To avoid losing tour time we planned laundry at night . In London laundromat was across from a friendly pub.Very fun experience. j

ROME <BR>LAUNDROMATS (Lavanderia) <BR>Daily: 8am-10pm. 13,000L for 14 lbs. of wash, dry and soap. Self-service. <BR> <BR>North of the train station <BR>Acqua & Sapone: Via Montebello 66. Tel: 06-4883209. <BR>Onda Blu: Via Milazzo 20b. Tel: 06-4441665. <BR>Oblo: Via Vicenza 50. Tel: 06-4463194. <BR>Bolle Blu: Via Palestro 59/61. Tel: 06-4465864. <BR>Bolle Blu: Via Milazzo 20b. Tel: 06-4465864. <BR>Laundry: Castelfidardo 31. <BR> <BR>South of the train station <BR>Onda Blu: Via Principe Amedeo 70b. Tel: 06-47446647. <BR>Onda Blu: Via Lamarmora 10. <BR> <BR>Vatican City <BR>Onda Blu: Via Vespasiano 50. Tel: 06-39724255.

Thank you Margo

Last summer we spent 23 days in France, Italy and Germany with 2 couples and 4 kids. We did laundry outside of Lyon, France, Florence, Rome and Fussen, Germany. What an experience! <BR> <BR>Outside of Lyon, we asked the hotel and they sent us next door to another hotel whose guests (French, Norweigan and German) had access to kitchen/laundry facilities. They ended up sharing their dinner/wine with us and practiced their English. <BR> <BR>In Florence, we sent the husbands out to do laundry and they enjoyed drinking their expresso and people watching. (It did take FOREVER for the clothes to dry and we were convinced that they were lost!) <BR> <BR>In Rome, we found a laundry around the corner from our hotel with an attendent that had folded our laundry and had it ready to go for us. <BR> <BR>In Germany, we stumbled into a campground near our hotel and asked if we could use their laundry facilities- no problem. <BR> <BR>All in all, doing laundry on the road was a cultural experience! It does take up valuable time. We did it in the evening and took turns "checking" on the loads. It was the only way we could have traveled with 8 people for 23 days without hauling a semi-load of luggage. One simple wheeled carry-on per person. <BR> <BR>Consider it an adventure! We did look at Rick Steves suggestions. He did not steer us wrong on any of our sightseeing! <BR> <BR>Happy Traveling! <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Topping for Melanie

Apartments are the way to go especially in larger cities for longer stays. Nearly all have laundry facilities just like home. I encourage you to check that out, just type in Rome apartments & many links will pop up. We do typically wash out undies & socks when we first arrive somewhere & let them air dry. No problem...

Since my tried & true method hasn't been mentioned yet, here it is... Do like they do in Europe and don't wash your clothes all the darn time!!<BR><BR>Two weeks clothing will pack nicely into a 22" carry-on rolling suitcase. Take knits and things that do not need pressed. Hang up what you've worn that day to air out each evening.<BR><BR>Either handwash or drop at a laundry service (one time mid-trip) your undies, socks, t-shirts.<BR><BR>Works like a charm!!!

If you choose to have your hotel do your laundry, please bear in mind that many of them do not have dryers. Thus, if it's raining outside, your laundry may not be dry for over a day. (We found this out the hard way!)

I can't believe that nobody else has mentioned my favorite do-it-yourself technique -- put your dirty clothes in the bottom of the tub when you take a shower. Stomp on them while you wash, much more efficient than sloshing things around in the sink. When you're thru showering, give the clothes an extra rinse. They drain in the tub as you dry, then roll them in your used towel to get out a little more moisture. Everything except heavy cottons will be dry next day.

Sorry, can't agree with going to the local laundry, sent in a load and came back with clothes looked tie dyed and a whole different color. Luckily the tan pants came back steel colored, but that was okay. We hand wash almost everything now. If we get to a self serve laundry we do a whole load. I love the picture of my husband smiling outside the laundry, and telling about his features once he looked at our washed clothes. Laundry is one of the fun and challenges of travel.

Our Hotel in Florence, Hotel Casci, provided the best laundry service of any hotel I've ever stayed in. You left a laundry bag at the desk by 9AM. At a cost of about $12, our clothing was washed, dried and folded and left neatly on our bed by 5PM. We had only brought things that didn't need much ironing, (and didn't bother with an iron) and found we only had to wash/rinse a few things out in the sink about 3 times over our 3-week trip. Hanging something that seemed creased or wrinkled in the bathroom during our showers helped some things look better. But in the long run, who were we trying to impress? We always aired things out as often as possible, and fortunately it was warm enough to have open windows in the rooms where we stayed, so that while we weren't as "band-box" fresh as we might be as home, nothing got too smelly over the course of the trip. The only other time we used the hotel laundry service was on the Amalfi Coast.