My wife and I travelled to Italy twice. The first time we spent 10 days and made a loop starting and ending in Milan. We flew into Milan and took the train striaght to Venice where we stayed 3 nights in the Santa Chiara hotel on the Grand Canal. We took a water taxi to Murano where we bought some festive colored champaigne glasses that we shipped back home. Everytime we use the glasses it reminds us of the trip.

We then had some business in Bologna where we stayed at the hotel bologna which was the most expensive night of the trip. From Bologna we took the train to Florence where we stayed for another night and then rented a car and went south past Sienna to a family run B&B called La Palazzina. We stayed there for three nights and toured the tuscan country side including San Giminiano, Montepulciano, Bagno Vignioni and a number of other quaint and beautiful towns and monastaries.

The last leg of our trip we drove all the way north to Lake Como and stayed in a hotel high up off the lake that gave us a panoramic view of the lake nestled in the Italian alps.

We arranged to drop our rental car off at malpensa and flew home.

That trip was so magical that 7 years later we planned a trip that covered Rome and the Amalfi Coast.

We landed in Rome and then drove south to a hotel villa rosa on a wildlife preserve about three hours from the airport. We spent the night there and then continued driving south to Positano which we used as our base for four days of touring the Amalfi coast. Positano was beautiful but the place that turned out to be truely remarkable is Ravello. If you are looking for authentic Italian food and atmosphere you need to go to Cumpa Cosimo owned and run by Netta.

After touring as far south as Vietri with a side trip to Capri we went north to Pompeii and then to Rome were we dropped off our car.

We stayed in Rome for four more days in a hotel not too far from the Spanish steps. We enjoyed walking all over Rome and using the subway system and taxis.

Where ever you go to eat in Rome or anywhere in Italy you can’t go wrong.

I know that you said you like to utlize your time and enjoy all you can so I suggest that you take your time exploring a couple of cities and really soak in the atmosphere. You can’t go wrong with using Rome as a focal point and take day trips to other places if you have the time or inclination.