Going to Italia!

The stars seemed to have aligned because my hubby and I are planning a trip to Italy this summer...without the kids!  I am VERY excited as I've always wanted to visit Italy.  It just seems like a lovely, relaxing place to be with lots of rich history, a romantic language and amazing sights to see.  I will also admit that the thought of traveling the Italian countryside and visiting vineyards is something I have always wanted to do...perhaps as a result of watching countless romantic movies set in Tuscany!

I have already started to learn some Italian even though we haven't actually booked our flights yet!  Okay..maybe just a word or two but still...I know graci mille and, of course, I feel quite competent at ordering in an Italian restaurant so that should come in handy.  At the very least, we won't starve with my vast knowledge of words such as spaghetti, lasagna, and pizza.  :-)

So, here's the plan for our trip to Italy.  I have received lots of great tips and advice for places to stay, things to see and so on.  Feel free to critique our trip plans!  We are still not totally settled on our destinations and time for each.

Photo from hellotravel.com

Days 1-2    Rome
Day 3         Amalfi Coast
Days 4-6    Florence and Tuscany
Days 7-8    Cinque Terre
Days 9-10  Venice

I just added the Amalfi Coast after being told it could not be missed and was absolutely beautiful.  It doesn't look like it's far from Rome so we will do a quick train trip or tour down there for a day/night and then travel up to Florence the following day. 

I ordered Rick Steve's guidebook, map, and phrasebook so I can't wait for those to arrive so I can make more plans.  If you have any inside information on fantastic places to stay or favourite things to see, please share in a comment!