^a little bit of everything really! that's why it's so hard to pick a few spots to visit. it's also important that these cities are easy to travel to and from since we won't have too much time to spend in italy (budget airlines, short bus trips, train, etc.).

Originally Posted by stephc005

^a little bit of everything really! that's why it's so hard to pick a few spots to visit. it's also important that these cities are easy to travel to and from since we won't have too much time to spend in italy (budget airlines, short bus trips, train, etc.).

Why not flying into Florence, spend 2 - 3 days there, then spend the rest of your holidays in an "agriturismo" or a villa with pool? You could rent a car for convenience and to go sightseeing when you feel to.
Driving in Tuscany is quite easy once you're outside Florence, and the landscape is amazing

I know this may sound weird, but do women frequently run in Italy? We are visiting Rome, Florence, Venice and Catania and I would love to be able to run at least once in each city. I have done a little googling and it looks like many tourists do so early in the morning, like around 6am.

In Rome definitely they do. I reccomend Villa Borghese to do it. It's a nice park

Originally Posted by runner22

I know this may sound weird, but do women frequently run in Italy? We are visiting Rome, Florence, Venice and Catania and I would love to be able to run at least once in each city. I have done a little googling and it looks like many tourists do so early in the morning, like around 6am.

A lot of women run in their spare time. Not me, though

(6 am sounds a bit early)

Thanks! I'd rather run early (although the time difference should make things interesting!) so we have time to see the sights. I've just read a few different sites that say tourists quickly clog up the sidewalks and streets.

I'm getting very excited, we're leaving in less than two weeks!

Whenever I take an Italian train I try to travel 1st class, because it's more comfortable and safer than 2nd.

Originally Posted by Wentworth-Roth

Whenever I take an Italian train I try to travel 1st class, because it's more comfortable and safer than 2nd.

In what way safer? :)

Our next-door neighbors here in Germany bought a falling-down building in Tuscany about fifty years ago. They renovated with their own hands throughout the years - the husband being an architect didn't hurt.

Imagine this: All you could see from the dirt road going up the hill was the first floor of what appeared to be a modest house. Then, entering the gate, sheer beauty. The view of a vineyard, an olive grove, all part of this estate. The house itself turned out to be on three levels, built into the side of the hill, with a beautiful terrace overlooking the countryside. All of it restored to its former glory by an elderly couple, our neighbors. Granted, they certainly were not poor but put years and years of labor and love into restoration. I was blessed to spend several vacations there in my teenage years.

Our neighbors' son bought an old mill not far away from his parents' house and turned it into a bed and breakfast inn. He and I were childhood buddies, actually, both sets of parents hoped we would fall in love in due time and marry. No way, it would have been like marrying a brother. He married the daughter of a well-to-do Roman jeweler. They have made such a success of this modest old mill. Guests are invited to help with dinner preparations, they're off the grid and electricity is provided by an iffy diesel-powered generator. Cats and dogs are in the yard, laundry is flapping in the wind on the lines.

They've published a cookbook with down to earth Tuscan recipes.

Originally Posted by misstrine85

In what way safer? :)

It's less crowded and there's less chance of pickpockets and your luggage "wandering." We do the same. It doesn't cost all that much more.

Originally Posted by Elara

It's less crowded and there's less chance of pickpockets and your luggage "wandering." We do the same. It doesn't cost all that much more.

so far I've never heard of pickpocketing in trains

It is safer because there is more Trenitalia staff in first class and because you know that the businessman typing on his ipad in front of you won't try to steal your wallet in case you nod off. You get a free drink&snack and a free newspaper to boot.

People have been pick pocketed on trains and there are panhandlers on treni regionali (trains that connect smaller cites within the same area).

I never sleep on trains, I'm too afraid to miss my stop!

Originally Posted by maryg1

so far I've never heard of pickpocketing in trains

My mother-in-law had diamond studs stolen out of her ears on a crowded train in Rome when they lived there. She still isn't sure how it happened.

When we took the train this summer from Firenze back to Viareggio, there was smoke coming off the breaks and we thought the train was on fire, but apparently this was normal. Me and my boyfriend already packed our things so we could leave any second if anything would happen