(no subject)

[telophase]

I've mentioned before I think that we're booking a trip to Switzerland and Northern Italy (going to be circumspect about the actual dates for now), and I want you to know that I have just booked:

(1) an apartment in Venice that overlooks the lagoon and has a tiny private rooftop terrace, as well as an elevator in the building AND a washer and dryer

(2) a hotel in a former monastery in Vatican City that is actually ON St. Peter's Square

Now to see if I can find something cool in Florence.

Comments

[golden_bastet]

A few years back I booked an apt in Venice down a side canal. That was the BEST trip. If I can get back, I would do that again in a heartbeat.

One suggestion: buy the vaporetto pass, and any museum passes that you might want, *before* you leave. They're cheaper, and the vaporetto pass definitely is more than worth its weight in gold.

Another suggestion: the special back-room tour in the Doge's Palace and the tour of the clock tower. I'd book them before leaving, too.

And you are winning with the accommodations, so far. :D

God, I can't tell you how psyched I am for you...

[telophase]

Thank you! :D We're both excited, although now I'm obsessing over figuring the Switzerland leg out and booking places there. XD

I've noted your suggestions! Right now we have zero plans except that I know I want to day-trip to Ravenna, so are open to all ideas.

[weirdquark]

I hope the apartment in Venice is near San Marco's because otherwise you may never find it again, navigating to particular places rather than just wandering around is, um, let's go with time-intensive. My roommate (who is an Italian Renaissance historian) was there and had met up with someone who wanted to go to a party and my roommate was like, okay, I don't want to go to the party, but I'll walk with you; we should leave two hours early so we can find it. And the other person was like, Google says it's five minutes away, and my roommate was like, I'm sure that's technically true, but will not be the case. But they waited until just before the party and my roommate and this person failed to find the party for at least two hours, as my roommate had predicted.

My roommate can also give you recommendations of places to stay in Florence if you haven't found anything yet, she spends most of her time there when she's in Italy for research.

[telophase]

Oh, it's nowhere near anything--it's on Giudecca--and as far as I can tell from the address (which isn't in Google Maps), the directions the listing person has, and the photos of the view from the window and terrace, I think it's about where the red square is in this screenshot. :D However, the way we travel, we rarely plan anything for any particular time, and Toby just likes wandering around and absorbing atmosphere, so getting lost in Venice is probably the best thing that can happen.

We enjoyed being in a hanare in Arashiyama, outside of Kyoto, for a week in the middle of the Japan trip, which gave us a nice place to just hang out when we were tired or didn't want to do anything, and this seems like it'll fulfill much the same purpose. That was kind of the same thing: a place out in (comparatively) the middle of nowhere that took 20 minutes of travel to get to Kyoto Station before we could start going anywhere.

I booked an apartment in Florence shortly after posting this, but thanks! XD That one had the right combo of elevator or ground floor (I have arthritis in my feet and stairs are not good at the end of the day), washer/dryer, and wifi. It's close enough to the Duomo that we could probably find it in Assassin's Creed II. (We have friends who found their hotel in it!)

If your roommate can tell us interesting places to visit/eat that we wouldn't normally get from guidebooks or whatnot, that would be wonderful. :) We'll be there in the late fall

[elistaire]

Wow, that sounds lovely. Have a fantastic time whenever the dates happen!

[telophase]

Thank you! :)

[brigdh]

Wow, this sounds amazing! :D I'm very jealous of your trip.

[telophase]

Thank you! :D