Italy for Families: How to Plan a Trip Step by Step: Part 1

I've always said that, one day, I would eat my way through Italy! I love Italian food (and Mexican and Thai and BBQ - I digress!). My kids love pizza (don't yours?), so what better place to spend a few days/weeks? We are planning a trip to Italy, little by little! So I thought I would post our "decision-making-process" as we go!

1. Where to go?
Italy, of course, but it is a big country, and we don't have months of time. I bought some travel books on Italy and "thoroughly skimmed" through them - can you do that? I mean, I looked through them and skipped the hundreds of pages on art museums and churches because I don't need that info now. I need to know a little about each part of Italy - location, tourist info, activities and events, hotels, transportation, food, political stability (I do live in the Middle East!), etc. My "big idea" is not to have to rent a vehicle (one for 9 is expensive and often hard to come by). So the towns need to be close to each other and connected by transportation.

Idea 1: Rent a beautiful farmhouse and relax! To-Tuscany.com looks beautiful! However, after dreaming about the tranquil farm, and seeing that none of them had a train running nearby, I decided that my kids would be bored after a few days - minimal rental 1 week in most cases.

Idea 2: The train through Italy looks awesome - ItaliaRail.com - we could see all of Italy from the train and stop overnight in certain cities! Somehow I can't see my kids enjoying sitting on a train for days on end watching Italy go by.

Idea 3: Choose a few cities, connected by the train, and spend a few days in each. Rome is a given - plus the airplane flies into Rome. Tuscany has always intrigued us. Hubby keeps mentioning the Amalfi Coast.


 

Pompeii interests me, and it is near Naples, home of pizza.

Florence sells lots of nice leather products (I NEED new boots and a leather jacket, maybe a bag or 2!) I read on a blog somewhere that Lucca is family-friendly, and it is near Pisa. Sicily looks interesting, and Venice, but they are far from Rome. So is Genoa, home of Christopher Columbus. Milan is fashionable but maybe not the best for kids Ahhh ... so many choices!

This one wins: Rome, Amalfi Coast, Florence, and Lucca.