We are driving from Milan to the town of Greve in Tuscany. We pick up our car at 10:00 in the morning on the last Saturday of April. What is the fastest route to take? How long will it take? Any tips that you can give us to make the drive as enjoyable as possible. It is our first time driving in Italy.

Penny, I'm not going to be that much help because I've not visited the town or village of Greve. I think you should get a Michelin road map. I've done quite a lot of rally driving through Tuscany. All I know is, it's great if you can do at least some of the off-motorway roads. They are quite exquisitely beautiful; an experience you will never forget. But not if your're stressed for time! Have a good trip, Julia

The fastest route is the A1 Autostrada from Milan to Florence and the S2 thereafter. The trip should take a little under 4 hours if you're departing from downtown Milan and a little over if you're departing from the airport. <BR> <BR>Now, if I were you, I would make a first stop in Parma. You may plan to spend a couple of hours visiting the city centre and have lunch there. One other place I would make a stop (1 hour) would be in Modena to visit its Duomo, possibly the best example of Romanesque architecture in Italy. This would give the following rough picture: <BR>Milan-Parma ........1 1/2 hours driving <BR>Parma visit/lunch ..2 1/2 hours <BR>Parma-Modena .......45 minutes driving <BR>Modena visit .......1:15 hours <BR>Modena-Greve .......2 hours <BR> <BR>At about 6pm you would be arriving in Greve. Remember ... if you're using a car, you should make good use of it, stopping at places on your route! <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>

Use www.cwlease.com to scratch around for distances and routes for connecting any two points along your drive.

Penny, we have driven the opposite route, from Chianti to Milan, in just about 4 hrs. Are you staying at a hotel in Greve or a house/apt/villa rental. The food markets close at 7:00pm and may not be open on Sunday. If you need to stock your pantry make sure you allow enough travel time. The route Paulo suggested is the route we used. The A1 is a fast, 5-6 lane freeway. The S2 moves slightly slower and is only 2 lanes. My only tip on driving, make sure you know your exits. Unlike American freeways, the next exit may in fact be miles down the road! We absolutely love Greve, enjoy.

Jennifer is quite correct about the food markets. When you get off of the A1 and onto the SI-FI (Siena-Firenze Raccordo), go past the Greve exit and get off at Poggibonsi Sud. There's a Super COOP (large supermarket) just off of the exit, which stays open until about 7:00 PM on Saturday night. Otherwise, there are no markets open until Monday.