[Idyllchat] ? on Italy

[John Miller]

We were on a Tuscany North Untour last summer, and I think one's impression of Florence must vary according to the time of year.  We were there in July and found it super crowded and loaded with huge groups of American tourists - not at all what we'd expected.  Too small of a city for that many tourists!

Rome, on the other hand, we loved.  We added three nights on at the end of our stay and found that Rome was large enough to accommodate groups of tourists, and yet you could escape from the craziness of the tourist attractions.  

I'd also second the recommendation to visit the Cinque Terre; I found it probably the most breathtakingly beautiful place I'd ever seen.  Lucca was a marvelous small city, Pisa was fun, driving through the mountains to Barga was lovely, and Volterra was wonderful.  It's all good and the food was fantastic.

Deb Van Schaack
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jay Cloidt 
  To: Marcia Waffner 
  Cc: idyllchat at lists.untours.com 
  Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 4:48 PM
  Subject: Re: [Idyllchat] ? on Italy


  If you are an art lover, Florence quickly rises up the list. It is one of my favorite places, but Venice is #1. And I agree, you need to stay in the city itself. Besides the beaches, the Amalfi coast has great hiking up into the hills above the towns. Le Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast just north of Pisa (about an hour by train) is a smaller, quainter version of Amalfi and a hiker's paradise. 

  You need to think about how you are going to getting around. I usually take the train, and then public transportation when I get to where I am going. You are probably going to fly into Rome. The Amalfi Coast is a couple hours south of Rome including a bus ride. 
  Florence is  1.5 hours north of  Rome by EuroStar train.  Slower by InterCity train.
  Venice is 3-3.5 hours north east of  Florence depending on level of service of the train. 
  You can look up travel times on TrenItalia's website. http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

  Most major carriers offer at least connecting service to Venice airport now with some direct flights to the US. The majority of direct flights go to Rome-Fiumincino or Milan-Malpensa airports. Venice is about 4 hours by train from Milan, so the last time we went, we flew into Milan and flew home from Venice. Our itinerary was Milan->Le Cinque Terre->Pisa->Florence->Venice. 


  On 3/12/07, pandjking at sbcglobal.net <pandjking at sbcglobal.net > wrote:
    Dear Marcia,
        Florence would not be at the top of my list, but we've only spent a day there so can't really judge.
        Venice and Rome are both wonderful, but worlds apart in character.  We were on a 2-week Untour in Venice a couple of years ago and followed that up with a week in Rome.
        Venice is very laid-back and relaxing (no vehicles other than boats), but you need to stay in Venice to soak up the atmosphere, not on the mainland.  Venice Mestre is on the mainland where most tour groups stay.  
        Fortunately for folks who stay in Venice, the tour groups concentrate on the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco and mostly evacuate the city around 4:00 pm, leaving you to enjoy the "real" Venice by staying away from the main tourist sights from roughly 10:00 am until 4:00.
        Rome is the opposite of Venice.  It is noisy, fast-paced and offers some great Roman ruins and monuments to visit.  My wife and I are big on ruins, so Rome was a treat for us.  But the traffic!!!  Yikes!
    Motor scooters and cars and buses going every which way and they all seem to have a mission of running down pedestrians.
        Can't say about the Amalfi Coast.  It is supposed to be beautiful, but we've only gotten as far south as Sorrento.  We had to choose between Capri and the Amalfi Coast.  We chose Capri, but that trip got washed out by a huge rainstorm.
        If I were to rank things to see and do in Italy, they would be:
        #1.  Venice
        #2.  Pompeii
        #3.  The Hill towns -- San Gimignano, Assisi, etc.
        #4.  Rome
        #5.  Pisa
        I realize that this is one man's opinion and only that.  Wherever you go in Italy, you will no doubt see the beautiful countryside, marvelous ruins and monuments, the beautiful Italian people, plus you will enjoy that great Italian food.  That's a hard combination to beat.
        Enjoy!
        Phil King, 
        Spring Lake, MI
      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Marcia Waffner 
      To: idyllchat at lists.untours.com 
      Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 6:44 AM
      Subject: [Idyllchat] ? on Italy 


      I've never been to Italy. Want to see Florence, Venice, the Amalfi Coast, and Rome on my first trip.  Any input or suggestions?
      Thanks.


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