re: T-ZERO DAYS until Italy, final logistics to-do list

Look for illy Crema in Rome and Florence. It's a frozen coffee drink made from espresso and mixed in a slushie style machine. It is heaven in a glass when you can find it.

Not sure if this is too late, but very jealous about your trip!! Wife and I did almost the exact same trip 10 years ago and had a blast.

Basic basic advice, we love driving internationally, and the drive through Tuscany was great. BUT GET THE GPS!!!! This may be totally obvious and not even worth mentioning today but back then we almost didn't get it (rental place was out and had to wait for them to get another one from a different location) and holy shite we would still be in downtown Rome if we hadn't waited to get it. The second we drove out of the garage the world flipped upside down and inside out

Other than that, driving was great, although we would have had to hustle our asses off to get from Rome to Florence in just one day. We decided it wasn't worth it to drive the coast because the main highway isn't actually right on the water. Didn't sound like you'd actually get the water views. So we decided to wait for Cinque Terre to see the coast and instead went inland through Tuscany. Made a couple of stops (Siena has a big college so the Square there is beautiful and great for people watching during lunch, and even found a kind of hidden gem in San Gigmignano, Town of a Thousand Towers, but it is a bit out of the way).

Also did Pisa and yeah it is absolutely worth it for the photo op. The building itself is crazy, can't believe how much it leans. Definitely worth seeing and we were literally there for just an hour.

Then stayed over in Cinque Terre for the night and saw the other towns the next day before heading out to Florence. CT is great, the views are outstanding, but I could see how some people could do without it. It wasn't very crowded when we were there (just a couple of weeks earlier in season than your trip in early April) but could see it being less enjoyable if the towns and trails were overrun.


Rome is a fantastic walking city. We were there for six days and must have walked fifty miles. Wish there were fitbits back then So much to see and just take in. Most sites are obvious but plan out extra time at Trevi fountain. It's small but gets very busy and you may have to sit for a while and work your way down to the rim to get close up pics. But worth it just appreciate all the detail of it. Don't be rushed.

We also set aside a full day for Vatican City and probably could have spent even more time there. Again, it's nice to just sit and take in the full picture of where you are. It really is an amazing place.


I think I am in the minority, but do not skimp on Venice. Florence was nice and all, but I thought it was too built up for me. We did four days in Florence and two in Venice but I would have absolutely added a day in Venice instead. We were totally in love with Venice. Just felt transported to a different world and time whereas Florence felt pretty typical of any European city imo. Having traveled extensively throughout Europe before this trip, I just felt like I had seen it all before. Duomo is impressive and the museums are nice, but after a week in Rome and having been to the Louvre and other great museums before I just got kind of bored there honestly.

Venice is like no place I've been before or since. It wasn't hot yet when we were there either so I hear that makes a difference (canals can supposedly get pretty ripe, but we didn't notice an odor at all). St Marks is definitely crowded but once you get away from there the streets never felt too busy at all and the nights were actually very quiet. We walked around for hours and felt like we had the place to ourselves. It was a great end to the trip.

I would have to ask my wife if she remembers and names of restaurants or hotels, but know you are going to have a blast.

Venice is incredible for a couple of days. However, it requires more effort than most places to find the non-touristy, off the beaten path locations. That is what makes or breaks Venice, in my opinion. Authentic Venice is fantastic. Touristy Venice is shallow and plastic feeling.

There is a restaurant across from Chiesa di San Geremia (body of St. Lucy is here, and visible) in Venice. This is located on the train station side of Venice, not St. Marks side. The name of it is "Trattoria Vittoria de Aldo" Family owned. Mama's Lasagna was awesome, the fresh fish was outstanding.

They let me cut Prosciutto and treated us phenomenally, great memories.

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but Uber is easily available too.

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Thought they just banned Uber?

I think just Rome and Milan have it. I used it in Rome about 15 days ago.

Just double checked, Italy banned Uber nationwide on April 10th or 11th, not sure if it was effective immediately though.

I haven't followed it closely, but just from googling it, it actually looks like they banned it right after y'all left but the courts just lifted the ban temporarily yesterday or today. Seems to me like it'll be around for a bit until the injunction works its way through the Italian legal system. It's certainly handy to have just in case. When we arrived in Rome it was pouring down raining and the cab stand had a huge line so we used an uber and it worked out great...driver didn't know any English though.

oh well shite, 4/25 is a national holiday in Italy (Liberation Day). Rental car companies are closed. F ME! hahaha

eta: looks like the main rental car places are open (near train stations). either way, should be interesting!