I think 4-5 days in Rome is ideal but its not my favorite part of Italy (too touristy). Are you going early or late October? I think Cinque Terre would be fine, especially early. I’d personally spend some time in Siena or explore other Tuscan hill towns but maybe you feel you’ve covered it on your previous visit. @BeeDAre
We’re going into and out of Rome. It might be a crazy idea, but since we’re renting a car and arriving hideously early, I thought we would stop at Ostia Antica first thing since it is so close to the airport. Then we could swing by the Villa d’Este in Tivoli on our way to a 4 PM check in in Perugia.
Then, I looked online. The Ostia Antica site recommends you spend the whole day there! Not sure I’ll be up for that unless they have napping couches somewhere. And it will be Saturday, so not exactly empty.
We just returned from a bike and boat trip along the Danube. It was a great mix of big cities and small towns. We had great guides in Bratislava, Budapest, and Vienna. 134 bike riding miles in one week, really easy riding.
^^ That sounds like fun. Was this part of a commercial tour?
@doschicos , we’re actually staying the last week of October, going into November, in Rome. It’s why I saved it for the second week, because it’s more south… We’re actually flying home, from Rome (but it’s an award ticket, I may be able to change for a fee, not sure I want to, though).
So I keep reading CT is rainy and stormy that time of year…
A better option might be to head further south toward Naples and Amalfi Coast. I’m really not interested in Naples, it sounds stressful and chaotic, but the AC might be nice, even if it’s early November.
Or - we could do a couple day trips by train from Rome, if we feel we’ve grown tired of it and need to get out… That may be the better option. Idk. [shrugs]
SnLMom, in case you are asking me, it was with Rad & Reisen, and Austrian bike tour company. They had English instructions for all the bike travel and held English and German briefings each day to explain to us what we could expect in each day’s riding. I would not call it luxurious, but that was not our objective. Our objective was to get riding everyday.
Leaving in a month! Going to Vienna Sep 2, returning from Prague Sep 11. Driving between the two.
Me too! Leaving Sept 2 for the Cote d’Azur, France, then Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, returning Sept 14. Whee!
We will be flying to London in October. We plan to take a 2 day side trip from there either in Great Britain or fly somewhere else - just haven’t decided where yet.
We came back after a glorious 2 weeks in Europe. Thoroughly enjoyed visiting all the different Baltic capitals. Was very impressed by the way tours worked in St Petersburg - they are made to handle the huge crowds due to the cruise ships. In the Hermitage and Catherine’s palace - there were several rooms when it was just our group of 15 with the tour guide in the room. Impressive crowd management. Loved Helsinki - we took the ferry out to Soumenlinna Island in the morning and it was just beautiful - there was hardly anyone there when we went. As we were headed back, we saw hordes of people going there! Did a bike tour in Berlin - very very interesting and a great way to cover a large section of the city in a short time.
We lost a day in St. Petersburg. The port authority (or whatever they call themselves) would not allow us or the other 15 (?) cruise ships into port due to excessively high winds. Our 2-day “ultimate” excursion consisted of the evening Swan Lake performance at the Hermitage venue followed by a 3-hour Hermitage Museum tour, lunch, and Peterhof Palace tour the following day. Viking refunded us 40%, even though it wasn’t their fault. They probably just credited a percentage of their refund back to us. I was disappointed that we did not get to see Catherine’s Palace or the (inside) of Savior on Spilled Blood Church.
@BeeDAre We are leaving on the 23rd. Flying in to Venice and renting a car (just there 2 years ago) and driving to
Bologna area. We will walk around Bolgna, have a great meal and bed. Then, on our way out we are stopping to visit a cheese farm near Parm and a Balsamic vinegar place in Modena. We are spending 3 night in the CT. I don’t think I’d go there in late October, but that is up to you. We are skipping Florence this time and staying at an agriturismo outside of San Gimignano. We are driving around small towns in Tuscany. There is so much to see in that area. Emiglia Romano is gorgeous. You are there during or just after harvest season. I’m sure any of those areas would be beautiful to visit. We are finishing up with 4 days in Rome.
I’m going to spend some time with a college buddy in Bolzano in '16, but will also hit Bilbao and Paris, as I did last year. Bilbao is one of my favorite places. Very psyched to experience the Dolomites for the first time.
We had a delightful 2 weeks, one in London and one in Paris., We never left London but wandered the streets and sites for the week. In Paris we did leave the city one day and go to the Normandy Beaches with a small van tour. It was a very nice tour and DH was very moved. There was flooding and rail strikes when we were in Paris so less was open and there was more trouble moving around. We just explored the city, visited what was open, and enjoyed immersion in the city vibe. We did get some refunds for closed events we had pre booked and some alternate excursions we weren’t excited about since the river and museums were closed.
Thanks, @amom2girls . I’ve actually been to a couple places in Tuscany outside Florence and Pisa - San Gimignano and Siena. I have 2 full days in /florence, have been to the main sights, so if we have time, we may try and go out to the countryside/small town again nearby…
I really loved Florence and definitely want to go back.
I’ve decided to stay with my original itinerary and visit CT or Amalfi Coast some other time when weather might be more predictable - i like to always assume I’ll go back to a country/place and see something else. (It also gives me an excuse to keep going back, 
)
I’ve found there are a number of day trips by train or tour bus we can do from Rome, if we get tired of the city; and/or we could explores some less touristy neighborhoods. For instance, I’m intrigued by Aventine that apparently has many medieval churches (I love churches and cathedrals - the architecture, the art! - I really like art “in public” places where it was intended to be seen. Lots of art history/social history evident in the churches of Europe…
@jshain - our tour guide in St Petersburg told us that the week prior to our visit, several ships couldn’t even come in due to the high winds! We had one great day in St Petersburg. The second day started out rainy - especially when we were at Peterhof gardens - but cleared up in the afternoon. Not bad overall…we were glad we didn’t miss any of the sights we wanted to see.
I go to Europe every month once or twice for work. London and Frankfurt and maybe other cities. Last month, ShawWife went with me and after a couple of days in London, we went to Berlin, Leipzig and Paris. Everything was very nice. Stayed in the Waldorf Astoria in Berlin, which was fabulous, and had an outstanding meal in London at a new restaurant called The Frog run by an up-and-coming star chef and and a really good meal in Paris at a restaurant called La Régalade Conservatoire.
Iceland and Denmark. Thankfully, the weather god blessed us and the weather turned out to be gorgeous in both places despite the earlier forecasts for rain. The only time we got caught in the rain was after dinner at a very nice restaurant in Copenhagen. Iceland is beautiful, but I’m still suffering sticker shock at how expensive everything there is. I loved going back to Copenhagen after almost 30 years. Loved seeing Hamlet in Kronborg Castle (Elsinore) where everything came alive in that setting, seeing the beautiful Louisiana Modern Art Museum in Humlebaek on a beautiful clear summer afternoon with the breathtaking view of the Oresund and Sweden across the water, and the biking tour across Copenhagen. Denmark is such a great place to visit for English speakers.
@NoVADad99, this summer alone, three of our friends have gone to Scandinavia (and loved their trips). I’ve never been that tempted-- I always seem to want to go south. But I’m thinking I need to change my mind!
We leave for Cote d’Azur and then Croatia in six days! Whee!
We just got back from Belgium and Denmark. Both are great places for English speakers; very easy to get around and communicate, more so than in larger countries like France and Germany, where, contrary to stereotype, many people do not always speak much English. The cliche, “they all speak English,” is literally true, however, in Denmark. I suppose when there are only 5 million or so who speak your language, you have a huge incentive to learn another. We went to a cute restaurant called Kjobenhavn (http://www.kjobenhavn.dk/) that I highly recommend.
In Bruges this was another restaurant we really liked: Brasserie Raymond (http://www.brasserie-raymond.be/)
I was surprised at how cold we were. 70 F is warm temperature for Northern Europe in the summer. I had to pack what I would consider spring/early fall clothes.