After the London debacle I'm starting a new thread to clear the air. Learned some valuable lessons only 2 weeks into my trip planning but I'm moving up and on!! hehe sorry i always need a little pep talk beforehand =D

So here we go:: I think I've got the itinerary just right. I don't have any attractions yet as I'd like to have the logistics (transport and accommodations) figured out first before I plan the fun stuff. As always, please kindly chime in if you have any suggestions, references, referrals, or opinions (respectively)....or just have something to say. but I don't have to tell you that. =P

just a little refresher::

WHO:: myself (22) & the b/f (26)

WHAT:: 7 week backpacking trip in Europe

WHEN:: March 24,2011- May 11, 2011

WHERE:: London, France, Italy, and Spain

HOW MUCH:: budget increase to $6,000/per person so $12,000 total (not including flights and railpasses {more on that later})

Likes:: food, architecture, history, art, mixing with locals and other travelers. we're not very discriminating. =D

I think I've got the itinerary right where I want it, but please. by all means let me know if I should make any revisions

Flying into London Heathrow on March 24 @ 7am

March 24:: London - 7 nights {working on accommodations}
London- 1 daytrip to Stonehenge,Bath, and maybe Salisbury.
--->> March 31 take chunnel to Paris

March 31:: Paris - 7 nights {working on accommodations}
Paris- 1 daytrip to Versailles
--->> April 7 take train to Toulouse

April 7:: Toulouse - 2 nights {need suggestions for accommodation <$100/night}
April 8:: Daytrip to Albi & Moissac

Questions: can you do these two in one day? and do i rent a car or do they have transport from Toulouse to Albi and then Albi to Moissac and back to Toulouse?

--->> April 9 take train to Barcelona

April 9:: Barcelona - 4 nights {need suggestion for accommodation <$100/night}
no day trips
--->>take overnight ferry from Barcelona to Genoa (April 13) and train from Genova to 5terre (April 14)

April 14:: Train from Genova to 5terre (staying in 5terre) - 1 night {accommodations needed}

Questions: enough time? I'm planning on hiking the the Via del Amorre they day we get in. Too much? Thinking that I might take one day from Barcelona.

--->> April 15 train from 5terre to Pisa (spend afternoon in Pisa) and take train to Siena

April 15:: afternoon in Pisa and train to Siena - 2 nights {can anyone suggest an agriturismo??}
spend night and 1 whole day in Siena
April 17:: daytrip to Volterre and San Gimagnano and arrive in Florence that night

Questions:: should I rent a car for this part and if so then from where? is this too rushed?? can Volterre and San Gi both be seen in one day?

-->> April 17 either train or car to Florence {need accommodations <$100/night}

April 17:: Florence - 3 nights
no daytrips...I could take a day from Florence and add it to the above location if it's not enough time. (although it never is i guess) =(
-->>April 20 train to Rome

April 20:: Rome - 7 nights {have accommodations =D}
no daytrips. Easter week =D
--->>April 27 train to Venice

April 27:: Venice - 3 nights {need accommodations <$100/night}
no daytrips
--->> April 30 fly to Seville

April 30:: Seville - 4 nights {working on accommodations}
1 daytrip (still debating on either Cordoba/Ronda/Cadiz)
--->> April 4 train to Granada

April 4:: Granada - 1 night {working on accommodations}
ALHAMBRA!!
--->> April 5 train to Madrid

April 5:: Madrid - 6 nights {need accommodations <$100/night}
1 maybe 2 daytrips (debating Segovia/Avila/Toledo/Salamanca need suggestions!)
rent a car maybe?? or will there be buses??
--->> April 11 early flight back to US ='(

wow!! sorry for yet another lengthy post. So my problems so far are::

- for my daytrips i'm hoping to take buses from where I am based at but not sure if they have buses going from 1 small town to another ie. albi/moissac and volterre/san gi.

-to rent a car or not to rent a car. that is the question! hehe sorry, had to.

-should i get a select pass with this itinerary or just do point-point tickets?
and lastly.....
-too much time in any location? too little? please let me know.

Thanks again to everyone who's helped me thus far!!! You'll all be partaking in the completion of a long time dream =D lols.

Florence recommendation: www.leopoldohouse.it
You can click on the british flag on the top of the screen to see it in English. The BnB is about a 10 minute walk to the center of town and very close to a coop (grocery store with CRAZY cheap prices). We were nervous about the location when we went in May, but the walk was very quick AND there is the BEST GELATO store on the way to downtown. We were in Italy for 2 weeks and I'm not exaggerating when I tell you we tried every gelato stand we came across. It's the small things in life . The owner, Danilo is younger and so very gracious and helpful (he told us where the great gelato store was and the coop as well as one of our favorite restaurants). There is a kitchen there for your use as well, although we didn't use it.
It was the nicest place we stayed at on our 2.5 week honeymoon as well as one of the most inexpensive. I recommend it to everyone even though I'm afraid with all his popularity he may raise his prices by the time we can go back. I would if I were him, but don't tell him that!. He has a Facebook page and you can also see his reviews on Trip Advisor.

With 4 nights in Sevilla my # 1 choice for a daytrip would be Cordoba. I'd spend 2 nights in Granada (taking a day from Madrid). One night in Granada after factoring in the transportation won't do it justice.

You'll be glad you've increased your budget!

For ease of reading can you please not put in all your =D and =D} and -->> or all that other stuff you add (sorry - not sure what all that stuff is supposed to mean - maybe I'm out of touch with things).

April 15 - Siena - an agriturismo will be outside Siena so you will need a car or stay some place where they will pick you up. I think it would be more fun to stay in Siena which is nice after the day-time crowds leave. If you want to see the cathedral there you need to be up early. If you do stay inside the walled town then it's easier to take the bus to Siena as the train station is a distance from the old town where the sights are (but perhaps it is easier to take the train from Pisa).

April 17 is a Sunday. San Gimignano will be packed with tourists; it's much quieter on a week day. Volterra will shut down Sunday afternoons - nothing much going on. Restaurants and shops will be open but the cathedral will be closed.

With a car you can see both Volterra and San Gimignano in one day. I don't know about seeing them via public transport - bus schedules may be limited on Sundays.

Am I reading correctly that you're going to Barcelona and then to Italy and then back to Spain?

So let me get this straight, you are going to Spain then to Italy and then back to Spain?? Why would you completely backtrack? Why not do the Spain portion while you are there the first time? Or do it all during your last portion of the trip. Unless I am missing something it doesn't make sense to split up your time in Spain over 2 seperate visits.

Adrienne: "<i>sorry - not sure what all that stuff is supposed to mean - maybe I'm out of touch with things</i>"

KayDoll is trying to make smileys/emoticans

KayDoll: To get your smileys to work - use these:

http://www.fodors.com/community/smileys/

I'm surprised she didn't give up trying when they didn't work - all her posts have those characters in them! LOL

KayDoll - please do not use too many smileys as they detract from your questions (IMHO).

You might want to consider where to leave your luggage when you're traveling from place to place (such as an afternoon in Pisa). You can use this site to see if there is a luggage consignment in the train station. Click on the region (Toscana) and then "servizi in stazione" to get a list of towns and the services offered. I didn't see a place in this section for English but it's pretty apparent that "desposito bagigli" is luggage consignment. Pisa does have a left luggage area.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...0080a3e90aRCRD

I was wondering where Sterre was. It's 5 + Terre, more often abbreviated CT here.

I'm not knowledgeable about the details of bus schedules in Tuscany, but I would think traveling by bus from Siena to San Gimignano to Volterra to Florence in one day would be difficult. You might ask about this on the Tripadvisor forum. There are some Tuscany experts there.

Generally I like your itinerary (ignoring the 2 times in Spain. I assume you have your reasons.)

Oh, Sterre is Cinque Terre? I have a recommendation for you there as well. Please give me an hour or so and I can dig it up

Lanee: Thanks for the suggestion! It looks beautiful.

Cathy: I'm still doing some extended research but we also have a strong attraction to Cordoba.

adrienne: apologies. they fancy ones worked but i just liked my good old fashioned ones. but will now stop use of emoticons. i have also checked the baggage storage situations. my guidebooks have all the information on where to store luggage.

chazzarelli: I'm going to Barcelona from Toulouse because it's closer than going from Madrid. I also will not have time at the last part of my trip to do so because I've obligated myself to Rome april20-april27 for Easter. It made more sense that way.

janisj: you understand me!! lol

mimar: it was a 5 just minus the + (5terre). but my apologies i am originally from thorntree and I've gotten use to 5terre. will now be using CT on fodors. also, I was planning on leaving Siena early and doing a full day in Volterre/San Gi arriving in Florence late. I think I will be renting a car in this case just because it is a lot of public transport.

thanks everyone! great start so far!

"I'm going to Barcelona from Toulouse because it's closer than going from Madrid. I also will not have time at the last part of my trip to do so because I've obligated myself to Rome april20-april27 for Easter. It made more sense that way."

I'm not sure what you mean by Barcelona being closer to Toulouse versus Madrid - maybe "as the crow flies". However, in reality of transportation it's almost 4 hours by car from Toulouse to Barcelona. And if you're relying on public transportation there's no direct train (I'm not sure about bus). But from Barcelona to Madrid there are frequent high speed trains that take less than 3 hours.

Don't know the specifics about your obligation in Rome but Andalucia has beutiful processions during Holy Week (from Palm Sunday to Easter).

true, but accommodations in Seville are very expensive during HOly Week. But Barcelona may be 5 hrs by train from Toulouse, it's a pretty straight shot south, but slow trains.

I second the idea of Cordoba as the best day trip from Seville.

FOr Toulouse, I went to Albi for the day by train, easy, but didn't do Moissac. It's not the same direction from Toulouse. It does have a train station, but it's small, the closest big one is Montauban. You'd have to transfer there from Albi, and it would take 1.3 to 2.5 hours total. I don't know how frequent those are, either. I don't think it is feasible to do those in one day without a car. I spent all day in Albi as it was.

hello again. i have already booked my apartments in Rome and one of the main priorities of the trip is to be in Rome during Easter (yes, i know there will be madness)

my apologies for saying it was closer i just meant it makes more sense to me doing that than; after rome/ fly into barcelona/ train down to seville/ train to granada/ train back to madrid because i am flying out of there.

in this case i would be going from toulouse taking either bus or train (both take about 6hrs) or renting a car (4hrs) to barcelona /taking a overnight ferry from barcelona to genoa and ending up in CT. after Venice/fly to seville/ train to granada/train to madrid.

I may just rent the car for albi/moissac keep it and drive it down to barcelona.

Your trip from Savilla to Madrid will be in May 2011, not April!
Do you realise that 1st May is a public holiday here in Spain? But in 2011 it falls on a Sunday so I think it will be moved to the Monday. If so it will mean a long weekend for the Spanish. I would advise that you plan accordingly and make sure your budget includes what may be higher priced hotels if need be.

***I may just rent the car for albi/moissac keep it and drive it down to barcelona.***
Taking a car from one country and dropping it off in another does not make any financial sense either. You have to pay repatriation fees.

Kaydoll,

As for your Italy portion, I would recommend adding a night to the Cinque Terre. You will need and want that.

Also, rent a car for your Tuscan countryside portion. A 3 day rental probably won't be much more than a 1 day rental. You will definitely need a car for this part, especially since you plan to daytrip on a Sunday. Buses are not frequent enough to reach all your planned destinations, and will be even fewer on a Sunday.

I've been in Rome on Easter Week. Brace yourself. And the Sistene Chappel will be closed on Palm Sunday + other days that week, so check ahead if you wanted to see it.

Buon viaggio!

ribeirasacra:: thank you for clearing things up because i did not know about the holiday or the repatriation fee. anyway, the b/f has decided he wants to spend more time in france so we are going to save Barcelona for another time and go to Provence for a few days instead.