re: Initial Stages of Planning my Italy Trip

Just remember to give yourself extra time occasionally. You can't say Venice 3 nights and Florence 3 nights and expect anywhere close to 3 full days in both. Even though a train ride may only be 2 hours, you have to pack, check out of the hotel, travel to the train station, find your hotel, check in, in pack, refresh, etc.

Italy is one of the best countries in the world to take it slow, have a glass of wine at lunch, take a siesta, and just enjoy the culture. You really want to give yourself at least 2 full days to do litttle to nothing on a trip that long. So id try to schedule that in, you don't have to literally do nothing but it's nice to have an extremely relaxing day of not running from site to site. Or else you wear yourself out and need a vacation from your vacation when you get home.