Renting a cello for visit to Pienza

I know this is a bit of a specific question but my husband and I will be in Pienza in early October for a week, and we love the idea of taking one afternoon for a picnic. We will be staying at an Airbnb a few mins outside of the main town of Pienza but will have a car and plan to drive around, visiting all the beautiful little towns, including Corona. I’m wondering if anyone has any favorite picnic locations that you especially love, since options seem to be endless for beautiful spots to pick from. And also, if you have a favorite market we could go to to pick up our snacks and drinks (breads, cheeses, fruits, maybe some dessert - no meat though since we are vegetarians), I would love to hear suggestions!

We are planning again for our revised 40th anniversary trip next September 2022. Like so many, we were canceled last fall 2020. So, Italy 2.0! I know I will have many questions going forward so I appreciate these forums tremendously. Our plan is for 5 nights in Rome, 5 nights near Pienza, 5 nights in the Chianti area, 4 nights Florence and 4 nights in Venice. I am checking what route would be most scenic? Would it be possible to drive through Bagno Vignoni and San Quirico to Pienza? Is Lake Bolsena worth driving to or by? Thank you in advance for your input. Planning is part of the journey!

We have 2 or 3 days for some hilltop towns. Out of these which would be the top 4 or 5 must see?

Cortona

Spello

Civita di bagnoregio

Orvieto

Pienza

San gimignano

Volterra

We don’t want a big town like Siena. From my research they seem to be the top seven in the area unless I missed one and if I did could you please let me know.

The ones I was thinking about seeing are

Cortona

Civitia di bagnoregio

Orvieto

San gimignano

Volterra

We tend to move fast depending on the size of the town. Maybe this is too many for the 2 maybe 3 days?

We just don’t wanna make the mistake of seeing too many towns that are too similar we really want to see different looking towns if that makes sense.

Greetings! Our younger 18 year old son will be studying in Florence for the year, and we'd like to visit him following a work trip to Monaco. I have a two part question.

Traveling with my husband and me will be our 21 year old special needs son. We are open to suggestions from experienced travelers as to our transportation and itinerary.

Our 21 year old is hyper-verbal and has an intellecutal disability along with autism, so visiting very quiet museums, churches, etc is something where his vocalizations may not be welcomed and also where the content isn't something that would interest him. He's sweet as can be but a bit loud.

I was thinking of taking a train to the Italian border and then perhaps renting a car. From reading other forum posts, I *think* there are two towns near the border where there are rental car agencis. That said, in the US where we are from, there is a major shortage of rental cars. I don't know whether that is so in Italy or Europe overall, but it seems like smaller cities might be more impacted than say Rome or Milan, etc.

We would enjoy spending a day or two in the Cinque Terre area. Our older boy enjoys easy hikes, walking along the beach, and perhaps a boat or ferry ride. Other than that area, I am entirely clueless as to what might be lovely spots to visit. I'm betting that there are many, but we again need to take into consideration our 21 year old's disabilities.

The conference in Monaco finishes on Thursday, October 21. Our younger boy will be out on a 10 day break through Sunday evening, October24th, so he can meet us.... somewhere.. for a couple of days, depending upon where he might be traveling with his college classmates. Or we can just meet up with him in Florence where we do plan to spend a few days.

Can you tell we are just at the very start of figuring this out?

Is renting a car and driving to Florence adviseable? Or is rail the way to go? My husband and special needs boy will likely fly back to the US from Florence after several days, but I may meet a gal pal there and extend the trip. Thank you for your patience in reading and for any ideas you may have to assist us. Grazie mille!

Hello Fellow Travelers:

We will be traveling from Lisbon to Salzburg (music festival) on Aug 9 or so and we are looking to take a scenic ride through the Alps. Firstly, is summer a good time to do this?

Secondly, is Glacier Express or Bernina Express a better choice? it seems that for each we would fly Lisbon > Milan, then train to the starting point for one or the other, then from the end point to Salzburg.

Alternatively we could do either one on the way back after the music festival.

We are newly living in Europe and hope to explore much more of this fine continent in the future.

Thank you in advance.

Bill & Emily

I’m considering a week in Sicily in August. I’m a 34 year old single female traveler and would like to stay in one place the entire time as I’ll have to be working some during the day - I’ll be staying in an Airbnb. I love the ocean and love being by the coast, would like somewhere walkable and not too remote, and somewhere with enough restaurants, cafes, and people to keep me entertained for a week. Any suggestions are appreciated!

We are thinking about going to the Ravello Music Festival--see the concert on Sat. Aug 21. However, given the roads I am a bit worried driving back from the Festival to our hotel in Sorrento, probably at 10 pm or later on Saturday night. I haven't booked the music festival tickets because I would love your advice. The hotel is non-refundable (yes, I am regretting that already!) and too much to not use.

Hi,

When is it going to take place this year (2021)?

Hello again!

Could anyone please recommend a good base and ideally(!) a recommended accommodation option/and town for seeing the Val d Orcia region over 4 days?

Montepulciano and Pienza seem like good options, but I am open to suggestions

Somewhere in the region of roughly 50-70 Euros ideally. Just need a good base with access to restaurants etc. Running out of time to research options, so any advice welcome!

Many thanks

Hi! I'm planning on doing a long holiday in Italy from the end of September until November. I will be doing most of my transport via public transport, but biking/hiking or renting a car every now and then might be an option too.

What I'm currently thinking about:

- Enter sicily by train, hop off on the east coast. Visit Taormina, Catania, Siracusa, and possibly Ragusa as main sites. 5 days?

- Take the ferry from either Pozzallo or Augusta to Malta

- Spend about a week on Malta

- Take the ferry back, see (possibly Ragusa here) Valle dei Templi, and the north and west of sicily. About 10 days?

- Take the ferry from Palermo to Cagliari

- Spend about two weeks on Sardinia (not sure what places yet)

- take the ferry from Porto Torres to Barcelona

Is this a feasibily itinerary? The suggested staying times for these places seem to be all over the place (e.g. 5 days enough for Sicily, two weeks in Malta) so I'm wondering if I'm taking it easy enough or if I could include Amalfi for example. Is two weeks in Sicily enough if I go by public transport? I want to see the main sites and take some relaxed days off too. I don't need to spend days in every town exploring every alley.

I plan on staying in hostels and cheap hotel rooms mostly. I can also bring camping gear but I'm not entirely sure if it's worth it as I think a lot of campings will already be closed in October. I don't particularly have a set budget but I prefer to spend my cash on good food and perhaps some guides. I don't have a need for luxury hotels or driving a car everywhere.