Italy
Trip Report May/June 2002
In Caesar's Footsteps
Amalfi Coast, Todi, Roma
In Caesar's Footsteps
Amalfi Coast, Todi, Roma
Itinerary
May 27 - Toronto to Roma
4 nights - Conca dei Marini (Amalfi Coast) - side trips to Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Pompeii
4 nights - Todi (lower Umbria) - side trips to Montalcino, Deruta, Carsulae
3 nights - Roma
June 7 - Roma to Toronto
Resources
Fodor's Talk Forums & the Internet in General
Umbria: Bill Thayer's Excellent Website
This trip was planned up to a year in advance using Aeroplan miles. Since Italy is steeped in so much history and to 'see' it is so daunting, my first temptation was do what everybody else seems to do - go to the big 3 - Venice, Firenze (Florence) and Roma. And then one day, I asked my Italian barber what the most beautiful place in Italy was. His response: the Amalfi Coast. After I did a little research it was definitely on the list. I came to the conclusion that Venice and Firenze were best left for a future northern Italian trip. Ditto Sicily for a southern swing. Since we like to travel outside of the major tour bus pathways as often as possible, Umbria got the nod rather than the ever-so-popular Tuscany. A base of Todi was chosen because it seemed big enough and small enough for our purposes. Many on Fodor's and other forums go on and on about Sorrento as the ideal base near the Amalfi Coast, but the thought of all of those North Americans packing the place made me choose a spot on the actual Amalfi coast itself rather than on that 'wrong side' of the mountain. Haha. And we liked all of our 'different' choices . . . but read on . . .
May 27 - Toronto to Roma
4 nights - Conca dei Marini (Amalfi Coast) - side trips to Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Pompeii
4 nights - Todi (lower Umbria) - side trips to Montalcino, Deruta, Carsulae
3 nights - Roma
June 7 - Roma to Toronto
Resources
Fodor's Talk Forums & the Internet in General
Umbria: Bill Thayer's Excellent Website
This trip was planned up to a year in advance using Aeroplan miles. Since Italy is steeped in so much history and to 'see' it is so daunting, my first temptation was do what everybody else seems to do - go to the big 3 - Venice, Firenze (Florence) and Roma. And then one day, I asked my Italian barber what the most beautiful place in Italy was. His response: the Amalfi Coast. After I did a little research it was definitely on the list. I came to the conclusion that Venice and Firenze were best left for a future northern Italian trip. Ditto Sicily for a southern swing. Since we like to travel outside of the major tour bus pathways as often as possible, Umbria got the nod rather than the ever-so-popular Tuscany. A base of Todi was chosen because it seemed big enough and small enough for our purposes. Many on Fodor's and other forums go on and on about Sorrento as the ideal base near the Amalfi Coast, but the thought of all of those North Americans packing the place made me choose a spot on the actual Amalfi coast itself rather than on that 'wrong side' of the mountain. Haha. And we liked all of our 'different' choices . . . but read on . . .