Teresa

My boyfriend and I spend 3 weeks in Italy and Spain. Loved every minute of it! <BR>Our favorite cities were Rome, Venice, Toledo and Seville. Our favorite Hotel was Locanda Leon Bianco in Venice. <BR>My only regret was not buying postcards at the souvenier shops of places where taking pictures were not allowed. <BR>Best advice: pack lightly. We took 3 pieces of carry on luggage. Also, bring earplugs! <BR>

Morgan

Terest please say a bit more about the good news about carry on luggage. Also, why the earplugs?

JAN

Teresa, <BR> <BR>We're staying at Leon Bianco also in April. Can you tell me more about it? <BR>The neighborhood, breakfast, location,noise, etc. We have a room on the small canal. <BR>What was your room like? Thanks a lot.

Linda

Where did you stay in florence?

Angela

Is Madrid worth a trip? Or are there better places to go in Spain. Im thinking of studying abroad for the summer there.

Heather

Teresa, I would love to hear more about your vacation ... it sounds wonderful! I'm tentatively planning to take my brother to Europe for 3 weeks when he graduates from school in 2003 and he is most interested in Spain and Italy. I've been to Italy a number of times, but would really like to hear your itinerary and more about Spain. Toledo and Seville were on my "wish list" of cities from the amount of research that I've done so far. <BR> <BR>Any information that you wouldn't mind sharing would be greatly appreciated. <BR> <BR>Thank you for the offer! <BR> <BR>p.s. Ever since my first trip to Europe (nothing like dragging an enormous suitcase around Italy for 2 weeks!), I've been taking less and less, so I second your "pack light" advice.

Teresa

I'll answer the questions first. <BR>Most of the hotels we stayed at required you to use stairs or a tiny elevator to get to your room. Most of the elevators can fit 2 people comfortably but with big pieces of luggage, you'll have to make several trips. We took trains and they have the same size overhead compartments as the airplanes and they don't have a lot of room for big luggage. Another reason, we were delayed in San Francisco therefore we missed our connection flight to Rome from London. If we had checked in luggage, we would have had to wait several hours more for our airline's next flight to Rome, but instead they arranged us to fly on another airline. <BR>Why earplugs? You never know what your hotel room is like. It's scooterville in Europe and if you are facing a street, they are loud. Also, the walls between rooms are not necessarily very thick. <BR>We loved Leon Bianco. With some help of a friendly Italian we found it. You have to go into this small alley, past a big staircase, and through a gate to a doorway with a buzzer to the hotel. The room was large compared to other hotels. The chandelier was glass blown with flecks of gold. Beautiful! We also had the small canal view. You had to lean out to see it though. But no biggie. The breakfast was the typical Italian breakfast received in other Italian hotels: hard bread w/ jam, coffee (Italian or American), juice, and wrapped biscuits. Overall the location was great and the noise wasn't much except for when boats cruise under the window. <BR>In Florence, we stayed at Albergo Ferretti, which was close to the train station. I think 7 rooms had bathrooms and the rest shared a public bathroom. We had a bathroom, therefore the public bathroom was next to our room. We definitely needed the earplugs there because we were facing the street. The cost was fine, but next time I'll try another hotel. <BR>In Spain, Madrid and Barcelona were disappointing, in my opinion. I like history and culture and they are very modern. The museums were good, but I loved Seville. I think next time we'll go to the Andalusia region. Seville had a big university and lots of students. I'm 23 so it felt like home there. <BR>I felt like Italy had the beautiful art and the history and Spain had the great achitecture with the vibrant colors. Both places definitely had the ambiance. If you would like to see pictures, I have some posted on http://communities.msn.com/GonzalezBoswellWebsite <BR>Thanks for the questions...I will reply with more information about the trip later...I need to get back to work <BR>

Jack

Teresa, <BR>What were the crowds like? Were the places bearable or packed with tourists?

Nancy

Where did you stay in Sevilla and Toledo? Were they reasonable and would you recommend them to us? We will be spending eleven days in Spain in April. <BR>Thanks

igor

If you had to skip Barcelona or Madrid, <BR>which one would you skip? We have a choice of flying into either of those <BR>cities because it is not possible to fly directly to Seville. So, once we <BR>arrive there, we wanted to spend 3 days <BR>in either Barcelona or Madrid? Which one would you recommend? <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Igor

Teresa

In reply to questions: <BR>The crowds were bearable. I know the crowds must be tripled during the peak season and I wouldn't have been able to stand it. <BR>We stayed in Madrid and took a day trip to Toledo, so I don't have any hotel recommendation. In Seville, we stayed at Hosterķa del Laurel. It was in a quiet location. The only problem was that my boyfriend is 6' tall and the bed was short. The room had windows, but there was a building right next to it so we didn't get any daylight. With the conversion the price was about $35/night for a double room. It was right around the corner from the Cathedral and the Alcazar. I would recommend it. <BR>I would skip Madrid. I liked the Sagrada di Familia in Barcelona. It's Gaudi's last work and it's still being constructed. You get great views of the city. <BR>

Capo

Teresa, thanks for your travel report. We're off to Rome in just two weeks and are getting very exicted. It's nice to hear you say that was one of your favorite cities on your trip. <BR> <BR>Re: "In Spain, Madrid and Barcelona were disappointing, in my opinion. I like history and culture and they are very modern." Interesting we we're in Barcelona last year around this time and absolutely loved it...but to each their own! Barcelona actually has a rich & fascinating history (reading suggestion: Robert Hughes's book "Barcelona") and, while the Eixample isn't all that old, we found the old city, the Barri Gotic, to be wonderful for wandering.

Liza

Any hotel recommendations for Madrid and Barcelona? Going there next month! <BR> <BR>Thanks

John

I have heard somewhere that one should not buy swords or other souveniers in Toledo as they are very expensive there. Rather buy it in Madrid or somewhere else and it will be cheaper. Is this true?

Laura

Teresa, <BR> <BR>I loved your pictures on your web site! <BR>I saw that you stayed in Hotel Julia in Rome. How did you like it? I have a reservation for May at the same hotel.

Teresa

I'm back to answer the new questions. <BR>Capo, we stayed in Barcelona for a day and half and I think our tourbook wasn't very good. I'll try Barcelona again with better tour info next time. <BR>In Madrid, we stayed at Mora which is across the street of Prado museum. It was close to the train station if you are planning to take trains to southern Spain. Nice room except walls were a little thin. It got good reviews on this site. In Barcelona, we stayed at Meson Castillo. Loved the continental breakfast. It also got good reviews on this site. <BR>I don't know about the swords prices. I was worried about carrying it and explaining it to the airport officials since we had carry on luggage. <BR>Hotel Julia was our first hotel. So it was a shock to see the small bathroom and hard bed. By the end of the vacation we had become pros in having 2 people in one bathroom. The walls were thin also. We walked to the Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Borghese Gallery, and Spanish Steps from there. The train station is also close by. When in Rome, I'll highly recommend going to the Borghese Gallery. Our utmost favorite gallery.

Kim

What souveniers did you bring home?

Capo

Thanks Teresa. The Meson Castillo, in Barcelona, was one of the hotels we considered staying at. We ended up choosing the Gran Via, which we loved, but I checked out the Meson Castillo while we were there and it looked very nice. From what I read on the web, it seems to be a favorite of British travelers. <BR> <BR>Appreciate your comment about the Borghese Gallery in Rome as your "utmost favorite gallery." We're going soon and are really looking forward to that one. The building itself and the setting both sound wonderful. Did you make reservations ahead of time? Thanks.

maddy

I'm planning a trip to Spain in the beginning of May and I need some advice. <BR>I only have 7 days so I was thinking of going to Barcelona. Are there any good beach towns/islands within reasonable travel distance? i'd like this to feel like a vacation and not a wirlwind Spanish tour (I did that in Italy and it was a big mistake). where should I stay in Barcelona? I'm not overly concerned with price.

rw

i agree, seville is something else, how beautiful and friendly everyone is. i must also add that barcelona is perhaps my favorite in city in all of europe, the architecture, the beach, the nightlife, the weather, the friendly people....you won't be disappointed, i promise. many of great places to stay, but i stayed in the las ramblas area.