aussiedreamer. I would like to ask you if you had difficulty booking the Agritourismo Niccolai. It caught my eye as a friend has been trying to book a room there and she does not seem to be able to get them to answer her emails. So I told her I would post and ask you.
Thanks.

Hi aussiedreamer,
You will have a fabulous time. Your schedule is relaxed like ours was for our 96 day trip last year. There were a couple things we did during our trip that worked especially well.

Something that I'm glad I did was to take a notebook and when we were driving to our next location we would summarize our last area visited. In simple words and phrases we 'painted' a picture of our visit: vineyards climbing the hills, goat herd in the road, twisty narrow cobblestone roads, mint green walls in our room, red and yellow canoes.. and so on. A dozen or so for each place. I compiled these into a small book when I got home. I can go to any page and remember instantly how I felt while I was in that particular area. It all comes flooding back.

If you are bringing a laptop I would suggest journaling and downloading your pics every single day. As an example I would make a folder for the UK, subfolder Cotswolds, then Broadway, Chipping Campden etc and then I would download the days pics into the correct folder each day. It sounds like a lot of work but it worked great. The last thing you want is to get home, pull out a thousand pics and try to remember where they were from. It was a castle in ????????? This is a river in ???????? Ughhh.

When I bought a souvenir for someone I would also get a postcard from that area to give with the gift. On the postcard I would write a little about the area or why I chose that gift for that person. I swear the postcards were as popular as the gifts.

I loved every minute of our trip. Just remember to have days where you do absolutely nothing...it allows you to have stamina for such a long trip. Congratulations, it's almost here.

Have fun,
Michele

Thanks Michele, great ideas. Another I always do is take a photo of the signs at sites I love, even if its only Lake 'something' or Castle ?....... cause its amazing how quickly we forget. I am taking a little netbook, and after dropping my camera in some rocks once (we did get it back after an hour of scrambling) I save my photos each evening.

sher, Hi yes I did have trouble getting them to answer my emails. But I had my heart set on staying there, so I rang, their english was great and I immediately got my confirmation after our conversation. Hope that helps.

aussiedreamer. Thank you. I did tell her to call or fax but she was under the impression that their English was not good.
I will let her know.

As a rule, never expect Italians to answer unsolicited emails. Yes, many of them do in the meantime, fortunately... but they're just adopting this custom, mostly from tourists, and slowly anyway. Many Italians still consider it either rude or suspicious if you make the initial contact by email - so if you want to be on the safe side, always call first, and send an email afterwards.

Wonderful trip...one suggestion. That last part of your plan, where you drive to Bari? You may be enroute through Puglia or Apullia which is one of Italy's last secrets. Very untouristed, but unique as to both its subtle beauty and architecture. Check out this webiste for references to Puglia. Or check out any of Lecce, Ostuni, Cisternino, Alberobello, Vieste on the Gargano if you have time...even Trani, Brindisi and Bari themselves, though rather rough working port cities (not all beautified like the Cinque Terre coast), have wonderful parts.

As Australians (my daughters in-laws are Aussies) you will be natural adventurers and, I would suspect, will really enjoy the under-touristed charms of Puglia.

Have a wonderful trip.

Hello aussiedreamer, so the final countdown has started! For me too. We fly on 21st July.
Can I just adjust your thinking here about, did you say netbook or notebook? I used a tiny little digital voice recorder made by Olympus. Being able to press the button and speak a few sentences saves trying to make notes later. Also we always take photos of signs: road, buildings, directions and especially when entering a town with its name on a nice board as you approach. If you miss it it appears usually at the other end (exit/entrance) so snap it there. Have the most awesome time and go with the flow - May The Force Be With You!

franco. I don't believe it was really quite unsolicited. She sent an inquiry through their website.
Why would they request contacting them that way if they have difficulty answering?
But it is a moot point as they finally did contact her and they have no vacancies.

Thanks LJ, sound like us, we will have 'all' day to get to Bari, as our ferry doesn't leave 'till 10pm.

Tod, I did say netbook........its a tiny little thing about the size of an A4 page folded in half. I love it, we looked at the ipad, but I love a proper key board and this has 4 USB ports, very handy. And it fits in my large-ish handbag.

Tod, I will go to your profile and remember where you are off to. DH is ready to move the flight forward, we both just want to GO!!!!

We're off to Paris then the National Parks in Canada - then back to Paris. 5 weeks away in all.

I must go and have a look at the Netbook - sounds like something just up my alley. I have recently been given an I-phone which has a digital keyboard but I don't think one can type notes - only sent text messages.?

Michelle I love your idea of purchasing a postcard to go with a gift.

Here's a funny image for you. My husband (who is not normally a geek or a nerd) discovered he could record his voice into his digital camera. So there were lots of time I would discover him speaking into his camera saying, for example "Arc du Triumphe after he had just taken a snap". Anyway, it worked a treat and there was no confusion with photographs. Lucky the children weren't with us they would have been mightily embarrassed. ;)

Aussiedreamer and tod - I hope to read posts from you as you travel.

'Promise'

(come on embarrassing the kids is our 'job')

aussiedreamer. don't wish the vacation to come soomer. Making plans just helps extend it because even for the time you have away(lucky dog) you will wonder where the time went when you return!

Cathies - No reporting while on holiday as I just wouldn't find the time! I'm a gal who forces the clock to give me 25hrs at least, out of 24!
But, I guess a trip report will be forthcoming and already I'm wondering how the hell I will condense it but still make it interesting! I have definitely overplanned so that NOTHING will be a disappointment as there will always be a Plan 'B', 'C' and even 'D, E, & F'!