My family of 4 went to Venice, Florence, & Rome in Nov. of 2003...wonderful time! My younger daughter and I will be returning in March, 2007..she'll be 17 by then, almost 18 (wow!). We will have one week...I'm at a loss as to where to go; we loved all 3 of the above cities (and would return in a heartbeat), but part of me wants to experience new things, too. Any suggestions? My DH is divorcing me, so we need to make a few new memories along the way...and on a very tight budget. thank you for your help!
In your situation, I would probably return to Rome and spend a week there in one location. THere are alot of new things which you probably did not experience on the last trip,and even sights you have seen will take on new meaning the second (or third, or forth) time around. Rome has so many layers of history and culture to search through. And March in Rome will be even milder than here up north. You can rent an apt. in a neighborhood like Trastevere and live like locals for a week, buying your bread and prociutto and artichokes (perfectly in season in March) at the local market.
You would completely eliminate the need for a rental car this way, and it is great fun to know a fantastic city like Rome well, you can really gain the feeling of "Roman Life" by "moving in" for a week. Di
dear shankins, i say go to florence and spend the week there. florence is a city that offers so much... buy a good tour book that zeros in on florence and study up on the renaissance before you go and visit the various art museums and historical sites. get to know the city. there are plenty of lovely little B&Bs where you can stay for cheap. the bus line is wonderful and you can take some day trips out of the city for a small amount of change - there are doubledecker buses available that you can board at many tourist sites in the city. you can go up to fiesole on the "green" bus... you can ride up to piazzale michelangelo on the "blue" bus. florence is a magical city... small, intimate, cozy on one hand... big city impressive on the other. and, your darling daughter will LOVE the shopping!
Sounds like you and your daughter have a great opportunity for a positive experience together... and a new beginning for you.
It sounds like there could be emotion associated with going back someplace you've been in your old life. Are you committed to going back to Italy on this trip? Or to an Italian city? Maybe you should consider having an entirely new experience... perhaps the countryside of Italy or even the south of France. (For March, I'm thinking south...) Another possibility would be Barcelona, where perhaps your dollar would stretch further as well. I think an 18 year old would love Barcelona-- and you too! This is heresy on the Italy board-- sorry everyone!!!--but see this recent recent thread on Barcelona or my photo essay on the beautiful Luberon area of Provence, France. You could be budget-conscious by using a vacation rental and fixing some of your meals at "home."
Italy is not just Florence, Rome and Venice, so if you have already been there, why don't you try a week somewhere else?
Piemonte is amazing, Liguria is very beautiful too. And why not Sicily? It is fantastic and in one week you could concentrate on an area and explore it. March is generally really nice and Springy down there. Actually my vote goes for Sicily.
I would try something different. If you are not worried to find a cooler weather, Umbria would be lovely too.
You know, alot of the nice posters here have changed my thinking on this. Maybe a totally new place would be called for, and this being Italy, man, do you have choice!!!
Robert is right, no need to make every day filled with day trips, but maybe instead you can have days in the piazza of some nice town filled with gelato nocciola of course....
hello again - i re-read your post and i now think you should go with the "part of me wants to experience new things" feeling. why not open a map of italy, close your eyes, and place a finger on the map? you could then look up all kinds of information about the area...and the village your finger landed upon...find a inexpensive apartment in a farmhouse close by... rent a car... and just go and enjoy. it could be the trip of a lifetime. you and your daughter would be making brand new memories, exclusive only to the two of you. and you've got plenty of time for planning, plus this website is more than qualified (with such friendly, knowledgeable people) to help you.
Hmm...I may have to let my finger decide, if I can convince my dear figlia to do that. She is trying to convince me to rent a Smart car while we're over there... I told her we could spend our entire vacation going 'round in circles that way! Seriously, though; I'm touched that the suggestions are still coming in. You guys are the greatest!
You guys would probably have a blast in a Smart. Just pack light .Trunk space is rather limited. Mabe if you are down south you guys could down the road which runs along the Med through all the small towns!! Fun!!
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thank you for your help!
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I told her we could spend our entire vacation going 'round in circles that way! Seriously, though; I'm touched that the suggestions are still coming in. You guys are the greatest!
.Trunk space is rather limited. Mabe if you are down south you guys could down the road which runs along the Med through all the small towns!! Fun!!
