Tell me about Italy

[NoNo]

If it does get hot, their A/C isn't nearly what we're accustomed to here, so be prepared to sweat!

When you're in Tuscany, make sure you have cinghiale (wild boar). In Venice, have all the seafood you can, especially the spaghetti al neri (it's made with the ink from cuttlefish, turns your mouth black ). Rome has more of the types of food that you find in restaurants here. Oh, and the place that invented fettucini alfredo is there, naturally called "Alfredo's". In Florence, there was a restaurant on the same street as our hotel and it was so fantastic, we ate there twice (we're 100% Italian, so we're probably a little more picky about what's good and what's just decent). I highly recommend la Giostra. When you sit, they pour you prosecco and bring over a platter of warm figs, rabbit liver pate (I'd never had liver, but loved it), grilled veggies, and caprese with buffalo mozzarella, all complimentary. The dinners were out of this world, and there was a chocolate cake that was by far the best I'd ever had. I wish I could remember the name of the wine shop we stumbled upon (and out of ). Free wine tasting, as much as you wanted. They had 8 bottles out and she kept opening more!

This is making me miss Italy so much! Good thing we're going back next year! I'm sure you'll have an equally good time.

[michelem]

Although we weren't exactly where you will be, we were near Florence in the Tuscany region . . . we were there late June-early July and I wish I had brought warmer clothes for the COOL evenings. A light sweater was not enough in my opinion.

We were there on a cycling tour and it was AMAZING. We brought one carry--on bag each (did not check any bags) and kept the locks on them at all times (except when we needed to get into them for something!). For my Canon S3IS, I used the Topeak handlebar bag that Thorn has mentioned elsewhere - it was a perfect fit. However, I didn't have any adapters or add'l lenses at that time (getting ready to order some soon!), and I'm not sure a SLR would fit . . . might be worth checking out though. I liked that I could take it off the bike and wear it as a waist-pack, or cross-wise over the shoulder and across the chest. I always kept it to the front of me. As far as the carry-on, it converted to a backpack and I did keep it on my back, but again, it was locked.

Have fun! I really wish we could go again someday . . . Sigh . . .

[OakLeaf]

I think for as small as the country is, it has a lot of climate variations. So probably the best advice is to pack layers.

We were in Emilia-Romagna (Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini area) in late June and it was just brutally hot (over 90F in the daytime - sorry I still think in Fahrenheit even when I'm in Europe, so that's how I remember it) But the next night in Milan was very comfortable. There was still snow on the Alps as we continued to travel north.

Venice, Trento and Trieste we did in April, and the weather was nice - a bit of rain, daytime highs mostly in the 50s. As you'd expect, Venice is very damp. I've heard it's actually not all that pleasant in full summer, and I could definitely see how that would be.

And yes - I'm jealous too - eagerly looking forward to my next trip!