Don’t plan a tight sightseeing schedule. All the attractions take time to locate and time to enjoy thoroughly. Also, remember that the hours for attractions vary. Some of the attractions like the Sistine Chapel close at odd hours, and many are closed on certain weekdays. Also, try to narrow down and agree on the essential attractions that you all want to see before you book your accommodations. This way you will have a better idea of the number of days you will need in each area. Do your research and make sure that you have time to see what’s important to you.
Plan Time for Laundry
We all packed as light as we could for our two weeks of travel-well, okay not as light as we could- and we all had to do laundry at least twice while we were there. Apartments and flats often come equipped with washing machines, but there are NO CLOTHES’ DRYERS in the apartments in Europe. The only dryers we found were in a laundry mat in Florence.
Don’t Expect to Eat Dinner Early
Many restaurants have irregular hours. Many times, if we arrived at a restaurant too early in the evening (like 7:00 p.m. I don’t think they have a problem with acid reflux in this country.), we would catch the staff during their dinnertime. After they finished eating, they would usher us in for dinner. For those of you who have trouble eating too late in the evening, you may want to plan ahead for this.
European Menus
Watch out for pricing on menus. One of us ordered a fish entrée at a small restaurant in Venice that was priced at 7 euro per ounce. Apparently the fish was 12 ounces when cooked, but when it was prepared and brought to the table, it appeared much smaller. Needless to say, the 84-euro flounder made quite an impression.