Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Newbies to Italy, Part 2

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Newbies to Italy, Part 2

Yikes! I just read CherylZ's response to the "airfare" post. She said "we've been told too that Rome and Florence hotel availability is next to nil..." (refering to May 2000) due to the Italian Jubilee. Cheryl, I DO NOT mean to cast aspersions, but please say it's not so! Just when this Europe newbie finds the courage to forgo the tour route, I hear our week in Florence may not happen? Anyone else have info on 2 or 3 star hotel availability in Florence for late May of 2000? Also, two questions I forgot to ask in my original post...What's the Tuscany weather like (on the average) in last week of May and first two weeks of June? Also, about packing. I'm terrible at packing. Always take too much. For 21 days, about 7 in cities, what to pack? Many thanks in advance. --Sleepless in Boyds, Maryland

Mark: I went to Italy the first two weeks of June this past summer. I stayed at the Hotel Casci in Florence and it is a 3 star hotel. It is in an excellent location and while not luxurious it is nice and clean. The weather was warm, 80's in Florence, but cooler in the Chianti region. I took two bags, a suitcase on wheels (22") and a duffle that piggybacked on top of it. It was entirely too much luggage. I ended up checking the larger bag in the train station several times. Friends tried to tell me to take less but I didn't see how I could travel with such a small amount of clothes and shoes. I will never take as much on a trip again. In spite of that, I had a wonderful time and can't wait to return to Italy. Do not wait to make your reservations. I stayed at the Santa Chiara in Rome and it was also centrally located and a three star hotel. The friends that I traveled with loved having our own time table and were never sorry that we did not do a tour. We spend many happy months planning our trip and were very pleased with the results. Take clothes that will mix and match and try to coordinate around one color. I used black as the basis for my wardrobe. Don't pack many shorts as you will not be able to wear them often because the churches do not allow them at all. Have a wonderful time. Kay

Hi Mark The Washington Post weather website claims to have historical weather data for various seasons, as opposed to only having the 5day forecast. http://www.weatherpost.com Kay gave you some good advice about clothes. I have not taken a three week trip but I have taken a nearly-two week trip, and when I did I packed too much. Keep in mind that the cities you're going to have laundry and drycleaning facilities that you can use on your own or through the hotel. Even small hotels often provide laundry and drycleaning services, for an additional fee. I have found it to be a wonderful and not too expensive luxury to have clean clothes returned to me ready to be worn again, or packed clean for the next place.

Hello Mark; I didn't mean to panic you :)) but yes, Rome in particular will be full, crowded, and most hotels taken. Florence to a lesser degree. This is what we've been told since last year when we started planning this trip. In fact, a few months ago, when our friends inquired of their travel agents about this trip, they more or less got laughed at! Elsewhere on this forum (can't remember the titles of the posts, and can't find them now), there's been some discussion on the Italian Jubilee for the year 2000. The Pope declared the whole year a Jubilee for all of Italy, mostly affecting Rome. Have been told the Basilica will not have guided tours, don't know what else is affected yet. There's a web site for the Jubilee too. We have a special event to go to in the Ravenna area, otherwise we'd be skipping Italy next year and go elsewhere instead. I don't mean to discourage you, just book your trip early, be flexible, and try to get hotels in advance too. Have a "Plan B" ready!