cindy

We had a tire blowout on the day we were driving back to Rome from our villa rental near Lucca. The lugnuts for the spare were missing and the lugnuts from the original tire didn't fit. Ended up having to call AutoEurope who had to tow our Mercedes away, while we had to take a taxi to Pisa Airport, wait on line for over an hour, put up with very rude desk clerks, who told us to come back after lunch for our replacement car and refused to refund our $50 taxi fare (after being told on the phone that we would be reimbursed). We then returned to the desk after lunch and told we had to get on line again, waited another hour before we finally got our car. Drove back to Termini in Rome and the office was closed! Had to drive several miles through Rome to find another office to leave the car. A whole wasted day on this fiasco! I plan to file a complaint with AutoEurope about this..<BR>

cindy

SORRY--HERE'S PART 1--I COPY&PASTED OUT OF ORDER. <BR>Just returned last night from a fantastic vacation in Tuscany and Rome. Here’s a brief summary and some comments/advice. If you’d like a complete trip report, please e-mail me and I’ll send it to you as soon as I’ve finished writing it.<BR><BR>Places Visited: Rome, Florence, Siena, Lucca, Pisa, Monteriggioni, Orvieto, Cinque Terre<BR><BR>Accommodations: In Rome we stayed at the Hotel Isa, 39 Via Cicerone. Very nice 3-star a few blocks from the Vatican and Piazza Navona. Very clean, modern and large room nice marble bath with big towels, adequate breakfast (but don’t go too late or not much left). 200 euros a night for a quad. In Tuscany, we rented a 3-bedroom villa in Altopascio (13 km from Lucca). Beautiful and airy, pool and tennis courts, gardens. Went through Rentvillas.com. <BR><BR>Flights: We flew Alitalia, booked thru Delta. Uncomfortable seats (I was very envious of first class), food inedible. Had a problem with our return flight which was my fault because I neglected to reconfirm flight. Got to airport for 12 noon flight and it had been changed to 10 a.m. and we had just missed it! Had to pay $150 penalty/supplement to get waitlisted on 1 p.m. flight, which luckily had room for us. Food worse than inedible-my son got sick from the fish he had for lunch (rest of us had the equally bad turkey).<BR><BR>

CINDY

Those were the only 2 problems we had—rest of trip was wonderful. I highly recommend renting a cell phone—we got one free (rental cost only; had to pay for shipping and minutes used) through AutoEurope, and it was a lifesaver several times. <BR><BR>Favorite Moments: Hearing hymns being sung at St. Peter’s when we were crossing the bridge a mile away on Sunday morning… our first glimpse of the piazza in Monteriggioni, a beautiful and quiet hilltop town… having cappuccino and delectable tartufo at the Tre Scalini Caf&eacute; in Piazza Navona and watching the street performers… sitting outside our villa in morning and listening to the birds while enjoying a first cup of coffee…finally finishing our strenuous hike between Monterosso and Riomaggiore on the Cinque Terre and relaxing with a limone granita by the beach..<BR><BR>Clothes: I wore mostly light cotton pants and tanks or t-shirts, or a long dress and Ecco sandals when sightseeing in cities. Wore shorts to Cinque Terre and in Pisa (quick trip). <BR>Saw people wearing everything, so don’t obsess over your clothes. If your shorts are not too short and your shoulders are covered (carry a scarf in your purse or backpack), you’ll be fine in just about all churches except St. Peter’s (absolutely no shorts). I had a light sweater with me which I was very thankful for since the first two days were cool and rainy; rest of week was hot. Sneakers are fine if that’s what’s comfortable for you—the most important thing is to have comfortable shoes!!!! <BR>

cindy

Food: Did not have a bad meal. I read a lot of great restaurant reviews here before we left, but we ended up just stopping wherever looked good when we were hungry. Most prices were very reasonable. We ate breakfast at our hotel in Rome and in our villa in Tuscany. Lunch was usually either panini or great brick oven pizzas, except in Cinque Terre where we had a delicious seafood lunch at the Ristorante Belvedere in Monterosso. Dinners were usually pasta followed by a veal or beef dish and salad. Most nights we stopped somewhere for cappuccino and gelato after dinner. I ate like a pig and gained 2 pounds—good think we did all that walking!<BR><BR>Italy and Teenagers: Things my 2 sons (18 and 22) enjoyed: the Scavi Tour under St. Peter’s, the Gesu Church in Rome (both attended Jesuit high school so knew a lot of the background of the Jesuits and St. Ignatius), Cinque Terre hike, street performers in Piazza Navona, pool at the villa, Monteriggioni. <BR><BR>Places We Visited: Rome, Florence, Siena, Lucca, Pisa, Orvieto, Monteriggioni, Cinque Terre<BR><BR>So much more to see! If you want to know more detail, e-mail me-<BR><BR><BR><BR>

ca

Cindy,<BR>Thinking about getting a cell phone for my three week stay in Italy this summer. For real what did it end up costing you?

Cindy

It cost us $35 for shipping, and they put a $500 hold on our credit card for calls. We only used the phone a few times; twice to call the US and a few calls within Italy. I think the rate was $2/minute for calls to the US, and $1 within Italy.

yikes

Does this mean you haven't gotten the bill yet? I'm curious because last year we had the same "great" deal, used the phone about 15 times for very short interactions, and the bill when we got home after three weeks was $750. Every time we tried to check messages unsuccessfully was charged, etc. We ended up getting credit for $200 or so but I'm terrified of ever doing that again.

ca

Yikes,<BR><BR>Is it really that much for a cell phone?

cindy

Dear Yikes:<BR>Yikes!!! No, we haven't gotten the bill yet-just got home on Monday. You're scaring me!! I called Vermont for about 2 minutes one day, and the car service who was picking us up in New York to tell them our flight was changed-was on hold for about 5 minutes for that call. One call to an 800 number for AutoEurope (within Italy), and one call to the owners of our villa. That's it I think. Couldn't check messages because I forgot the instructions for the phone at home, including our cell phone number and code for messages. I don't expect a phone bill for more that $30 or so--were those 15 calls you made international?<BR>

cindy

Just wanted to add a postscript regarding the problem I had with AutoEurope. Upon arriving home, I wrote a letter and e-mailed a copy of it to the reservation office I had used here. They promptly responded to me, and within a week agreed to reimburse me for both the $50 taxi fare and one day's rental fee. Thanks AutoEurope! I made the right decision in not arguing with the reps in Italy and dealing with this from home.<BR>

Carol

Cindy: I, too, am anxious to hear what your phone bill is when you get it. I'm seriously considering that AutoEurope "free" cell phone deal, but the horror stories like $750 scare me! REX-- are you still in favor of buying a phone? Thanks.

cindy

Check back with this post--as soon as I get the bill, I'll let you all know what the charges were. They weren't on the credit card bill we just got, so will have to wait until next month.<BR>

cindy

Carol-Received bill today-- total bill for calls was only $51. Sample charges: 2 minutes Siena to New Jersey was $3.98; 14 minute call to AutoEurope 800 number was $14; 7 minute call from Rome to NJ was also $14. (Rates were $2/minute international; $1/minute within Italy). Hope this helps--

Carol

Thanks, Cindy.