Bonny
Junior Associate
Joined: Nov 17, 2013 10:54:37 GMT -5
Posts: 7,459
Location: No Place Like Home!
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Tuscany
Mar 20, 2015 19:26:10 GMT -5
Post by Bonny on Mar 20, 2015 19:26:10 GMT -5
I'm twitching here. There are people who can handle the planning for you if you would rather travel independently. Organizing FIT tours to Italy is exactly what I do for a living. If this is your preferred speed, and it focuses on areas that interest you, just go for it. The price isn't bad, depending on hotel class and time of year, but it isn't unheard of either so don't let that be your only deciding factor. There are a lot of air specials out of New York. Just a few thoughts... Montecatini Terme is a spa town, and in Italy that is pretty much synonymous with sulfur. A day trip to Venice would be 6 hours on the bus. Carrara is a marble quarry, interesting enough, but interesting enough to bypass the Cinque Terre? Honestly it is pretty hard not to enjoy a trip to Italy, and you will probably want to go back to see and do more no matter what, but it is always best to make the most of your time and money when you do get the chance to go. Organizing a tour of Italy isn't that tough. I organized a two week tour using a Lonely Planet guide and Trip Advisor. We also drove from Germany vs flying in. I should warn you that driving in Italy is em EXCITING! DH was a wreck. Drivers are FAST but I didn't think particularly dangerous. We finally worked out a system where I drove in the morning and he drove back in the afternoon after we split a bottle of wine and he was calmed down. Worked for us!
You know yourself. If you won't organize it now given everything you've got going on then book the trip.
BTW The big meal in Italy is lunch not dinner.
And a recommendation is to both read the book and watch the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun". They are so different you won't believe it's the same author/story. It's too bad that you won't be seeing Cortona where the story is set but you may be inspired to return on another trip. Cortona is near the Umbria border. It's a bit of drive but it worked out well for us. We arrived a little before sunset after all the tour buses had left. We watched a beautiful sunset at a nearly deserted café.
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sarcasticgirl
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 14:39:51 GMT -5
Posts: 5,155
Location: Chicago
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Mar 20, 2015 19:57:48 GMT -5
No. I learned during business school I am not good on tours. My dislike of people is too intense. I would just go to Tuscany... This. I hate group tours. Planning a trip isn't hard at all. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards
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dannylion
Junior Associate
Gravity is a harsh mistress
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 12:17:52 GMT -5
Posts: 5,213
Location: Miles over the madness horizon and accelerating
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Tuscany
Mar 20, 2015 20:56:56 GMT -5
Post by dannylion on Mar 20, 2015 20:56:56 GMT -5
It sounds like it might be fun if you think you can tolerate the inevitable one or two really-really-really-annoying-to-the-point-of-homicidal-thoughts members of the group. There is always one, sometimes a pair, occasionally a small group.
On the other hand, how much time do you have before you want to travel? You could learn some Italian and travel on your own. You've already got a head start what with the Latin involved with the law and all. Italian is easy. It's just Latin without the grammar. You will encounter a lot of locals who speak English, especially at hotels and museums and the like. I have traveled in Tuscany on my own, at first with very little Italian, and found the locals to be among the friendliest, kindest people imaginable.
However you decide to travel, you will have a wonderful time. Florence is my favorite foreign city. It is magical.
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Deleted
Joined: Oct 11, 2024 21:30:14 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Tuscany
Mar 21, 2015 7:06:30 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2015 7:06:30 GMT -5
everyone keeps saying planning a trip isn't hard.....that's fine and dandy if you want to plan a trip.....cleaning your toilet isn't that hard but I don't want to do that either.
as far as the other people that you'll be with - you don't have to talk to all of them or sit with them or be joined at the hip with them. When I went to Cancun, there was one annoying person - the people I was hanging out with (a tour I took where I didn't know anyone beforehand) and I just learned to avoid or ignore him.
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NoNamePerson
Distinguished Associate
Is There Anybody OUT There?
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 17:03:17 GMT -5
Posts: 26,217
Location: WITNESS PROTECTION
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Post by NoNamePerson on Mar 21, 2015 7:24:19 GMT -5
I'd do it in a heart beat!! What's the worse that can happen? You have the opportunity to visit someplace you've never seen before. My first trip abroad was planned tour. We were both young and had never traveled outside the US so it was great. And you'll learn whether you like the "tour" thing or doing it on your own for future trips abroad. You have to start somewhere GO FOR IT!!!!!!! Can I tag along - I think you might need a chaperone
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violagirl
Familiar Member
Joined: Aug 17, 2011 11:04:54 GMT -5
Posts: 703
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Post by violagirl on Mar 21, 2015 9:56:22 GMT -5
I did a Tuscookany tour a few years ago. It was just the right pace and involved lots of eating and wine. It was a week long cooking course at a villa in Tuscan countryside. We would cook in the morning, then have a 2 hour lunch, take a nap, the cook supper and have better food than you would find in a restaurant. If that much cooking sounds hard, it really wasn't, I mean one lunch my task was to make the sangria. So not too intense, plus once it was made I had to sample. You also do not wash your own dishes, people do that. Every day we got into the wine a little earlier.
Also, you are in a group of about 10 people - some people were from Australia, Canada, UK. Enough people to make the evenings interesting and to be able to avoid the annoying ones.
The schedule was just right, cooked for 3 days, one day we toured as a group - a vineyard, an olive grove and a cheese place and then 1 day we had to ourselves so we took a day trip to Siena. Our basic Italian came in handy - like where is the bathroom type of phrases, but most people spoke English. One thing, we all speak French too, so road signs and understanding Italian was quite easy. Might not be quite that easy unless you know a similar language.
It was our first trip to Europe so we found the narrow winding roads to be slightly scary, but by the end we were used to them. Parking in Sienna was a bit of a nightmare, but we managed to squeeze into a spot. Do not rent a big car.
We did not make it to Florence, Venice or more touristy places. Italy is one of those places you just need to go many times. As a tourist you want to hit the places you read about, but then you get there (like the Trevi Fountain) and there is a billion other tourists there so it's not quite as enjoyable as the movies make it out to be.
Anyway, we had a great time and would totally go back.
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sarcasticgirl
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 14:39:51 GMT -5
Posts: 5,155
Location: Chicago
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Mar 21, 2015 10:10:20 GMT -5
I'll plan your trip for you. I love researching and planning trips.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards
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Cookies Galore
Senior Associate
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 18:08:13 GMT -5
Posts: 10,892
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Tuscany
Mar 21, 2015 10:23:03 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Cookies Galore on Mar 21, 2015 10:23:03 GMT -5
I'll plan your trip for you. I love researching and planning trips. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards Same here! I don't know how to not plan and research! :-)
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Bonny
Junior Associate
Joined: Nov 17, 2013 10:54:37 GMT -5
Posts: 7,459
Location: No Place Like Home!
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Post by Bonny on Mar 21, 2015 10:51:13 GMT -5
I'll plan your trip for you. I love researching and planning trips. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards
I'd think you'd make a great guide too!
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sarcasticgirl
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 14:39:51 GMT -5
Posts: 5,155
Location: Chicago
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Mar 21, 2015 13:19:21 GMT -5
I'll plan your trip for you. I love researching and planning trips. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards
I'd think you'd make a great guide too!
I must say that I agree! My itialian is a bit rusty, and I have I my spent a handful of. Days in the Tuscan region, but I can guarantee an adventure! ;D ;D ;D Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards
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Tired Tess
Well-Known Member
I'm so ready to wrap it up.
Joined: Jan 16, 2011 8:47:41 GMT -5
Posts: 1,313
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Tuscany
Mar 24, 2015 15:16:09 GMT -5
Post by Tired Tess on Mar 24, 2015 15:16:09 GMT -5
Are you going ? I would!
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imanangel
Well-Known Member
Joined: Jun 8, 2014 12:18:00 GMT -5
Posts: 1,042
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Tuscany
Mar 26, 2015 0:42:53 GMT -5
Post by imanangel on Mar 26, 2015 0:42:53 GMT -5
Organizing a tour of Italy isn't that tough. I organized a two week tour using a Lonely Planet guide and Trip Advisor. We also drove from Germany vs flying in. I should warn you that driving in Italy is em EXCITING! DH was a wreck. Drivers are FAST but I didn't think particularly dangerous. We finally worked out a system where I drove in the morning and he drove back in the afternoon after we split a bottle of wine and he was calmed down. Worked for us!
You know yourself. If you won't organize it now given everything you've got going on then book the trip.
BTW The big meal in Italy is lunch not dinner.
And a recommendation is to both read the book and watch the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun". They are so different you won't believe it's the same author/story. It's too bad that you won't be seeing Cortona where the story is set but you may be inspired to return on another trip. Cortona is near the Umbria border. It's a bit of drive but it worked out well for us. We arrived a little before sunset after all the tour buses had left. We watched a beautiful sunset at a nearly deserted café.
Driving in Italy is like playing Frogger drunk! They will pass you by driving on a sidewalk if they need to. Also, everyone thinks that they are in the Indy 500! After 3 years of driving here, I am afraid I am going to get shot when I drive in Texas. This video reminds me of trying to enter a traffic circle here. www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1057526900928490&pnref=storyOk, not sure why the video isn't showing up when I post. It is in the edit screen. Here is the url if an admin can fix it. <script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script> Awkward peacock just wants to play! Posted by AFV Animals on Thursday, March 19, 2015
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