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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 14, 2014 11:51:28 GMT -5
haha, no worries MTH! There is some GREAT information in there that will be very useful. I really appreciate it.
The plans are coming along nicely and I really appreciate the feedback and advice from both you and Eagle!
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 14, 2014 0:21:33 GMT -5
Definitely not getting a rail pass, just doesn't make sense.
Is raileurope.com the best website to use to book train tickets? Some of the trains I saw a few days ago aren't coming up anymore. Instead of a 4 hour train from the Cinque Terre to Venice with 1 connection, I'm now seeing a 6 hour ride with 2 connections... that sucks!
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 13, 2014 23:53:07 GMT -5
Thanks for the info!
I took your advice and I am staying in an Agriturismo right outside of Siena (2.5 miles to the center of Siena) so we'll take the train from Siena to Florence to keep things easy.
I've rented the car and will buy a GPS so that I don't get lost. My next step is to see if we should buy individual train tickets or do a 1 country pass. I need to do some research on that to see if it is good for the regional trains as well as the high speed. We'll be taking the following trains.
Rome --> Orvieto Siena --> Florence (round trip, same day) La Spezia --> Manarola Manarola --> La Spezia -->Venice
I know there's a German website, at least I think it's German, that has been suggestion on these boards for doing the analysis, so I'll look that up and check it out. Good to know that I will still have to make reservations. I'll try and do as much of that as I can before I leave, but I know a lot of the times you can't do it more than 1 week before. That's hard to deal with when you don't have a printer handy!
I will definitely check out those restaurants too, thanks for the info!
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 9, 2014 23:28:41 GMT -5
Eagle,
Thanks, I need to make sure I read up on validating tickets... it's been a long time since I was in europe, but you have someone at the ticket window do that for you right?
I need to checkout the parking situation in Empoli, but I Google Earth'd it and it looks like there's a huge parking lot right in front of it. I'm sure it'll cost a bit to park there, but much cheaper than a ZTL ticket!
I would a restaurant recommendation for Florence! We plan on spending the whole day there and probably taking one of the last trains out back to Empoli that night. If you have a good lunch spot, share that too!
I had thought of Siena, but I wanted to hopefully stay at an Agriturismo for those few days. I won't be able to take the train from Rome directly to Siena becuase we are spending 3 nights in Montapulciano to explore southern Tuscany before we head up to San Gimignano/Siena/wherever for another 3 nights to explore northern Tuscany and Florence.
Towns I was thinking of visiting (based on posts that I've read on these boards)
Southern Tuscany: Montapulciano (base), Siena, Montalcino, Pienza, Massa Marittima, Grosseto, Chius, Sarteano. I've heard nice things about Cortona, but geographically it is a bit distant from those other cities.
Northern Tuscany: Florence, San Gimignano, Volterra, Greve in Chianti, Castellina in Chianti, Radda in Chianti
On the drive to La Spezia: Pisa, Lucca
I know I won't be able to hit all of those, but that is the list of options I have right now, and I will ask the folks where we're staying what their suggestions are and go from there.
Any advice on finding wineries to do wine tasting, or is it as easy as driving around and looking for a sign that says "Wine Tasting"?
Thanks, Thomas
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 9, 2014 12:01:54 GMT -5
Eagle- Thanks for the tips.
Because we're getting into Rome later in the evening and we're going to be pretty beat, I think I'm probably just going to bite the bullet and take a cab.
To get to Florence, I'm going to drive to Empoli and take the train from there into Florence. I've heard it's terrible to try and drive anywhere around Florence.
I'm definitely going to try and make reservations online ahead of time for those as well as The Doge's Palace in Venice, the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel. I've got to do some googleing to find their websites and book that online.
My plan is to buy a GPS and pre-load the destinations of where we're staying and some of the towns where we want to visit.
I finally got my Tuscany guidebooks in the mail yesterday and Rick Steves absolutely blasts San Gimignano, so I'm rethinking my northern Tuscany town. Any suggestions?
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 8, 2014 22:23:07 GMT -5
Thanks for the awesome feedback guys! I really appreciate it.
I took some of your advice and made some changes (and flight is booked!)
I took Paris out of the Itinerary completely (separate trip), and am leaving the night before, so I will land at 7pm in Rome on the 21st, now making that first day in Rome a full day. I have added a day to Cinque Terre, and am debating on adding the other day to Rome or Venice.
3/21-Leave SFO at 8pm 3/22- Arrive Rome at 7pm (planning on staying at Piazza Navona) 3/23- Rome (Pantheon, Colloseum, Forum, Trevi Foutain, etc.) 3/24- Vatican and meandering through the city 3/25- Train to Orvieto to get rental car, Scenic drive up to Montepulciano (haven't booked here yet, but seems like a good base for southern Tuscany) 3/26- Wine tasting and travelling around to hill towns in southern Tuscany 3/27- Siena 3/28- Scenic drive up to San Gimignano, explore town 3/29- Travel around northern Tuscany hill towns 3/30- Florence (is Florence a good idea on a Sunday?) 3/31- Drive to La Spezia to drop off car, stop at Pisa on the way for some photos. then train in to Manarola, walk around the town. 4/1- Hike what trails are open 4/2- Explore the other towns in CT 4/3- Early train to Venice. Get in at 1:35pm at St. Lucia station. Explore the city. 4/4- Doge's Palace and St. Mark's 4/5- Get lost in Venice 4/6- 10:30am plane home!
I'm really torn on if that extra day should be spent in Venice or Rome (currently I have it in Venice). So much to do in Rome, but Venice is also so magical (my wife has never been to Italy, so I'm not sure which she'll enjoy more).
As far as the Tuscan towns, I chose Multipuciano because some friends stayed there and loved it. They stayed at a simple but nice apartment, so I think we will do the same. I chose San Gimignano because we want to stay at an Agriturismo for a few nights and I've heard that town mentioned by many people, so I figured it must be worth a shot!
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 7, 2014 11:02:41 GMT -5
madamtrashheap, so good to hear from you!!
Here's the itinerary:
3/22- Fly from US to Rome 3/23- Get into Rome at 1pm 3/24- Explore Rome 3/25- Vatican, more of Rome 3/26- Take train to Orvieto and get rental car, drive to Multipuciano, spend rest of day just exploring Multipuciano. 3/27-Multipuciano- Day trips to neighboring towns 3/28-Multipuciano- Day trips to neighboring towns, maybe Siena this day. 3/29- Scenic drive up to an Agriturismo outside of Siena/San Gimignano, Greve, Radda, Castillero....somewhere. 3/30- Agriturismo- Maybe day trip to Florence, depending on how we're feeling, maybe too tired. 3/31- Drive to La Spezia, drop off car, take train into Manarola, explore Manarola that afternoon 4/1- Manarola- Hike the 5 towns 4/2- Take train to Venice, explore Venice that night 4/3- Venice- explore all day 4/4- Fly to Paris, explore Paris that afternoon 4/5- Paris 4/6- Fly home to San Francisco
That's the general idea right now. But I think you're right, if we take back the two days we're spending in Paris and instead put them towards either Rome, Tuscany, CT, or Venice, that would best. I'm kind of leaning towards adding a day to Tuscany and one to CT. Let me know what you think.
It's always the same thing, trying to do too much in our 2 weeks!
Thanks! -Thomas
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 6, 2014 14:10:14 GMT -5
It looks like the message boards have been dormant for quite some time, so I'm hoping there are a few folks out there still that can help me out.
Unfortunately I was not able to make the trip above, however the good news is that I'm now going, and, my girlfriend is now my wife, so we are going to celebrate our 1 year anniversary.
I have a rough itinerary planned, but nothing is booked yet, so it's still very pliable.
Fly Into Rome Rome- 3 nights Take train to Orvieto and pickup Rental Car Montepulciano- 2 nights San Gimignano (or somewhere around Siena, maybe even Siena, I was hoping to find a castle or some place cool/different to stay)-3 nights Drive to La Spezia (pit stop in Pisa) and drop off Rental Car Cinque Terre- 2 nights Venice- 2 nights
I think Rome, CT, and Venice are pretty well set in stone, what I need to figure out is which towns to stay in for the total of 5 nights and how many of the nights in each one.
I tried to do a full search of the previous messages on the boards, but couldn't quite get it nailed down enough.
Any help is appreciated!!
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Post by stearnz33 on Jul 7, 2010 17:19:18 GMT -5
After 5 years I'm making my way back to Italy, and this time with my girlfriend who has never been. I've been to Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan and I just can't have my girlfriend (Kacie) go to Italy without experiencing Rome and Venice, so here's the tentative plan:
Fly in to Rome- 1 day Rome-4 days Tuscan Region- 3 days (Need help with a city here) Cinque Terre- 3 days Venice- 3 days Fly out of Venice - 1 day
I've heard so much about CT and unfortunately I couldn't make it there on my last trip, so I figure this is the perfect opportunity. This leaves me with one more city to visit in northern Italy and I definitely don't want it to be somewhere I've already visited.
I've searched and read a lot of posts and answers to questions regarding Tuscan cities/towns but haven't gotten a grasp for what would be perfect for Kacie and I. (Madame Trash Heap's answers have been awesome and in-depth).
I'm looking for a city that is big enough to warrant checking out for 2 days (and 1 day trip to someplace nearby) and a place to really focus on food & wine. I know the answer to that part is everywhere in Tuscany/Italy/that whole region of the world (Italy, Spain, France) but a city/town that is very accessible for 25 year-olds (i.e. not super expensive) and has wine tours, etc. to take advantage of the region.
Does anything jump out, or am I seriously describing any/every Tuscan city?
(Or is there a GFE favorite in norther Italy? I followed the advice of this board and went to Gimmelwald and it was one of the best experiences of my life, I trust the professionals here!)
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Post by stearnz33 on Feb 11, 2010 17:16:04 GMT -5
Ok, I'm finally booking this train trip. I looked up the route and saw the 2 different times. Where they put the price there is different categories, "Tarifa General" which I assume is a standard fare, and there is also "Estrella" which is a cheaper price.....what does this mean? Is it just a non-refundable bargain price?
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Post by stearnz33 on Feb 7, 2010 22:12:33 GMT -5
Hey guys, heading to Barcelona in the beginning of march and need some advice from some people that have been!
I will be spending 3 days in barcelona and definitely plan on seeing a lot of the architecture that the city has to offer.
What are some other "must sees" in the city.
What are some good areas within the city to spend some time and enjoy food/drink/people watching?
any restaurants or bars that are a "must"?
Thanks a bunch guys!!!
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 18, 2010 23:06:26 GMT -5
Awesome, I see what you guys are talking about.....only one problem. I don't fluently speak Spanish!!
I'd like to book it on the website to get a great rate but I don't want to make a foolish mistake because I don't know what a word meant!!
Is there a website that has the info and ability to reserve a ticket in english?
Sorry for all the questions but you guys are so helpful and are making my trip that much better!! I really appreciate it!
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 17, 2010 14:38:01 GMT -5
I am travelling from Granada to Madrid (Spain) on march 10th 2010 and can not find any information on trains travelling that route.
I think it may be because there is no direct route so I will have to connect through different cities. Can someone help me out on how exactly I get from Granada to Madrid?
Thank you so much!!!!
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 12, 2010 19:38:29 GMT -5
herrbert- I just went to edreams.com to look at a flight from Barcelona to Granada. It was $10.90 (USD) per person on Spanair.... can that be right?!
When I went to Ireland 3 years ago I got a cheap fare from Cork to England but they ended up cancelling the flight.... is something like that going to happen with this?
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Post by stearnz33 on Jan 10, 2010 22:01:06 GMT -5
I have been on raileurope.com trying to price out trips from Granada to Madrid as well as Madrid to Toledo and it comes back with an error message each time. Is it because these are not high speed trains and do not do reservations online?
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