mio

I was/am a lurker who has greatly benefited from your advise. Our trip to Venice, Florence and Rome was more than memorable and it was greatly thank to you (Fodorites). Before our trip, I put together a 16 page long document full of advise, tips, and everything I could "copy and paste"

Statia

Glad you had a great trip, mio. We'd love to hear a trip report if you have the time.

mio

I hit post before I was done... Anyways, our trip was the trip of a lifetime. We throughly enjoyed it. I just want to make sure all newbies who are planning their trips understand how essential is to pack light!!. I have to confess that I am a compulsive overpacker, but I had seen so many of your post about it that I took it to heart and all I can say is thankgoodness!!! Let me put it this way, in each train station there is about an average of 20-30 steps to get inside/outside. There is noone to help with the luggage at the airports (Marco Polo in Venice - the absolute best airport - or in DaVinci in Rome)and forget it at the train stations. A taxi will overcharge you if you have too much luggage. And forget public transportation with a 26 incher or plus
For what to pack, my best advise would be to watch the weather closely. We packed for much colder weather and hardly took the bulky sweaters out of the bag.
Jeans are EVERYWHERE!! but... they are heavy to pack so pick wisely.
On comfortable shoes.. ahhhh... how can I put this delicately... there are no shoes on the face of the earth that held up to my poor feet. I did, as suggested, invest on a good pair for nought. I brought my 3 best, most comfortable, easiest, go with any outfit shoes but my feet were still painful at the end of the day. Now, depending on the amount of walking you are planning you might be better off training your feet before your trip.
Language - there is absolutly no problem here. Most Italians/Europeans speak an average of three languages including English.
You can sign me
Not-a-newbie-anymore

mbj

Oops! We bought 26" roller suitcases and will be taking trains. is that going to be a problem?

mio

mbj - the 26 inchers are a bit more troublesome for this kind of travel. I saw two girls trying to put up their bags on the overhead in the train and it was not a pretty sight. My husband stepped in and helped them out, but that is mostly the case, you either travel with someone who will be able to haul them up for you or be at the mercy of compasionate travellers.
BTW - I followed someone elses advise and upgraded from IC (intercity) to Eurorail for 8eu it was definately worth it!!

PamSF

Gotta say..I bought a 24 inch bag and it was too heavy at times. The trains from Florence to Venice were particularly difficult for me. Lifting a 24 incher was difficult..except for the kindness of strangers. I'm heading to France for three weeks this year and hope to only take my 21 inch and a carry-on.

Singletail

I don't suppose you noticed all the athletic type shoes that were being worn with all those jeans. Say what you will about "looking like a tourist" but I have yet to hear anyone complain about having to break those in or that their feet hurt after wearing them.
Glad you had a good trip anyway.

bettyk

My husband and I just returned from a 2 week trip to England and Scotland. According to our pedometer, we walked over 50 miles during that time! I guess that's why we didn't gain any weight! We both wore our Merrell jungle mocs and had happy feet the entire time!