Impressions after trip

Thanks Pele - I agree on all counts!

We were once in Rome the first week in December. There were no crowds anywhere, so you're right about that. I agree with your other points as well.

I'll hitch a ride on pele's post. I just returned from 3 1/2 weeks in Italy. Impressions: 1) November is probably less crowded in the most popular venues, but the weather is colder and rainier; 2) Long train trips, using a railpass, probably save money, but too many long trips kill the romance of train travel; 3) an entire week in Cefalu or Rome was too much; 4) podcasts from ETBD make tours and travels more enjoyable; 5) an impromptu side trip to Anzio from Rome was very interesting. Conclusions: I will travel earlier in the year from now on and focus my travels to smaller areas.

Swan brings up a point I neglected to make in my post. We found the train travel wonderful and fast on the Eurostar. We generally used 2nd class tickets between Rome and Florence and Venice. Each trip was around 2 hrs.+ and we enjoyed seeing the countryside and meeting other folks on the trains. We usually took a lunch with us. I can understand that too much train travel might kill the romance, but for 2-3 trips it was fun.

Hi Sarah, I'm an avid hiker who should know better, but on my first trip to Rome I too got a bad case of blisters. It was painful. I kept telling myself that I will only remember the joy of being in Rome and not the pain of walking, and that is the truth. I almost never think of the bad case of blisters that I had. With moleskin you are supposed to trim off a piece and then cut a hole in that piece so that the pressure in minimized on the blister. They also have some more expensive treatments called second skin (?). Another trick about moleskin is to treat the area as SOON as you feel a slight burning in an area. You might even want to check your feet out at least once a day. Even if I'm not having trouble I will sometimes treat trouble spots in the morning as a safety precaution. I never travel without moleskin.

Thanks for your trip update. One point about shoes - it may not matter how old they are. I brought 2 pairs of tennis shoes on my most recent trip to Europe (1 pair was at least 2 years old, the other pair was 6 years old) and I got some painful blisters halfway through the trip. Moleskin only increased the pressure on the blisters. I'm wondering if corn pads would work better, because they have a hole in the middle that might help ease the pressure.

Gotta disagree with Swan about how using a railpass would save you money. This is almost never the case in Italy, as gets pointed out regularly on this board. Point-to-point is almost always less expensive. Swan does make an excellent point about the importance of planning your itinerary with an eye on the distances and time to travel. Too many people don't realize how big Italy is and think it would not be a problem to go from Venice to Rome to Milan to Florence to Naples, in that order. I do have to quibble with Pele's original comment about how Venice can be "done" in 2-3 days. More accurate, perhaps, to say that the major sights can be seen in 2-3 days. But there's no shortage of amazing things to see and do in Venice, if you're interested in going beyond the usual. Happy trails.

All good points. Regarding blisters, here's what I learned from the Cross-Country coach at my undergraduate college. Generally, your feet get sweaty, cotton socks lose their cushion, and the heat caused by friction between your feet and shoe gives you blisters. The best cures for blisters are: 1) A good fitting shoe. Your toes shouldn't touch the front of the shoe and your heel should stay "locked" into the heel cup. When you tie your shoe, the laces only need to be tight enough to keep your heel "locked in" but not tight enough to restrict circulation. 2) Socks. I prefer a wool blend sock, even in summer because it doesn't lose it's cushion when it gets wet (stepping in water, rain, or sweat). 3) Antiperspirant. Your body perspires to cool off. If the sweat can't evaporate it doesn't help cool you. Using antiperspirant any place where sweating doesn't help cool you off will help prevent blisters, chafing and other ills.

Thanks Andrew and Brad. Andrew - I didn't know that you had to cut a hole in moleskin. It makes sense, of course. And maybe this is just me, but I've noticed that on trips during which I walk 6-8 hours a day, about 1 week into the trip the blisters get painful for a few days and then harden. After that, I still walk for 6-8 hours a day for the remainder of my trip (1-2 more weeks) but have no more blisters. If blisters are caused by heat, sweat, and friction, why aren't they a continuous problem?

since this thread has morphed from trip impressions to foot blisters, I thought I'd chime in with another tip. I bring a small bottle of liquid bandage with me and paint a few layers on places I know are likely to get blisters. It acts like an extra layer or two of skin to prevent blisters, and it doesn't have the uncomfortable (to me, anyway) feeling of walking on a piece of moleskin.

Since we're talking blisters, let me say that my foot problems in Italy did not get quite that bad. I did not experience blisters during my travels. Rather it was a general uncomfortable feeeling - especially in the arch area - that got to me. After trying several experiments with different socks + dr. s. inserts, I came upon the right formula and was in fairly good shape for the second half of the journey. I still believe that one should break in shoes 4-6 months before traveling and be sure you are very comfortable with the shoe selection. Thanks for all the postings folks!

Sorry to hijack your thread, Pele - it reminded me of some blister questions I forgot to ask on another thread. To comment on your trip: I was only in Venice for a day - how lucky you were to be there for four! Did you like it? For me it was like a fantasy city with water for roads and fabulous East-meets-West architecture; I really want to go back.

Sarah, unfortunately out of the 4 days in Venice we had rain for 2.5 days. Our first day there was beautiful and we were able to see most of the sites. I have to say that I didn't expect such crowds, however I guess there are many tourists there year round. I would much prefer less people. Venice is such a unique city - it was unbeliveable to see. Maybe I should go back in January some year so as not to be so annoyed by the overcrowding.

Jumping onto the blister topic ... In Europe, look for something called "compeed" which is sold in many pharmacies. I was told about it when I was on a hiking trip in France about 10 years ago and now I always bring this with me or get some in a pharmacy. I've seen the same product marketed here in the U.S. under the Band-Aid brand (called "advanced healing blister cushions") here. It works much better than moleskin once you have a blister in my opinion. I only find moleskin to be useful to prevent blisters ... not after you already have one.

I am in Rome right now resting from a hectic day. I said to my boyfriend, if the crowds are they way they are now, I couldn't even imagine what they are like in the summer. Walking down via di corso was misery from piazza di popolo to capital hill. The amount of people at the colosseum was mind blowing. In florence, there was a marathon. Trying to get acrossed to the ufizzi courtyard from the other side of palazzo vechio to 30 minutes. Plus it was in the pouring rain. Places like Siena or asssi, you could hear a pin drop. We were upgraded to the VIP rooms due to the lack of clientel. So it all depends on where you go in Italy in the winter!

Kelly, I hear 'ya. Sounds like nothing has changed tourist-wise since I was there in mid-October. I'm not surprised the crunch has continued into December.