Ciao Italia - Central Italy (Assisi, Sorrento, Capri, and Rome)

We last left off with a couple of days spent wandering the magical canals of Venice. While an absolute must-see on any Italian tour, it is a pretty out of the way city in relation to the rest of the country. We could have back tracked in order to get back to Rome, but instead, we decided to drive through a bit of central Italy to get to our next destination: Sorrento. We knew we would lose the entire day to driving because Venice to Sorrento was a solid 8 hours. To break up the drive a little bit, we stopped about halfway through in the town of Assisi. Assisi is a great pit stop. It is an old town built on the top of a mountain and (like Lucca in Tuscany) is still surrounded by its original city walls. We braved the narrow and windy roads up the mountain, found a car park, and enjoyed a nice stroll through the town. We walked about a mile to the Basilica of St. Fancis and took a quick self-guided tour using their audio guide system. Before too long, we were back on our way south.

St. Francis Basilica in Assisi

Italian highways are a little unique. Unlike toll roads in the U.S. where you get on a toll road, collect a ticket or swipe your EZ pass, and then pay the toll when you exit the toll road, Italian toll roads are different. You collect a ticket when you enter the toll road, but there are several toll roads that connect to one another, so you can change roads several times before you actually end up paying a toll. When you finally come to the pay toll booth don't be surprised if you find yourself with a 20 Euro charge. This is where it came in handy to be traveling with another couple because in addition to sharing the cost of the rental car, we also alternated who paid the tolls. Also along the toll roads are rest stops called "Auto Grills". These were great for fuel and food during our 8-hour drive. 

As we got closer to the Naples/Sorrento area, the landscape greatly changed. We were approaching the coastal region. We opted to stay in Sorrento as opposed to Naples for several reasons. This was the first Europe trip that I planned on my own. While I still consider myself a timid traveler, I was terrified while planning this trip. I read travel books cautioning us against pickpockets and scamming gypsies. Most cities seemed relatively safe until I got to the section about Naples. It received overall praise for the things to do and diversity of culture, but got low marks for safety. Our main reason for visiting this region of the country was to see the Isle of Capri and the ruins of Pompeii, so when we read that Sorrento was the "resort" option for that region, we opted for that instead. I'll never forget driving on the highway above Naples on our way to Sorrento. Compared to everything else we'd seen in the country, Naples looked like the slums of the earth. Now looking back, I'm sure I've been to worse places and my fear of Naples seems very naive. At the same time, we had a marvelous time in Sorrento, so I don't regret our decision. 

We had a little trouble getting into Sorrento. Driving along the coastal roads was terrifying especially in the dark. We had previously decided not the drive the Amalfi Coast due do road safety (windy, narrow roads often without guardrails), and our scary drive into Sorrento reaffirmed our decision. I think driving at night had a lot to do with it because when we drove those same roads in the daylight 2 days later, they didn't seem nearly as bad. Also beware of motorbikes. They completely ignore all traffic laws and can be really scary road-sharing neighbors. As we approached the center of Sorrento, for some reason, one of the main roads in town was closed the evening we arrived. We had a terrible time trying to locate our hotel. The GPS failed us (not recognizing the hotel name) and we drove around the town for what felt like forever until we finally came upon the Majestic Palace Hotel.The hotel itself was lovely though our guest rooms were in the basement. Of all the hotels we stayed in, I'd say this was my least favorite, but it was still cool, clean and completely adequate. 

As I mentioned before, we didn't actually plan on doing anything in Sorrento itself. Sorrento had an easy access point to get to the Isle of Capri. For anyone wishing to spend a week on an absolutely magical Italian island, I couldn't recommend Capri more. To get to Capri from Sorrento, you have to take a hydrofoil across the water. Our first destination once arriving at Capri was the famous Blue Grotto. Not only is this one of the most beautiful natural wonders that I've ever seen, the adventure of getting there is half the fun. It's worth mentioning quickly that August in the month when Italians go on holiday. That's why Milan was a ghost town. Where do all of these Italians go on their holiday? They go to Sorrento. We knew this ahead of time from the research that we did. We also learned that the Blue Grotto is one of the busiest attractions, so our goal was to get there as early as possible. Remember me saying a few posts ago, that you can sleep when you get home? That's right friends. Sleep later (or get to bed early the night before which is what we always did).

By getting up early on your day in Capri, you maximize your ability to do and see things without waiting for hours. The Blue Grotto gets very crowded and if you wait until later in the day to go, you can run into 2 problems. You might have to wait for hours until it's your turn to go or the waters will get rough and they'll close the grotto for the day. Not wanting to take any chances, we got up very very early that morning. We took the very first hydrofoil across to the "big" island of Capri, caught the very first boat out the Blue Grotto, and the adventure began. When the main boat arrived at the entrance of the grotto, a bunch of small row boats surrounded us. They began calling out for parties of 2 or 3. We held up 4 fingers indicating that we needed someone who could take 4 people. Before too long, one of the drivers motioned us over, and we boarded a small row boat. But instead of sitting on the wooden seats of the boat, we sat on the floor of the boat with our legs in front of us. The next person sat in between my legs with their legs in front of them, etc. etc. Then the boat's "captain" explained to us that when we got to the entrance of the grotto we would have to lean back as far as we could. The driver then grabbed a piece of rope outside the entrance to the grotto, told us to lay down, and he pulled us through the tiniest opening in the cave. That's all I'm going to say about that. It was a fun and exciting thing to do and the magnificent wonder you behold inside the grotto is unparalleled by anything I've ever seen.

Laying down to enter the Blue Grotto

After exiting the grotto (the same way you entered) you have 2 options: take the same boat back to the main island, or have the driver drop you off at the "ladder" so you can catch a local bus into town. Our next stop was the smaller island of Ana Capri, so we opted for the ladder. The bus took us into town where we located the chair lift up to the top of the mountain. (Think really really long ski lift). The chair lift was about 15-20 mins long and gave you an incredible view of the entire island. You saw local homes, lemon trees, beautiful gardens, and when you arrived at the top, the water views were stunning. There is also a noticeable temperature change though since you spend most of the day in the island heat, I don't recommend bringing a jacket for the 30 mins you spend at the summit of the mountain. Just tough out the cold. You'll miss it soon enough when you're back in the heat.

View from the top of the mountain in Ana Capri

Since we got up so early that morning, we did the grotto and chair lift all before lunch. We spent the rest of the day walking around the island shopping before heading back to Sorrento. In the evening, we walked around town for a while, got a quick dinner and turned in early. (In case this wasn't already painfully obvious, I'm not the blogger to ask for advice on good nightlife.) The next morning, we checked out of the Majestic Palace Hotel, and drove to the ruins of Pompeii.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to see Pompeii. When reading about it in the travel books we learned about a few different options to maximize our day there. The Pompeii complex is huge. Beyond huge. We could venture out and explore the ruins on our own, join an official tour, or seek out an "unofficial" tour. We heard that at famous sites like Pompeii there would often be free lance guides who would offer to give you a tour for a discounted rate. Leery of scams we weren't eager to embrace this sort of thing until the we came across a guide who made us an offer we couldn't refuse. First, we didn't give him any money until he gave us our entrance ticket. And second, we didn't pay for the tour, until after it was over. So that being said, we realized he had no reason to scam us out of a good tour because if he vanished, he didn't get paid. Boy were we glad we did this. It was only a 1 or 2 hours, but it covered all of the highlights of the city, explaining what archeologist's found and what certain buildings were used for. Sure, we could have learned this on our own, but it was much nicer having a guide. After the tour, we spent a few more hours wandering the streets before calling it a day. (TIP: wear sunscreen. After so many days of wearing short sleeves, I wore a tank top to Pompeii because we weren't going in any churches. The scorching August Italian sun combined with very little shade left me with very red shoulders.) 

Before driving to Rome, we had one more stop to make. After seeing the devastation that the eruption  of Mt. Vesuvius caused at Pompeii, we wanted to come face to face with the mouth of the volcano ourselves. Crazy? Probably! :) So, we drove up to the Vesuvius visitor center (which was another one of those narrow roads and windy drives...there are a lot of those in Italy, but don't let that deter you!) parked our car, and....it started raining. We went from a hot, burning morning at Pompeii to a chilly, rainy afternoon up the side of a volcano. One of my souvenirs from the trip ended up being a fleece jacket that I bought at the visitor center. Our traveling companions also fortunately packed little plastic ponchos which really came in handy. What? You think we would let a little rain scare us. Heck no! How many times to get to hike up the side of an infamous volcano?? True the clouds and rain made the views from crater of the volcano not so great, but looking down into the crater of Vesuvius was worth ever step in the rain. And looking back, it's such a fun memory. 

From the Vesuvius, we drove back to the Rome airport, turned in our car and looked for a ride to our hotel in downtown Roma. This is where it was important for us to remember that there is a flat rate taxi fare from the Rome airport into downtown. At the time the rate was around 45 Euros (it was a pretty long drive). There are drivers all over the place trying to charge tourists more. One driver even approached us, grabbed my bag saying that he could take all four of us into town for a "very low price." He had my bags in the trunk of his car before he would finally tell us that he would drive us for the "bargain" price of 100 euros. The other gentleman in our group sprang into action, immediately grabbing my bags, forcefully saying no, and we were back on our way to the taxi stand. The driver didn't pursue us or anything like that. It was a slightly unsettling thing especially for me, but we weren't harmed or cheated out of any money. If that happens to you, just don't be afraid to ask how much and say no if you don't feel comfortable.

Our hotel in Rome was called the Hotel Artemide which was right downtown. I don't remember too much about this hotel other than it met all of our hotel criteria and the location was very convenient to the Rome metro which took us everywhere we wanted to go. 

The last two days of our Italian getaway were spent in the capital city of Roma. Some might say that we saved the best for last, and Rome was great, but for us, Rome was just the icing on an already delicious cake. The only glitch in our plan of leaving Rome for last was that it left us in the city on a Saturday and Sunday. The Vatican is closed to tourists on Sundays, and is only open until 11AM on Saturdays (at least this was the case in 2007), so that left us with a very small window in which to see Vatican City including the Sistine Chapel. So in order to see the world's smallest country (Vatican City), we got up (surprise surprise) early so that we were able to get in line to get tickets before it opened. (In Rome, like Venice, we also did the Rome Pass but it did not include the Vatican.) Unfortunately, we weren't the only tourists with such a brilliant plan and by the time we arrived, there was already a huge line that wrapped all the way around the outer walls of Vatican City.

Our hope for even getting in was slim until we saw a gentleman walking around offering English tours. We stopped him to ask him what his 'deal' was, and he made us a very similar offer to our guide in Pompeii. We pay for nothing until he hands us tickets. What did we have to lose? This ended up working out to our advantage because entry to the Vatican is done in 3 waves: official groups (schools, etc.), unofficial groups/large parties (like our unofficial group), and individual tickets. By joining up with this tour guide we were able to bypass the huge line and get into the Vatican before all of the individual tourists. The guide was also able to get a walkie talkie system from the visitor center, so he spoke into a device that fed directly into the headsets we were all wearing. It was a great way to hear him over all of the other tour guides talking. What was supposed to be a 2 hour tour ended up lasting almost 4 hours, but we have absolutely no complaints. Our guide was excellent, and after the tour was over, he disappeared so quickly we didn't even have time to tip him. The tour ended at St. Peter's Basilica right around lunch time. We spent the rest of the day seeing typical Roman sites like the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain while walking around the city in general. Rome is a lovely city and it was a great way to spend our second to last day.

Our very last day in Rome was spent seeing some of the most famous places in all of Italy including the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. But we started the morning taking a bus out to the Roman Catacombs. The bus depot is easily accessible from the metro, and we found the bus we needed to see the Catacombs. The bus drove along the Via Appia Antica which is an ancient Roman route that still exists today. The Catacombs, while a little creepy, were really interesting and didn't take too much time. If you have a free morning, I highly recommend making the trek out to see them.

Our next stop after the Catacombs was...finally...the Roman Colosseum. This, like the Vatican, had a line wrapped all the way around the entire structure. This is where our Rome Pass saved the day. From the outside, it looked like there were 2 lines: one for groups and one for singles. We weren't too sure what to do (we read online that the Rome Pass allowed you to bypass the line), so we sort of stood at the end of the group line with our Rome Passes in our hands. A very kind tour guide happened to see us and said something to the effect of, "No no. You no wait in line. Go to front. Go! Go!" Not wanting to seem rude, we gladly followed the guide's advice and casually walked all the way to the front of the line where we saw a separate security entrance for Rome Pass holders. There was no line at all, and we walked right in. We would have stood in line for hours easily if we hadn't encountered that person. The Colosseum is simply amazing. I love that the stage floor is gone and you can see the tunnels and routes below the arena. Although the Colosseum is fantastic and an absolute must-see, it's not terribly time consuming. An hour is more than enough time to see what you came there to see. We spent the afternoon at the Roman Forum which, contrary to the Colosseum, can take hours to see. But the afternoon was hot, and we were suffering from severe vacation fatigue, so we didn't spent nearly as much time there as we could have. We made an effort to go to Palatine Hill (ancient ruined homed of former Roman rulers), but we didn't make it much past the entrance. We were happy to find shade and relax a bit on our last day of vacation.

We asked the hotel to arrange for a taxi for us the next morning and pretty soon we were on our way back to the states. This first trip abroad under my belt, I immediately made notes of the things that went well and the very few things that went wrong. I knew the lessons we learned in Italy would help make all of our future trips go smoothly. Now 7 years and 7 countries later, that couldn't be more true.

I hope you've enjoyed the summary of my Italian travels. Coming up next will be the highlights from my 2009 trip to France and England. 

Thanks for reading!

- Foxy the Traveler

Ciao Italia - The North (Milan, Verona, Venice)

From the quaint Tuscan village of Lucca, we drove due north to the fashion capital of the world: Milan. Before we left for the trip, we read in travel books that August is when Italy generally shuts down while the citizens go away on holiday. We knew this wouldn't affect big tourist sites, but we wondered if we would ever encounter closed shops or restaurants. Florence didn't seem to close down in August, but Milan was another story.

The main reason we stopped in Milan was to see Leonardo DiVinci's famous "Last Supper". We also saw the magnificent Milan Duomo, the Galleria, and the Castle Sforza. We chose to stay at the Hotel Capitol Milano which was within easy walking distance to the building the houses the "Last Supper" but wasn't nearby too much else. The hotel was right downtown, and I mean RIGHT DOWNTOWN. Driving the narrow, confusing, one way streets was very scary and the GPS made all the difference in the world. Very few Milan hotels offered parking, so we were thrilled to find one that met all of our qualifications (4-star, free breakfast, a/c) and also had parking. Let's be clear about something, however. Just because a hotel advertises parking, doesn't always mean they have AMPLE parking or even convenient parking. The Hotel Capitol Milano had 3 teeny tiny parking spaces in their garage below the hotel. You were responsible for parking your car, but then you had to surrender your keys to the front desk because by parking your car in the first space, you blocked the other 2 cars. I don't even want to think about how many times our car was moved around in the 2 days we stayed in this city.

We arrived in the evening, had one full day in Milan, and then left early the following day. Our day in Milan was packed full starting with a bit of a hike to the Milan Duomo. After starting in Florence, I didn't think anything could top the awesome Florence Duomo. Overall, I liked Florence much better than Milan (Milan is much more of a modern, cosmopolitan city where Florence is a time capsule of Tuscan Italian charm), but the Milan Duomo is an amazing sight. If you like gothic architecture, it's an absolute must see. Unfortunately, our "downtown" hotel was a good 45-60 min walk from the Duomo. Not wanting to drive again, we took advantage of a cool August morning and walked off our breakfast. After seeing the Duomo and walking around on the roof, we walked through the luxurious shops of the Galleria twisting our heels in the "jewels" of the bull for good luck (and we weren't the only ones). From there we stopped for a quick visit to the Leonardo DiVinci science museum (very few signs in English and not air conditioned - TOO hot in August) before we went back to our hotel for a short afternoon break. When we were out in the morning, it didn't phase us how empty the streets were because it was on or before 8AM. Walking back to the hotel, however, it was closer to 1PM, and the streets were still empty. It was then that we realized what people meant when they said some places shut down in August. The city streets of Milan were completely deserted. Shops and cafes were closed and there was no one around but us. The biggest problem this presented to us was that there was no where for us to eat lunch. Where did we eat? McDonalds. So disappointing to waste one of our Italian meals at McDonalds, but we didn't have much of a choice. Lunch in Italy is from 11-1, and if you miss those hours, you're stuck with whatever is open. Sadly, we waited until 2 for lunch (because our breakfast at the hotel was so filling), and we couldn't find anything else.

Twist your heel for good luck!

To see the "Last Supper" you have to pre-buy timed tickets. They only allow a very small number (I want to say 8 or 10) into the viewing room of the "Last Supper" at one time. We stalked the website because you could only order them a month in advance and they sold out very quickly. They weren't expensive, but same-day tickets were not an option. When our time came, we went through 2 security lock doors before entering the room where the fresco is stored. I knew so little about Italian art before getting there, so I admittedly expecting to see a framed piece of artwork (insert justified laughter here). When I entered the room, turned to the right, and saw the fresco splashed across the entire wall, I was awestruck! Also in the room is another picture that you can see, and since you're there for 20 mins, you have a good opportunity to view both. (Of course I forget what the other one is.) That activity concluded our day in Milano. We also went to see the Castle Sforza, but I honestly don't remember anything about it but the garden in the center. I'm not saying it's something to skip, but it didn't leave a lasting impression. And it's a lonnngggg walk to get there.

Our next big Italian destination after Milan was Venice. It's a pretty straight forward 4 hour drive from Milan to Venice, but instead of driving that all in one day, we decided to take a pit stop to the Italian speaking Swiss town of Lugano. This beautiful lake town is a favorite vacation spot of celebrities, but we hit a double negative on this one. It wasn't very bustling in August, and we were there on a Sunday. That didn't stop us from dining and shopping but we didn't spend more than a few hours there. So much for our big venture into Switzerland.

Instead of continuing onward to Venice immediately, we made a pit stop in the city of Verona, the setting of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Verona really played up the idea of being the setting of a famous play, so there were all sorts of tourist traps like Juliette's balcony (maybe they were trying to trick tourists into believing that Juliet was a real person?). The true gem of Verona, however, is their Roman amphitheater. Second only in size to the Colosseum, the condition of this facility is still goo enough to be used. We got tickets to see a concert version of the opera Aida though we left part-way through because our tushies hurt from sitting on ancient Roman stone seats. (Side note: the decision to see Aida was not previously planned. We got tickets from the box office just a few hours before the evening show. There were "orchestra seats" available, but we opted for "stadium" seats which were on the upper tiers of the amphitheater. It was an awesome experience.

Amphitheater in Verona before Aida

Our hotel: Hotel Leopardi was one of our favorites from the whole trip. The rooms were the largest and the price was the lowest. We didn't know this at the time, of course, but we would go from the cheapest/largest hotel room to the most expensive and smallest hotel room upon our arrival in Venice.

The city of Venice is another world. You can't drive a car into Venice, so we arranged to park our car for the duration of our stay in a large parking garage outside the city, and walked into town carrying our bags (another reason to pack light). Venice is an easy walking city, but there are water buses and water taxis that make transport very easy. We were in Venice for 2 full days, and to help us get around easier, we purchased the Venice Card/Pass which included many popular tourist attractions and also unlimited use of the water buses. If you're going to be in Venice for any significant amount of time (i.e. 2 days or more) I strongly recommend the Venice tourist pass. They were a little difficult to pick up when we first got there, and we waited in line for what seemed like forever, but before too long we had them in our hands and made our way to the Hotel Carlton on the Grand Canal.

Venice hotels are expensive! We had a pretty difficult time finding one that met all of our criteria and still fell under $200/night. The Hotel Carlton was around $195/night (before taxes) but it had everything we wanted including a great location on the grand canal. Our rooms were super small especially compared to the Hotel Leopardi in Verona, but otherwise it was a lovely hotel.

During our visit to Venice we saw St. Mark's Square (and clock tower), St. Mark's basilica, the Doge's palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and Murano and Burano islands. We did not take a gondola ride. Some people say you can't go to Venice and not take a gondola ride, but in my opinion they've become an over priced tourist trap. You can see the gondolas all over the place. Admire them without wasting your precious pennies. St. Mark's square and basilica, on the other hand, are really incredible. Unlike the Milan Duomo where the structure is a true reflection of gothic architecture, the basilica in St. Mark's square is classic byzantine architecture. We waited in line for a long time to go into St. Mark's basilica (probably an hour), so just a heads up for you there to plan extra time there for that.

I don't think I mentioned this before, but in order to enter Italian churches, all patrons must have their shoulders and knees covered. Some places give you smocks if you're not dressed appropriately, but other places simply turn you away. Make sure to dress accordingly. The men in our group wore pants on the days we went to any churches and the ladies wore short sleeves and skirts that hit below the knee. On that day we stood in line to enter St. Mark's basilica, we were all cursing the dress code. We stood baking in the August sun while waiting in line, but it was well worth it. The inside is beautiful and we paid a few euros extra to see the crypt and treasury.

The Doge's palace was a big disappointment for me. The history behind the Doge was interesting enough, but the entire palace...is empty. You walk from room to room to room reading plaques about how this was the room where the people waited before they were received by the Doge, and then you saw the room where the Doge received people, but they were just big empty rooms. Every now and then there would be a chair or bench symbolic of the type of furniture that would have been there, but fires had nearly destroyed the palace years ago, and few furnishings remain. If there is anything you have to skip, I would say to skip this. It's on the Venice pass though, so if you have the time, and want to see what I'm talking about, feel free. You do get a good view of the Bridge of Sighs from it.

Murano and Burano Islands are neat and easily accessible on the water bus. There isn't much to do on Burano island except for drinking in the beautifully colored homes. The houses along the canal are painted in bright colors and it was very pleasant to stroll down the street while shopping. Murano Island is famous for producing Murano glass. (Have you ever seen those pretty glass beads on a Pandora bracelet? They're all made on this island.) While we were there, we saw a glass blowing demonstration and did some shopping. Murano glass comes in all shapes and sizes. You can buy an 8 Euro necklace or an 800 Euro vase. How big is your souvenir budget?? :)

Burano Island

Whatever you plan on doing in Venice, be sure to save time for shopping. As I mentioned before, Venice is a different world. It's not like any city you've ever seen before. It's more of an amusement park than a city. The shops are great with their glassware and Venetian masks. You can feed the pigeons (yes pigeons) in St. Mark's square or climb the clock tower for a great view. It's a magical place and definitely worth a visit.

Our stay in Venice concluded our trip to the North of Italy. The next day we set out for the seaside town of Sorrento. Click on my next post which hits the highlights of Sorrento, Capri, and Roma!!

Thanks for reading!

- Foxy the Traveler

Ciao Italia - Tuscany (Florence, Pisa, Lucca)

For our one year wedding anniversary, my husband and I planned a trip with another couple to Italy. Having never been to mainland Europe (and being 25% Italian), I was beyond stoked for my first European adventure. I love history and architecture, and even after seeing so many other countries, Italy still remains one of my very favorites.

It was while planning for Italy where I first developed by $200/night hotel maximum and my 4-star minimum. At the time, I recall reading somewhere that Italian hotel rooms were generally small and hot. Since we were traveling in August, air conditioning wasn't something we were willing to forgo. We insisted that all of our hotels have a/c with individual controls in the rooms, a breakfast buffet included in the rate, parking available, and a price under $200/night. We stayed in 6 different hotels during our 2 weeks in Italy, and they were all fantastic. As I go through each city, I'll be sure to give them each a shout out.

We flew a perfectly comfortable U.S. Airways flight to Rome. We left in the evening, ate dinner on the plane, and then flew "all night" before arriving in Italia early the next morning. If you're unable to sleep on a plane (I strongly encourage tylenol PM, Unisom or something stronger as necessary so you can at least sleep for a few hours), this first day will be rough because you'll be very tired. Fight the fatigue! The trick to beating jet lag is forcing yourself to stay awake that first day and not plan anything too strenuous. Our goal for the day was to get Euros from the ATM, get our rental car, drive to and tour Pisa, and find our Florence hotel.

I mentioned before that we prefer to not check luggage. In Rome, we each had a small checked bag, and we waited about 2 hours for them after our flight landed. The airport terminal was a mad house and no one could confirm with absolute certainty on which carousel our bags would arrived. Later on that trip we saw on the news that the airport union workers went on strike the morning we arrived causing a major baggage crisis. We suddenly felt very lucky that we "only" had to wait for 2 hours.

After waiting for our bags for 2 hours, we then proceeded to spend the next hour searching for the Enterprise car rental counter. The Rome airport has a main car rental terminal, so naturally we went there first. After failing to find Enterprise, we started asking for help to find it. We literally walked from one end of the airport to the other and back again before we realized that Enterprise outsources their rental cars to a smaller Italian company. When we finally found that smaller company, they didn't have the car we reserved or anything close to the car we needed. Since my husband and the other husband from our party would be sharing the driving, we needed an automatic transmission. Frustrated from losing our first 3 hours of vacation to annoyances and not wanting to waste anymore time, we bit the bullet and decided to use our back up car reservation even though it was a couple hundred $$ more expensive. We arrived at the Hertz counter, got the car we reserved immediately and were on our way before too long in a very nice Mercedes sedan. (Now before you get the wrong idea, you need to understand that most European cars are standard, and that it's only the luxury car makers who offer automatic transmissions for rental cars. We didn't specifically request a luxury brand or in any way could afford to buy a luxury brand in real life, but oftentimes, that's what you get when you rent a car abroad. I don't remember having anything fancy in France or England, but in Ireland we had a BMW, and in Germany we had a Volvo.) I also mentioned this in a previous post, but if you're driving anywhere, you desperately need some sort of GPS device. Smart phones weren't what they are today in 2007, so we had a Garmin helping us with where we were going. Getting out of the Rome airport complex was our biggest challenge, but pretty soon we were on a regular looking highway headed north to Tuscany.

No trip to Italy is complete without a visit to Tuscany. This beautiful, scenic region was certainly one of the highlights of my trip, and somewhere I would most certainly visit again (after I've been everywhere else first, of course). After about 2-3 hours of driving, we arrived in Pisa, home of the famous leaning tower. In order to climb the leaning tower, you need to get tickets in advance for a specific time of day. We did a multi-entry pass which allowed us into the Duomo, Baptistry, and tower that are all right on the same patch of grass. We got our first Italian lunch (pizza) from a little eatery down a side street. We spent a couple of hours touring the Duomo, Baptistry, and climbing the tower. Even if you're not a fan of heights or don't think you necessarily need to see the view from the top of the leaning tower, I encourage you to try it. It's one thing to stand near the tower and get your obligatory photo of you trying to keep it from falling or pushing it over, but climbing the tower really gives you a sense of just how much it leans.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

From Pisa, we drove about another hour to our lovely hotel in Tuscany, The Relais Certosa

We chose this hotel because it not only had all of the aforementioned requirements but also because it offered complementary shuttle service into Florence. Florence has very strict driving laws; only locals, taxis, or other cars with special markings are allowed into the city. A regular rental car from Rome...is not. So we decided to look for a hotel outside of Florence with a convenient way to get in. When we checked in, we inquired about available shuttle times to get into Florence in the morning. The hotel staff informed us that the shuttle was already full for the morning. We were very unhappy about this and explained to the staff that the only reason we chose that hotel was because of the shuttle. They agreed to start the shuttle at 8AM instead of 9AM, so we were able to use it. (2 thumbs up for customer service!) Our first morning in Florence we enjoyed a hearty breakfast of eggs, deli meats, and fruit before starting our first official day in the city that sparked the Italian Renaissance.

Once you're in Florence, you can walk everywhere you want to go. Be prepared for a lot of walking, but the city is beautiful and walking it was so enjoyable. The first thing on our "clip board o' fun" (for you Full House fans) was to see the famous statue of David in the Accademia Gallery. You can get timed tickets in advance, online, which is what we did. Our tickets were for 10AM. Unfortunately, we were there over an hour early since we took the earlier shuttle. Lucky for us, it wasn't a busy day at the Accademia. We acted like we didn't have timed passes, and the lady at the ticket office gave us new tickets for immediate entry.

After touring the Accademia Gallery, we made our way to the Florence Duomo. Up until this point, I'd only ever seen castles in Scotland and Ireland. As incredible as those were, I had no idea what I was about to see when we came up to the Florence Duomo. Few things I've seen since then have been as incredible as that moment when you turn the street corner and see the duomo before you in all it's glory. Even pictures don't do it justice because they don't give you a good representation of its sheer size. This amazing church was build in the 1400s. We joined an English tour, and saw the crypt and the treasury though we decided not to climb the steps to the top of the dome. (We were a little sore from climbing the stairs of Pisa and wanted to pace ourselves). From the Duomo we went to the Santa Croce church. Unlike the Duomo with very few tombs in it, the Santa Croce church was full of them. The entire floor was covered in old tombs (actually very sad given how worn they were from tourists' feet), and famous funerary monuments like Galileo and Michelangelo were on the sides.

Funerary Monument of Michelangelo

We spent the afternoon shopping on the bridge shops, and I got an awesome leather coat that I still wear 7.5 years later. We then met back up with our shuttle at our agree upon location and called it a day. The next day, the other couple traveling with us wanted to sleep in a bit to recover some more from their jet lag. My husband and I again took an early shuttle back into Florence to see the Uffizi art gallery. Tickets for Uffizi were a little weird. I don't recall if we couldn't get them in advance or if we just decided not to, but once we got there, we decided that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see one of the most famous art galleries in the world (even though we're not huge art lovers).

The next morning, we got in line about an hour or so before the galleries opened (along with lots of other tourists) for same-day tickets. We spent about 2 hours looking at room after room of religious art. Unless you're a huge art lover, you can skip this place. We went back to our agreed upon shuttle pick-up location, and waited...and waited...and waited. No shuttle. No shuttle?! Now what? We read in travel books before getting there that it was technically illegal to hail a taxi from the street and that you had to go to a taxi stand. The only chance you had of getting taxi outside of a taxi stand was catching one right as another passenger was getting out. We were meeting the other couple at the hotel to check out and leave for Milan, so we didn't want to be late. After waiting longer than we should have, we started heading toward where we thought we could find a taxi stand. As luck would have it, we came upon a passenger leaving a taxi cab, and we grabbed it immediately. The driver spoke great English and new exactly where our hotel was located. (Gained some local notoriety by hosting the Italian soccer team during the World Cup or some other big soccer game a year or two prior.) As soon as we got back to the hotel, the front desk explained that their driver had an emergency and couldn't pick us up. The hotel even tried calling the boutique by where we were standing to tell us to take a taxi, but we had already left by that point. They graciously reimbursed us our cab fare while profusely apologizing.

From our quaint Tuscan hotel, we were headed for downtown Milan, but not without first stopping in a small town called Lucca. If you want a true taste of Tuscany with less of a city feel than Florence, I strongly encourage taking a short detour to Lucca. This town is still surrounded by it's original city walls, with very little street traffic. We only spent the afternoon here and saw some local sites like a beautiful old church, and a religious icon they dubbed "sleeping beauty." But just walking around the streets and enjoying some Italian gelato was enough. Before too long we were back on the highway viewing the rows and rows of grapevines and olives as we drove north.

Lucca Duomo

Remember how I said to bring a GPS?? We were never happier to have it giving us turn by turn directions then when we took on the daring feat of driving in downtown Milan. Click on my next post which talks about Milan, Lugano (Switzerland), Verona, and Venice. Until then my timid travelers...

Thanks for reading!

- Foxy the Traveler

To Drive or Not to Drive...?

Your mode of transportation on foreign travel is one of the first decisions you should make when planning a trip. If I'm planning a domestic trip, I don't even hesitate to rent a car unless I know I'm going to be in NYC for the entire time. Even in San Francisco, we drove all over the place. In a foreign country the idea of driving can be terrifying. If you're a city dweller and plan on staying put in one city and one hotel the entire time, I wouldn't even consider renting a car. If you are traveling from city to city with no plans of exploring beyond that, you might be able to get away with reliable trains. If you have any intention of traveling outside the city, however, renting a car is the best way to go. But I don't speak Italian or German or French! Neither do I!

All European countries use the same alphabet that we use and that makes road signs pretty easy to follow. Speed limit signs are obvious enough and, except for the UK, all countries drive on the same side of the road that we do in the USA. Sure, each country has bizarre quirks and the idea of a speed limit-less German autobahn might be scary, but when you drive between cities or want to take a detour to see remote castles in the French countryside, you have to drive. I've driven (and by I, I mean my husband - so let's be clear about that!) in Italy, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Austria, and Denmark. The great thing about the UK is that they speak English. Adjusting to driving on the opposite side of the road is enough of an adventure, it's good you don't have to worry about not being able to read any road signs. I would generally avoid (if possible) driving downtown in any major cities, but we've done that too (Milan, Sorrento, Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Vienna, Salzburg, to name a few).

Here are just some quick examples of amazing places we've been to that we could have never seen without a car. Isle of Skye in Scotland, Tintagel in England, Mont St. Michel in France, Mauthausen in Austria, Partnach Gorge in Germany, and Assisi in Italy. That's just one place in each country, but there are so so soooo many places to explore outside the cities!

Japan was the first country where we really didn't consider driving on our own. They follow UK driving rules, they have a language that is terribly difficult to understand, and Japanese drivers are nutso! Fortunately, Japan has one of the most amazing, efficient, safe, and fast public transit systems. The Shinkansen! We took trains everywhere in Japan and always made sure our hotels were within walking distance to a major station. The Japan JR rail pass came in handy in almost every city and, while pricy, it got us everywhere we wanted to go.

Kin to trains are the ever-present subway systems in major cities. They have them almost everywhere though not every city has a good one. You can easily do Paris and London in a single trip using all trains/subways (i.e. metro and tube) without renting a car. Generally when I travel, I'll start in a major city. I'll take a train or taxi from the airport into the city center, spend a few days there, and then get a rental car and head out of the city. I also always end my trip in city, so I return the car as soon as I arrive back in a city, and then use public transportation the last few days.

So far there have only been 2 cities where I genuinely found taxis better than anything (especially for airport transportation): Rome and Dubai. The Roman underground is great, but it doesn't (or at least it wasn't convenient for us in 2007) connect with the airport easily, so we planned on taking a taxi from the airport. Once in the city center, the subway takes you anywhere you want to go. (Just make sure you get a taxi from an official taxi stand and not from someone unofficial and eagerly awaiting to overcharge you!) Florence is the same way. Unless you are staying inside Florence, taxi is the best way to get in an out (you can walk the rest of it). In Dubai, however, the underground is just ok. If you're going to any shopping malls (and there are LOTS of them in Dubai) the subway is great. If you want to go anywhere else, you either have to walk or take a taxi. Dubai is not a walking city. Fortunately, taxis are cheap, safe, and everywhere, so it's no big deal. We even had a cab driver accept US dollars when he couldn't change the large bill we got from the Dubai ATM.

Buses are an option too. I am naturally leery of buses because I find them confusing and slow and smelly. But sometimes, they're really handy. In Kyoto, the subway tickets are not included on the JR pass and the buses get you much closer to the famous temples that you want to see. They were easy enough to navigate and the main stops at the famous temples were announced in English. Yay! We had a great deal of success using buses in Berlin. While we walked most of the city, buses were everywhere and fairly easy to figure out which we appreciated when our feet got tired. We also relied on buses in Abu Dhabi. While we stayed in Dubai the whole trip, we took day trips to other Emirates. One day we took a bus to Abu Dhabi. We took a taxi from the bus to the big mosque and the mall, but from there we took the public bus around. Since we only had a day there it was a chance to see the rest of the city in a quicker way than walking.

Though I'm a huge fan of renting a car, I understand that it's sometimes not the best or safest idea. For the trip that I'm planning to Southeast Asia (SEA), I will be testing out two entirely new methods of transportation: the infamous tuk tuk and something I call puddle jumping. Driving is supposedly very unsafe in SEA (which I'll confirm/deny at a later date) so I'm planning on flying in between cities and then relying on taxis, tuk tuk drivers (picture a motorbike with a little 2-seater carriage behind it), and public transport. Backpacking websites rave about taking buses or overnight sleeper trains. A local city bus is one thing, but I'm just too timid for a 7+ hour bus ride or 13 hour sleeper train with minimal privacy. It has taken me years of traveling to work up the courage to try a trip like SEA, so there are still things that I have to do my own way. I will be sure to report back with my best advice to ease your own fears.

In a nutshell, drive when you can but take advantage of a country's public transportation if it's good, reliable, and cost effective. Here are my top transportation DO's and DON'ts.

DON'T book a budge rental car! It will be a bigger expense, but the smaller rental car companies in the United States outsource their car rentals to smaller European companies. In Italy, we booked an Enterprise car (Enterprise is a pretty known car company right?) Nope. Didn't even exist in Italy. We spent an hour walking from terminal to terminal looking for them. We asked all over the place and never found them or their Italian counterpart. Make sure you book a big international company.

DO book a backup car. If you insist on booking a budget rental car, it doesn't hurt to use Avis or Hertz to book a backup car. In most cases, you do not have to pay in advance or even provide credit card info for car rentals, so what's the harm? If the budget car place fail you, Hertz or Avis will be there to save the day.

DO make sure you check and double check and call to confirm if you need an automatic car. Most cars in Europe are manual, and if you never learned to drive a stick shift you can do 1 of 2 things: use this an an opportunity to learn, or get an automatic. Automatic cars cost more...a lot more, and even the major car companies will try to give you a stick shift even if you reserved an automatic. Just be firm. When you are talking to the agent, remind them that it's an automatic. Make sure that your reservation confirmation says automatic and stand your ground. Also, have your back up car ready and don't be afraid to use it. At the end of the day, I've had the most success with hertz. Even in Copenhagen where the rental companies are small and the rental cars are even smaller, we arranged with hertz in advance to special order an automatic. Did we still have back up cars? Of course!

DO book train tickets in advance. Lots of people tell you that you can wait until the last minute, but then you have to take whatever is left available. In Japan, some of the train cars are for walk-ons only, but they have a line. If you are at the end of the line and the car is full, it leaves without you. With a JR pass, pre-booking seats on a train is no extra charge so go ahead. There's no harm.

DON'T be afraid of local buses. They scare me, but they're cheap and can take you where you want to go.

DO rent a GPS or bring along an international GPS (or smart phone with maps). This will safe you over and over again. It will save arguments with your traveling companions and will ease tension overall. If you rent one, insist on getting it even if they tell you they're out. Avis in London got one out of their case and then told us we couldn't have it. Excuse me? It's right there. Just let us take it. We had to speak to the manager but we eventually got it. (And yes, it was on our reservation right under automatic transmission.)

DO give yourself plenty of time. Time to get lost, time to find the right terminal, time for traffic, time to eat, time to go a stop or two the wrong direction on a subway before you realize it. Bottom line, it's a vacation. If you force yourself to punch a time clock, you might miss out.

DO confirm hotel parking in advance. Many European hotels even if they offer parking have very small parking lots. Some will even require you to book a parking space with your room. I advise contacting your hotel ahead to time to confirm that they have parking (if you need it), confirm the price (it's not usually free), and confirm that you can reserve a space with your hotel reservation.

DO check international laws before driving between countries. When we went to Denmark, Austria, and Germany, our plan was to drive to Prague in between Berlin and Vienna. However, we found out very quickly that cars rented in Denmark or Germany were not allowed to be driven into Eastern Europe. The iron curtain is gone for most things, but apparently vehicle crime is high enough in countries like Czech Republic that rental car companies don't want to take the chance of anything happening. Similarly, cars in Germany are required to have special stickers if you intend of driving them into the city center. Since we picked up our car in Copenhagen it didn't have the necessary German emission stickers for driving to our Berlin hotel (or any of our hotels in the city center). We were able to stop at a German auto shop who gave the car a quick look over and issued us the sticker for a minimal fee. Had we not done our research ahead of time, we could have faced huge fines in every city we drove through.

Remember: always book a backup rental car (as long as they don't ask for your credit card info), and don't be afraid to embark on a driving adventure outside the city. There are some amazing things to be seen and experiences to be had!

Thanks for reading!

- Foxy the Traveler

How to pick a foreign hotel

This post is for a friend of mine who is planning a trip and asked me what my best tips are for booking good foreign hotels. A lot of factors go into deciding what hotel to book, but I have them condensed into a few specific categories: price, location, reviews, star rating, and cancellation policy. But how does one even begin?

With any trip, I always book my flights first. Get over that first big hurdle, swallow the price tag which is likely to be your single biggest expense, and start figuring out your itinerary. If you know you're staying in one city and therefor one hotel the whole time, picking the perfect hotel for your stay should be your next step. If you are city hopping, after you map you're route, you then need to decide your mode of transportation between cities before you can book your hotels. Will you rent a car? Take trains? A combination of both? This is key before you look at hotels. I dedicated another post to which foreign countries I've driven in vs those where I've relied completely on public transportation. Check that out here: To Drive or not to Drive...

Say you have your plane tickets and know what cities you're visiting and how you're getting there. You're ready to start researching hotels, but where to start? First and foremost, know your budget. I make it my goal to never spend more than $200/night in any foreign city hotel. As I said before, my idea of a budget is an amount to not go over (Budget Planning: Foreign vs. Domestic Travel)....not a speed limit where I always go as fast as the posted sign or sometimes 5-10 mph over. I would say that on average, my hotels range from $120-$175/night.

Now that you have your itinerary, mode of transportation and budget, start making a list of hotel contenders. I always start with trip advisor. On trip advisor you can put in lots of different search parameters including price, hotel class, and reviews. This is a great starting tool. I am currently planning my trip to Southeast Asia, and the last few days of my trip will be in Singapore. I pulled up trip advisor, entered my travel dates, and saw immediately that hotels in Singapore are very expensive. But on closer look, I was able to find at least 6-7 hotels that were all under $200/night, were at least a 4-5 star hotel and all averaged 4.5/5 on customer reviews.

I cannot stress how important it so to read customer reviews. They will give you such good inside information that you usually cannot find anywhere else like if there is construction going on inside the hotel or right nearby. Other times they'll give you good tips about the hotel services, etc. Be sure to read the positive reviews and the negative reviews as well as the reviews of people who stayed there most recently. In the negative reviews, are people complaining about petty things or things beyond the hotels' control or are there serious flaws that should make you cross this hotel off of your list? If the hotel has good overall reviews but all of the ones recently are poor, did the hotel recently change management and become crap? Or are the older reviews negative but recently the hotel has made and effort to improve these things? It also helps to see how the hotels respond to the negative comments. This will tell you about the hotel management. Are they apologetic? Defensive? Arrogant?

Now, once you have a list of hotels in your price range, at the hotel class you want (I always recommend at least a 4 star hotel overseas), with decent reviews, I recommend one small step before checking out the hotels location. Trip Advisor will give you prices if you put in your travel dates, but they are prices provided by third party booking sites like hotels.com, and booking.com. Not that there is anything wrong with these booking sites (I've used them myself on many occasions), but they often post nonrefundable, super saver rates. This might be ok for you (I've booked the cheapest, nonrefundable rates before) but before I book that rate, I always go to the hotels' actual website to see what kind of rates they offer. They're almost never cheaper, but you can often get the same deal or for just few extra dollars you can have your pick of other options like free cancellation or a deal that includes breakfast or a king bed. This all comes down to your comfort level and what you're willing to pay for. I'll give you an example. When my husband and I traveled to Berlin in August 2013, we traveled with another couple. We agreed to stay at the Radisson Blu hotel in based on all of the aforementioned criteria including location (that I'll get to next). We found a super saver discount rate online that was non-refundable but it didn't guarantee the room type. It just said, "best available". This meant we couldn't choose the bed type, or really anything. After confirming that the entire hotel was non-smoking (because that would  have been a deal breaker for us) we decided to chance it and went with the lower rate. The couple that we traveled with, however, weren't as comfortable taking the risk. Rather than risk getting 2 single beds in a teeny tiny room, they paid a little bit extra (maybe $15-$20 more per night) for a guaranteed king deluxe room. As it turns out, we ended up in identical rooms and in this particular instance my husband and I made the better decision to save a few bucks and take a risk, but other times it might not have worked out that well. You just have to determine the worst case scenario and decide for yourself if you would be ok with that.

Finally and arguably most importantly, when picking a hotel it's all about location location location! Obviously an ideal location means different things to different people. When we traveled to Japan, we relied completely on public transportation, so it was very important to us that all of our hotels be within a 10 min walk of a major train station. On the other hand, when we traveled to Germany, we drove everywhere so our overnight stop in Nuremberg was outside the city center where parking was free and the rates were cheaper. In Paris, we opted for a small boutique hotel that was both within walking distance of the metro but also within reasonable (1-1.15 miles) walking distance to major sights like Notre Dame. Here are the key things to remember about location:

How are you going to get there? If by car, make sure the hotel has parking. In some cases when the hotel advertises parking, it's very limited so the parking space itself needs to be reserved in advance. If by public transport, make sure it's close to a station, so you're not schelping your bags halfway across town. If by taxi, really do your research on where to get one, and the legal rates. A huge foreign scam is to overcharge unsuspecting tourists for transportation.

What location means to you? Do you want somewhere within walking distance to things you're going to see? Do you want to save a few $$$ by finding something a little less expensive but further away from things? In Dubai, we chose a 5-star Hilton that was a short walk from the new metro. It was a little cheaper than the hotels right in the middle of the city, but since it was on the metro we thought the location would be ok. Boy were we wrong! The neighborhood was so scary and the metro while brand new and very clean, really wasn't convenient for sightseeing. We found ourselves taking taxis everywhere. Taxi's were cheap and plentiful, so it worked out, but lesson learned. Just because it was near public transportation didn't mean it was all that convenient. It also helps to know your destination. Dubai is not a walking city which we didn't realize at the time. Paris, on the other hand, is a easy walking city.

Bottom line, you can survive anything for a night. Right? Almost! When you get to your hotel, make sure that you feel safe. Safety above all else is the most important thing. Second, make sure that your room is clean enough. Always (and I mean ALWAYS) check the bed for bedbugs. It doesn't matter whether you're staying in a hostel or a 5-star hilton, bedbugs are a nightmare that could ruin your trip.  The best way to check for them is immediately upon arrival when your bed is still freshly made. Bedbugs like the dark, so pull off the covers and top sheet quickly and look as close to the bed as you can. Bedbugs are tiny and black and will scatter to find darkness the minute you lift the covers. They are very hard to see unless you can see them moving. If you even slightly suspect bedbugs, request another room immediately. Just because one room has them, does not mean the entire hotel has them. If your hotel room has them and you didn't notice, you'll start to see little bites on your legs. These will look very similar to mosquito bites only they will be scabs instead of bumps. If this happens to you, don't panic. The most important thing to do is get rid of them before going home. The last thing you want is to bring bed bugs back into your house (you'll need to get it fumigated). As painstaking as it might be, you'll need to wash everything before you leave, and find a way to clean your luggage. This is the absolute worst-case scenario. I have personally never found bed bugs in a hotel room (even the horrid hotel we stayed at in Copenhagen that had every other type of bug!).

That being said, my system isn't fool-proof. I follow my own rules for every hotel I book, and I am usually very happy or at least not surprised by the unpleasantries that I knew to expect from reviews. At the same time, I've read reviews, price compared, etc. and I've never been more appalled by the hotel we stayed at during our last night in Denmark. What can you do? If we stayed at that hotel for more than 1 night, I would have left immediately. If that happens to you, determine exactly what is bad about it and whether or not your can deal with it. Then as soon as you get home, hit the hotel review sites and tell the truth about your own experience to help unsuspecting travelers avoid making the same mistake.

In future posts when I get into some of the details about specific trips I've been on and cities I've visited, I'll be sure to give you an overview of the hotels we chose. In the mean time, I've rated almost all of them myself on trip advisor.

Thanks for reading!

- Foxy the Traveler

What to pack and how to pack it!

A lot of what goes into packing depends on what sort of transportation you will have at your destination, and how much traveling from hotel to hotel you’ll be doing while you’re away. Packing, in many ways, reflects the sort of traveler you are. If you intend on staying in one hotel for your entire trip, you might check that giant suitcase since you will only have to transport it to and from the airport. If you’re a city hopper like me, the smaller the bags the better. In my opinion, packing is all about maximizing options in the most efficient manner possible. 

I’m going to divide this post into two sections, “what to pack” and “how to pack” closing with a summary of my favorite baggage do’s and don’ts.

What to pack?

First and foremost (and hopefully most obviously), pack for the climate. Hot? Cold? Sunny? Snowy? Rainy? If you’re going on a ski holiday, skip the shorts and tank tops. No brainer, right? Right. But other things aren’t so obvious. Make a packing list keeping your destination in mind. Start thinking about what to pack as early as possible and keep your list somewhere handy so you can add to it at a moment’s notice. (A note on your smart phone is always handy if you have one.) You never know when you’ll be at the grocery store and suddenly realize that you’ll need to pack bug spray or a travel umbrella. Don’t risk forgetting by the time you get home. If you’re computer savvy, create a master pack list that you can reuse from trip to trip. Naturally you’ll tweak it as appropriate (example: my master pack list always had passports on it though I didn’t need to pack those when we flew to Florida last spring).  Having absolutely everything on one master list will come in handy over and over again.

What are the top things on my master pack list? Passports and color photocopies of your passports (at least 2 copies); leave the originals in a hotel safe and keep the copies in your purse (unless the country requires you by law to keep your passport on you (i.e. Singapore)). Medication: get one of those medicine dividers from walmart and put a couple of doses of over the counter meds just in case (tylenol, imodium, tums, etc). If you come down with a series illness, this won’t help you, but the single dose or two that you packed might come in handy until you can get yourself to a drug store to find more. Motion sickness medicine. Never challenge the strength of your stomach. You might have the stomach of a rock, but the combination of foreign food with a bumpy bus ride or riding backwards on a metro might be a deadly combination. Know yourself and be smart.

Shoes! You might be surprised when I tell you that everyone should pack 3 pairs. Yes, everyone! Men and women alike. This will also depend on the nature of your trip (don’t bring Uggs to the beach) but for the most part, I stick to my claim. Everyone needs to bring 1 sturdy pair of walking shoes (sneakers, hiking boots, etc. depending on your destination), 1 pair of dress shoes that you can still walk in (loafers, ballet flats, sandals), and 1 pair of flip flops (unless you’re going to a super cold climate with no chances of hot tubs, indoor pools, or spas!). I’ve taken this combination of shoes with me everywhere I’ve gone, and I’ve always had happy feet. You might think that dress shoes will just be a waste of space, but again, it depends on where you’re going and what you’re doing. I’m not the type of traveler that plans on doing anything fancy or formal, but sometimes a situation comes up that requires you to dress a little nicer than sneakers. Now if you’re traveling with your husband, boyfriend, brother, or other male companion and you’re thinking to yourself, “He has such big feet! All of those shoes are going to take up so much space!” I hear you friend! I do! I will cover that dilemma in “how to pack”.

Pack a trashbag. As of Day 1 on your trip, you will start accumulating dirty clothes. Trashbags are great for keeping dirty clothes away from your clean clothes. Pack your shoes in grocery bags. If you happen to get mud or gum or something gross on your shoes, have a way to separate them from the rest of your things. Pack 4-6 ziplock sandwich bags. Use these for your toothbrush, loose bar soap, razor, etc. You have no idea how handy these suckers are when you have to check out of a hotel right after showering and all of these things are wet.

One more thought on what to pack. Go easy on the toiletries. Remember that you can only carryon 3oz bottles and those larger liquids have to go in checked bags. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve had bottles explode/leak while on the airplane. Bring the basics, of course: shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, etc. Beyond that, keep it simple. Take bar soap instead of body wash. Take 3oz of your favorite styling product (if you absolutely have to!) and stretch it across your entire trip. Ponytails, braids, buns are your friend! Take one moisturizer if you have to. Skip the mouthwash and the hand sanitizer (though be sure to pack Lysol wipes...I'm serious! These are your best friend in a foreign public restroom!). Pack little or no makeup if you can. Your au natural self is beautiful!! Or, if you absolutely must pack makeup, I limit myself to travel-sized products that fit in a super small pouch. Have you ever gotten that "free gift with purchase" whenever buying makeup? Those are the ones I save for traveling. Bottom line, these types of things take up lots of space and have the potential for a spilling disaster!

How to pack?

A couple key thoughts. Leave your valuables at home. You might love that expensive watch or those diamond earrings, but losing them on travel would be awful. Not to mention flashy jewelry is a huge magnet for petty criminals. If you’re into fashion and trends, buy accessories where you’re going. How fun will it be to buy cute necklaces and scarves to wear while you’re traveling and then be able to tell your friends where you got them the next time they comment on how cute you look?

My biggest packing tip is “pack to trash”! This will help even the most disorganized pack-rat packers to save space. I have often finished packing and thought I had everything that I could possibly need with just enough room to close the zipper. Then my darling husband chimes in with, “hope you don’t plan on buying anything over there, ‘cause there’s no room to bring anything back.” Distraught yet wistful, I look up at him and ask, “Don’t you have any extra room?” Over the years, we have developed a fool-proof pack to trash system. Pack things that you will use/wear on your travels, and trash when you’re done. Pack old underwear and toss it as you wear it. Do the same with socks, undershirts, shoes! Ah ha! Here’s the big man feet shoe trick! On every single trip my husband and I have ever taken, he travels with 3 pairs and comes home with 2 pairs. By taking clothes, shoes, etc. that you plan to discard after wearing on the trip, you will instantly have lots of souvenir room. And we always comically take a “left behind” or “gone but not forgotten” photo of things we discard.

Gone but not forgotten! Big man shoes left behind for souvenirs!

Last but not least, my packing do’s and don’ts.

DO try if at all possible to NOT check luggage. I traveled to Japan for over 2 weeks with a small rolling suitcase and a backpack. We didn’t rough it on that trip by any stretch of the imagination. Checking luggage takes extra time and is very difficult on public transportation. In Rome we waited 2 hours for our checked bags due to a delay. What we didn’t realize then was how lucky we were to have only waited 2 hours. That same day the airport workers went on strike (very common in Europe) and some people went days without their bags.

DON’T pack essentials in your checked bags. If you do check luggage, be sure to have all of your medications, essential toiletries, official documents, money, and at least a change of clothes in your carryon. Some things you can buy anywhere, but you won’t easily replace your meds, cash, etc. if your checked bags get sent somewhere else by mistake.

DO put both carryon’s in the overhead compartment (as long as you’re not flying a discount airline that charges you for overhead space - yes they exist!). I know the airlines always say to put your larger item above you and put your smaller carryon under your seat, but ignore them. If you’re trying to travel with only carryon’s, do you really want to sit for a 7-14 hour flight with a backpack taking up your only leg room? When you get to your seat, pull out your book, ipod, snacks, or even a smaller purse to put in the seat-pocket or under your seat and stick the backpack up top. Hello leg room! (Shh! Don’t tell any flight attendants I just told you this!)

DON’T be afraid to re-wear clothes. If you won’t have access to laundry or don’t want to waste precious vacation hours doing laundry, don’t be afraid to wear things twice; it saves packing space! Don’t re-wear socks or underwear, but things like jeans and bras can easily be worn 3 times on a single trip.

DON’T forget that if you forgot to pack it, you can buy it there…most of the time. Foreign brands might be different and sound strange, but you can buy shampoo, toothpaste, soap, etc. everywhere. You might pay exorbitant prices for special things like suntan lotion or bug spray, so try not to forget those things, but it’s not the end of the world if you do.

Happy packing!!

Thanks for reading!

- Foxy the Traveler

What's Your Travel Style?

In order to ease your anxiety and get the most rewarding experiences out of your travels, it's essential to know what sort of traveler you are. There are many categories of travelers each with their own set of objectives. Lets explore some main ones, so you can see which category you fall into.

What is your main goal?
1. City Dweller? Park yourself in a single hotel for your entire trip and spend your days in one city submersing yourself in the arts and culture?
2. City Avoider? Rent a flat or a house in a small town with scenic countryside? Avoid cities and spend your time in smaller villages away from overcrowded tourist attractions?
3. Half and half? Spend half of your trip in one city and half of your trip taking short day trips outside the city?
4. One country per trip? Spent your time making sure you see the highlights of the entire country (if possible)
5. City/Country hopper? 1-2 days per destination with lots of driving, train riding, puddle jumping, etc.

I am personally #4 and #5. I didn't intentionally become like that, but the more I looked at the places I was going, the more I tried to maximize the area we covered in the amount of time that we had. It all started with Italy in 2007. The day we arrived, we drove north immediately out of Rome toward Tuscany. As I looked at the map prior to our departure, I had a train of thought that sort of went like this, "It's only about 3.5 hours from Rome to Florence (which is 1 hour from Pisa...hello, leaning tower!). Florence is only 3 hours from Milan. Milan is only 3 hours from Venice. Venice to Sorrento is 8 hours, but let's stop at Assisi in between. Sorrento is only 3 hours from Rome." And....our Italian circle became complete. While 3 hours of driving might seem like a lot, when it means you get the opportunity to visit so many amazing Italian cities, it became absolutely worth it for me. Also, consider the fact that most tourist attractions close around 5-6pm. At that time, you city-dwellers will take to the streets to sip on an adult beverage (or two), find a nice, relaxing dinner, and enjoy the sites and sounds of a foreign city at night. Me, on the other hand, having been up since 6AM in order to get to beat the crowds to a super touristy place (like the Colosseum), I am happy to bid farewell to a city, and embark on a 3 hour voyage. This gets me to my next destination by 9 or 10PM, which is still early enough to get a good night sleep before starting all over again the next day in a new place.

This same thing has happened to me again and again. Kyoto was only a 3 hour train ride from Tokyo. Copenhagen was only 6 hours from Berlin (which included an awesome boat ride). Paris is only a 2.5 hour Chunnel ride to London. My travel motto is, see everywhere once, before you see anywhere twice. If I'm only ever in these areas once, I want to see as much as I possibly can. I can sleep when I get home. Yes, I often need a vacation from my vacation, but it's a small price to pay for such a rewarding experience. I think the only time we ever "over did it" was in the summer of 2013 when we traveled to Denmark, Austria, and Germany all in one trip. In 16 days, we stayed in 12 hotels and drove 3,750 miles. It was amazing, but utterly exhausting. More on that trip in another blog.

What this post is meant to do is encourage you to think about what type of traveler you are. Does my 2 week Italian tour sound appealing to you? Or would you rather hunker down in Rome the whole time and visit Florence on a different trip? Or perhaps you wouldn't mind trying to see Rome and Florence in one trip, but save Milan and Venice for another time? My future blogs won't necessarily encourage you to exhaust yourself by traveling from city to city to city in one trip, though as I go into some of the details of my travels, I hope you will continue to discover your travel style.

The biggest question is this. There's a lot of world out there. Do you want to see a quick snapshot of a lot of it? Or do you want experience more in-depth portions of it at a leisurely pace?  Both is an ok answer too! :)

Thanks for reading!

- Foxy the Traveler