Italy in less than a month

[CampyorBust]

This should be quite a trip! Got me looking through my old Italy photos when I was blessed enough to study there.

How bout a mini quest? Most of these sculptures and points of interest will be in the destinations you have already mentioned. See if you can find four. The location of the sketch is a doozy and one must surely be lost to find it, major bonus points if you can locate it. If this is stoopid…please forgiveness.

Oh a few musts… Cinque Terre (hike between the villages), San Gimignano and of course Madonna del Ghisallo (I never made it but I was not exactly a cycle freak at the time).

[makoti]

Haven't read the entire thread, so I may be repeating what's been said...
If you're going to those three, you'll be very happy with your trip. My suggestion, if plans are still in flux but those are your choices, would be to go to Milan, then stay in Umbria and do day trips to Florence, Pisa, and the surrounding area. Driving is very easy, and from the center of the country, you can get to most of the places you want to see and you'll stumble onto wonderful little towns. Venice might be a stretch & will take an overnight. Umbria is every bit as pretty as Tuscany & cheaper.
Go to a few of the hill towns, don't just hit the big cities. All the charm of Italy is in those towns, IMO.
When hungry, walk down a street, come across a restaurant, go in & eat. That's as much planning as you should put into food. I've never had a bad meal in a local restaurant. Basic rule: If you've seen it here, don't eat in it there.
If this may be the only time you get there, go to Rome, even if just for the day. You can see most of the "must see's" in a day. It's very pretty at night. Trevi Fountain is always crowded, but I like it. I used to be a regular at a pizza place at the Fountain. Man, I miss that.
Bike shops are a very local affair in Italy. Small, and dark quite often. Most people would be put off by that, but if you're on this board you'll drink it in. Lots of local team jerseys to be had. I bought a Colnago from Romeo Bike Shop in Rome. It was an interesting experience. I thought they closed down until I saw a woman with one of their shop jerseys last November. She said she just got it, so I'd say they are there.
No matter where you go in Italy, believe what you hear about the crime. Pickpockets are everywhere & NOT shy. Just be aware & you'll be better than most tourists, so less of a target.
And eat Gelati. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. It's heaven.
Who are you flying over?

[Tickdoc]

Originally Posted by CampyorBust

This should be quite a trip! Got me looking through my old Italy photos when I was blessed enough to study there.

How bout a mini quest? Most of these sculptures and points of interest will be in the destinations you have already mentioned. See if you can find four. The location of the sketch is a doozy and one must surely be lost to find it, major bonus points if you can locate it. If this is stoopid…please forgiveness.

Oh a few musts… Cinque Terre (hike between the villages), San Gimignano and of course Madonna del Ghisallo (I never made it but I was not exactly a cycle freak at the time).

Not stupid, no apologies necessary:-)

[Tickdoc]

Thank you makoti. My heritage is Umbrian, and I'm hoping to go there and. Is it my family's hometown next trip when I'll have more time to explore. (Fabriano)

Am actually hoping to rent our fellow pl ers house in Tuscany, just couldn't pull it off this year.

Will probably hit Rome that trip too.

So looking forward to this trip.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

Thank you makoti. My heritage is Umbrian, and I'm hoping to go there and. Is it my family's hometown next trip when I'll have more time to explore. (Fabriano)

Am actually hoping to rent our fellow pl ers house in Tuscany, just couldn't pull it off this year.

Will probably hit Rome that trip too.

So looking forward to this trip.

Remember, pics or it didn't happen.

[waltere]

In Firenze:

David is a must & I would recommend doing the steps to the top of the Duomo.
Picking up an Italian jersey is a really cool idea too!

[Tickdoc]

Originally Posted by waltere

In Firenze:

David is a must & I would recommend doing the steps to the top of the Duomo.
Picking up an Italian jersey is a really cool idea too!

Yes, jerseys would make a cool souvenir...and caps. Caps I'll actually wear, and they are easy to pack.

[Tickdoc]

Such much to do and so little time. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Landed in Venice today for the last leg of our trip and this is the view out our hotel room. Damn near made me weep.



I wasn't expecting to like Venice so much!

Most of my pics are on my other camera but will have to wait until home to post and add those to a shareable format.

Bicycles? Nada. Unless you like crappy old city cruisers, and most of those were in Florence. I didn't come across any stores selling bikes and or bike stuff, but that is ok because we are having a blast just soaking up the atmosphere, food, and wine.

[echelon_john]

Beautiful! Enjoy. Glad your trip has been a success.

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

Such much to do and so little time. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Landed in Venice today for the last leg of our trip and this is the view out our hotel room. Damn near made me weep.



I wasn't expecting to like Venice so much!

Most of my pics are on my other camera but will have to wait until home to post and add those to a shareable format.

Bicycles? Nada. Unless you like crappy old city cruisers, and most of those were in Florence. I didn't come across any stores selling bikes and or bike stuff, but that is ok because we are having a blast just soaking up the atmosphere, food, and wine.

[Avincent52]

Venice is amazing.
Went there last summer. Astonishing.

Do this. It was unbelievable.
http://rowvenice.org/

[Ciavete]

For classic shoes & clothing check out:http://www.dettopietro.com/. Nice people. When I visited their shop last year they spoke of their hopes to resurrect a classic brand.

Speaking of classic brands, handbuilt-in-Italy by De Rosa's are now found in Seregno, as has been noted previously. Doriano & his daughter Martina are wonderful people.

Prego!

[Tickdoc]

Such a fun and short trip....So many sights for just a week, here are just a few highlights from Venice:

Sunset cruise on a water taxi:



Near the jewish Ghetto:


Panorama out our window:

Obligatory Venice window shot:


museo de something or other:

[TomNY]

Good luck on your upcoming trip to Italy. I got a lot of helpful tips from Paceline post. I compiled them city by city then reviewed them before we started the day.

I rented simple city bikes in Firenze from Alinari's rental shop. A few minutes walk from central square, or bus/train stop. Cycle to Michelangelo's Piazza overlooking the city. You can cover a lot of ground at an easy pace.

I also rented a 125cc scooter for 3 day trip out of the city to Volterra. The Italy is not a good place to learn how to ride a motorcycle no matter the size. But if you know what you are doing, the access to Tuscany from Florence is easy and fantastic.

Venice street food, casual dining places are fantastic. We had a brunch sandwich of tuna w minced olives, washed down w presecco. 48 hour boat pass aloows you to get on and off boats the service the canals.

We also took a twilight bike tour of Rome which was fantastic.

Pickpockets / Selfie Stick salesman, trinkets are everywhere. Be polite but firm w "Gratzie no". My GF got tangled up w/ a persistent selfie stick gypsy in Florence which quickly escalated to me separating his grip on her wrist. He invited me to fight in a nearby alley. "Gratzie no". They are reported to carry knives....I had my wallet in my front pocket w a safety pin fastening my pocket shut.

Meals, we split antipasto, pasta course, second. Every restaurant seemed prepared for this and plenty of food. Wine by the carafe is VG to OK.

We found supermarket chain "COOP" which has fresh food, wine etc. If you are not eating prosciutto and cheese now, you will! We had a VG package from store "Lambia".

Sorry to say I didn't do any performance type cycling, but the city bike rides and Scooter days were great.

Have a great trip!