, American women who were travelling around Europe for five weeks, as well as this Dutch family from Holland who were on their own driving through Toscana. A delightful way to spend the afternoon, chatting, sipping, laughing, tasting....being!