We just got back from our honeymoon in Italy less than 2 weeks ago and are seriously considering a return trip over the Easter week in April. We both fell in love with Italy!

Any idea what the weather will be like in Tuscany in April? What does the Crete Senesi look like then? The fields had been plowed and were all dirt for our visit - and yet still beautiful.

During the Easter holiday should we be prepared for everything to be closed?

Thanks!

Hi mw, I went to Tuscany this year for Eastern, and as per your questions:
- weahter was absolutely fine: not too hot, not too cold (bet 15 and 20 C).
-fields were looking fine and everything was very green (apart from the grapes, because this is not the time for the harvest)
- I found everything open, but prepare for crowds. If you are planning to visit the main cities like Firenze be prepared to queue and buy tickets (museums, etc..) in advance and book hotels in advance as well.
- On the cities, everything was opened, however, we spent quite sometime driving around, visiting vineyards and some of them were shut on Eastern Sunday, so if that is your plan, again book/contact vineyard in advance to check their schedules for Eastern.
Apart from that, everything was working as usual!

Cheers, Juliana

Good question--we have done both more than once. It looks different--much grenner in spring. Look at these shots---the green ones are April.
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3827

bob - couldn't resist looking at your gorgeous pics. Thanks. Can you tell me where exactly is the picture entitled "Montalcino balcony"? Is that at your hotel? And if so which one? Thanks

Bob - thank you for sharing your photos! What time of year were you in Venice? We are considering visiting there as well again.

I wish our photos turned out as nicely as yours! One thing we learned is we need a new/better camera!

No, that was not our hotel but right in the heart of town across from the Fisachetta Toscana wine bar--where we were sitting at the time.
Actually, these are various shots from several trips and diffrent cameras. Many are digitized versions of slides taken over the years. Our most recent trip to Venice was in Sep 2002---several shots are from that trip.

Thanks for the nice comments !