Last minute trip to Italy

So, the wife and I are headed to Italy in 10 days. I am going over to view a packaging machine I am buying for my company. It's a last minute deal so not much time to plan. We will travel on Friday and arrive Saturday the 19th in the afternoon.
We will be arriving in Bologna and spend the night there. We then need to be in Cattolica (on the Adriatic sea, right by the San Marino race track) by the evening for a dinner meeting and then staying at a hotel in Cattolica. The next day we are at the factory to view the machine, then back to the hotel
Then we are free to roam about. I have booked return flights for the following Saturday morning, so we have all week to see the sights.
We are renting a car and we like to get off the beaten path, so to speak. Not really into the main stream tourist thing.

Open to suggestions!

There is a vintage race going at San Marino the weekend we arrive, so thinking about checking that out Sunday morning. Or maybe find a place downtown to watch the Moto GP race with the locals.

 

Do the Uccio thing and go to Tavullia, Rossi's hometown. It's a 25 minute drive from Cattolica. I'm sure they'll have the GP on there in one of his shrines.

-jim

 

I would hit up the Ducati and Ferrari tours, maybe do some wine tours in Tuscany and visit Florence and Sienna.

If you have time the Cinque Terre just north of La Spezia is off the charts..........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre

 

Eat the sh*t out of the food. Then do whatever you want. But I like the tour ideas too and vineyards.

 

Wine Tasting for sure...it isn't just wine (at least when we were there)...it's all kinds of salamis, and cheeses too. Delicious!

 

Move your departure time another week, you won't regret it. Amazing country (to be a tourist in, not to live)

Screw the car, rent a Vespa

Bologna is Suppose to be very nice, and more of a 'real' Italian city than Venice or Florance. The less tourists, the better the food, the crowds and the prices. Some of the worst meals I've had were in Venice, but the smaller towns were awesome.

And don't try to leave with a suitcase of Euroes; they've been cracking down at the airports.

 

Make sure you try the ham

 

Get a Budweiser while you can!

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/10/08/budweiser-ban-italy-czech-budvar-wins-court-ab-inbev/


(Sidenote: Budvar and Budweiser shouldn't even be spoken in the same breath.)


Oh, and go to Capri if you can. You will never forget it.

 

This is exactly what I was going to say. If I were you I'd make a beeline for le Cinque Terre as soon as I was able.

 

Awesome ideas so far. Just what I was hoping for.
All Iv'e been getting from family and friends has been Oh do Venice....Oh do Rome.....:down:.
I like the Uccio idea for Sunday for sure.

So when we strike out to places unknown, should we book hotels ahead or just wing it?
Hoping for decent weather!

Oh yeah, I knew the ham thing was coming :up:

 

Rent a Fiat 500. Then spend the rest of the week learning how to say, "sorry, I'm not gay" in Italian.

 

Bed n Breakfast skip the hotels.

 

Two countries at once

San Marino is kind of a country own it's own.
(that is why it gets a GP)

Be sure to make a trip to the top of the mountain that it is on.
I was there one time when the Mille Miglia was going through town.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marino

 

Just wing it. It's past tourist season so hotels will be easy to find. Some of the places you find on unplanned exploration are the best you will see.

Venere.com is a great site to book hotels through if you wanna set them up ahead of time though.

 

x 1,000!

Pizza in rome ruined pizza back home for like a month after we got back. Italians know how to eat!

 

Airbnb has a lot of listings in Italy and around San Marino..

-jim

 

Rent a large SUV and drive around Rome.

 

Eat at the small places (in the small towns and around the city) - avoid big city food, it sucks.

Grocery markets will be your friend for wine and snacks rather then official wine stores.

Last but not least, You're Canadian if anybody asks... Eh? (being american never greased any palms i've noticed - at least a few years ago)

 

http://www.ducati.com/company/visit_us/index.do
http://www.lamborghini.com/en/museum/factory-visit/

 

I've been all over the world twice and never noticed any different treatment. Couldn't really stomach calling myself Canadian.