Gatorman82

My vote would be San Gimignano. We stayed near there for a 2 weeks and did day trips around Tuscany. San Gimi was our favorite spot, with Siena a close second.

Murky1980

Gatorman82, thanks for suggesting San Gimignano. Seems like lot of fodorites suggested as well, i have to let it go this time since the plans are already made for Lucca.

TexasAggie, thanks for your tips and like you said we will balance the itinerary for sight seeing based on how active is the little one.

Zeppole, thanks for suggestions. I didn't know that venere.com has listings for vacation rentals, thanks for pointing it out. I was able to find an apartment through venere.com close to Metro around Colosseum area, pretty decent reviews. I am excited about the place. Thanks for pointing out Pistoia.

Here is the link:

http://www.venere.com/vacation-renta...l-domus-clara/

Yorkshire, thanks for suggesting Barga. I will check it out.

Pollypvt

Hi Murky1980,
Except for the wow factor, the feel of San Gimignano was not for me so much. We stayed 1/2 hour. It is largely a (very cool) shopping and eating destination, IMO. Volterra and Cinque Terre both felt lived-in to me.
Have fun!

zeppole

Venere.com really is efficient when you are looking for places to stay in Italy, and usually they have a lot of user reviews.

I also thought this looked interesting in Rome

http://www.venere.com/vacation-renta...ropa/#location

zeppole

Since you asked about Sleep in Italy, I found this thread from last year, and people have good experiences with them. I noticed that on the Sleep in italy website you can also search by date

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ack-needed.cfm

zeppole

Murky1980,

I hope you are still checking into the boards. I remembered your itinerary, and in case you haven't see the news, le Cinque Terre suffered considerable flooding with mudslides this week, to such an extent it may have an impact on your trip, even though yours is weeks away.

Please keep following the situation as best you can. You may be able to do that more easily by monitoring the Cinque Terre forums on Tripadvisor. This is only the beginning of the rainy season, and already this flood has made the steep hillsides terribly unstable. This may persist for many weeks.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum...n_Riviera.html

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the safety of your family is important.

Pollypvt

Zeppole, I had not seen this in the news yet. What a terribly sad and tragic event.
Polly

Lifeman

As zeppole says, there is an enormous amount of devastation in this part of Liguria. I cannot possibly see that it can all be cleared up in the 3 weeks between now and your intended visit in mid November.

You need to put contingency plans into place for this period.

Pollypvt

Zeppole,
I contacted the B&B in Framura where we stayed. They said Framura, thankfully, did not get damaged. We loved Framura!
Polly