My husband and I recently returned from a two-week vacation in Italy. I gathered a lot of info from this board before I left, so thought I would post our experiences... (I'll do this as briefly as I can, but will probably have to make multiple posts to this message.) <BR> <BR>Overall: <BR>* Flew Air France and were pleased. Went San Francisco - Paris - Venice, then Milan - Paris - San Francisco. Brought only carry-ons and we were allowed two/person (airline website claims only one is acceptable). Flight leaving Milan was late, so thought we'd miss connection (half of the passengers were in same boat); I talked to our flight attendants who radioed Paris, so an AF employee was waiting to escort us to our gate! <BR>* Used the Trenitalia website (www.fs-on-line.com) to book our train tickets from the US (point-to-point) and we printed them using the automated machines in the stations. Worked like a charm! <BR>* Laundry was very expensive, even when using a self-service laundromat. <BR>* Weather was great (end of May-beginning of June). Venice & Florence were humid, but Rome was breezy and cool. <BR> <BR>VENICE: <BR>* Stayed at Antica Locanda al Gambero ([email protected]) and it was great! Spent $120/night for a recently renovated room (#311) overlooking the small canal and street; every other hotel I considered was $200/night without a view! Room had new double-paned windows so noise was never a problem and the hotel staff was very friendly. Plus, the location cannot be beat - on Calle dei Fabbri only a few steps from St. Mark's. <BR>* Immediately upon arrival, went to tourist info office by Piazza San Marco and bought tickets for a wonderful string concerto in the church of San Bartolomeo. Take advantage of the variety of different performances and see/hear something you will never forget! <BR>* We also caught part of a Series B soccer game just by going to the stadium and buying some tickets from locals. The hotel had told us we'd never get in, but we tried anyway & it was a great experience! <BR>* Most fun in Venice was just enjoying the atmosphere (relaxing in a small campo in Dorsoduro, walking the streets of the Ghetto in the evening, etc.)

FLORENCE: <BR>* Stayed at Hotel Casci, which came highly recommended (www.hotelcasci.com). Room was *very* small (#12), but at least it looked out onto a quiet courtyard (a relief since the hotel is located on a busy street) and hotel location was good. <BR>* So glad I made museum reservations in advance! The line for the Uffizi was incredibly long when it opened. I used www.weekendafirenze.com to book the tickets and paid a service fee, but it was worth it. <BR>* Ristaurante Baldovino - best meal of the trip! The duck tagliatelle is to die for! If you're facing Santa Croce, the restaurant is on the left. Make sure you go to the restaurant and not the enoteca. <BR>* Trattoria Cibreo - also good. Get there early (they open at 7pm). Tomato aspic is superb, I'm not joking! Unfortunately, I can't remember the address, but it's famous so tourist offices and hotels can direct you. <BR>* Took the SITA buses to Siena for an afternoon. Nice ride through the countryside... Next time we'll spend a night in Siena! <BR>* Booked a bike tour through I Bike Italy (www.ibikeitaly.com), which left from Florence and went straight uphill to Fiesole. Views were outstanding and Bill, our guide and the company's founder, shared his incredible knowledge about the area. We were treated to a delicious lunch at a local trattoria and then were given a tour of a small family winery. My husband, who bikes every day, loved it, but I found the ride to be very challenging even though I'm young and exercise regularly. I highly recommend this compay, though, if you're looking for a different way to experience Italy.

ROME: <BR>* Stayed at Hotel Alimandi (www.lcnet.it/initaly/Alimandi/hoteling.htm), located one block from the Vatican Museum. Really liked staying here even though the location is a little inconvenient for some sites; we took taxis to/from Piazza Navona area (about $5 one way) which wasn't bad. Otherwise we used the subway which was quick and convenient. <BR>* Had reservations for the Borghese Gallery which was a highlight of the trip; my husband, who isn't big on art, *loved* it! Make sure to pick up the fantastic audio guide; it was the only time we each got a guide in a museum and it was well worth it. <BR>* Got free tickets from our hotel for a Mass with the Pope, a big deal for us Catholics. If you ever go to something similar, make sure you leave your Swiss army knife at the hotel or it will be taken away by the guards! <BR>* Ristaurante 34 on Via Mario dei Fiori (one block from the Spanish Steps) - service wasn't the best and a waiter actually spilled a dish on my husband without apology... but then his meal was mysteriously absent from our bill. I ordered scampi and, to my surprise, I received true Roman scampi - whole crawfish! <BR>* Maccheroni - wonderful meal (best after Baldovino). Insalata caprese was the best we've ever had in our lives! Located on Campo della Coppelle, near the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. <BR>* Della Palma - just around the corner from Maccheroni, on Via della Maddalenna, is the best gelateria we found. The aranciocco (chocolate gelato infused with orange flavoring) was heavenly.

SANTA MARGHERITA LIGURE: <BR>* Stayed at Hotel Nuova Riviera. The Sabini family is very nice, but we hated our room. Beware of room #2, which is very noisy (along with #1 I'm sure) because it is right next to the office, breakfast room and room-key rack. <BR>* Spent most of our time in Cinque Terre. Hiked between Manarola & Corniglia (pretty easy, ~45 minutes) and Vernazza & Monterosso (very rugged, ~2 hours with heavy trail traffic, trail is narrow but views are great). I'm scared of heights, but I had no difficulty on these trails. <BR>* Relaxed on a beach in Monterosso. Had to pay for beach chairs with umbrella; the beach is free, however, where there are no umbrellas. <BR>* Make sure to arrive at the train station very early when going between the 5 towns. One of our trains came a couple minutes early, we missed it & had to wait over an hour for the next one! <BR>* In SML, Santa Lucia Ristaurante on the main piazza near the harbor was a very pleasant surprise. Staff is hard-working and food is delicious!

Liesl, <BR>Welcome back & thanks for some wonderful posts! <BR>BC