Pls share with me your recommendations for both a good, comfortable walking shoe (sneaker-type) and sandal. I will be doing a lot of walking in Italy for 12 days.
Posted by
Centennial, CO, USA
1895 posts
I take 2 pairs of shoes with me on every trip. One is a pair of Puma athletic shoes with my personal orthotics in them for support and the other pair is always my Chaco sandals.
The Puma shoes...I wish I knew the name of the style. I got them at Nordstroms (2nd pair, I wore the 1st ones out in 1.5 years of every day wear). They offer more support than most Puma, have a strap that goes across the top and velcro closure, easy to get one and off, no laces to untie!
My Chacos. I live in these all summer and until the snow flies in Colorado.
not sure if my Western styles would be to your GA styles, but this footwear works for me.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA, USA
51 posts
What about these? http://www.altrec.com/chaco-sandals/womens-z-1-unaweep2-sandals
Posted by
TX
515 posts
Easy Spirit Traveltime, Keen slides, Ecco sandals. These are my staples.
Posted by
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
101 posts
For walking around I tried on (and returned) several pairs of shoes looking for the best one. I finally settled on the Merrell Barrado in black. I also found a nice Clarks sandal to walk around in but I can't remember the style.
Posted by
Frisco, TX, USA
13 posts
I can ditto the Merrells. I walked all over NYC in them. Awesome!
Posted by
Petaluma, Northern California
345 posts
I recommend that you consider walking shoes recommended here that don't look like sneakers. Those shoes are not only comfortable for walking but appropriate for restaurants and urban wear as well.
Do you have any shoe stores in Atlanta that specialize in comfortable and stylish walking shoes? If so, you'll find ALL the best brands under roof: Ecco, Merrell, Clarks's etc. It makes it so much easier to choose and compare.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA, USA
51 posts
I'm sure we do - seems every shoe store imaginable is in Atlanta. At lunch, I bought a pair of Privos and a pair of Tevas. The Privos have a mary-jane look to them, are brown suede and seem to have a thick rubber sole and have stretchy criss-cross thingies on top. (they are really ugly) and the Tevas look similar to a "tennis shoe", are brown suede as well and also appear to have a good rubber sole. I'll be wearing them constantly over the next week to see how comfortable they really are.
Posted by
Austin, TX, USA
492 posts
I recently found some Teva hikers, kind of look like a brown tennie, very comfy, handle rocks and pebbles well and wet surfaces. I also like my Eccos and Bjorns. Same three brands for me for sandals. I take 2 pairs of walkers and switch them every day, especially when we're doing a lot of walking. Whatever shoe you decide on, make sure you have them broken in before you get to Italy.
Posted by
Atlanta
800 posts
LIsa - Abbadabbas in Atlanta is a great place for European (and other) style sandals & walking shoes. I've bought my Mephisto sandals from them and used them on every summer trip to Europe. Brought 2 pairs to Italy. I've also purchased Naot brand from them.
Posted by
Augusta, GA
85 posts
Lisa,
Try Keen sandals. I spent 8 weeks in Italy and wore my Keens from hiking in the Dolomites to climbing the tower of Pisa to exploring Pompeii and Rome. I brought other walking shoes with me but never once wore them. These sandals have a toe guard on them so they're safer on rough terrain but they are open enough to keep your feet comfortable even when your feet swell at the end of a long day of walking.
I buy mine at REI.