malcolm
07-26-2007, 11:22 PM
With all the bad news, I'll give a little report from my italy trip.
1) All the info I got on this site was very accurate and thanks to all that contributed
2) It was a family thing and I didn't ride a pedal stroke, but man were there some cyclists and even my wife commented on how smooth they looked, no knees and elbows all over the place and some of the smoothest pedal strokes I've ever seen. Reminded me of some of Swoop's arguements.
3) Italy was incredible, I liked it considerably more than France and I really liked France. In France I found the people to be very accomodating but they needed to be approached in Italy the welcome came easier and they seemed truly happy to interact and help you experience their culture. We were in Tuscany between Lucca and Massarosa for a little over a week and in Venice for about 3 days. I liked Venice but it may be one of the most expensive places on the planet.
4) I didn't follow advice from here and drove in Florence several times in a full sized Mercedes diesel van. I don't recommend it. If you must however I do recommend a Garmin Nuvi. We had a Garmin Nuvi 370 with us that comes preloaded with street level detail of the us and europe and it was awesome, I couldn't believe the tiny streets and alleys that it found. It guided us faithfully on foot and in the car for the whole trip.
5) I highly recommend Italy if you can swing it. We had the kids with us and they loved it as well (7&5). This was one of a few trips that I have no regrets, it was worth every penny. I'll definitely go back and bring the bike.
1) All the info I got on this site was very accurate and thanks to all that contributed
2) It was a family thing and I didn't ride a pedal stroke, but man were there some cyclists and even my wife commented on how smooth they looked, no knees and elbows all over the place and some of the smoothest pedal strokes I've ever seen. Reminded me of some of Swoop's arguements.
3) Italy was incredible, I liked it considerably more than France and I really liked France. In France I found the people to be very accomodating but they needed to be approached in Italy the welcome came easier and they seemed truly happy to interact and help you experience their culture. We were in Tuscany between Lucca and Massarosa for a little over a week and in Venice for about 3 days. I liked Venice but it may be one of the most expensive places on the planet.
4) I didn't follow advice from here and drove in Florence several times in a full sized Mercedes diesel van. I don't recommend it. If you must however I do recommend a Garmin Nuvi. We had a Garmin Nuvi 370 with us that comes preloaded with street level detail of the us and europe and it was awesome, I couldn't believe the tiny streets and alleys that it found. It guided us faithfully on foot and in the car for the whole trip.
5) I highly recommend Italy if you can swing it. We had the kids with us and they loved it as well (7&5). This was one of a few trips that I have no regrets, it was worth every penny. I'll definitely go back and bring the bike.