dawnnoelm

Okay.. I have hemmed and hawed about for a while now on what to do with my airfrance tickets... I have to rebook in the next week or so. I believe (99 percent sure!) I am going to rebook for Italy. Dh, and the girls (who will be 11 and 15 at time of travel) both loved Italy the most on our last trip.

Now here is the kicker.. I cannot go until December 26 - we can still through Jan. 3. That gives us a good 6 days in country.

We went to Florence and Rome last time. I prefered Florence over Rome.

Dh would really like to go to sicily - as that is where his family is from...not sure what it will be like in December/Jan?

I am really open to where to go..just want good food and time with my family enjoying Italy!

Sooo.. where would YOU go? (In Italy LOL)

Jean

I'd leave Sicily for another time of year. If you haven't been to Venice, then definitely Venice and perhaps a couple of days in Verona, Padova, Ferrara or some other city/town nearby that appeals to your interests.

dawnnoelm

Thanks Jean - I was afraid of that... would you fly in and out of Venice? Thanks in advance...

ellenem

Sicily is pretty big and spread out for so short a trip.

I would choose one easily-reached city, be it Venice, Florence, Rome, or someplace else, and stay in there the entire time. Get to really know the place. Relax. See one required sight in the morning, one in the afternoon, the rest is gravy. Take a day trip or two if you must.

Don't know where you live but . . . Air France connects through CDG to Florence and Venice. Air France is a partner airline with Delta, whixh has direct flights from JFK to Pisa and Venice. Food for thought.

raspberryberet

Is it me, or wouldn't Venice be really cold at that time of year, and part of the point of Venice is being out on the canals? We decided against Venice when we were in Italy this past December 30- January 4. Unless you're partaking in winter sports and doing the Alps thing, I would choose Southern Italy over Northern, but that's me. I live in LA!

traveller1959

Sorry to say that, but most of Italy will be cold and damp in that time of year. Especially Venice will be unpleasant, however deserted.

Sicily will be the warmest area in Italy. Average low is 8C, average high 16C - not bad. Sicily has landscage - the Etna is gorgeous and will be snow-capped -, great cities (Palermo!), wonderful towns with Roman ruins, landscape and Italian architecture (Taormina!) and great Greek temples. Definitly recommendable.

Vttraveler

When we lived in southern Germany my husband and I traveled to the Verona/Vizenza/Padova/Venice corridor twice, in February and March. These cities definitely were not as charming for outdoor wandering as they can be in spring or fall. However, the weather was certainly warm enough for walking around and enjoying the architecture, and visting the art museums and other indoor locations was of course fine.

Personally I would rather have cool weather than really hot weather. If I came from LA I would probably have a somewhat different perspective

Sicily does sound like a logical destination for your family because of your husband's ties to that area. It should be even better than the north for comfortable sightseeing in Dec/January.

ira

Hi D,

Sicily will certainly not be any colder than Venice or Florence, and as noted, there will be snow on the mountains (maybe).

Jean

I still say Venice. Yes, it will be cold and damp. That's why winter clothing was invented.

dawnnoelm

I am trying to find out if I can "cancel" after I rebook the tickets and then rebook for summer of 09. I simply am having a really hard time letting 5,000.00 in airfare go to the wind.

I appreciate the feedback. We are coming from LAX - and live in Southern Ca where 50 degrees is pretty cold.

I have searched the flights and yes, I can fly into Paris and over to Venice - or Rome - or Florence...

dawnnoelm

Any thoughts on these apartments? None are too thrilling to me... I used Sleep in Italy for our Rome apartment last year and was happy with their service.

http://www.sleepinitaly.com/venice/f...t_rialtao.html

http://www.sleepinitaly.com/venice/f..._marialio.html

http://www.sleepinitaly.com/venice/files/apt_white.html

mamc

Sicily is too wonderful to stay for the short time you have available. And it takes two days to get there from the US and to get back. We had to fly from Sicily to Rome and take a plane from Rome the next day.

Sicily is also to big and diverse to do it any justice in 5 or 6 days. Ten would be much better and two weeks better still.

If you can reschedule for the next summer, that would be good. If not, you will likely find chilly and damp weather. But chilly and damp in Venice is better than not being in Italy at all.

dawnnoelm

mamc and chilly in damp in Venice is better then wasting 5,000.00 in airfare!

We loved Italy and Swizterland... I think we did not get a great feel for Paris due to circumstances in getting there (re-routed through chile - took over 48 hours of travel blah blah...

We have 7 days IN country - I was not including travel days. We leave on December 26 - get in on the 27 and leave on Jan. 3. I need the kids to have a day at home before headed back to school on the 5th.

LoveItaly

Hi dawnnoelm, look for Tiff's wonderful trip report when they went to Florence and Venice in winter one or two years ago. If you scroll down her trip report about Rome that she just posted I believe that there is the link to her Florence/Venice trip report. BTW, I just had a long conversation with a friend who lives one hour north of Venice this Sunday and she said the weather this winter has been warmer than normal so maybe you will luck out this coming winter also!

dawnnoelm

Thanks LoveItaly!

I am now toying with doing Rome again... I am worried about the weather. I really have to decide as the date is coming up fast for rebooking.



I will look for Tiff's trip report.

LoveItaly

Hi dawnnoelm, Rome would be better weather than Venice. But in that you have been to Rome and prefered Florence..I don't know..maybe the second trip to Rome would be more enjoyable. I love Rome but some people do not. Dawn, being in CA I too feel the cold so I would not personally want to be in Venice during that time frame. Tiff is from the midwest and is use to freezing weather so I think she aclimated better to the winter weather in Venice than I would.

dawnnoelm

I think a few things played into my experience in Rome. We were tired. I did not love our apartment. We had an amazing one in Florence and Rome was a little bit of a let down. I did not love the area we stayed in (Spanish Steps).

I did love the history and enjoyed the sites.

I think we will freeze and with the girls be miserable. That does not sound like fun.

I hope we can push it out again but I keep getting mixed answers from Airfrance.

ellenem

dawn!

Just think--with that many days in Rome, your family can spare time for the full-day trip to Pompeii. Or a daytrip to Orvieto.

I wasn't wild about Rome on my first trip. It had everything to do with the fact that it rained for three days straight and didn't stop until the morning we were leaving.

Choose a place near Campo di Fiori or in Trastevere and I'm sure you'll all have a great time.

dawnnoelm

Ellen - that is exactly what I am thinking..to do a couple "day" trips. We never even got to the Trastevere area when we were there in July.

I know Spanish steps area is very popular -but I think I would prefer another area.

I have to pull the trigger on this airfare and keep putting it off...

I wonder what Pompeii or Orvieto is like during that time of year.. time to research!

ellenem

Personally, I dislike the Spanish Steps area. I'm not interested in high-end shopping and just don't get the allure. I visit the area to purchase at my favorite gloves shop and then move on as quickly as possible.

Orvieto is such a quick easy trip that you can really decide to do it once you see how the weather is that morning. Since it's a hilltown, you want nice weather for strolling and enjoying the views. They have a good tourist ticket that covers many of the popular sights and transportation (funicular and bus) and can save you money even if you're just there for one day. I'm sure your family would be intrigued by the Underground Orvieto tour as well.

I guess the biggest issue for this would be holiday closings during your stay.