Answers
Sep 01, 2011 - 09:45 AM
I like Rick Steves' travel guides. He will give you a lot of useful information. IMO he's about the best.
http://www.ricksteves.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Rick-Steves-Ita...
http://www.amazon.com/Rick-Steves-Eur...
http://www.ricksteves.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Rick-Steves-Ita...
http://www.amazon.com/Rick-Steves-Eur...
Sep 01, 2011 - 08:28 PM
Dana,
I'm doing something similar; I'm planning an 11-12 day trip to Italy next May; I'm the appointed logistics manager, so I'm in charge of all arrangements. The plan is to fly into Rome, spend 2-3 days there, then head off to Tuscany for a week (to the town of Montepulciano). There's a well-renowned language school there that you may wish to check out; I'm planning to take a week's worth of lessons (I've been religiously dedicating 1 hour a day to self-instruction like a lot of folks who frequent this website, so I hope to have about 350 hours under my belt before I arrive). Anyway, the school is called Il Sasso, and the website is http://ilsasso.com/eng/
The other thing you may want to do is to check out the Slow Traveler website at http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a/...
It's a site dedicated to taking one's time during international travels in order to savor the experience. It contains a wealth of knowledge regarding hotels, flights, driver services, etc etc, you name it. A very helpful group of people. I think any question you've asked here could be answered there. Buona fortuna,
Gerry
I'm doing something similar; I'm planning an 11-12 day trip to Italy next May; I'm the appointed logistics manager, so I'm in charge of all arrangements. The plan is to fly into Rome, spend 2-3 days there, then head off to Tuscany for a week (to the town of Montepulciano). There's a well-renowned language school there that you may wish to check out; I'm planning to take a week's worth of lessons (I've been religiously dedicating 1 hour a day to self-instruction like a lot of folks who frequent this website, so I hope to have about 350 hours under my belt before I arrive). Anyway, the school is called Il Sasso, and the website is http://ilsasso.com/eng/
The other thing you may want to do is to check out the Slow Traveler website at http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a/...
It's a site dedicated to taking one's time during international travels in order to savor the experience. It contains a wealth of knowledge regarding hotels, flights, driver services, etc etc, you name it. A very helpful group of people. I think any question you've asked here could be answered there. Buona fortuna,
Gerry
Sep 03, 2011 - 01:20 PM
Dana, sounds like a great trip. We are also planning a family trip which would include grandchildren as well. I studied at a language school in Rome near Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. It was a good school, but I think that they are all very similar in quality. If I locate the name, I will send it to you.
As far as cars, certainly I wouldn't consider driving in Rome, though we have rented cars a number of times in Italy and driven in other cities. You might consider renting a car service for the 2-3 excursions. I'm not sure of the cost but my brother did that last year for a few trips.
As Jordan said, Rick Steve's guides are good. You can also go onto his web site and download podcasts of walking tours. We found that very helpful.
For apartments if price is an issue, the lower prices are in Trastevere. However the metro may not be as conveniently located there.
As far as cars, certainly I wouldn't consider driving in Rome, though we have rented cars a number of times in Italy and driven in other cities. You might consider renting a car service for the 2-3 excursions. I'm not sure of the cost but my brother did that last year for a few trips.
As Jordan said, Rick Steve's guides are good. You can also go onto his web site and download podcasts of walking tours. We found that very helpful.
For apartments if price is an issue, the lower prices are in Trastevere. However the metro may not be as conveniently located there.