Three weeks in Italy

1. We used Tours Around Tuscany for 2 days in Siena. The first day, the owner, Gianni, who is a superb guide, took the two of us to San Gimignano and the Chianti region; one of his associates took us the following day to a series of town/villages in southern Tuscany. I cannot say enough good things about these 2 days. The trips were a little pricey, but it was well worth it (1) for this anxious fellow not to have to drive in Italy and (2) to have a couple of locals proudly show us what is cool about their area of the world.
2. On a Saturday morning in Florence, we popped into the public library (Biblioteca delle Oblate) near the Duomo and sat in its courtyard, enjoying comfortable temperatures and admiring the cupola of the Duomo while surrounded by university students studying in groups for finals. The sandwich shop/café in the library has cheap, cheap eats and additional great views of the Duomo. Florence in general is great for finding places to relax and watch the locals – another favorite place for us was Piazza Santo Spirito, a square in the Oltrarno shown to us by our excellent guide Laura, a Florence native working for a company called Florence for You.
3. We hiked around Riva, at the northern end of Lake Garda and had stunning views of the lake and surrounding mountains.
4. Sitting on St. Mark’s Square listening to the dueling orchestras, as well as a twilight gondola ride that ended after dark were also favorites. Touristy? Yes. But great fun!
5. We hired a boat from Positano to take us on a sunset cruise along the Amalfi Coast, with a stop for a very good dinner at a small fishing village. We returned to Positano after dark, and were greeted by the sparkling lights of the city. That was one of my favorite nights in Italy.
   
6. Hiking Il Sentiero degli Dei (The Path of the Gods), a trail that runs high above the Amalfi Coast from Bomerano to Nocelle, was also a great way to spend a morning. We hired a guide here, too, who taught us about the herbs and plants growing along the coast and brought some cheese and tomatoes for a picnic snack mid-way through the hike.
7. A trip out to the Aqueduct Park in Rome was a nice break from the city and let us enjoy a neighborhood away from the city center. The aqueducts were quite impressive.
8. Rome had too many other highlights to name – the Parthenon, the Colosseum, the Victor Emmanuel Monument, sunset at Monte Pincio near Piazza del Popolo, the Spanish Steps...

I loved Italy. The trip was better than my lofty expectations and far better than any commercial tour package I could have bought. For the three fabulous weeks I spent there, I can thank the members of this forum who gave empowered me to plan my own trip to Europe through their encouraging words and thoughtful writing.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am currently planning our trip to Italy and will check out some of the things you mentioned.

Lovely trip report. It is amazing what you can do on your own with a little planning and research. My first trip to Europe in 1976 was through a tour company. The next year I went on my own and have been doing so since then. Whether we are 2 or 7 people, it is still fun to plan and research my own trip.

I've been traveling to Italy since going to college in Innsbruck in 1970. We've been to most of the major European cities so many times that we've forgot how many times we've been there.
We're currently trying to expand our horizons and go to cities and regions we've never visited. There are just a couple of places on our wish list that we must see in the future.
Our next trip is 4/2 on a Holland America repositioning cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale to Rome. We'll be in Rome again for Easter--second Easter there in 3 years. 13 day cruise prices started @ $399 each--ridiculously low. We're flying out of Budapest thru Oslo and into Boston for $238 on Norwegian Air Shuttle--another great price.
We continue to find great travel deals going overseas, and we're seeing the world for far less money than our friends are spending at "the beach" on the Florida or Alabama Gulf.
We continue to love the off the beaten path places and bed/breakfast accommodations we prefer to stay in.

I loved your trip report. I sooooo want to take my husband to Italy since he has never been there and this just may get me to the planning stage. Thanks Dave

Great report Dave! It sounds like a wonderful trip!

It sounds like you get a comprehensive look at Italy with a number of completely different experiences. I agree, sometimes it's worth paying the money to take tours. I see you didn't drive. How did using public transportation work out?

We took two trips to Europe within 8 months last year. One was a trip to Tuscany we planned, the other was a Rhine River cruise we took with friends to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a Europe trip we took together as students. They were completely different experiences. We had a wonderful time on both, but we much preferred the trip we planned on our own. With all the resources available, it's very easy to DIY. Half the fun was spending evenings together deciding what we wanted to do and planning how to make it happen.

I'm just down the road from you in Georgia. South Carolina holds a special place in my heart, since several of my ancestors were from Charleston. Google Thomas Elfe. He's my 4th great grandfather.

@DougMac: Public transportation worked well. We bought most of our train tickets online before the trip and just had to show up at the right track at the right time. This plan worked great for us, and we encountered no problems with trains. Our only public transportation issue was a vaporetto driver strike in Venice that canceled our trip Burano/Murano. We wandered the streets of Venice that day instead, which we enjoyed a great deal.

It was interesting to read about Thomas Elfe. Did you inherit the furniture-making gene?

It was interesting to read about Thomas Elfe. Did you inherit the furniture-making gene?
Sadly no. Nor did I inherit any of his furniture, although my cousin has two pieces from him. I do have a day bed from Thomas Elfe Jr., who died in 1835. There's a table at Middleton Place that is attributed to Thomas Elfe that's insured for the high six figures.

Thomas Elfe --> Thomas Elfe Jr. --> Thomas Blaney Elfe --> Mary Rebecca Elfe Henry --> Rena Henry Domingos --> Mary Alice Domingos MacMillan--> Me

Thanks Dave for your reply! I'm having problems answering as a private message, so I"m doing it this way . I really want to thank you for the valuable info you gave me!
Verónica

Thank you so much for your detailed sharing. We are planning to travel to Italy in May and every tip we get adds to the excitement. You spent three nights in Sienna. Did you go out from there or just enjoyed the city. I like the idea of staying in one place for more than one night. And also I like the idea of off beaten places to just be with the locals. Thanks Again.

Hi, clariseb. We spent 4 nights in Siena, so we had 3 full days there. We spent one of those wandering Siena on our own, and the other two days we spent with private guides from Tours Around Tuscany; the guides were locals who drove us to see San Gimignano and the Chianti region one day and southern Tuscany the other day. We asked them to show us what was cool in their are of the world, and they did not fail us. The tours were excellent; while they were a little pricey, we found them to be well worth it, as they allowed us to see the area efficiently. At our agristurismo, there were a couple of couples who had rented a car and drove around the area themselves; they seemed to enjoy their unaccompanied excursions, too. In the Rick Steves guidebook, he recommends 1 or 2 other guides who do tours with relatively small groups -- so, the price is more reasonable, but you are sharing your guide with the rest of the travelers on your tour. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. Have a great trip!

Dave, How did you get to Nocelle? Flight to ... Naples? Then... bus to Nocelle? It sounds lovely!
As a North Carolinian with good friends from SC, I chuckled at your comment re: having to pass some ugly stuff to get to the beauty! ... but then, isn't that true for much of life? ;-)
Thanks for the lovely TR.

Shelly,

I did not make i clear how we got to Nocelle. My bad. You are right... we flew from Venice to Naples. Nino -- the owner of our B&B -- had a buddy who would pick people up at Naples airport and drive them to Nocelle for a fairly reasonable rate. We used him to return to the train station at Naples, where we caught a train to Rome.

Thanks for the trip report. You enjoy the same things we do when we travel. There are things in the touristy areas that are great to see but it's also fun to get away for a hike or to a small village. We have been to Italy once, and loved it like you did. We planned it ourselves and had the best time. We also stayed in Nocelle and enjoyed the Path of the Gods. WE are planning another trip so I was interested in your report. I have friends who have been to Italy on tours and hated it, so, I think we are doing it right! Staying in b&b's or small hotels makes it more personal and we find our hosts and other guests to be very friendly and helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Lori