Schielke's European Vacation

[Schielke]

Ok, so I am still narrowing down my general itenerary, but I have another question as well:

Any reccommended travel books for Italy? Food related or not.

Thanks!

Ben

[docsconz]

Italy for the Gourmet Traveler by Fred Plotkin,

Made in Italy by Laura Morelli

and

A Traveller's Wine Guide to Italy by Stephen Hobley

are three good books that will help give you the flavor of Italy.

[Schielke]

Thanks docsconz! You rock.

Ben

[Bill Klapp]

And don't forget Faith Heller Willinger's Eating in Italy...

[hathor]

The Cadogan guide books are reliable and entertaining. But.... let serendipity be your guide. Small gems abound in Italy and France. Trust your instincts. Throw away the map and go for a wander, you will not regret it. (Keep map handy for finding way back to hotel at night). Look for locals eating and you are usually rewarded.

Driving in Italy is no problem, although signs can be misleading. When you see a road construction sign (they are much smaller than in the US), that means move into the other lane NOW....not much warning at all.

Buon viaggio!!!!!

P.S. If you have a thing for ice in your drinks, bring your own from home.

[menton1]

P.S. If you have a thing for ice in your drinks, bring your own from home.

Also be prepared to drink your coffee standing up; if you sit at a table you will pay 3-4 times more!!

[tanabutler]

Ben,

The best Italian hotels website online is (by far):

ItalyBy.com. There are specialized branches of it for the various regions of Italy, as well as some in France. You can see tons of photos, and the navigation is wonderful. I recently helped a friend plan her trip to Italy, and they stayed here at Palazzo Abadessa, and said it was the nicest hotel they've ever stayed in. (They've been to Europe several times.)

I recommend ( thousand times!) going to Tivoli, which is about 45 minutes outside Rome. We stayed in Tivoli in a 4-star hotel (Hotel Sirene) for $90/night, and I would do it again in a heartbeat, as Rome is so very loud and expensive. (Our three-star, fifth-floor room was over $200! This was the Hotel Locarno, near Piazza Popoli. I don't recommend it, though it was nice enough. I am sure I could do better next time, but I don't plan to stay in Rome again.) In Tivoli, you can see the hundreds of fountains at Villa d'Este.

Palazzo Abadessa

Another thing you might do is get a free catalog of (gorgeous and not all expensive) vacation rentals from The Parker Company (go to the Villas/Apartments section). There is also a lot of information about Italy on their site, including Autostrada stuff. You can search online, but the catalog is a piece of art. It's filled with glorious photography, quotes, and is a beautiful, big book that will educate you.

My favorite book for traveling in Italy was Eyewitness Guide to Italy.

I will send you some more information via PM that I've got saved from my trip.

Congratulations on your good news, too!

[curlywurlyfi]

Hi Ben, and congratulations!

I've just come back from New Year spent in Italy (in Le Marche + Emilia Romagna) and driving on the autostrada is a bit intimidating from a navigational point of view because, in their infinite wisdom, the Italians number the bridges that pass over the road, but not the junctions... So we were dealing with a lot of instructions that said, 'the turn-off for Forli is immediately after bridge 178' (clue to scour road for tiny brown sign with green number). Plus, there are no useful signs along the road saying '20km to Bologna' - basically there are no signs for anywhere till you're right on top of the turn... But I love Italy. Got to love a country where you can go to a motorway service station and they don't even blink about offering you a bottle of wine with your lunch!!

Fi

[hollywood]

Bookwise, you might get a kick out of Summer's Lease by John Mortimer. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=books&n=507846 I seem to recall Trillin writing evocatively about his adventures in Lucca, perhaps in one of his Tummy Trilogy books.

[Schielke]

Thanks for the great posts guys!

[ludja]

P.S. If you have a thing for ice in your drinks, bring your own from home.

Also be prepared to drink your coffee standing up; if you sit at a table you will pay 3-4 times more!!

Have to admit; I was in Florence for two weeks in August and it was extremely hot... one great cold drink to have are the liquid lemon ices out of those machines... But I also ducked into McDonald's a few times... ONLY... to have a large diet coke filled with ice cubes!!!

[tanabutler]

BTW, I was in Italy for two weeks in April of 2001. It was warm most of the time, but snowed on the day before Easter when we were in Siena. Be prepared for the cool weather.

[Joe H]

Given the exchange rate of $1.284 to the Euro (two years ago it was .84)I think I would now consider a Honeymoon in the U. S. Bush has priced us out of Europe.

Unfortunately, I am being very serious. Europe is horribly expensive for Americans because of the weakness of the American dollar. Literally 50% more expensive than two years ago.

[Schielke]

[docsconz]

Indeed.

[tanabutler]

Awwww. I guess I'm glad I went a couple of years ago. My next plan is to trade websites for lodging and meals in Italy.

[docsconz]

It was $1.16 to the Euro as recently as November. Wow and I thought it was expensive then.

[Craig Camp]

Even with the exchange rate it is still cheaper to eat well in Italy than it is in the USA. That is unless you only think eating well is Sassicaia at Gambero Rosso. With a little detective work it is easy to find excellent trattorie/osterie serving antipasti, primo, secondo and dolce for under Euro 40 a person - even under Euro 30.

[RRainey]

I like all of Craig's suggestions but there are too many. For a trip that short 2 or 3 places max is best otherwise it turns into a version of 20 cities in 21 days. Check out the website www.slowtrav.com it has alot of info on traveling esp. in Italy.

[anil]

Seeing that you are from Seattle - I'd ask for an open Jaw ticket (any tavel agent would know it)- Seattle(SEA) to Amsterdam(AMS) - Florence(FLR) From there onwards I'd take the trains, ending the Italy Trip in say Venice(VCE) or Milan(LIN), From there I'd take an easyjet to Paris or train to Nice(NCE), From Nice to Amsterdam via easyjet and back. This is the most optimum itn. I could find. Rest of the flights are one or two extra connections within US alone

The last time I stayed in Firenze - the hotel was Monna Lisa and in other cities in Italy I survive on points and miles if possible (meaning Marriott,Hyatt or Hilton) It's your honeymoon, If you want to splurge stay in Danielli (sp?) in Venice

[vigna]

Ben, Hope your trip is still on. Let me throw in my advice, too, for what it is worth. Anil's idea is good -- there are good connections in Amsterdam for the Seattle to Venice NW/KLM itinerary and also for the Paris to Seattle return. You would get into Venice late morning. There are both water and bus connections to Venice directly from the airport.

After spending some time in Venice (very romantic for a honeymoon), you could return to the airport and rent a car (be sure to arrange this from the U.S. taking advantage of discounts, e.g., AAA). Weekly rates cover a 5-7 day period and you can drop the car at any other Italian location (e.g., at the Milan train station) without extra charge (I've had good experiences using Hertz). It is often advantageous to take a prepaid weekly rental that includes CDW and theft coverage so that there is no hassle if you return the car with scratches or dents. I love driving in Italy and as long as one stays north of Rome, I think the behavior of the drivers is far far better than in Philadelphia, where I now live. But, I do agree with Bill Klapp's advice to be sure to stay on the right lane of the Autostrada and pass on the left with care.

In Venice I would recommend the Hotel Rialto, which has lovely rooms facing the Rialto bridge and Grand Canal (rates for such rooms are between 200-300 Euros -- quite expensive, but well worth it for the beginning of a honeymoon!). There are many less expensive choices, but in Venice I think you do get what you pay for. At the 100 Euro level, Hotel Ca' d'Oro is very modest but not bad.

In Florence, I often stay at the Minerva (in summer there is a nice pool on the roof to mitigate the heat) but it may be nicer to stay in Siena or the Chianti region and use this as a base to see towns such as San Gimignano, Greve, Montepulciano, Montalcino and of course, Siena. Great dining too -- Arnolfo in Colle di Val d'Elsa, La Tenda Rossa in Cerbaia/San Casciano. And you would still be able to spend time in Florence.

On the drive from Venice to Florence (or from Florence to Milan), why not detour to Verona, one of the nicest small cities in Italy. Lot's to see, and good restaurants and wine bars too. I'd also recommend Ravenna (which was a possibility raised in one of the early postings) because the pre-romanesque buildings are amazing to see (although the overall atmosphere is not at the special level of Venice, Verona, Florence, etc.).

Rather than staying in Milan, I would second Bill Klapp's suggestion of Lago d'Orta (Hotel San Rocco in Orta San Giulio has a good lake view and is not too expensive), or perhaps somewhere on Lago di Como or Lago Maggiore (Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio is incomparable, with great views, a wonderful terrace for dining, and a new indoor pool/spa, albeit very expensive; the much less pricy Hotel Belvedere in Bellagio also has nice views but is not lakeside). All three lakes have spectacular scenery and good hotels. Access to Milan is not difficult by car (or by train from Como or Stresa, for example).

Rail connections from Milan to Paris are good -- the trip can be as short as 7 hours (e.g., leaving at 9:15 AM and arriving in Paris at 4:11 PM). In Paris, some very nice hotels and well situated hotels are the Angleterre and Jeu de Paume.

I agree with Hathor about the Cadogan guides, which have excellent descriptions of art, architecture, etc. and also some interesting restaurant and hotel recommendations.

Buon viaggio!

[hollywood]

Blah, blah, blah, Euro. Compared to England & France, Italy will be a bargain.

[anil]

Rail connections from Milan to Paris are good -- the trip can be as short as 7 hours (e.g., leaving at 9:15 AM and arriving in Paris at 4:11 PM). In Paris, some very nice hotels and well situated hotels are the Angleterre and Jeu de Paume.

Here is another tip: Take the night train - You get to use the sleeper/compartment, this way you save on one night stay in a hotel and as you wake up you are in Paris or whereever you want-to-be.

[hollywood]

Rail connections from Milan to Paris are good -- the trip can be as short as 7 hours (e.g., leaving at 9:15 AM and arriving in Paris at 4:11 PM). In Paris, some very nice hotels and well situated hotels are the Angleterre and Jeu de Paume.

Here is another tip: Take the night train - You get to use the sleeper/compartment, this way you save on one night stay in a hotel and as you wake up you are in Paris or whereever you want-to-be.

This sounds good but unless you're gonna pay a lot for a private compartment, you are sleeping with a bunch of other folks and really you don't sleep that well. They snore. They get up to go to the head. They talk. The conductor comes to check on something.

[tanabutler]

Those silicon gel ear plugs work great.