I don't recall "bashing" anyone. (Oh, I think those replies were sent to the guillotine.)

Kindness? Did you say you were looking for kindness, mckie? Bring your lips close to mine and I'll show you just how "kind" I can be. Then watch me show you and your girlfriend an Italy you've never seen.

Just returned from Florence, Venice and Rome. Don't know much about Florence and Rome, but I saw people "winging it" in Venice that had to get back on the train and "head out of town". No rooms to be found. I agree with the Food Snob from NY...I would get a new boyfriend. Get some reservations!!!!!!! I saw people at internet cafes spending their time in Italy trying to book hotels in their next city. What a waste of time to have to do while you are there.

Um, Sliver isn't going to like this suggestion because I'm about to put more tan on my nose but Mckie5150, what you should do is click on NYCFS's name and it will bring up all her previous posts. In between all the insults, humour and bashing - or whatever - is some fantastic Italian travel advice, which is what the forum is all about. I'm pretty new too and this is a great place to come for your coffee breaks!!

btw, www.eurocheapo.com is a good website to check availability on affordable accommodation. I personally always have a hotel booked but then I'm female and I just like to know where I'm staying, is the bathroom clean, that sort of thing...

I would suggest lining up hotels in the cities, and winging it in the countryside. We made the mistake of driving into Sienna on a rainy Saturday night, trying to find a room. After hours of getting lost and getting really frustrated, we finally found a hotel on the outskirts. However driving thru Tuscany and Umbria, there were inns and farmhouse b&b's with vacancies at every turn in the road.

Just remeber guys and gals, that if one goes by train, there are ALWAYS those "friendly" denizens of the various train stations that can guide one to a nearby hotel.
Thanks NYCFS for calling a jerk by his proper name.

Thanks, NYCFS for your candor, but it was not the response i expected from such a gutsy poster. in as few words as possible, your REFRAIN from bashing is what should be respected.

When you "bash"... and you do... it is more conceptual than for places or persons...therefore, I hardly call it bashing at all.

Sorry...I did intend to keep the flow of the thread going.

Italy in October is magical. If you like and are energized by big cities, the big ones in italy will fill your wishes. We always reserve hotels, but rarely reserve museums before we get there. We have yet to be disappointed. We particularly love alternating city and country locations when we are there. This trip, coming up soon, is less planned that usual. We may miss out on a few things for lack of planning, but i am certain we will enjoy plenty. The goal is to enjoy truffles at least once every day.
Buon viaggio!

"When you "bash"... and you do... it is more conceptual than for places or persons"

I'm pleased to see, Eccomi, that you're one of the smart fodorites. In truth, I prefer not to destroy (even though some people beg to be slapped). I'd much rather create and produce and I keep busy doing both all the time. Of course I'd feel better if the majority of folks appreciated my experience, my wit and my style but I'm content to know that at least a few people see the same details that catch my eye.

October is my favorite month in Rome. It's also my favorite month in NYC. Happy October, everyone!

"October is my favorite month in Rome. It's also my favorite month in NYC. Happy October, everyone!"

It is hard not to love NY in october...the month and the city of my birth.

Being a fairly new-comer to fodor's, i appreciate the praise.

Could someone help me out. We are flying into Rome end of May next year. We have accomodations starting on JUne 3rd in Otranto. I would like a place to stay for about 4 days where we can take a train from the Rome airport-get a place to stay & just kind of get over our jet lag. We will be there about a month & our last week is in Rome. Is there a beach area?? Small town just to unwind?? We won't get out rental car until we get down south. You can E-mail me direct-Thanks for any help/suggestions Chris [email protected]

I winged all of Europe with a backpack on my big trip after college. I guess that's why I wanted to do this trip as an over 40 year old in a little style and more planning. I can't understand why someone wouldn't book something ahead when it's so easy to do over the internet. Also, let's face it, you could spend weeks in any great Italian city or soaking up the countryside. An itinerary will push you to move on so you get a taste of everything.

Damn, is NYSnob the Godmother of this site...love all the sucking up and praise people give you Snob, must be great to get that kind of love. By the way, everyone will be happy to know I have hotel reservations for the upcoming trip. Still hate the idea of being on a schedule though.

Well, then don't consider it a schedule. You have a place to sleep and everything else can be up to your daily whim and fancy. My reservations are in order, but our trip is oh so sketchy about now.

As far as NYCFS's Godmotherlyness...you gotta lighten up and have a sense of humor. It's just a bit of fun and banter.

Most hotels in Venice are booked solid on the weekends. One that I asked 2 weeks ago is booked solid on weekends, through the end of Oct.
Also, a lot of the websites require a minimum of 2 nights.
Something to consider.

If you decide you want to not go a particular place you sometimes can cancel the hotel depending on their cancelation policy...we ended up having to cancel florence and Portofino, stay longer in Nice, and add Milan and extra time in Venice and it wasn't a problem...so don't feel like your reservations are written in stone.

I highly suggest "winging" it. My husband and I winged it last September in Italy and had an experience of a lifetime. Had we planned everything out and booked all the hotels in advance, we wouldn't have been able to stay longer in the places we loved. Being spontaneous only added to the adventure of traveling. We never had trouble finding a hotel to stay in (and we went during early September which is still peak travel time). We brought along some travel books we bought here with listed phone numbers of hotels in Italy. You may spend a little more money on hotels since you're booking last minute, but it won't be a significant amount. The only headache you'll have in my eyes, is if you end up booking all your hotels and having a strict schedule to abide by. Just go with the flow and see where it takes you. I promise you won't regret it!!

mckie, I don't think it reflects badly on you that you want to wing it. I have driven all over France and Italy "winging it" and had some of the best times ever. I had a list of chateaus in France and would call them from a cafe in the afternoon and set up that night's lodging. In Italy I would call some nice places outside of the larger cities and found some elegant and unique places for the night. Sometimes we ended up staying a few nights in a place we loved, we followed our own whims.

Some women like spontaneous men, sometimes it adds to an already exciting relationship.

Whether you want to "wing" it or not might depend whether you have a car or not. It's not that fun to pack one's luggage around while looking all over the city.