Thanks, cathies.. Any suggestions on where to stay? Is any town better than the others?

We stayed in Monerosso at Hotel Pasquale. Monterosso is lovely, however we walked to several of the other towns which are also gorgeous. Vernazza gets really good reviews. Hotel Pasquale was ok, the location was unbeatable with uninterrupted views out to sea. However not the most comfortable beds and it was the smallest of our hotel rooms by far. The same family also owns hotel villa steno in Monterosso which is a little more upmarket - friends of ours stayed there had loved it. www.hotelpasquale.com or www.hotelvillasteno.com.

Are you a coffee drinker? One of the things we came to love immensely about Italy was our early morning coffee and pastry, standing at the bar in a local cafe. We didn't ever pay more than 4 euros for 2 coffees and two divine pastries. I also was thrilled to discover that if I ordered pastries to take home then inevitably they were placed on a little tray, carefully wrapped and tied with a ribbon. Here in Australia they would just be popped into a paper bag wthout any ceremony at all.

I love Florence and could spend months exploring all the little nooks and crannies. One day we crossed the Arno and walked up into the hills a little. We were still in residential areas but the views back towards the Duomo etc were amazing. We visited a lovely church http://www.san-miniato-al-monte.com/. It was a 'killer' walk, but well worth it.

I think you are very wise to spend so much time in Italy rather than racing around trying to see all of Europe in 6 weeks! I hope you have a lovely time. It would be great if you could post a trip report.

I forgot to say that we've also been to Santorini and both are lovely, but very different from each other. Cinque Terre is definitely worth a visit - I don't think you will be disappointed.

Thank you so much for all the information! I've already sent an e-mail to Hotel Pasquale. Looking forward to hearing back from them, as well as looking into a few others.

I'll be sure to post a trip report.. In fact, I'm looking forward to doing one as the trip goes along--a benefit of having free internet at our apartment there!

You may get to Florence and not want to go too far.. I agree with Bert above that you should think about a couple of days in Venice. Early September is great, besides the regatta there is the film festival, and that can be really cool. Just go up for a couple of days for that.

Don't just look at the train, check out the buses for day trips too - you can take the bus many, many places for little cost and barely any planning. Just go to the station - you have the time.

We spent 3 nights in Cinque Terre in May and stayed in Manarola. It is less toursity than Vernazza and we stayed in a wonderful place called La Torretta. We loved the hotel-incredible happy hour appetizers with never ending wine/prosecco and big breakfasts. Gabrielle, who runs the hotel with his family was a great host. We also spent 3 nights in Varenna in Lake Como and 4 nights in Venice at a wonderful apartment on the grand canal. One of the best vacations of my life! Have a wonderful time in Italy.

I agree with all the people who said to go to VENICE (yes - I'm shouting it because I loved it so much ) - completely different to Tuscany (& I suppose from CT though have not been there) and breathtakingly different to anywhere else in the world.

We had recently booked in Vernazza, but had to pull out due to knee issues. Oh, if I only knew then what I know now!!! Our DD hiked Cinque Terre with her DH a few years ago. One night they slept in a WW11 bunker on the trail. Not that I would reccomend you doing that by any means. She said the mosquitoes were terrible. We were to stay at Camere Giuliano in September in Vernazza. There are 67 steps up the mountain to the apartment rentals..I found it on Trip Advisor. It seemed fine to us, the but we are staying super nice in Florence and at Il Cellese in Chianti, so I thought it would suit us nicely.

I smartly archived the next place where I made the new reservations and don't know how to retrieve it. Kids will be coming to the rescue. We did move up to Levanto to Villa Margherita.

I agree with the majority of posters, there is way to much to see and do in Italy to leave the country. Well, maybe the Swiss alps, but Italy is so big and the country so diverse. Just point to a spot on the map and go!

Okay, I'm bringing this back from months ago, I know.

We are in Florence now and are dearly in love with this town. We've been to Cortona, Siena, Greve in Chianti, and of course, Fiesole. We've talked about going to several other places, but honestly, we feel like we're missing something here each time we leave.

That being said, we may be done going on a day trips - maybe Volterra but that's it. We do, however, want to go somewhere for a couple days.

This is what we're thinking:

Going to Bologna and getting a hotel for two nights.

Arrive AM the first day, explore Bologna.
Wake up early the next morning and train to Venice.
Spend the day in Venice and return to Bologna that night.
Leave whenever we're ready the next time for our return to Florence.

Now, here's why we're thinking this:
1. Hotel rooms are less expensive in Bologna than in Venice
2. Train tickets are less expensive (saving only about 10 Euro, though, but breaking it all up)
3. We don't feel the need to really DO Venice - we just want to see it at this point.

From reading about Venice, it seems a little overwhelming for just a day trip. Would you agree?

I'm just torn - I think I'd prefer to do Venice for several days, but financially that just isn't an option for us. Seeing as though we've come to Italy twice in the last two years, it's likely to be several more years before my husband lets us return (he wants to see somewhere else, and I don't blame him).

So my question is: is it better to SEE Venice and walk around for the day than to not see it at all? Will it just leave a bad taste in our mouthes?

What do you want to spend for a hotel? There are budget options in Venice if you want to stay there.

Venice is expensive but you have to go there once. Might be hard to find inexpensive accommodations unless you book months ahead though.

Plenty of places in Tuscany and Umbria which may not have been mentioned, like San Gimignano, Lucca, Montepulciano, Perugia, Assisi.

If you've been in landlocked towns all this time, a coastal town or Venice might be a nice change of scenery.

I'm planning to visit CT next May but hadn't thought about staying in CT itself, more like doing a day trip from somewhere between CT and Genoa. But the southern entry to CT is suppose to be from La Spezia, where you can take the train to CT. That might be a place to stay.

We're hoping to spend under $100 each night.

Scrb, that's exactly what we're looking for - a change of scenery, if we're going to leave Florence and spend the money.

We want to see Bologna - that much we know for sure. To do Bologna and Venice at the same time is definitely ideal - and to do Venice via Bologna, we're able to spend a little money.

Just worried that it's too much for a day - that we won't be able to relax once we get there, knowing that we're just about to leave it again (that's fine for smaller towns, but is it for Venice?).

Another option from Bologna, which might make a better daytrip, is Ravenna. It's easy to see most of the main sights in one day and is an inexpensive train ride away.

have you used venere.com yet, there are venice quotes there in the $100 range. I think you would enjoy sleeping over in Venice and walking around a night.

if you wanted to visit Bologna, why not do it on your way up or home instead?