Our Italy itinerary

I've learned that planning a lengthy vacation is a lot easier when you aren't simultaneously planning a wedding.

At this time last year, I was worrying about my dress, shoes, hair, make-up, wedding programs, and weather (this list is meant to be exemplary rather than exhaustive--I'm sure I had many other worries), all while trying to plan our two-week French honeymoon. The honeymoon was a lot of fun, though perhaps a tad (dare I say it) overplanned. When there is much to plan, I get overwhelmed and err on the side of excessive planning (if I could upload the wedding-day schedule as exhibit A, I would). I planned and scheduled everything for the 'moon, probably because I felt overwhelmed by all that I could not control with the wedding and grasped onto that which I could control.

So, lesson learned. For this next vacation in Italy, I intend to adopt more of a laissez-faire attitude (which, in any other person, would not be described as such, but one step at a time).

Our Italy itinerary is more of a buffet than a checklist. I've figured out the sites that we're most likely to enjoy and have made reservations for a couple of museums with long lines, but most of our activities are simply grouped by neighborhood. If we're nearby, we'll go. If we don't make it, no worries--maybe next time we're in Italy. As Rick says, assume you'll return.

So here's our loosey-goosey itinerary, as it stands now:

Day 0: Fly to Florence.

Days 1-5: Florence. We've reserved a day bike tour through Tuscany (12 miles isn't that long for a bike ride, right?) and have museum reservations for our last full day, but otherwise, our time is mostly unstructured. I want to take a day trip to Siena, but we'll probably spend most of our remaining time kicking around Florence, splitting our time between museums and cathedrals (for B) and fabulous Italian stores (for moi).

Days 5-10: Venice. Our time here is even more unstructured, as we have no reservations or tours. I want to take a gondola ride, hang out at St. Mark's Square at night, and eat dinner at a restaurant on a canal. And, of course, the requisite shopping.

Days 10-18: Cruise. We've booked two excursions: one takes us to the Acropolis in Athens (but lets us explore on our own), and the other is a 4x4 off-road experience in Croatia. We plan to explore our other 3 ports on our own. (Such intrepid explorers!)

Day 18: Fly to Frankfurt. If only I had thought to connect in Munich--we could have gone to Oktoberfest. I suppose I can live without experiencing that cultural phenomenon.

Day 19: Fly home and start getting ready to return to Germany in two months.