kawh

he did one week there, and one week in florence. liked bologna much better. even liked the office staff! i got to meet his teacher, andrea, and he really is a great guy. (and my husband tells me that he's a great teacher.) a week isn't much time to learn a language, but it certainly helped his confidence and understanding.

matera2019

@judilie,

Hi, I do this drill all the time, so maybe I can be of help.

First of all, the Residenza di Studi Superiori has laundry facilities. Do yourself a huge favor and pack 9 days worth of clothes + your computer. If you are thinking of including the Amalfi Coast in this trip, you don't want to be carrying all that luggage, even if you have a car for that portion of the trip.

So I suggest you land in Rome, go into Rome to sleep, then take the fast train to Bologna the next day from Rome, and then a taxi to the residence once you get to Bologna. It is really much simpler than driving. Even if for some reason you don't want to pack light, it is still better to spend the money on taxi services everywhere and using the trains There are elevators in the Bologna train station.

If you decide to drive from Rome, rent a car with a GPS. The residence is not inside the ZTL/restricted area, so you can drive straight there. But drop off the car at the rental office near the train station, because the residence is very close to the train station. It is not difficult to do.

If you drive from Rome, I don't think you have time to visit Tuscan towns, especially places so far west as Monte Oliveto or as big as Siena. Not if you are trying to get to Bologna before the car rental office closes. Taking a western detour like that is a almost 7 hours of driving, even without stops for lunch and sightseeing (or getting lost). If you drive from the airport, it is better to take the A1 autostrada directly to Bologna. That is almost 5 hour drive, but it gives you time to stop for lunch somewhere between Orvieto and the Chianti, where there are many pretty towns and country inns.

There is plenty of beautiful nature near Bologna and plenty of wonderful day trips to historic towns you can take from Bologna using the trains. For towns and art there is Ravenna, Parma, Modena, Ferrara, Florence, Milan, Padua, Dozza by train . For car trips on weekends you can to the beautiful rural areas near Brisighella or Vignola, the Po Valley Delta (near Comacchio, the Euganean hills just south of Padua. If you like to go bicycling, there are many wonderful places, both towns and nature reserves. Your new friends in Bologna will help you decide.

The last half of October is generally not too late to visit the Amalfi coast. Nice weather can linger there into November. But there is also the possibility to get days and days of rain and mist at that time of year. (When it rains on the Amalfi coast, you can't see the views, and the views are the only reason to go.)

Since you are going off-season, I suggest you don't commit to reservations on the Amalfi coast until you see what the weather will be. After you finish in Bologna, head south by train to Naples or Sorrento to see Pompei. If the weather is nice, rent a car and drive around the Amalfi. If it is not nice, rent a car and go someplace where it is. Matera and all of Bascilicata is very beautiful. You can drive up to Umbria if it is sunny there and see beautiful places.

For your husband's language and cooking classes, the school Arca in Bologna can arrange both. (It is a language school, but it has arrangements with local cooking teachers).

Those are my suggestions. I will also suggest that for very detailed information about how to drive and park in Bologna and other information that you ask questions on the Tripadvisor message board forum for Bologna. The people who post there live in Bologna.

I hope you enjoy your stay in Italy.

judilie

Thanks very much, matera2019, for all of the suggestions! They are much appreciated.

judilie

I am still to decide whether to take train or rent car and drive from Rome to Bologna. Are the car rental offices near the international terminal? Is it difficult to drive out of the airport and to, say, the Ibis motel near the airport? (This would be at about 7:30 pm on a Saturday.)

Thanks in advance for your help with this.

StCirq

Car rental offices are always right near the international terminal, everywhere in the world. They're right there at Fiumicino, too. You walk out of the airport into the car rental lots.

If you're talking about the Ibis Roma Fiera, it's about 8 km back toward the center of Rome. I can't imagine why you'd want to pick up a car at Fiumicino, drive in the opposite direction from where you're headed, then have to reverse direction the next day. To begin with, I'd guess the hotel has a shuttle to and from the airport. But no, it's not difficult to drive out of the airport.

I would take the train, personally.

judilie

I've looked at a map. The Ibis hotel is ENE of the airport (at the intersection of E80and A90) and looks like it's right on the way to Bologna (in two of the three routings Googlemaps suggested). That's why I picked it, but we could stay at any motel not too far from the airport. Suggestions welcome.

I'm going to let my husband (who's the one who'd do the driving) make the decision about train vs. rental car, but I'm trying to get as much info. as I can to help him with that.

greg

Just a 2 cents on different wardrobes in relation to the luggage size base on anecdotal observations. I have taken consecutive day classes in Italian and French from native speaking women. They were always sharply dressed and looked different each time. But on close observation, they seemed to be good at were combining tops, bottoms, belts, scarves, cardigans, and jackets to create different looks without actually using corresponding amount of totally different wardrobes.

judilie

Thanks, Greg. I'm going to try to do that.

Jean

judilie, one more bit of info... Sunset on Sept. 16th will be at about 7:15 p.m. If your plane is late, your luggage is slow to appear, the rental process goes slowly, etc., it will be dark as you drive away.

I agree with greg's comments about your wardrobe. Remember those magazine articles that show you how many combos you can create with x number of articles? When I was very young, I thought it would be easier just to have more clothes. But after many years of travel, I realize how well the mix-and-match concept works. I now pretty much dress that way in my daily life. The only issues I might have while traveling occur when we plan to do things other than strictly sightseeing, like hiking/cycling/skiing or going to a formal event.

hollywoodsc

Just a suggestion re luggage. Pack an overnight bag with items/changes of clothes for your day in Rome and day traveling. That way you don't need to open up your big/main suitcases. If you decide to take the train into Rome, you can leave your luggage at the Termini station, go to your hotel for the night and use your overnight bag. Pick up your bags the next day and contine on your way. I'm sure you'll have plenty of luggage for the length of your trip and the less you have to 'lug' it around the better.
As always, set out all your clothes and money for your trip. Put back half the clothes and double the money! (Remember to make sure your bank/atm cards have 4 digit pin codes. Some (most?) atm's in Europe only use 4 and there are numbers, no letters on the keypad.

judilie

Thanks, hollywoodsc. That's a good idea. However, we have decided to fly to Bologna after we arrive in Rome. We are keen to settle in in Bologna, where we will be spending 4 weeks, and feel that we will be too rushed and tired to enjoy Rome or adrive from it to Bologna. We will return to, and spend a bit of time in, Rome at the end of our trip.

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions and advice.