Mindy, I love that Venetian apartment! So much light, it looks gorgeous. And 3 bedrooms, 2 baths would be pretty nice.

Still, I love the location of the Palazzetto da Schio and it does look nice inside... if anyone is interested in sharing there........

These are the fun decisions (as opposed to whether I can get the time off work. But at least I can give the boss lots of warning!)

Cheers,
Sandra

Whoa!! Where have I been?? Not perusing the GTG forum, obviously. Add me to the list! Florence was where I spent my 50th a couple of years ago in November...so I'll be due for another birthday celebration there! Yeah!!

Please put me on the "probably yeah I really want to go!" list. Now I can go back and check out everyone's accommodation links. What a fabulous idea!

Vicky

Yay, Vicky! Hope you can make it! (Hope I can make it!)

It'll definitely be time for another GTG!

Cheers,
Sandra

quote:

Originally posted by kendall:
PS: please remember Jen would like to keep this very relaxed.

Is this really possible at this point??

Yay, Vicky...yes, you certainly can come, too!
Absolutely, it is possible to have a relaxed time...we'll just plan the bare minimum, which is accommodations and that's about it.

Then, we can just hang out together, wine at the ready, food in the kitchen and lots of gooood conversation and late night chats about nothing and everything, about turning 40 or 50 or 60 or 70 and about the joys of bein' alive!

I can hardly wait!

"I can't tell you her age, but when she was born the wonder drug was Mercurochrome!"
~ Milton Berle

and, another goody, for good measure...

"I recently turned fifty, which is young for a tree, mid-life for an elephant, and ancient for a quarter-miler whose son now says, “Dad, I just can't run with you anymore unless I bring something to read.” ~ Bill Cosby
Brenda

I am an Italy virgin. I figure that most of the group has been to these locations and therefore will not be interested in virgin stuff. Who else that is going is a virgin?

Kendall,

Me! Although I'm trying my very best not to remain one by 2010 (on Italy I mean... ).

I'll probably just go the Florence bit and either go earlier or stay after to visit (because I understood I'm being promised unbridled partying here... correct?).

Brenda, I loved the apartment (Machiavelli) you posted. I'm game for sharing it.

The Maciavelli apartment is nice indeed. What's even nicer is that the use of light and water is included in the price of the apt.

Kendall or bugsydd, don't worry about being Italy virgins. You'll be seduced by Italy and screaming for more! (more, food, more wine, more gelato)!!

Mindy

Mindy,
I'm not worried I just don't want anyone to feel they have to do something they have already done just because I haven't. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want anyone to feel like they have babysit or entertain me.

Kendall, maybe it's just me but I have a habit of returning to favourite sites over and over! I've only visited Venice twice, but I can never get enough of San Marco (to name just one example!) It is so rich with beauty and wonderful art and those fantastic horses that I don't think I would ever tire of visiting there!

So you might find a lot of overlap between what someone wants to see on their first visit and what they want to return to again and again!

Cheers,
Sandra

Sandra, me, too!
I've only been to Florence once and Venice once, so going back again is a treasure for me. I am already planning to go to San Miniato for evening vespers again, to Rivoire for way too many spremuti and dolci again, to Accademia to salivate over Michelangelo's sculptures again and again, to the Du-O-mo museum....and on and on and on.
So, Miss Kendall, don't you worry about anyone repeating anyplace at all, 'cause I think most of us love to go back to our favorites, and now we can share those with you and bugsydd!

If you have the time and a pot of tea, my one and only trip report was written on my Italy virgin trip in 2005. You'll likely laugh out loud at the pickles I got myself into...losing my shoes at the shoe store where I bought them, but didn't have enough money to pay for them and asked the owner to hold them and then couldn't find the damned store!!! I cannot believe that was only 3 years ago! ...uh, do you love my run-on sentence structure?

You stop worrying about being babysat or entertained, please...I am so delighted that both you and bugsydd are coming! It takes a special kind of courage to do a first trip to anywhere!

I can hardly wait!

So, do you think we should take a little jaunt in advance to check out accommodations like those lovely ladies did for the Savannah Gathering? I'd be happy to go for a couple of weeks to check things out. Anyone wanna come with me? I'm sure we can find a few restaurants to have a pre-2010 birthday dinner at, a few gelateria to taste test the flavors for the birthday babies...you know what I mean!

"The Creator made Italy from designs by Michaelangelo." ~ Mark Twain
Brenda

Brenda,
Yes I have read that trip report. I have read all your trip reports, in fact almost everyones trip report. I believe I may have to keep you out of pickles when we get there. You are dangeruos woman!

If it is Florence count me in! Will bring my baby girl too. I can help organize a party in a restaurant with live music... or some other stuff.
Angie

Angie,
Week one is Venice, week two Florence so....
you're in.

I know this is premature, but what the heck...would anyone be interested in taking a guided day trip/hike from Venice to the Dolomites? Let me know if you think that this is something that you would be interested in...I am not sure if they have a closing month???

Ciao-
Jen

Jen,
How long of a hike would this be? Will anyone have a gun to shoot me if need be?

Hi, Kendall-

It won't be anything that strenuous...I will email you some info if you'd like, just let me know

J

quote:

I believe I may have to keep you out of pickles when we get there. You are dangerous woman!

No, sadly, not dangerous...just easily distracted. I get so-so-so turned around in unfamiliar areas of a city. It's pathetic, actually. I NEED a GPS when I travel!

Angie, woo-hoo! You are coming!
That's fantastic...and who better to plan a wonderful evening with music and other deliciosities?
I'm there to help, if you need it.

"I'm aiming by the time I'm fifty to stop being an adolescent." ~ Wendy Cope
Brenda

Brenda,
I'm going to have a lot of fun spinning you around and then sending you off!

MoJen, YES, Keith and I are hikers, this may be enough to get him to say yes to this trip!

Beth

Jen, I could be very interested in a Dolomites tour and also really like the sounds of this tour of the hill towns of Veneto. The same company offers a Dolomites tour and has received good reviews in past threads from STs. Depending on how long I am in Venice and other planned activities, I might be up for both!

Colleen
That tour also is appealing.

quote:

That tour also is appealing.

Yeah, what could be bad about sampling grappa and prosecco with someone else driving?

quote:

Originally posted by colleenk:

quote:

That tour also is appealing.

Yeah, what could be bad about sampling grappa and prosecco with someone else driving?

I like your style Colleen!!

I love the looks of that tour too

Mindy

Ok, I am SO all over the second tour...great choice gal's

Jen

quote:

Yeah, what could be bad about sampling grappa and prosecco with someone else driving?

Count me in! That area has been on my "have to get there" list, but I've never been able to tear myself away from Venice for a day trip!

I'm having so much fun planning two Italy trips at once!!!! Now if only the FF gods will smile on me when I try to get tickets in November!

Anne

Evidently I am not the only one not reading the GTG lists.

Does turning 60 count? Cuz that is the year for me. May not October but I can postpone turning 60 if it means I get to do it in Italy.

And quite frankly Venice is a no go for me. They still haven't built a scooter than can do steps. But Florence is one of the most accessible cities in Italy.

Another thought. Has anybody thought about http://www.vignamaggio.com/english/much-ado.html ? This is the villa where they shot the Kenneth Branagh "Much Ado About Nothing". If you want a great tour of the place rent the DVD.

It's close to lots of attractions and it is also a destination in and of itself.

Might Rob and I join in on the fun? We will be celebrating our 26th anniversary in Oct. 2010, and it is most likely we will be in Italy then anyway.

We would be interested in the Venice time versus the Florence portion.

And, we would love to join the grappa e prosecco tour too.

Wendy e Rob

Hi, Wendy-

Wow, it would GREAT to have you two join in the festivities!!!



Jen

I have to laugh at myself....I'm a little ahead of myself on this one! I just went to mark my calendar for November to get FF tickets, and realized I was a whole YEAR ahead of time!!! Flights won't open until Nov of 2009!!

Back to work on tickets for next June Airlines are selling those tickets now!



Anne

Hi everyone-

Wanted to bump this a little closer to the top.

Happy holidays to all!

Jen

Hot diggity. You all are so wonderful for doing this!

I haven't looked at the GTG section in AGES and I am so happy to find a 2010 shindig being planned at a time when I'll be back in Florence & Venice...and celebrating my 40th, Mark's 60th & our 10th wedding anniversary!

In actuality the events are earlier in the year but our celebratory tour is in October.

In actual actuality I go to Italy twice a year but now I can tell my friends I'm going to celebrate
"overseas with my friends" and have them hate me even more.

~Kris/Krix

Krix,
You were at our GTG in Florence, weren't you?
So, how cool is it that you'll be in Italy in 2010!

Jen,
Wave your magic wand and get this trip closer and closer, faster and faster, would ya?

I'm in the middle of planning to have a few weeks off at this time, so I can go back to Florence and fall in love with that city all over again. I want to stay for at least 3 weeks, God willing.

“Everything about Florence seems to be colored with a mild violet, like diluted wine.” ~ Henry James
Brenda

Yes Brenda!

It's like we're returning to the scene of the crime.

~Kris

So, do you remember which restaurant where we ate that delicious dinner?

"Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life." ~ Anna Akhmatova
Brenda

Brenda,

It was Boccadama on Piazza Santa Croce and it was wonderful! We've been there a number of times since. They have the best salads in Florence in Mark's opinion.

~Kris

Ruth, of course you may come! This is a celibration!



I emailed Mojen urging her to get back on the boards. We should hear from her shortly.

Brenda,

I would love to go to Cortona and to see Alessandra's shop as well. I was hoping I would be able to next month when I'm in Florence for a few days, but I'm meeting with friends there and it just won't fit in the itinerary.

~Kris

Let's!
I fell in love with a huge and very gorgeous ceramic bowl last time and didn't buy it. (Dummy! ) So, I'm all for it, and would like also to stay in the Cortona area for a few days this time.

Boccadama! I love the Tuscan soup there, and the salads, the wine, the people...did I enjoy myself there, do you think???

I am so looking forward to being back in Florence and I'm trying to block off 3 weeks there, if I can. It was where I went for my first trip to Italy and I was so scared and nervous, so like a lost puppy for some of the time I was there, and I missed out on so much because I wasted precious time worrying and being apprehensive about the unknown. Anyone else up for a few weeks in Florence? I sure hope I can find the time for that!

This is going to be such a fantastic time, with so many old friends and a lot of new friends to hang with. I am counting the weeks!

"Open my heart and you will see
'Graved inside of it, Italy.'"~ Robert Browning
Brenda

Hi everyone!

What a slacker I am...letting my membership lapse..shame on me!

Time to get this party started I think

Jen

Okay this question is for the seasoned Venice/Florence travellers. Not counting lodgings or our drunken Prosecco tour, how much money should I budget per day for food,transportation and entertainment? Oh yeah, don't forget the wine budget.

Kendall--that's such a subjective question, it's so difficult to answer. I prefer to do all those things on the CHEAP. I get the multi-packs of bus tickets, special museum passes, free chamber music concerts, etc. Maybe the first question to you is how luxurious do you want to get? Are you OK with eateries that are sometimes a little low on ambience? What's your idea of entertainment, day and evening? Etc. Also, we have no idea what's in store for the exchange rate!

Kendall,
I can help a little!
Here's my economic plan:
I eat breakfast and most dinners in my apartment, and have lunch at a cafe or trattoria.
Groceries for the apartment don't cost any more or less than buying groceries at home.

Here are a few costs from my last trip to Florence...thank goodness I write things down in a diary!
Gelato 2 scoops 2.5E
Lunch at Rivoire 17.5E
Treats for kids 23E
Gelato 2 scoops 3.0E
Total cost 63.5E
Conversion $99.97CAN

I know there are cheaper places to eat than Rivoire, like Trattoria Mario or Cafe Principe where lunch was 6.5E, for example. This is just a day at random from my diary. Some days there were hardly any costs at all for me, and other days I spent 150E - 200E, if shopping for gifts for my family.

I usually budget for 100E per day. That's $157.43CAN. It's always more than I need, but it gives me the feeling of having enough, of not running short of cash because I didn't have enough in my bank account to cover my expenses! I've had that happen on a trip. I truly hated how it felt, and then and there made up my mind to not go anywhere unless I could be relatively certain I had enough money to get me through, if I spend carefully.

So, if I'm gone for 2 weeks, I take 1400E or $2200CAN. for everyday expenses.
Granted, I make sure that there are a few more sheckels tucked away in my account, just in case...a leather jacket that calls my name, a pair of shoes on sale...

Hope this helps! Let me know if you want more detailed costs. I didn't want to make this post too boring with a detailed list of my expenditures.

"The traveller who has gone to Italy to study the tactile values of Giotto, or the corruption of the Papacy, may return remembering nothing but the blue sky and the men and women who live under it." ~ E.M. Forster
Brenda

I haven't been on this thread in ages, since I first said I'd like to join in the fun - I still hope I might be able to make it, the only thing holding me back is that it might clash with the time to take my oldest baby to college but we shall see).

The euro is appalling for us at the moment (what with the pound being roughly equivalent to Monoploy money) but I do - shh!- have my little secret stash of euros for just this sort of adventure!!.

Thanks Brenda that does help. Like you I like a little cushion so that my good time is not wasted worring about money. I am however not extravagant.

Vicky, I plan on eating breakfast in my lodgings (I'm a 5am gal) lunch out and dinners some in some out. I into good food not fancy, although I am budgeting for a few more expensive meals.

Panda!
YAY! Please some...we'd love to hang out with you.

Kendall,
I'm glad that helped! I have been on a vacation with not enough money and was scared silly about it! It taught me a huge lesson...now I always save way more than I will need! Not a fun trip, and no one I knew to help me out, so it was a little freaky. That was long ago, before I knew anything about traveling smart. Today, I plan much better!

Some days I'll eat out every meal, other days not...it's hard to give a definitive answer. If I am having a lazy stay-around-the-house day, I don't spend a penny. I'd always recommend, if you can manage it, have more available than you think you'll need.

As well, I have 2 credit cards that I take, both with a zero balance, for those purchases that I just cannot live without! I'm not so frugal that I deprive myself of something I totally and madly love, and a credit card is there...just in case!

I'm so looking forward to this trip! I really miss Florence, and it will be great to go back to the first place in Europe that I'd ever visited. I'm thinking I want to spend at least 2 - 3 weeks in Florence, if I can afford that, because the last time I was there, those 3 weeks flew by like a speeding bullet and it was over in a flash.

My favorite quotations about Italy...
"Open my heart and you will see,
Graved inside of it, 'Italy.'" ~ Robert Browning
Brenda

Ciao a tutti!

I just found this and I'd love to join in too. I've been in Italy every year in October for the last few years, 2010 shouldn't be any different, and it would be great to meet you all and join in on some of this fun. I would most definitely be interested in the prosecco tour...

Dana

Hi Dana, that's great news -- and I'm sure that anything involving prosecco and Venice has to be good!

Best,
Sandra

Okay just kicking this back to the top. We wouldn't want to miss out would we?

I have actually been thinking about this a bit recently. Probably because I've been reading about so many wonderful trips taking place now and in the near future.

My trip fund for this GTG is slowly growing, and I hope it'll continue that way! I think I'll have to find my way to Ravenna, if not Bologna.