Tabaccheria

Alright, so your lifeline in all of Italy (not just Florence) is the tobacco shops. They can provide you with all the essentials, international phone cards, international stamps, bus tickets, brochures and of course, tobacco (yuck). I thought it was interesting that you had to buy your bus tickets for the regular transit before you got on and then you stamped them on the bus. Maybe that's because in Minneapolis you pay when you get on and the rates change during the day. Anyway, if you want to take the public transit, you need to know where to buy bus tickets, and the tobacco shops is the answer. Also, international phone cards you can get from vendors on the street, but I always found that the cheap ones were in the tabaccherias, so I'd go there unless you really don't want to walk (not that you'd have to walk a lot because tabaccherias are EVERYWHERE). However, just keep in mind that some tabaccherias are more equipped than others. Some have just the basics, as listed above, some don't have phone cards, some have a whole lot more! It really depends on where you are, but even if you find yourself in a tabaccheria that doesn't sell bus tickets, likelihood is there is one down a block or two that does.