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[sarahsue79]

Hello All~ I am looking for some help. My husband and I will be leaving our home in Halifax N.S, Canada and heading to Italy for my 30th birthday. My husband is also in his early 30's however has a very serious heart condition, so when travel planning I always need to make sure that we are within a 40 minute drive to a large hospital. We are planning on dividing our trip into 3 areas.. Maybe 5 days in Northern Italy, 5 days central and 5 days on the Southern coast. I am looking for some ideas for where to base ourselves. I will be looking for condo rentals so we can pick up some groceries. I love beautiful small towns and would love any help that you can offer me. If you have an old itinary feel free to send it my way. I am really looking for 3 different cities to base ourselves!! Tell me your favorites!! They must be romantic, fairly small and coastal is a bonus
Sarah & Shane

Halifax N.S Canada

[starlagurl]

Well, I don't know if Venice would be to your liking, since I'm not sure how far hospitals are away from where you would be staying... but it's a very romantic place, of course.

I've also been to Florence and Rome, but I liked Rome a lot better than Florence.

Rome is busy and not very small, so I don't think you would like it too much.

Florence actually might be a good idea for you. Maybe check Florence out. It's historical and there's a beautiful river flowing through the middle of town, also very romantic.

[gfmueden]

Oh Boy. Small towns and 40 minutes to a large hospital don't seem to go together. I can't help there.

Venice is OK. They have a hospital, water ambulances and water taxis.

The problem with hospitals is language, not with the doctors but with the nurses. The doctor will give the orders and rely on standard procedures without you knowing them. Only later these procedures may conflict with something you know about but are unale to explain to the nurse and she is intent on protecting the doctor and nothing is done. You are stuck. Make sure the doctor tells you all the things you may and may not do. If anything sunds wrong check it right away. E.g., if denied water or moving your bowels, how will bowels remain loose? Strain and have another attack?

Please let us know how it goes. Bon voyage. ===gm===

[starlagurl]

Oh water ambulances! You don't say! Isn't that ingenious, you learn something new every day.

Thanks for your input gfmueden.

[lanzainfo]

Hello All~ I am looking for some help. My husband and I will be leaving our home in Halifax N.S, Canada and heading to Italy for my 30th birthday. My husband is also in his early 30's however has a very serious heart condition, so when travel planning I always need to make sure that we are within a 40 minute drive to a large hospital. We are planning on dividing our trip into 3 areas.. Maybe 5 days in Northern Italy, 5 days central and 5 days on the Southern coast. I am looking for some ideas for where to base ourselves. I will be looking for condo rentals so we can pick up some groceries. I love beautiful small towns and would love any help that you can offer me. If you have an old itinary feel free to send it my way. I am really looking for 3 different cities to base ourselves!! Tell me your favorites!! They must be romantic, fairly small and coastal is a bonus
Sarah & Shane

Halifax N.S Canada

Hello Sarah & Shane,
I explored Italy from Naples up to Venice during a week with my friend, the Amalfi coast is beautiful we didn't stop just took the drive along it but it is breathtaking if you can add it into your trip - there are lots of little villages along if you wanted to stay. For me Florence was the surprise of the trip we loved it and spent an extra day there. Another area I loved was Siena with its medieval square and walled centre. A word of caution, we hired a car and drove for the complete week, a year later we started receiving traffic violations, first notifications from the hire car company and then from the police - this cost us €700! They all related to Rome, there were four incidents apparently we spent one night there and spent an hour looking for parking, I can only think that we went down a restricted zone for residents only so please becareful if driving into this city centre, its a mistake I won't make again.

Our Itinerary was to fly to Rome, drive to Naples we spent a day at Pompei, drove along the Amalfi coast back up to Rome. From Rome to Siena and then on to Florence where we took a day out over to Pisa and the coast. Then we headed to Verona which was reminiscent of Rome but without the hassle factor of parking! Our last stop was Venice before we flew back.

Have a wonderful trip, I'll definitely be going back to explore more of Italy but will be avoiding Rome in the future
Riguardi
Jules

[sarahsue79]

~ Thanks so much for all of your information. I am a flight attendant and not flying this week so today I will begin creating an itinerary. I think we will stick to the larger cities for this particular trip. We are heading to Paris for 4 days prior to flying into Rome~ if any of you have any info for apartment flat rentals in Paris or a good B&B pass it on.

Thanks again!!

Sarah

[starlagurl]

Great feedback you guys! Thanks for helping out.

[clairann2000]

I would choose santa margherita as one base and train to the cinque terra cities, spend a day in Vernazza sitting around the square and use it as a base....the farmers will be harvesting in october and it will be gorgeous weather.
We trained to Lake Como and stayed in Varenna, but Bellagio is great too....explore by water...gorgeous scenery.
OR use Rone as one base if you haven't been to Italy you must do the forum, collusseum, trevi ftn, pantheon(will make you cry), etc.
THen train on down to Sorrento/Capri area and explore museum at Naples, gorgeous lemon groves, pompei, herculaneum, etc....
THe trains are great and very doable...We have gone north and also gone south and love both.

[jillma]

Hi Sarahsue79,

While on your travels in Tuscany, Volterra has a hospital with a very good cardiology ward and rehabilation ward as well. Many people with certain heart conditions come from all over Italy to Volterra for this reason. Volterra is a good base but only if you will have your own transport plus having your own transport is the only way to enjoy and explore Tuscany.

All the best!

[gfmueden]

Of course water ambulance (how else?), and fire trucks and garbage trucks and UPS trucks, etc., all an the water, barges of course, not trucks. Everything goes by water. The hotel laundry goes in big bags on a hand cart to the barge that takes it to the mainland where it is done in anothe city. Fire and Ambulances boats are built for speed and do so, but the others are barges. There is a baggage transport service with a conveyor belt to unload the barges. Thats how the tour ompanies get your baggage to your hotel. I use it to save sclepping my bag over the bridges.

Empty water bottles are such a big problem that the city, whose water comes from the same place as the bottled stuf, now speaks of "the Mayor's water", and encourages its use in restaurants. The recycling of empies didn't pay for their removal by hand cart to the barge, etc..

It is learning of things like this that have brought me back to Venice.

===gm===