So after having read many posts here I have determined that I am making the classic mistake of trying to do too many things in too short of time. Having acknowledged that I also admit that everything is booked, deposits are made and I can't change that for this trip.
Going on the trip will be myself, my wife and our 14 year old son. We are Artisans by trade, working with decorative cement and are looking for any help on suggestions for places to visit that might have beautiful stone work, or an active artisan community that works with concrete or natural stone. I have selected all of our apartments based on old world feel with stone and custom concrete work and am very happy with what I have found. We travel primary to see historic architecture (stone and concrete in particular), experience the culture, view beautiful landscapes, and eat great food.
So here is our itinerary:
Fly into Rome in September stay four days, on fifth day rent car and head to Tuscany
Staying outside of Vicopisano for five days planning on day trips to hit Florence, Lucca/Pisa, with the other days available for wherever,
Driving to Provence, staying outside of Avignon spending four days there with no definite must sees yet, would like to see old Roman architecture.
On fifth day we will take the TGV to Paris and spend two full days in Paris, (just a quick trip as my wife and I have been there before but my son has not).
TGV back to Avignon early morning and then drive to Lucerne in Switzerland, Stay two more days there with no firm plans yet,
On third day we drive to Venice and drop the rental car, Staying on the island for two days winding down and then fly home early the next day.
In retrospect I think I would have dropped Switzerland all together and spent the extra days in either Tuscany or Provence but too late now. Paris is rushed but the real appeal is riding the TGV for my son and I as we are both train nuts. I know that we can be quite happy just driving the countryside and exploring on our off days but was wondering if anyone might know of an Artisan (concrete or stone specifically) community nearby our Provence, Tuscany or Switzerland locations.
Thanks for any help on must sees in these areas.
Itinerary Help Italy, France, Switzerland
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Try a day trip to Siena, near Florence.
Thanks Rastaguy, what do you recommend in Siena?
If you're train nuts, why dropping Switzerland? It's heaven on earth for fans of trains!
Artisans who works with stones in Lucerne:
http://www.balance-der-steine.ch/balancedersteine.htm
http://www.steinkult.ch/index.htm
You should be careful about renting a car in one country and dropping it in another. There is normally a very high dropoff fee.
>>>Staying outside of Vicopisano for five days planning on day trips to hit Florence, Lucca/Pisa, with the other days available for wherever,<<<
You can't drive into central Florence as it's restricted (as is Pisa, Lucca, etc.). You need to read about ZTL and Italy to avoid huge fines. If you want to see the locations of the ZTL cameras in Florence, click autovelox.
http://news.comune.fi.it/muoversi/retecivica_amm.php?categ=MOBILITAETRASPORTI
If you are train nuts then you MUST visit the transport museum in Lucerne!!!
Lngo - Thanks for the links! After looking at his galleries we are going to try and do some of that stuff in our front courtyard. Imagine it would be fun to have guests try it when they visited as well. Might stop by his place to see first hand.
mamcalice - Yah I found out about that as I originally intended to drop off the car in Avignon when I picked up the TGV and then train directly from Paris to Lucerne area, and then pick up another car there and drop in Venice. That was an extra $1,000 in fees so we decided to just keep the same car from Rome to Venice so we are dropping off in the same country we picked up. I hope to find out more about the train systems and use them more the next time we venture over.
kybourbon - Thanks for that link as well. I knew we couldn't drive in but I don't know where to drop the car. I was considering training from Vicopisano to Florence for that day trip. Anybody recommend a place to park the car in Florence if I drive in from the Vicopisano area?
simpsonc510 - I will google that and see what I come up with. Thanks!
. I hope to find out more about the train systems and use them more the next time we venture over.>
check out these IMO superb sites for planning future train trips - www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com and for Switzerland www.swisstravelsystem.com. Switzerland especially is great for rail buffs like myself - a Valhalla for train nuts - cars cannot even get to several awesome Swiss spots that trains or aerial gondolas will take you to.
Thanks PalenQ. Those sites are definitely going to eat some time to follow. My son and I spent awhile on the Swiss one today and the potential is exciting.
Yup so many posts of fodors about folks getting tickets in the mail months later from Italian cities thru the car rental agencies about steep fines for naively entering no go zones for cars. Learn the stuff kybourbon has so thoughtfully posted and save some future hassles. Park the car on the edge of town and either walk or take public transit. In Florence there are parking lots ringing the town center and a short enough walk from it. One is near the Pitti Palace (sp?)