ITALY Readers's Tips - Your plan sounds great unhurried and very reasonable. About the extra days: It gets kinda late in the season to go to beachfront and coastal areas like the C. where all you can do is promenade and enjoy nature not at its best at that time. So look up these: Ravenna (byzantine mosaics stunning, Bologna (great old city, wacky leaning towers in one intersection, much more and great food, Verona, Vicenza, Padova (Giotto frescoes need to book, much more, Chioggia (a miniVenice at the other end of the bay, Venice (walk walk walk and don't stick to the main drag, find your own nooks and crannies with a really good map and a little compass, and go early and late to avoid the throngs, ask if there is still wine activity going on in the Friuli around Udine, and go to Trieste, and if that appeals to you up into the mountains to the site of a former winter olympiad, Cortina d'Ampezzo and environs, or from Verona go up to the Bolzano area. Pick a few of those, mostly I would say Ravenna, Padova, and Venice (from Venice it only takes a halfhour to Padova so it can be a daytrip, or if it costs a lot less to stay in Padova instead of Venice, you can commute daily into Venice, I did that one year and it was great. Hope this helps.

Moniray, 's post makes me want to pack a bag right now . .although my inclination would be to head south to take in Naples and the Amalfi region.Late September is a fine time to visit and you would have plenty to do and see.One can certainly eat well and cheaply but if you are looking for budget accommodation you should do some homework before leaving (since you are on your own hostels are always an option.How are you planning on getting around I would visit Lucca while still staying in Florence or perhaps go there after Florence.t's an easy train ride from Florence.After visiting Lucca, consider renting a car for traveling in the Chianti Region. recommend AutoEurope.My personal testimony for AutoEurope is on my website under "Transportation, By Car. I think Greve in Chianti or Siena makes a wonderful central location for exploring Tuscany.One hotel I recommend for Greve, which is modest but very well located, is the Giovanni Verrazzano http://www.rrazzano..t's restaurant is excellent, too. As to the Amalfi coast, I expect it will be I'm quite wonderful in October.In fact, I'm planning to be there for two weeks, including the first week of October.The music festival in Ravello http://www.velloarts.g/ is still taking place, and most accommodations and restaurants are still open. think this time of year would be good for visits to Pompeii, too less crowded and a little cooler. 's suggestions are excellent as always, but I think early fall on the Amalfi coast could be quite wonderful. Best wishes wherever you decide to go.

Thank you all for the great suggestions., I'm not familiar at all with the cities you referenced, but will certainly plan to read up on them this w

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