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18 Days in Italy! Input to finalize itinerary, book apts/hotels please!

18 Days in Italy! Input to finalize itinerary, book apts/hotels please!

Old Aug 16th, 2013, 07:31 PM
  #21  
 
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I paid 79€ for this apartment in Florence in Sept. 2011. It's about a 15 minute walk from the bus/train station.

http://www.residenzailcarmine.com/aparts/e_o.htm
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Old Aug 17th, 2013, 12:55 AM
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dr

you are asking if a city in Italy which is also a tourist site has any restaurants? Oh boy, yes dr yes you will not starve though you may have to book for the better ones

The train between Lucca and Florence is a commuter one very easy.
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Old Aug 17th, 2013, 12:59 AM
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Yes, there are tonnes of restaurants in Lucca. We just spent a week there as abase and really liked it. But we weren't really interested in Florence (just not art people). You can read about it and see our photos in our trip report http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rche-lucca.cfm
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Old Aug 17th, 2013, 03:20 AM
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Hi Drchris,

We had a great trip in June to three towns on a kind of east-west axis with Florence as a hub and you might play with this: Pisa-Lucca-Florence (that western leg is about 1 hr to Lucca, maybe 20 min more west to Pisa). And then southeast: Florence-Arezzo-Orvieto (about 1 hr to Arezzo and another 1-1/2 hr to Orvieto).

Given your taste in art and history, you might want to spend at least one night in Orvieto, with Etruscan-Greek-Roman-medieval-early Renaissance treasures, plus a gorgeous piece of the west Umbria landscape.

My TR and reference to photos are here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...a-and-rome.cfm

Your trip sounds like a great intro to Italy!
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Old Aug 19th, 2013, 10:57 AM
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Kybourbon - Thanks for your recomendation. Which apartment did you stay in? I am curious whether the photos reflect the actual size of each apartment as they seem to include far more than could be fit into the area given for a particular apartment. For example, one that is the size of my bedroom at home could't possibly have a bedroom, sitting area, and kitchen. Can you tell me more about the ones that open directly into the garden vs those that don't? Are they on a higher floor in the building? Since it is a bit further out, about how often does the bus run? Do you know if it starts running before 6 am in case we wanted to catch a very early train to the CT? Or would we have to walk or take a taxi to the train station at that time of day? If we returned late at night, would this be a safe area to walk in, or should we take a bus or taxi? Thanks!
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Old Aug 19th, 2013, 12:30 PM
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I stayed in one of the smaller apartments - Oro. I booked late and needed one that the bed could be separated into twins (traveling with a friend). From the pics (click to enlarge), the kitchen table is up against the wall to the bedroom. That wall does not go to the top and the bedroom has an opening from the living room (no door). The bathroom was big. This apartment opens onto the courtyard and is very quiet. Plenty of room for two people. It's possible the sofa in the living room makes a bed, but would only sleep one. The tv was Italian stations. We had wifi and AC. Each apartment had a clothing rack outside the door if you wanted to dry clothes, but there is a laundry down the block (a minutes walk). My friend did laundry there. There are also tables to use in the courtyard.
http://www.residenzailcarmine.com/aparts/e_oz.htm

Several apartments open onto the courtyard (owners live on the opposite side). One of the larger apartments is in the front and had some street noise (a recent review on Fodor's - perhaps you can find it). I did look into several of the apartments. Some were quite large. There is no second floor on the courtyard. Perhaps the street entry area had a second floor, but if it did, we didn't go up.

I didn't plan to cook do don't remember if there was oil,etc., but the owners did provide breakfast food to get you through the first day or two (yogurt, breads, prosciutto, jams). There was an old fashioned stove top coffee maker.

I have pictures at home (I'm at work now) I could e-mail you of the courtyard and apartment including the bathroom (not shown on the website). I booked based on multiple reviews by Tedgale. Here are some of his pics. I think starting with the pic of the ornate mirror and the next 6-7 pics including the one of the table in a courtyard are Il Residenza. The other pics are apartments elsewhere.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...5&l=ab3d0aeb14

***The Florence apartment is one where we have stayed 3 times now: Residenza Il Carmine, on the Oltrarno, close to the Ponte alla Carraia and thus near neighbours with the Church of the Carmine, home to the Brancacci Chapel (Masaccio/ Masolino frescoes).
We got a great deal on our huge 900 square foot apartment: an off-season rate of 75 E/ night. I cannot recommend this place too highly! They also have a 1 bedroom unit in the main building -- I have never seen it.
There are 3 smaller studio apartments, each with a private door, reached from the garden. These are quite adequate for 2 people -- kitchen with table, seating area, separate bed area and a sparkling-clean modern bath. ****

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...r-environs.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

>>>Since it is a bit further out, about how often does the bus run? >>If we returned late at night, would this be a safe area to walk in, or should we take a bus or taxi? Thanks!
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Old Aug 19th, 2013, 07:51 PM
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bilboburgler - Of course I didn't mean "does Lucca have ANY restaurants?" I had just read a couple of trip reports about how wonderful Lucca was and that the posters wished they had based there instead of Florence, but described it as a smaller, "non-touristy" place than it probably is. I was wondering how the experience of basing in Lucca would compare to Florence, which has such easy connections to so many places and so very many places to eat.

kybourbon - Thanks for so much helpful information. I enjoyed seeing the photos and reading the posts, and I will look for the one about the noisy apartment. The link to the bus schedule will be helpful - I hadn't gotten to the point of looking for that yet. Thanks for the reassurance about walking to the hotel. Sometimes when my DH and I are walking about in a foreign city at night, I think about how we would never do that at home!
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Old Aug 20th, 2013, 09:04 PM
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The sketchiest area at night on your walk would be around the train station, but I doubt you would be returning very late. In May, it should be light until around 9:30 and most returns from Siena, etc. won't be much later than that. Would depend on where you are going for day trips. The bus station is easier reached by walking up Via della Scala (past the Santa Maria Novella Farmacia of fragrance fame) instead of cutting through the SM piazza to the train station.

http://www.smnovella.it/

Florence stays pretty busy and there will be a lot of people out walking.
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