Planes, buses and cars - getting there and getting around

Less than 60 days away from travel and we’ve made great progress at finalizing some elements of the trip. So far:

London to Italy: Both our flights have been locked down. We will travel from London to Pisa together on Ryanair. This small, regional carrier pops up consistently with best fares and an easy to navigate online site and good communications. Know that this is a very ala carte airline – even down to sending you text message updates. These boarding passes can be printed much further in advance than US airline policies. I will check us in ASAP when the dates open and these documents will go with our other travel documents.

Pisa to Florence: We will have some time to poke around Pisa, then will take about an hour-long motor coach ride to City Center in Florence. I was given the option to book this as I exited the Ryanair ticket purchase. It’s definitely a bargain at about $13 US for both of us. Buses leave Pisa airport every few minutes. A ticket is delivered via e-mail – so it will be printed and go along with airline boarding passes.

Florence to Savannah: TJ will be leaving Florence VERY early in the morning, a few days in advance of my departure. Her flight is confirmed. I will depart Florence a few days later on a Vueling flight to London-Gatwick – to catch my flight home the next day. Ryanair flights – except one very late at night – were booked up – I’m glad I didn’t wait any longer to secure this flight. I still need to book a hotel night in London --- probably something close to my departure airport of Heathrow.

Florence lodging: Our first three nights in Florence have been secured – as you can read below. I still need to secure lodging for the three nights on the tail end of the trip. Our host at the VRBO below has offered to help me find a hotel while we’re there – but based on how things appear to be filling up – I don’t know if I should wait.

Riotorto: Our seven nights at Brancatelli Agritourismo are confirmed – a pleasant efficiency apartment on the working vineyard of Giuseppe and Catherine Brancatelli. I met Giuseppe when he and his daughter visited the US last year to help market their wines. 650 Euro is doable – especially for a property that features an on-site restaurant and easy day trips to surrounding sites in Tuscany. My bank arranged, at the request of the agritourismo, an international transfer to pay the 30 percent deposit. I wouldn’t want to do many of these – the bank charged $45 for the “experience.”

Rental car: Every guide book suggests securing the rental before leaving the US. I did, through the edreams.com website. We aren’t going to be spending lengthy periods in a car – just hops from one place

to another – so I rented a Smart Car. With the additional Claims Damage Waiver refund (to protect against a hefty deductible) and adding TJ as an additional driver, the car is about $65 a day with unlimited mileage. That seems steep compared to renting a car in the US – but the additional coverage and extra driver added about $20 a day. My US auto insurance carrier (GEICO) offers no coverage of a rental in Italy. I shopped several sites – including using my “member” code on the sites for Avis, Hertz and Thrifty – and found the best pricing on edreams.com.

We just have a few gaps left to fill in – then we need to get hopping on specific tasks: downloading maps for the GPS, printing, when available, travel documents like boarding passes and tickets and considering the critical decisions we will need to make for packing light.

Kismet, or having friends in "perfect" places

So, after I posted a link to this blog on my Facebook page, a friend let us know that her sister had a flat in Florence. Several emails, a few Facebook messages and "boom," we have three of our nights in Florence arranged! Here is a photo of the place -- which looks absolutely smashing! This apartment is a part of the vrbo.com network which has vacation rentals-by-owner available all over the world.

Then, as we were lounging in our easy chairs watching re-runs of CBS Sunday Morning (yep, we are geeks), another dear friend called to offer guide books, maps and all manner of travel insights and goodies. We spent the better part of the afternoon talking with her and of course it has ramped up our excitement. It is starting to feel more and more "real" for me. I am emerging from the fantasy cocoon and ready to do this!

We are excited and feel blessed by the kindness of our friends.

Ciao!
Ms. T. J.

Post[card] from the edge [by the other T in TNT]

How lucky I am to be married to a man who is a fastidious planner. Me? I am the one with her head in the clouds, fantasizing about the Italian countryside...

All that said however, I am particular about spaces, places and a certain level of comfort. As we watched another Rick Steves' travel show this afternoon, I wondered if I could stay in a one star hotel and knew I could not stay in a hostel. Perhaps if I was in my twenties it would sound comfortable enough, but today I need more privacy. The more modern hotels that resemble American lodging are not for us. We yearn to be close to the European culture with locals as well as experience the inherent beauty of older buildings with their creaky charm and one-of-a-kind feel.

When I daydream about London and Italy, I imagine being both in- and out-of-doors. I love the excitement of learning and experiencing new things, and I also require down-time to rejuvenate and create the energy to venture back out. I see myself wandering down narrow streets, popping into bakeries and coffee shops, and holding my husband's hand as we feast our eyes upon the breathtaking views. I see us touring historic places, discovering secret spaces, and enjoying delicious foods and drinks. I also picture myself curled up in a comfy chair in a lovely setting, perhaps on an outdoor porch reading or recording the moments we are having during this dream-come-true trip we are on!

I am both a planner and a thinker, but I will always give credit where it is due, and I must express my gratitude to Tim, my favorite and most exacting planning partner without whom I may be a whirling dervish!

Ciao!
Ms. T. J.

Driving, communicating -- and keeping all of those devices charged up and ready to use

I took some time to ponder a typical day on our journey and began to wonder about all of the things that we take for granted – and how the same issues would be addressed in Italy.

What things? Driving, communicating with cell phones, accessing data, charging electronic devices and carrying camera equipment.

Before we get too close to departure, I want these issues resolved. Here’s what I learned – and how I addressed the issues.

Driving
Whew, Italians drive on the right side of the road. It looks like there are plenty of bilingual signs.

We are getting International Driving Permits as recommended. These permits are carried in addition to your regular driver’s license. The app is online here – and the process was handled quickly and efficiently by my local AAA office. The IPD fee is $15 per permit – and you will need two passport style photos as part of the application. We let AAA handle those when we went in with our applications.

As for directions, I ordered two lightweight, laminated maps: Streetwise Tuscany and Streetwise Florence. Both maps fold down into easy to manage panels and include a cross-referenced index.

I have not settled on a car rental agency yet, but I do know I’m not going to pay nearly $20 a day to rent a GPS. I am downloading the Europe maps for my own TomTom. Mine has a walking mode, so it will come in handy in both London and Italy on foot as well as by car. I’m relieved that I’ll be using a device with which I’m familiar – and not a new device that I have to learn on the fly.

Cellphones
We are T-Mobile customers. Our Simple Choice Plan includes international service with no roaming charges. We can use our current devices abroad with free text and data – and pay 20-cents a minute for calls.

Charging our devices
I joke that as we travel anymore, we almost need a single bag devoted to device chargers. And we do.

The various charging cords are kept in a single zip closure plastic bag and is carried in the upper pouch of my LowePro 250 backpack bag.

We will have two phone chargers, an iPad charger, a Kindle charger, a GPS charger and car adapter, two camera battery chargers and a card reader that attaches to the iPad.

It looks like my devices are dual voltage. I just need to get adapters that allow our US plugs to fit into European outlets.

I’m looking at the Lenmar TraveLite Compact All-in-One Foreign Travel Adapter. It’s $14.99, has five different connectors built in and allows two devices to be connected at once. Two of these will allow overnight charging of both cellphones and two other devices.

But I have not seen one on person. I may still change my mind.

Camera gear and electronics
I’m trying to pack as light and as versatile as possible. I’ll tote a Nikon D5000 DSLR with a Sigma f/3.5, 18-200 mm lens. The glass is a little heavy – but will be the only lens I carry. I will also carry a pocket-sized Panasonic Lumix, and we will have the on-board cameras with our smartphones – an HTC One and a Samsung Galaxy.

I’ll likely carry a Kodak pocket sized HD video camera and accessory mic. I plan to have one back-up rechargeable battery and plenty of SD cards.

We will have an iPad and a Kindle – both with apps for mapping, attractions and translation.

All of this fits comfortably in the LowePro – and I’ll have a collapsible day pack for walking about.

I get mixed messages on whether to register equipment before going overseas – but I plan to. It’s a precaution in the event of theft or loss and better safe than sorry at Customs.

You can register any goods with serial numbers at your local Customs and Border Protection (CBP) port of entry, or the port from which you will be departing.

You must physically take the equipment to the office and a CBP Officer will record the description of the item and its serial number on a CBP Form 4457 Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad.

The CBP Officer will then stamp and sign the form and give it to you to present upon your return. A registration can be used for more than one trip as long as it is for the same equipment.

It’s very convenient for me – Savannah is a port of entry and the Customs House on Bay Street is where I can go to register.

Time to get cracking to find serial numbers and such!

Take A Break: Trip Videos Are Helpful And Keep Boredom At Bay During Trip Planning

Let’s face it.

Fantasizing is what got us in this enviable pickle to begin with.

Reading and dreaming about the warm Tuscan sun on our backs set us to scheming. The idea of treading historic footpaths dating back to the days of Roman emperors whetted our curiosity. Idyllic images of plump hams hanging and waiting to become a thin slice of prosciutto turned us into Pavlovian puppets.

So now we set about making the fantasy a reality. Still, all work and no play makes an enthusiastic trip planned a dull statistician. That’s where travel videos are a welcome diversion.

I’ve scoured the web to come up with a few websites that offer several free travel videos that encompass areas we will see in England and Italy. Take time out from planning to learn something from a visual resource. Sit back and fantasize, your trip is just around the corner!

TourVideos.com: This large collection of travel videos takes you along on actual bus, train and walking tours of the world’s greatest travel destinations. It gives an insightful look into group travel – and a broad stroke view of the environments.

View the England videos here; Italian tour videos are here.

RickSteves.com: The undisputed doge of European travel – with a penchant for Italy, is TV and radio host, author and tour operator Rick Steves. His website includes several of his full length television shows — plus links to other travel advice, guides and maps. His dry, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor keeps everything – and everyone – grounded. Check out his video clips from Great Britain and Italy here.

A Simple List Helps Begin Planning

After going back and forth with our calendars – and factoring my London trip into the equation – we came up with an initial strategy.

TJ will fly out the day after me to help save her vacation time, since I will be busy in London anyway. She will arrive Saturday and have time to decompress and poke around – then we will have Sunday together. Monday, we will fly to Italy.

The big variable was determining how much time she will spend in Italy. She decided that, even though my return ticket to Savannah is from London on a Monday, that she wanted to return to Savannah the previous Friday.

That gives her two full weeks in Italy – and leaves me with three nights on the tail end of the trip. Currently, I have not decided if I will return to London when she leaves, stay in Florence (her departure city) or wander around Tuscany some more. Regardless, I must be back to London on Sunday night in order to catch my LHR to SAV flight on Monday morning.

Welcome To Our Italian Vacation Planner

Welcome to #tntitaly!

The "tnt" is for “Tim and TJ,” we’re planning a trip to Italy this spring and are sharing the process with you. This is our first trip to Italy – and abroad for that matter. I am a food and drinks journalist. TJ is a former journalist who has become a social worker and psychotherapist -- and we’re both n’ere-be-wrong Scorpios.

In beginning planning for our trip, I quickly became frustrated by the information that is available. There’s plenty of it – scattered like tissues in the wind all over the Internet. There are guide books, videos and blogs. There are as many “discount” sites for flights, lodging and car rental as there are days in the year.

Through this blog, we hope to give you a framework for planning your own trip. There will be ideas to take away for wherever you’re planning to travel – and other resources that are specific to Italy.

We planned to go last year, but didn’t. This spring, I got the offer of a working trip from one of my clients and it left me-- after three days-- in London. That company was gracious enough to give me a two-week return date – and suddenly, we’re just one-round-trip ticket away from two beautiful weeks in Italy. Stay tuned as I report on advice from seasoned Italian travelers, begin to lay out our itinerary and give you tips for planning, shopping for tickets, finding lodging and more.

Oh, the name #tntitaly – what’s that about? For once, I had some forethought – as we build this blog and then embark on our Italian adventure, we will post via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #tntitaly.

Enjoy…and until next post…ciao!