Priscillotta: Your new itinerary is very good and much nicer/easier than the first plan.

One thing - your stay in or near Yosemite is on a weekend so you will want to book immediately. Try in the Valley first, like Yosemite Lodge, but everything might already be booked up.

Then try just outside the park. Yosemite West is an area that is technically "inside" the park boundaries but has private accommodations so it would be a good place to check if Yosemite Lodge or other places in Yosemite Valley are full.

Or try Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal just west of the park http://www.yosemite-motels.com/yosem...odge/index.htm

complemente! you are one of the few Italian travelers i see on line, planning a trip to the USA to SEE the USA.
i travel to Italia every anno and plan to "relocate" there for up to 3 months a year.

when i speak with my collegues in Italy they never travel to America, they go to NYC or perhaps Disney. You will see some of American the way we travel. Please try to stop in small towns (of course there are no important sites there) but you will see how we really live our daily lives.
if you can get Americans out of their cars they will sit in a dinner (our version of a cafe) and have coffee and talk with you about everything! Hope you see a summer fair, or rodeo or even "craft show" in a small town or even Little Italy in San Fran. When you drive down the coast it is not the cinque terra but has a massive beauty for the sheer size!
while in Vegas you can get married again in a number of hotels! You are also only a few hours from the grand canyon (the alps in veverse). After 40 years of travel (with only the 2 weeks a year most americans have) i have not even touched all of the USA, but i hope you enjoy this visit.

enjoy!
HomeToItaly.com

Thankyou leelaurino!

So, where would you like to relocate in Italy?

I'm always very surprised on how the Cinque Terre are famous all around the world, because in Italy they are not so famous as they are for foreigners.

Italy is beautiful because is little, full of little places, different, and very special. Like everywhere else, when people travel just see the main places, but... there's a lot more!

Your revised itinerary looks very reasonable. If you arrive at SFO at 9 p.m., staying in an airport hotel makes sense (otherwise I would have suggested to drive 20 minutes to Half Moon Bay and to stay there).

- Sunday 20th, down to the coast, sleep 2 nights in Big Sur, rest a bit and wedding anniversary celebration

I strongly suggest driving from the airport to Pacifica and from there on Cabrillo Highway (no. 1) down along the coast. The drive from Pacifica to Monterey is VERY scenic. Do NOT stop in Santa Cruz (it is an ugly beach town), but leave the highway in order to drive to Carmel Mission (one of the most beautiful mission churches in the USA) and drive to Carmel Beach - a very beautiful beach. Then continue to Big Sur.

Another option for a break is Monterey Aquarium - it gives you a good impression of the submarine life at the Californian Coast (we especially liked the sea otters).

BTW, Priscillota:

We will travel to Italy in two weeks and spend a couple of days at Lago di Como (it will be my 40th or so trip to Italy).

@traveller1959
We chose to stay near the airport because it will be a long trip and we'll be very tired (you know 9 pm in San Francisco means 6am in Italy, following day) and we did not want to bother going for the car. So the hotel has cmplimentary shuttle, so we don't have to rent the car until the following morning.

You are from Germany, aren't you? Il lago di Como è molto bello!

Yes, it will be the best to stay at the airport. My last flight to SFO was delayed be six hours and we landed around 11 p.m. in SFO. And then you have immigration, waiting for your baggage, reporting lost baggage... better stay in an airport hotel. Besides, it gives you the opportunity to take the road via Pacifica the next day. The Cabrillo Highway between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay is very scenic - not so steep as Big Sur but equally beautiful, with more beach access.

Read also the current thread about Big Sur - I have just posted directions to the hidden road to Pfeiffer Beach, which is the highlight of Big Sur IMO.

Yes, I am from Germany. Viele Grüße.

He he, I already had a look at the post about big Sur, and took note about Sycamore Canyon Road (actually I was looking at it on googlemaps now )

Thank you, you've been very nice to me and ful of help.
You say you've been to Italy a lot of times... maybe you already know this place, but there is somewhere I would really reccomend:

http://www.borghetto.it/

The website is from the hotel (it's not really a hotel, it's staying in the mills on the rivers), but the place is called Borghetto di Valeggio sul Mincio, 20km south of Lago di Garda.
It's on a cycling route that goes from Peschiera del Garda to Mantova, and it's great. And it's in the north, quite near and very comfortable.



By the way, I live near Torino, and I've been to Borghetto as a tourist.

Priscillotta, thank you for the Borghetto link - it looks very beautiful.

Torino is also beautiful - we once stayed at Locanda Sant Uffizio which we enjoyed very much!!!