My husband and I just returned from a 4 week trip to Italy. Thanks to so many of you for all the tips. We had an incredible time. I decided that I too, needed to file a trip report. Perhaps some of the information will help someone out.

Rome: We flew in and out of Rome, and stayed 4 nights at the Hotel Genio. The location is excellent and is very close to the Piazza Navona. Our room was a bit smoky smelling, but there wasn?t another choice. When we returned to Rome to fly out, the room we were in was not smoky, so I guess it just depends on the room,.A good breakfast came with the room (I love the coronettos). At the Hotel Genio we experienced the rolling black outs that they are having in Italy. Two days in a row, the power was out for a couple of hours. All in all, it was a great choice, and I would choose it again. They offered transportation back and forth to the airport for 45 euros each way (if you booked in both directions.). We ate a couple of meals at La Fiametta, which is on the corner of the hotel. Not only was it close, but the food was good and inexpensive. We had a great experience across the street at the restaurant Possetto. Not only was the food good (best carbonara and tiramisu I?ve had), but the waiter we had was a character. Brought us free bruschetta (a gift to you from me) and free biscotti and limoncello after dinner. We chatted about Italy, America and he had us pick his lotto numbers for the night, promising to come to hotel if he won J We finally had to apologize for needing to leave, but we were expecting a phone call, We thought perhaps the free food was just what the restaurant did, but our last night in Rome before we flew home, we went back and had a different waiter. No free food or long talks. Our former waiter was not there. We speculated that he he won the lotto and gone to Colorado to ski, which was his dream.

Sorrento: We stayed at La Tonnarella. I think this is about the best view ever ! I love Sorrento. My best meal turned out to be right at the hotel !

Palinuro: This is a small coastal town about 3 hours south of Sorrento. Beautiful beach and very friendly people. We stayed at Pietre Rosse. The manager of the hotel restaurant gave us antiposti free ?because we are friends? and when we left, he gave us a bottle of crème di melone. In Palinuro we were far enough south that English was rare. Everyone was helpful and we even had a woman who spoke some English, come to our table at dinner and describe the courses, in case we needed help.

Reggi di Calabria: This was a one night stop to see the town where my father was from. The city is big and chaotic, but people friendly. I was able to find the street where my Dad lived, so the stop was well worth it. Spicy food here !

Nardo, Puglia: In Nardo we stayed at a timeshare called Residence Tramonti. The ?heel? of Italy is very interesting. The architecture changes, as does the look and the sound of the people. The music had a strong Spanish, even Arabic sound, the architecture Greek, We explored Lecce, Gallipoli and Otranto. While we enjoyed all of them, Otranto was our favorite. It is on the Adriatic side and the water is such a beautiful color. Everyone there was eager to practice what little English they knew, and put up with our Italian. The Doumo in Otranto is worth seeing. In the Doumo are skeletons (or parts of 800 people) encased in glass from the ?sack of Otranto. Creepy, but interesting.

Assisi: Stayed at Malvarina (Thanks Bob, for the tip) for 2 days. This was our favorite stop. The only word to describe it is ?magical?, We were a little concerned when we were trying to find it, as we had to go up many switchbacks and when we arrived we weren?t sure what we were in for by its appearance. It was the coolest (the temperature in Italy was never under 95 degrees when we were there) place we had been since there were trees for shade. No TV, air conditioning or phone in our room, but wish we would have been able to stay for a week. Maria?s meals were the best we had. You can take cooking classes from Maria, but we weren?t able to because we were there on a Sunday, and she doesn?t do a class on Sunday.

Siena: Stayed at Piccolo Hotel Oliveta (I think I need to thank you again, Bob). Great location for day trips to Siena, San Gimingnano, Altesimo Winery to tour and taste Brunnello wines. Also went to a hot springs (L?Antica Qquerciolaia in Rapolano) to soak weary legs from so many hill towns. What a great change of pace !

Florence: We stayed 3 days at Hotel Casci. What a great location ! Close to everything ! Got some great leather near the market and lots other things from the market itself.

Most of my posting is just facts. It would be hard to put into words how great the people were to us and this post would be too long to describe our experiences. We had so many experiences, especially in the south, where being American was unusual and people wanted to get an up close look at us and talk. Our digital camera was great at crushing the language barrier. I would take their picture and show them ?Ahhh, Bella !? and then we?d be in a 40 minute conversation. We brought pens from our home town and baseball caps with logos and gave them to people that were especially helpful, or who just captured us for some reason. The response was always a big grin. Sadly, tourism is down. We came home believing that this is an especially important time to connect with the rest of the world and show them who we are and learn who they are.

What a nice trip--you saw parts of bella Italia that few get to enjoy. I am glad it worked well for you.

Hi Sally Jo. Did you get to see Tropea on your way to Reggio?

A nice trip report, Sally. Thanks for sharing your experiences. You made me want to explore the southern-most part of Italy!

Isn't Malvarina fantastic? It's definitely our home away from home in Umbria. The weather was hot when we stayed there in Oct 2001, but the rooms at Malverina were cool, due probably to its elevation.

Sallyjo, thanks for posting the facts about your trip. Would love to hear more. I'm so glad you enjoyed Polinuro and Puglia, two of my favorite areas. Sounds like a wonderful trip.

Unfortunately, we were not able to stop in Tropea. A tip for those of you driving: We were stopped by the police on the autostada in the south. We were surprised, as we were the slowest car! When the officer realized our Italian was limited, it was apparent he didn't want to deal with us. He just reached in the car and turned on our headlights and said "in italy...". Apparently this is a new law!

SallyJo, isn't the road down to Reggio magnificient? I don't think I ever enjoyed driving an open road so much as driving on it with the sweeping vistas and the unusual landscape, it was breathtaking. I would love to return to that area for a longer stay.

Sallyjo, thanks for taking the time to write your report...very informative. I do have a few questions, if you don't mind...Have you driven in Italy before...would you recomend it for 1st timers? What areas would you concentrate on if you only had 10-14 days?

"Sorrento: We stayed at La Tonnarella. I think this is about the best view ever ! I love Sorrento. My best meal turned out to be right at the hotel !"

We just stayed at La Tonnarella in May. We also enjoyed the hotel restaurant, great food.

We thought the view was great also, but thought the balcony(s) were way too small. We stayed in room 4 which had two balconies but they were so small you could barely move. The other thing we didn't like about the balconies is that there was absolutely ZERO privacy. That was kind of a bummer. But the view was great.

Regarding driving in Italy: this was our second time in Italy and we did a lot of driving both times...even the amalfi coast the 1st trip. My husband did all the driving, and is a very patient person, but the Italian drivers pushed his limits, but he did great. Because I wanted to see my Dad's home town (Reggio di Calabria)we went as far south as you can get. We ended up driving more than we would normally care to. While we loved the south, if I had 14 days, I would see Rome and then rent a car to go to Umbria and Tuscany. Even when you're lost (which we were a lot), it's a beautiful place to be lost! Save the South for another trip. A great excuse to return.
About La Tonnarella: we had a room with a terrace, so it was very big, but yes, not much privacy.