International Driving Permit

If you think you might be driving a car while in Italy, you'll need an International Driving Permit.

The IDP simply translates the information on your U.S. state driving license into different languages, so non-English speakers can easily access the key information.

The simplest way to obtain one is through the American Automobile Association.  Since there are only a few weeks now before our trip, you'll need to do this in person rather than by mail.  You can download the form on the AAA web site here and bring it to your local AAA office.

Foreign Transaction Credit Card Fees

At the gathering Saturday night, Frank reminded me to mention the foreign transaction fees charged by most credit cards.  The rate varies, but most credit cards tack on an additional percentage as a fee when you purchase something out of the country.  The New York Times published an article on this in February of this year (you can read the article here:  New York Times) and reported that foreign transaction fees range from 2% - 3% on most American credit cards.

They note that two do not, Capital One and Schwab Invest First Visa.  Unfortunately, Schwab is no longer offering this card, so Capital One (information here:  Capital One) appears to be the only choice for no foreign transaction fee credit cards.

Ciao Tutti!

It was great to put faces with names tonight.  Thanks to everyone for the wonderful food, wine and conversation.

Tipping

Tipping is always one of the most controversial travel topics.  Customs and expectations vary by country and by person, so it's hard to know what to do.

In general, tipping in Italy is not as common nor as generous as it is in the United States.  According to the Italian Tourism web site, at a restaurant "tips are not compulsory and in Italy there are no generally established rules, although it is common practice to leave a sum amounting to around 10% of the bill if you are satisfied with the service you have received."  (Italian Tourism Web Site)

It is fairly common to leave a tip for the chambermaids in a hotel, particularly for a longer stay (more than one night).  Our agency recommends one Euro per night, per person.

Since breakfast and dinner are included in our package, the agency also suggests a tip for waiters of one Euro per person, per meal.

For taxi drivers in Italy, it is common to simply round up to the next Euro or, if the fare is close to the next Euro, to tip one additional Euro.

Keep in mind that these are merely suggestions and what what you give, or if you tip at all, is entirely up to you.

Alitalia Carry On Luggage Policy

I was a little confused by the information on the Alitalia web site regarding carry on bags, so I called to verify what is allowed.

Each passenger may bring on one piece of hand luggage PLUS one "personal item".  A purse, briefcase (as in the picture above, from the Alitalia site) or laptop would qualify as a personal item and must fit under the seat in front of you.

Your carry on bag (or hand luggage) cannot weigh more than 17.6 lbs (8 kg).  It also may not exceed the following dimensions:  13.8 inches (35 cm) by 21.7 inches (55 cm) by 9.8 inches (25 cm).

Alitalia Checked Luggage Policy

We can each check one bag with Alitalia at no charge.  When we check in at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), our bags will be tagged to our final destination, Pisa Galileo Galilei International Airport (PSA).  At Rome, where we make our connection, we will only need to deal with our hand luggage.

According to the Alitalia web site, the weight of our one piece of checked luggage must not exceed 50 lbs. (23 Kg) and the sum of its dimensions, length+height+depth, must not exceed 62 inches (158 cm).  In other words, a bag that is 28" tall, 18" wide and 10" deep would be fine (total of 56"), as long as it doesn't weigh more than 50 lbs. when full.

Updated itinerary

I've e-mailed a more detailed itinerary to everyone, which now includes our flight information and the times we'll be leaving each morning for excursions:

Friday, October 22:          Alitalia flight #643 departs Newark at 5:00 PM

Saturday, October 23:      Arrive in Pisa at 10:50 AM, transfer to hotel, afternoon on our own

Sunday, October 24:         8:30 AM depart for Siena, followed by San Gimignano

Monday, October 25:        8:30 AM depart for Chianti

Tuesday, October 26:        8:00 AM depart for Florence

Wednesday, October 27:   7:30 AM (!) depart for Cinque Terre

Thursday, October 28:       Free day

Friday, October 29:           ? AM depart for Pisa

Saturday, October 30:       ? AM depart for airport; expect this to be really early, since the flight is at 7:10 AM.

Power to the People

If you are planning to bring electric devices on the trip to Italy, you will need at least a plug adapter, and possibly a power converter (sometimes called a transformer).

Italian electricity is 220 volts/50 hertz.  United States power is 110 volts/60 hertz.  In other words, there is twice as much voltage coming from an Italian electric socket vs. an American one, which can result in fried appliances.  Be especially careful with anything that produces heat, like a hair dryer or a curling iron.  (Note that our hotel provides a hair dryer in each room.)

To know if you need a power converter in order to use your appliance in Italy, look at the manufacturer's information panel on the devise itself.  For example, my laptop AC adaptor says "Input 110 - 240 V ~ 50/60 Hz", so all I need for this is a plug adapter.

A typical wall outlet in Italy looks like this:

To plug into these outlets, you can use either a two prong or a three prong adapter plug, like these:

A power converter, or transformer, is necessary if the information on your appliance indicates that it requires 110v/60Hz.

Rental Cars

I've been researching rental cars in Montecatini and I've found a wide range of prices for the exact same car.

All three quotes use the same car, a Fiat Panda (with AC and manual transmission) picked up from the same office and agency, and all include insurance and taxes.

I started with the source, Europcar.  A one day rental is $117.93.  Two days is $207.27.  Three days is $224.66.

Next I checked with two consolidators, AutoEurope and Kemwel.  Both of these require a three day minimum rental.

AutoEurope's three day rate is  $185.24.  Kemwel's three day rate is $142.09 (and that's before taking off the AAA discount).

For the same car, from the same office and during the same time period I can pay as little as $142.09 or as much as $224.66.

By the way, our hotel offers free parking.

Parla italiano?

Do you speak Italian?   Would you like to try?

On the Fodor's web site you can see and listen to 150 different words and phrases in Italian that are relevant for travelers.  There are six categories to choose from, including Greetings, Directions, Shopping, Numbers, Dining Out and Basic Phrases.  You just click on the phrase in Italian, and you can hear a native speaker pronounce it correctly.  It's easy, and it's free.  You can find it here:  Fodor's Italian Travel Phrases

Another good, and free, resource on the web is Living Language's essential words and phrases sheet.  It's a PDF file that you can download and print on one sheet of paper (double-sided).  You can find it here:  Living Language "Italian to Go" sheet

More Money!

The Euro has been the official currency of Italy since March, 2002.

There are paper banknotes in seven denominations: €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, and €500. The physical size of the notes increases as the denomination increases, each denomination is a different color, and each depicts a specific architectural style:

€5 Gray Classical

€10 Red Romanesque

€20 Blue Gothic

€50 Orange Renaissance

€100 Green Baroque & Rococo

€200 Yellow/Brown Age of Iron & Glass

€500 Purple Modern 20th Century

You can see specimens of the paper notes here: Banca d'Italia Euro Notes

Coins come in eight denominations: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, €1 and €2. One side of each coin is common to all Euro coins, the other side is specific to the country that issued the coin (although all Euro coins can be used in all Euro countries).

The coins also vary in physical size, but they’re not as straightforward as the notes; the sizes don’t increase neatly commensurate with the value, the way the notes do.

You can see specimens of the front (common) sides of the coins here: Banca d'Italia Euro Coins

You can see specimens of the back (Italy specific) sides of the coins here:  Banca d'Italia Euro Coins (Back)

There are dozens of web sites where you can see the latest currency rates; here's one that I find very easy to use:  XE Currency Conversion

Money money money money, MONEY

Some people got to have it

Hey, Hey, Hey - some people really need it

Hey, listen to me, y'all do thangs, do thangs, do thangs - bad thangs with it
Well, you wanna do thangs, do thangs, do thangs - good thangs with it - yeah

Un Huh, talkin' bout cash money, money

The O’Jays

The Euro has been the official currency in Italy since March, 2002 (more on the Euro in a later post).  You will need some cash during the week, for incidentals, tips, purchases from vendors who don't take credit cards, etc.

There are several ways to obtain Euros:

• Purchase them from your bank or American Express before leaving home
• Change US currency for Euros at a currency exchange agency (at the airport in Newark, or in Italy)
• Exchange US currency for Euros at a bank in Italy
• Use ATMs (called Bancomats in Italy) to withdraw Euros directly from your checking or savings account
• Use a credit card to get a cash advance from an ATM

This is one of the rare situations in life where the easiest option is also (usually) the least expensive:  using an ATM in Italy to withdraw directly from your checking or savings account.

If your bank will sell you Euros without a fee, this may be less expensive.  My bank charges a hefty fee for this service, so I don't bother.

There are several Bancomats in the terminals at the airport in Rome, for those who want to get cash immediately.

The Italian Banking Association web site lists 10 Bancomats within one half mile of our hotel on their web site here.

(Our hotel is located just under the word "Italia" on this map, at the northern end of Via Giacomo Puccini)

If you plan to use your ATM card while in Italy, it's a good idea to call your bank the week before the trip to let them know, so your card usage in Italy doesn't raise a fraud alert.

Cooking with Chef Paolo Monti

Several members of our group will be spending Thursday learning to cook in Lucca with Chef Paolo Monti of Cucina Italiana.

Chef Paolo Monti

The class begins at 9:30 AM on Thursday, October 28 (or 28 Ottobre, in italiano).  Each participant should bring their fee of 55 Euros in cash or it can be charged to your credit card.

There are several choices for trains from Montecatini Centro, the station nearest our hotel (see prior blog entry on Stazione Montecatini Centro for directions to the station), to Lucca.  Just like Goldilocks, you have three choices: a slow regional, a very slow regional, and a fast regional train.  All three trains cost the same, Euro 3,10 each way.

Very slow:    Departs Montecatini Centro 6:59 AM, arrives Lucca 7:51 (52 minutes)

Faster:         Departs Montecatini Centro 8:05 AM, arrives Lucca 8:30 (25 minutes)

Sorta slow:   Departs Montecatini Centro 8:33 AM, arrives Lucca 9:21 (48 minutes)

The cooking school, which is located at the Hotel Carignano, is about fifteen minutes from the train station by cab. 

The Lucca train station is located in Piazzale Ricasoli, and the hotel address is Via di Sant'Alessio, 3680, 55100 Lucca.  The total distance is 4.8 miles (7.8 km).

Google map from Lucca train station to the Hotel Carignano and Cucina Italiana:

View Larger Map

The school's web site with more information is here: Cucina-Italiana Cooking School

What Can I Bring Home With Me?

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has developed a brochure entitled Know Before You Go that goes over everything you didn't know you wanted to know about returning home after traveling abroad.

If you have any questions about what you can bring home, this booklet has the answers.  Click on the link above to download a PDF version of the brochure.

Weather in Tuscany

Just like investments, prior weather history does not guarantee future results.  However, it does give us some indication of what we might expect.  The following shows you the temperature and any particular weather conditions for each day of our week over the past five years.

Five Perfect Days in Tuscany

The September 2010 issue of Conde Nast Traveler has an article entitled "Five Perfect Days in Tuscany" (page 111).  If you don't have the magazine, you can read the article on their web site here.

The article offers an overview of three places we will visit, Florence, Chianti and Siena.  It also describes Lucca, which you may be interested in seeing during our free time.

Free Time Plans

Decisions, decisions.  We have one full free day (Thursday) and one half day (Friday afternoon) during our week in Tuscany.

Some are planning to go to Venice.

Some are heading back to Florence.

Some are going to Lucca for a cooking class.

I'm considering going to St. Francis's retreat center at La Verna

What are you thinking of doing?

Cell Phones

Cell phones are ubiquitous in Italy and have been for many years.  For those who need or want to have a cell phone for the trip, you have a few options.

The two most common are to use your current phone and pay international roaming rates through your current carrier and plan, or to rent a cell phone.

In order for a cell phone to work in Europe, it must use the correct frequency, or GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) band.   Many U.S. based phones are compatible, but not all.  For example, my AT&T phone works in Europe, but my cousin's Verizon phone does not.

You can contact your plan provider to determine if your phone will work, and what their fees are for international roaming.  Links for the major providers are:

AT&T

Verizon

Sprint

T-Mobile

Another option is to rent a cell phone just for the trip.  I have done this in the past, before I had a compatible phone.  They mailed me a phone that arrived just before I left on the trip.  Along with the phone came a prepaid mailer that I could use to send it back after I returned.  There are lots of companies that offer this service, if you google "rent european cell phone" you'll come up plenty.  I used Planetfone in the past, but I haven't looked into this or compared costs in several years, so I don't know what the going rates are today.

Using the Trains in Italy

In an earlier post (entitled Stazione Montecatini Centro) there is a map from our hotel to the nearest train station, Montecatini Centro, which is a half mile away.

Several members of our group have asked about taking the train on our free days, so I've put together a chart showing how long it takes to get to the most requested destinations, and what it costs.

The ticket office (biglietteria) at Montecatini Centro is open Monday through Friday, from 6:20 AM through 1:00 PM.

You can also purchase tickets at the other station in town, Montecatini Terme Monsummano, which is about a mile from the hotel at Piazza Italia.  The ticket office at this station is open Monday through Saturday from 6:20 AM through 7:40 PM, and Sunday from 6:20 AM through 1:00 PM.

There is a very thorough write up, with pictures, about using the trains on the Slow Travel web site.

You can look at train schedules and fares on the Trenitalia site here.  Just a few words of warning, however.  The Trenitalia site usually does not accept U.S. based credit cards, if you are thinking of purchasing tickets ahead of time.  There really isn't any need to buy them in advance anyway, as trains rarely sell out, except around major holidays like Christmas.