CALLING CATHEITES FAMILIAR WITH ITALY

candi

candi

Cathlete
I am looking for someone who is familiar with the Cinque Terre region, along the Ligurian sea. I am working with a Travel Agent to arrange our trip but I don't think she's familiar with the area.

So far, the town of Vernazza seems to be what we're looking for as we're only planning a couple of days stay in the Cinque Terre area. I am looking for recommendations and am open to suggestions, PLEASE!:)
 
Hi Candi,

I happened to be in Italy when you posted this. I was just catching up on what I missed here while I was gone and ran across your question.

I actually didn't go to Cinque Terre we did travel to Rome, Florence, and Venice. I do have some information about Vernazza and other towns in the Cinque Terre area and may be able to answer some questions. Before we left for our trip I bought a couple of books on Italy. Rick Steve's Italy 2005 proved to be very helpful. I can't say enough about this book. It gives so much information and practical advice I don't know what I would of done without it. Another good book is the Eyewitness Travel Guide Italy, though it doesn't say much about Cinque Terre.

Italy was a dream vacation and I can't wait to go back. There's so much more to see and do. I feel like I was part of history being in Rome for Pope John Paul II's funeral. St Peter's Basilica is an amazing church, we were able to view it the day after the Pope's funeral.

Hope this was helpful to you. If you have any specific questions about anything I'd be happy to try to help. Feel free to email me at [email protected].

Jacque
 
Thank you so much for responding. Yes, I have heard Rick Steves book is a must have and I'm going to order it today.

I have been working with a travel agent and I believe we have cinched a hotel but not in Vernazza...in Monterosso. Has a wonderful view.

I have been looking at B&B's in Venice and Florence and I'm hoping to confirm them this weekend. The B&B's seem to be more reasonable than the hotels and much more quaint.

We were in Rome in October of 2000 and it was a vacation to remember. We walked for almost two days solid. Yes, St. Peter's is amazing. I'm sure you went to the chapel as well. It's breathtaking, isn't it. Being there at the time of the funeral must have been something... I understand through our travel agent that the whole area pretty much shut down.

We are planning our trip from July 2 through July 8 this year.
 
The Cinque Terre are gorgeous. If you are only there for two days, Verazza is probably the right choice for you. Just be prepared for massive amounts of tourists. I wish I could recommend a place to stay, but I stayed with my Italian boyfriend when I visited (I was living in Florence at the time).

Some wonderful towns you might want to check out that are located between Venice and Florence: Lucca, Urbino, Assisi, Siena.

I'm not a huge fan of Venice, but I guess it's a must-see if you haven't been to Italy before. If I had to pick a B&B in Venice or Florence, I would choose Florence. There's much more to see, and the food, shopping and weather are better. But that's just my opinion, I'm sure people would say the opposite, too.

The Amalfi Coast (Positano, etc) is spectacular, as are the islands off Naples (Ischia and Capri). Not sure how far south you are going.

No matter where you end up, you will have fun. I would move back in a heartbeat if given the chance.
 
If you're only going for a week, I would suggest concentrating on fewer places and seeing them well, as opposed to running all over and not really getting a thorough taste of anything.

Venice is absolutely amazing IF you get out of the tourist trap areas and do some investigating of your own. Get back in where people LIVE and you'll see a different side of it. I suppose that's the same with any city.:)
 
Typically, we try to stay out of the tourist traps but I've got a feeling it will be hard to do that in Venice and Florence. Our itinerary is 2 days Venice, 2 days Florence and 2 days somewhere in the Cinque Terre. Right now, it looks like it will be more reasonable for us to stay in Monterosso which is very close to Vernazza.

We also prefer rail and foot to escorted tours. If we could rent a motor scooter, that would be ideal.

We have been to Milan, Genoa, Naples and Rome. We want to stay around the northern part of Italy on this trip.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions.
 
Hello Candi,

I live in the northern area of Italy(Friuli area). My husband is in the AF and we're finishing our 4th yr here. I live about an hour from Venice.(a must see) I haven't been to Cinque Terre, but I do know some people who have been. My daughter has a friend who went there last week over spring break and said it is absolutely beautiful. We may have to take a weekend trip there.

There are two travel agencies I go to here (Italian). If you would like, I can ask them about Cinque Terre for you? If you have any other questions, please post them here or send me an email. You will absolutely LOVE this area(northern). Also a must see is Verona.It is up there as one of my favorite cities. Absolutely gorgeous. There is an Amphitheatre(in tact and where operas are still performed) and the home of Romeo and Juliet.

The food.....nothing like it. But since you have been to southern Italy (visited Naples, Capre, Sorento last spring) you know that. A place I went to on a field trip w/ my son's grade was Aqualia(sp?). This city was just as important as Rome at one point in history. In the church they discovered that the floor was a mosaic. The entire floor! They believe it was covered to save it during the war. Someone saw something shining underneath the plaster that was on top of it. They started to chip away and they found this mosaic floor. The museum is very interesting too. Very small, but a lot of history. As we were walking around the city you would see these ruins. Some in peoples back yards. It just blows me away how old everything is here.

Florence is also a favorite city of mine.My kids and I went into Venice on Friday for lunch and to see the Jewish Ghetto. It's the oldest ghetto in the world dating back to the 1300's I believe. Very, very interesting. A lot of history there. The wine is also very good. I am going to start buying some now before we pack up.

Hope to hear from you.

Lollie
 
Lollie,

I was hoping to hear from you!

I believe we're getting closer. The airfare is much more than I thought it was going to be...I'm sure it's due to rising fuel costs.

We will be flying into Venice and leaving from Florence. I'm making some headway on B&B's for our trip.

Once I get the dates squared away I will have many questions I'm sure!

Thank you ALL so much for responding!
 
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