It looks like I'm going to get treated to about 10 nights in Italy prior to my husband's arrival in Venice. Then we will have 6 to 7 more nights together in and around Venice.
I use our trips in part to sketch and photograph for future cityscape paintings. But my desire to stand endlessly photographing in one plaza or worse yet to sit down and sketch doesn't always fit everyone else's travel plans. This is my chance to be as slow as I want, so I want to make the most of it. Ordinarily I spend half to two thirds of my time in museums, but for this trip I plan to be mostly outdoors camera and sketchbook in hand.
The question is where exactly to spend these heaven sent nights. The goal is to visit a number of towns with interesting architecture. Interesting does not necessarily mean grand or monumental. Odd doors, arches, stairs and alleyways make me happy. This last trip, Prague, Cesky Krumlov, and The Neatherlands are yielding much more painting material than London and Vienna. Florence yielded more paintings than Rome. Canterbury and Oxford more than London.
I've stayed over a week in both Rome and Florence twice, and day tripped Milan, Cinque Terre, Fisole, Lucca, and Siena. All other places in Italy will be new to me.
I can fly into anywhere in Italy just so long as the ticket price is not astronomical and I'm in Venice by mid afternoon before the eleventh night. Right now Florence and Bologna appear to have the best flight prices from Portland.
I will be using public transportation for the whole trip. I will arrive between last week of September and the first week of October.
My initial thought was ultra simple:
Florence 5 nights (daytrips to three of Lucca, Fisole, Arezzo, Cortona)
Siena 5 nights (three hilltown day trips including either San Gimignano or Volterra)
Next I thought maybe
Florence 3 nights (daytrip Lucca and half day to Fisole)
Arezzo 3 nights (arrive early morning before the first night then daytrips to Cortona and Orvieto)
Siena 4 nights (two to two-and-a-half daytrips)
Are there better bases for daytrips? Is this too much Tuscany (if there is such a thing as too much Tuscany)? Should I consider Cinque Terre (I've day tripped there once and loved it but I gather it's not getting less crowded), around Bologna, or around Genoa or Bergamo for three or four nights to vary the architecture some? Even close to Venice might make sense as the husband and I probably won't take more than two or three daytrips from Venice at most. I could also head south, I just don't know as much about Italy south of Rome.
Suggestions please?