Take a Vacation

[Jeff Lebowski]

We loved Cinque Terra (except for the previously mentioned a/c saboteur). We also liked Lucca a lot. It is nothing like Cinque Terre, but it was really cool. To be clear, unlike places like Florence and Cinque Terre, it is cool for a day or so, not multiple days. We got there at 4:00 or so one day, went to dinner and walked around. The next day we went to the flea market thing, rode a tandem bike around the city wall, climbed a tower, and went to the village square where the locals were had this big track set up and were racing, what was it? marbles? Little cars? I forget, but they had me be the official starter just because I showed up. We were out by 5:00 or so. One of the nice things about it was it was maybe our only day in Italy that felt quiet and devoid of tourists.

Agree about Pisa. We didn't go, and I don't regret it.

My wife and I both liked Florence a lot.

I loved Rome, my wife was "meh" on it (too crowded).

I haven't read every post, so I haven't seen if Venice is discussed (I don't actually even know whose vacation we are talking about). I will give my standard Venice advice as someone who is obviously an expert having visited once for three days (I've probably said it here before). If you go to Venice, stay on the island!!! We stayed in this little Airbnb in the middle of everything. During the day, Venice was nice, but crowded as Hades, the most crowded place we went, which diminished things a bit. But then, starting about 5:00, people would start heading back to their cruise ships and to their hotels on the mainland. By the time the sun went down, it was cooler and 80%-90% of the foot traffic was gone. Venice in the evening and morning (I would wake up at 6:30 and walk while my wife slept in) was one of my favorite parts of our trip.

A week or two ago, Venice announced that they would no longer allow cruise ships in the Venice Lagoon. Hooray!

We stayed in Venice once and we have also done Venice as a day trip from Florence. Made for a long day, but it worked.

Bologna is kind of a fun city. Food is great and the the Ferrari factory tour is a good time.

You can also do Pisa as a 1/2 day trip from Florence.

[tooblue]

We loved Cinque Terra (except for the previously mentioned a/c saboteur). We also liked Lucca a lot. It is nothing like Cinque Terre, but it was really cool. To be clear, unlike places like Florence and Cinque Terre, it is cool for a day or so, not multiple days. We got there at 4:00 or so one day, went to dinner and walked around. The next day we went to the flea market thing, rode a tandem bike around the city wall, climbed a tower, and went to the village square where the locals were had this big track set up and were racing, what was it? marbles? Little cars? I forget, but they had me be the official starter just because I showed up. We were out by 5:00 or so. One of the nice things about it was it was maybe our only day in Italy that felt quiet and devoid of tourists.

Agree about Pisa. We didn't go, and I don't regret it.

My wife and I both liked Florence a lot.

I loved Rome, my wife was "meh" on it (too crowded).

I haven't read every post, so I haven't seen if Venice is discussed (I don't actually even know whose vacation we are talking about). I will give my standard Venice advice as someone who is obviously an expert having visited once for three days (I've probably said it here before). If you go to Venice, stay on the island!!! We stayed in this little Airbnb in the middle of everything. During the day, Venice was nice, but crowded as Hades, the most crowded place we went, which diminished things a bit. But then, starting about 5:00, people would start heading back to their cruise ships and to their hotels on the mainland. By the time the sun went down, it was cooler and 80%-90% of the foot traffic was gone. Venice in the evening and morning (I would wake up at 6:30 and walk while my wife slept in) was one of my favorite parts of our trip.

Our trip was picking up our son from his mission, so he knew all the places to go to avoid crowds. Renting a car and driving was easy peasy. We were also grateful to have a car because they go on strike more in Italy than in France!

We visited in late September and early October. It was the perfect time to go—fewer tourists and amazing weather. If you can squeeze it in I would recommend visiting Sienna. We have no regrets not going to Rome and instead staying in the north.

I agree with the Venice advice, though we did choose to stay in an Airbnb in a small town outside of the city and then take the train in. We didn't leave until later in the morning and then chose to wander (get lost in) the alleys and shops before venturing to the bigger tourist heavy areas later in the day. I also suggest getting on a water bus and going to one of the islands where they blow glass, and wander in and out of shops. All the missionaries go to get glass cuff links.

[Northwestcoug]

I would go to La Spezia and Cinque Terre instead of Lucca and Pisa:

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You take the train from La Spezia into Cinque Terre, stop at the first improbably beautiful town and then get back on and go to the next. If your Mother was younger you could hike up over the mountains through vineyards to the next town, but that will not work for your trip.

Believe me I would love to go to Cinque Terre. Still haven’t been. But if I’m doing this trip for my mom, I just don’t see how I can replace time in Florence and Rome with the coast. And like you say, if she was younger she would enjoy the hiking through the villages more.

I’ve done Lucca twice and I love it. I think it’s a good example of a small Tuscan town that she won’t get with the bigger cities. I doubt she’d want to do the bike around the wall thing, but she would probably enjoy walking some of those streets and stopping for food. And if she insists on going to Pisa (believe me, I’d rather not go there again), we’re halfway there from Florence.

We took my parents to France two-ish years ago. They are both in their 70s and my dad is in great shape but my mom not so much. She can walk fine but I had underestimated the amount of steps necessary to just get around town. The metro had a lot of stairs as did most of the sites we saw. The Louvre seemed to have steps at every room, which I had forgotten, and that slowed us down considerably. My mom finally just said to leave her in the Mona Lisa room and we did that so I could take my kids to see a couple more things. The oroblem with old Europe is that it’s not very accommodating to people that need wheelchairs or elevators or even escalators.

we are going to Italy with them in sep 2022 (hopefully) and we are already planning on seeing fewer things each day and also using Uber much more so they can avoid the subways. I’m not sure yet how we are going to get from rome to Florence to Venice to Milan. We want to just use trains but we are considering maybe having one vehicle to shuttle them to the next town.

And this is what I worry about. Either me or my mom being overly optimistic about her energy level, and having to modify travel plans because of a rough day. Hell, if I tried my first Italian itinerary 15 years ago now I’d be pretty tired. This is what got me thinking a senior tour trip would be best. I still think that I could plan a good trip for us, but I’m going to need to be careful.

[tooblue]

Believe me I would love to go to Cinque Terre. Still haven’t been. But if I’m doing this trip for my mom, I just don’t see how I can replace time in Florence and Rome with the coast. And like you say, if she was younger she would enjoy the hiking through the villages more.

I’ve done Lucca twice and I love it. I think it’s a good example of a small Tuscan town that she won’t get with the bigger cities. I doubt she’d want to do the bike around the wall thing, but she would probably enjoy walking some of those streets and stopping for food. And if she insists on going to Pisa (believe me, I’d rather not go there again), we’re halfway there from Florence.



And this is what I worry about. Either me or my mom being overly optimistic about her energy level, and having to modify travel plans because of a rough day. Hell, if I tried my first Italian itinerary 15 years ago now I’d be pretty tired. This is what got me thinking a senior tour trip would be best. I still think that I could plan a good trip for us, but I’m going to need to be careful.

Too bad, but understandable. My two nieces (early twenties) on my wife's side went with their Mom and Grandmother on an Italy senior type tour in 2019 and loved it. It was the perfect pace for them all. The younger, fresh legs could wander farther at each stop while Grandma stayed with the older groups doing tour activities. My in-laws are now too old to travel much but spent ten plus years doing the senior tours all over the world and loved them.

[smokymountainrain]

i just returned from the spokane area. there was a lot of smoke.

[Pelado]

If you can squeeze it in I would recommend visiting Sienna.

She is a lot of fun to squeeze in, but I'm not sure NWC's grandma would get the full benefit.

[Northwestcoug]

She is a lot of fun to squeeze in, but I'm not sure NWC's grandma would get the full benefit.

Siena is pretty cool. But that’s solidly on my B list of places to visit with my mom.

[tooblue]

Siena is pretty cool. But that’s solidly on my B list of places to visit with my mom.

Cheeky rascals—regardless your destination choices I hope you have fun.

[ByronMarchant]

This thread was supposed to be about taking a vacation from attending Church.

[Pelado]

This thread was supposed to be about taking a vacation from attending Church.

I skipped church today. I don't feel very good about it, though. Or maybe that's just the nausea that kept me home in the first place.

[Bo Diddley]

This thread was supposed to be about taking a vacation from attending Church.

This reminds me. The EU voted on Friday to ban the US from tourism. The vote is non-binding on member nations, but it remains to be seen if our trip to Switzerland and Germany happens next month.

[Northwestcoug]

This reminds me. The EU voted on Friday to ban the US from tourism. The vote is non-binding on member nations, but it remains to be seen if our trip to Switzerland and Germany happens next month.

that really sucks Bo.

[beefytee]

Last I heard Hawaii isn’t doing so hot with Covid. We were thinking about doing Christmas there. Should we roll the dice?

[Moliere]

This reminds me. The EU voted on Friday to ban the US from tourism. The vote is non-binding on member nations, but it remains to be seen if our trip to Switzerland and Germany happens next month.

Interesting. I hadn’t heard. Good thing Switzerland isn’t in the EU. Maybe you’ll still be able to go there.

[Bo Diddley]

Last I heard Hawaii isn’t doing so hot with Covid. We were thinking about doing Christmas there. Should we roll the dice?

I wouldn't roll the dice with Hawaii. They're really struggling with overstourism, and animosity is building, from what I hear. Seems like it's going to be a while before they're back to normal.