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Europe Travel Assistance

Despite skiing quite a bit, I've never owned gear (nor does my wife), so we're good there.

We were planning on taking trains pretty much everywhere - more relaxing and less concern about snowy/icy roads. Playing around with the thought of training from Innsbruch to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and renting a car there to explore Bavaria/end up in Munich. Would a car be better/necessary in Austria as well? Any must-visit southern Germany towns? Fussen for the castles perhaps?
 
that's such a great time. Hit Montalcino and have a Brunello tasting; Montepulciano is another great hill town and we love this place: https://www.caffepoliziano.it/ Ask to sit on their terrace - the views are amazing.

If you're up for a really small town experience, go to Il Conte Matto in Trequanda. https://guide.michelin.com/en/toscana/trequanda/restaurant/il-conte-matto It is about 50 yards from my family's house and it's outstanding, especially for such a tiny town.

Another good place is https://www.locandadicasalmustia.it/en/ in Castelmuzio. Right in the middle of town - again, it's tiny, you can't miss it once you're in town. (Looks like they have rooms as well, if that's what you're looking for.)

I couldn't agree more with this post. I prefer Montepulciano to Montalcino, but if you're into wine, both are must hits. There are so many pretty hilltop towns in Italy.
 
WFU03, was it you who stayed at my aunt's house a couple of years ago? Someone on this board definitely did but now I'm drawing a blank on who it was. https://ifiordalisi.com/

It is about 10,000 euros for a week, but split between 6 couples for the whole house it's actually a bargain.
 
It's a beautiful place, but sadly it wasn't me. I haven't been to Italy in almost a decade.
 
man, I love Tuscany. both Montepulciano and Montalcino are great towns. being near Siena is a great base for getting around.
 
To paraphrase Yosemeti Sam to Buggs Bunny, "Well, someone's gonna have to go Tuscany, and that someone is a gonna be you." Yeah, I feel awful, it's been almost three years since I was in Florence.
 
Looks like our little trip is all set, gonna live in the Chianti vineyards outside San Gimignano.

If you find yourself near Gaiole in Chianti, make your way up the mountain (5 minute drive) to Barbischio, a "town" with a population of like 30 folks. There's a restaurant there (the only one) called Il Papavero that was probably our favorite dining experience in all of Italy. Seats maybe 16-20 at a time, and the stone walls are decorated with art from an artist that lives in the tower that overlooks the town. I ordered the Wild Boar that was shot that day, and my wife did the Lasagna. Her Lasagna was so good, I ordered a plate of that as well. This we did a bruschetta and a couple bottles of wine as well. You will not want to leave, and they'll let you stay.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/I...42e9baaa293b7ac8!8m2!3d43.462625!4d11.4551073
 
If you find yourself near Gaiole in Chianti, make your way up the mountain (5 minute drive) to Barbischio, a "town" with a population of like 30 folks. There's a restaurant there (the only one) called Il Papavero that was probably our favorite dining experience in all of Italy. Seats maybe 16-20 at a time, and the stone walls are decorated with art from an artist that lives in the tower that overlooks the town. I ordered the Wild Boar that was shot that day, and my wife did the Lasagna. Her Lasagna was so good, I ordered a plate of that as well. This we did a bruschetta and a couple bottles of wine as well. You will not want to leave, and they'll let you stay.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/I...42e9baaa293b7ac8!8m2!3d43.462625!4d11.4551073

Thanks, I'll let you know if we were able to do it. I have been to Italy a few times and had experiences similar to yours. They are among my favorite and most enduring memories of Italy.
 
Seriously I could live in Siena if they would let me.

The pandemic really fucked us from going back and has pushed things out another 9 months.
 
Europe flights are just crazy cheap right now. Our tickets went from $1000 to $700, so got a $300 travel credit each and kept the upgrades. I keep getting notifications for $500-600 flights to basically everywhere you'd want to go in Europe - most from August - early 2022.
 
The wife and I are going to Switzerland and Mallorca, Spain for 12 days in September and looking for food recommendations as well as things we should do while there. In Switzerland, we will be staying in Lucerne, Basel, Geneva, and Lausanne and then will be in Mallorca, Spain for a few days. We may also do day trips to Zurich and Bern so looking for suggestions there for food as well or other places we may want to do day trips to that are near the cities where we are staying.
 
Innsbruck is the perfect place for skiing. Stay in town, and there are free buses to take you to 5 different ski areas. As always, rent your stuff in town and not on the mountain.
 
The wife and I are going to Switzerland and Mallorca, Spain for 12 days in September and looking for food recommendations as well as things we should do while there. In Switzerland, we will be staying in Lucerne, Basel, Geneva, and Lausanne and then will be in Mallorca, Spain for a few days. We may also do day trips to Zurich and Bern so looking for suggestions there for food as well or other places we may want to do day trips to that are near the cities where we are staying.

Just stumbled onto this thread. I lived in Luzern for 21 years before moving to Portugal in 2019. Feel free to PM me with questions / itinerary / what you like to do / anything.
 
The wife and I are going to Switzerland and Mallorca, Spain for 12 days in September and looking for food recommendations as well as things we should do while there. In Switzerland, we will be staying in Lucerne, Basel, Geneva, and Lausanne and then will be in Mallorca, Spain for a few days. We may also do day trips to Zurich and Bern so looking for suggestions there for food as well or other places we may want to do day trips to that are near the cities where we are staying.

You got to see the Lion of Lucerne monument. Unfortunately, I do not have good restaurant recommendations for Switzerland. Get a window seat on the train from Geneva to Berne, as the countryside is stunning. Check out some of the underground pubs in Berne if you go. Grindewald is worth a day trip (skip Interlaken). Buy train tickets online beforehand as you can get better deals for tickets. Most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. Enjoy.
 
Bump. Well, Austria is on complete lockdown for at least 9 more days and likely until 12/13 (or longer). Germany looks to potentially follow suit. Do we try to ride this out, or go ahead and punt and try to go somewhere else, either in Europe or domestically? Our dates are 12/30 - 1/9.
 
not looking good, my dude -- probs should look elsewhere

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59358074
 
Germany says you’ll either be vaccinated, recovered or dead by end of December so all good there! Really though Europe doesn’t seem like the place to be for a good trip the next few months.
 
Yep, that's what I figured - now the problem is that a replacement domestic trip is going to be just as expensive, or more. Never done SoCal other than for work, so might look into that.
 
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