Hi!
I really enjoy reading all the info from this forum, everyone is so helpful!

I'm planning a trip to Rome in Feb for 2 weeks with my family (all adults). Am wondering to travel up north to Florence/Venice, or down south to Naples/Pompeii/Sorrento.

Anyone has good suggestions? Am aware of the cold weather and possibly not many shops/restaurant are opened... How bad is it?

Thanks in advance for anyone's help!

Cheers.

In the cities, everything will be open - very few places are so tourism-dependent that would close in the off season. I suppose smaller and more touristy places might be partly closed, but ordinary people do live there and go out to eat etc. themselves all year 'round. (To the extent that we can afford to - restaurants have become ridiculously expensive.)


best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

http://www.straughan.com

Hi dreamer,

For February, I suggest Rome, Florence and Venice.

Too cold to go down to Sorrento and the AC. Most of the amenities will be closed.

Thanks Deirdré and Ira.

How about the drive through Tuscany. Is it worth the while in winter?

Dear Euro(damn exchange rate!)dreamer: Just go! I was in Rome Jan. 2004 and it was great. We had some beautiful weather and some rainy weather and it was definitely cold. But who cares? We were in Italy! Come to think of it we were walking around St Peter's Square in sweaters and light jackets on a beautiful sunny day. Our only day trip was taking the train to Siena and I can highly recommend that. It was a perfect train ride. Not too long a day. I wish we had gone to Pompeii but we kept putting it off because we were happy putzing around Rome. There were still lots of tourists in January and it has to be crazed in May and good weather months. Actually, that's one good argument for Venice in winter. It's miserable when it's crowded, and if you are only there on a day trip you can't go back to your hotel for a nap. It makes for a very long day and cranky tourists. So, consider that as an overnighter. Florence and the Uffizi. I'm not sure I could go to Italy and miss another chance at the Botticellis'. Who knows when you'll be back? And those Tuscan restaurants. Those people know how to eat. Sigh. I'll be in France this January and I still envy you in Italy.

Re: <i>How about the drive through Tuscany. Is it worth the while in winter?</i>

Tuscany is most beautiful when it's green, but it is definitely worth while in any season.

I've just finished reading a terrific book, &quot;Too Much Tuscan Sun: Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide&quot; by Dario Castagna, and I can't resist quoting from the chapter on February:

&quot;True, the weather can be miserable. But it can also offer ideal, limpid days on which to take long walks on the hills and take in the panorama of distant, snowy mountain peaks. ... In the empty forests the first primroses and violets manage to pop out from the thick layer of rotting leaves. All is still, firm, and silent. ... In February there is sometimes snow, and the sight of the hills covered in sugared white is spectacular. Silence reigns then, becoming lord of the countryside.&quot;

This is a rather poetic passage, but a lot of the book is also laugh-out-loud funny as Dario recounts his experiences with clueless American tourists, who obviously do not frequent Fodor's. The book isn't all poking fun at Americans; he loves most of his customers, but then there are the ones who drink nothing but Diet Coke, think McDonalds is the only place to get good food, and wonder when pizza found its way from America to Italy.

How about the drive through Tuscany. Is it worth the while in winter?

If that's the only time you can do it, then it is worthwhile.

Again, don't expect all of the amenities in all of the small towns to be open.

Thanks nonnafelice for the nice little extract. You have given me enough courage to just go for it!
And also thanks to pdx (yes, damn exchange rate!). I totally agree with what you said. I have been to Florence twice in diff season and with diff people, it's still beautiful no matter what!
Thanks to Ira too for your reply.

Now I'm SO looking forward to my trip!

Think I'll make Rome my base with short trips to Florence and perhaps to Siena.

By the way, I'm from sunny Singapore in Asia!