If you have an extra day, Pisa is certainly worth the trip. Pisa not only has the tower, which does lean, and is beautiful and in a beautiful piazza, but Pisa is a vibrant college town with an interesting university—and it is the birthplace of Galileo.

You can reach Pisa by train or bus from Livorno or Florence. If you come by train you will either need to find a taxi or take about a 20 minute walk to the tower. You can also drive, and with determination, find a place to park. There are many hotels in Pisa as well.

Pisa is one of my favorite cities. I first visited Pisa in 1957 when I was 12. Our family had just moved to Italy and we all climbed to the top of the tower and looked at the beautiful city below us. The tower was closed for many years—but it has re-opened and it is worth the climb!

PIAZZA OF MIRACLES AND THE LEANING TOWER

Why is Pisa worth the trip? Everyone knows that it has a tower and that the tower leans. What most people don’t know is that it is a beautiful tower in a breath-taking piazza—the Piazza dei Miracoli (piazza of miracles). The tower does lean—it is rather amazing to see. And climbing a leaning tower is as exciting now as it was when I was 12. The stairway is made of marble stairs which are worn according to how the tower leans. There are a lot of them. Nearly 300! Visitors can go out on the bell level—and admire the beautiful bells and then climb even higher to the very top. There are mountains off in one direction, the Arno in another, and far in the distance the sea is sometimes visible. Looking down on the Duomo and the Baptistery is impressive, and the stairway has some windows where you are at eye level with the statues on the roof of the Duomo.

Chocolate Valley? Wow, how had I missed this on my trips to Italy? I was looking at books on Italy the other day and ran across a place called Chocolate Valley located 40 miles west of Florence, not far from Pisa. The area is so named because it is home to a large number of high end chocolatiers.

Armedei, Paul de Bondt, Roberto Catinari and Luca Mannori are all located in the area. A chocolate bar made by Amedei has been selected the best chocolate in the world by the Committee of Experts of the London Academy of Chocolate three years in a row. You have to wonder how you get appointed to that committee. Many of the chocolatiers in Chocolate Valley offer cooking classes, factory tours and chocolate tastings. Some require you to book in advance but others are open during regular Italian business hours.

Turin, Italy is the city that made chocolate what it is today. In the mid-1600’s chocolate was only available as a beverage and was so expensive only the very rich could afford it. At the end of the 18th century a Frenchman named Doret living in Turin invented a chocolate machine that ground cacao seeds into a paste from which chocolate was made. Turin now produces more chocolate annually than France and Germany combined.

You walk into the Sermoneta glove store on the Via Veneto in Rome and see a beautiful pair of gloves. You just have to have them. Chances are if they are beige (beige) you will have no trouble telling the sales clerk which gloves you want to try on. But what if they are yellow (giallo)? That may be a little more difficult to communicate.

Colors are adjectives and must agree with the nouns they are describing. For example, il rosso guanti means the red gloves.

To describe a color as light add the adjective chiaro to the color so rosso chiaro is light red. Adding scuro makes the color dark so blu scuro becomes dark blue.

When I travel to Italy the colors I use most are rosso and bianco as in vino rosso and vino bianco.

Here is the list of colors in Italian with their pronunciation:

Santa Margherita Ligure is a combination of old and new. Wake up early enough and you can still find local fishermen unloading their daily catch and see locals gossiping on the benches that dot the harbor. Visit the harbor later in the day and you will see yachts so big and from so many exotic places that you will think you are in Monaco.

Santa Margherita Ligure lies between the Cinque Terre to the south and Genova to the north. Located in the middle of the Italian Riviera, Santa Margherita is a cheaper place to stay than Portofino, but it is no less beautiful. Located about 3.75 miles (6 km) from Portofino you can walk to Portofino by following the signs.

The town of Santa Margherita is large enough that it can easily absorb the tourists that arrive by boat, train or bus, while still providing a small town feel. Visitors can take a walk along the palm lined harbor, wander through the marina or enjoy the small town beach.

Bars, restaurants, cafés, along with a few upscale stores and gelaterie selling delicious gelato line the harbor and sea. The restaurants range in price depending on the fare and the view. If you are planning a hike to Portofino you can pick up picnic supplies at the Coop supermarket located in Corso Matteoti. The supermarket seems to keep its own hours. The last time I visited Santa Margherita the market closed early because it had been raining all day. Located near the Coop is a bookstore which has a limited selection of used paperbacks in English.

You have made your plane and hotel reservations. You know where you will be going and where you will be staying.

There are some other things travelers need to consider. Anyone traveling abroad should be aware of any effects the local landscape and climate may have on them. If you are sensitive to pollution or to humidity, or to other conditions of your destination, consult with your physician. Although you should not have problems with things like altitude in Italy, you may encounter heavy pollution in some cities so do your research before you leave home.

Don’t forget to leave a copy of your itinerary with someone at home. It is always good to have a friend or relative know where you will be staying and how to get in touch with you in an emergency.

What else do you need to do before you leave for your trip to Italy? Here are some things you need to do before you set of on your trip.

How do you develop a travel itinerary? In other words, how do you get where you want to go and where should you stay when you get there?

Some travelers like to wing it when they travel. No hotel reservations, no advance purchase of train tickets or reservations on ferries. Armed with their plane ticket, yes you always need to purchase that in advance unless your schedule is very flexible and your pocketbook knows no bottom these travelers set off on their trip.

Other travelers schedule every minute of every day they are away from home. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle, hotel reservations when traveling during the high season or if we really want to stay in a particular hotel in a particular city.

Most of us like to plan some things but leave enough time to take advantage of spur of the moment activities whenever they pop up. Happening on a town having a festival can be so much fun that you want to be able to change your plans and stay there for the night.

And, of course, there are times when you have to change your plans because of strikes, illness, travel delays or any number of things that happen when you travel.

Here are some tips to developing your travel itinerary for your trip to Italy:

Some people were born to travel on their own. They love the adventure, they don’t like structure and they love the unexpected. If all those things strike fear in your heart then you should consider traveling with a tour group.

These days there are tour groups to satisfy every interest and style of travel. Gone are the days of taking a bus through 10 countries in 6 days. Now you can find tour groups of all different sizes, covering different interests and that last from one week to one month.

If your travel group is large enough contact a tour group and they will plan a trip for you, arrange transportation and provide tour guides.

Of course, you can always mix it up. Travel with a tour group then stay an extra week or go a week early and meet your group when they arrive.

Are you a tour group traveler?

Planning your trip to Italy can be almost as much fun as taking your trip. By making your planning fun, you can start enjoying your trip before you even leave your house.

Traveling provides a lifetime of memories. Make the most of your trip by turning away from the familiar and overcoming your fear of the unknown. The more you plan the more you will eliminate those things that make you afraid to travel.

Don't forget to include some relaxing time in your trip. Mingling with locals at a market, enjoying a cappuccino in the morning while you watch people heading off for work, eating a gelato in the afternoon sitting on a park bench watching children play or drinking a glass of wine in the evening while you watch the boats come in and out of the harbor in Vernazza may turn out to be the highlight of your trip.

So here are a few tips for planning your trip:

Siena with its high walls and large Piazza is a favorite of many travelers to Italy. If Rome is associated with the Roman Empire and Florence with the Renaissance with Siena it is the Middle Ages.

Free of all the famous art you find in Florence, Siena is a place where you can relax and not feel guilty about doing nothing but enjoying the atmosphere.  Traffic is not allowed inside the walls of Siena so pedestrians rule. You can walk aimlessly through the streets and around the Piazza without having to dodge cars and Vespa's.

Siena is famous for the Palio an event straight out of the Middle Ages. Every year on July 2 and August 16 Siena hosts a horse race that takes place in the Piazza del Campo. Dressed in the brightly colored silks of the different neighborhoods, jockeys riding bareback race horses in circles around the Piazza. The Palio is a celebration full of pageantry that takes place over several days. The competition is intense and emotions run high creating an air of excitement throughout the area.

What to see in Siena:

Most places you visit in Italy transport you back in time to Ancient Rome or the Renaissance. In Portofino, you will feel like you have gone back to the 1950’s and 60’s. That is when Portofino became popular with jet setting celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Ingrid Bergman, Ernest Hemingway, Frank Sinatra, Brigitte Bardot and on and on. The rich and famous would arrive by yacht and spend their time lounging around luxury hotels and private villas. It was a place to see and be seen.

It is no wonder Portofino attracts masses of wealthy people it is beautiful and there are a lot of people there with cameras. Sitting on a small promontory, surrounded by water Portofino is irresistibly photogenic. The small, colorful harbor is crowded with yachts and sailboats, large and small.

The things to do in Portofino are walk and people watch. The best walk is up the steps that lead from the port to the church of San Giorgio. From San Giorgio you will get a beautiful view of the harbor and bay. If you are up to it, you can continue up the path to the Portofino Lighthouse where you will get an even better view.

Lucca, Italy is a town of narrow streets, small shops, family owned restaurants and friendly people. In other words it is like most of the small towns you find in Tuscany. What makes Lucca unique is that it is surrounded by walls that have paths you can walk on and it has a tower with trees growing on top. It can be almost as confusing to find your way through the winding streets of Lucca as it is in Venice. In Lucca, rather than heading toward a canal you go towards the walls.

Most of the streets in Lucca are now open only to pedestrian traffic. You can stroll the streets and window shop in the many stores some with names you know while others are small family owned shops.

If you are looking for a day trip from Florence, Lucca is a great option. Since Lucca is on the way to Pisa if you are pressed for time you could spend the morning in Pisa and the afternoon in Lucca. If you prefer to stay in Lucca, there are a number of nice hotels both inside the walls and out.

Bella Bellagio! Every time to you tell someone who has been to Bellagio that you are planning a trip there they will sigh and say ahhhh, bella Bellagio. And it is true. Bellagio is beautiful.

Lake Como is dotted with small towns that sit right at the base of the mountains on the lake. All are worth a visit but none are more beautiful than Bellagio. Bellagio sits at the fork in the lake where the western and eastern arms of the lake split giving the town views of both sides of the lake.

It is tempting to spend your time on the busier side of Bellagio that has the stores and restaurants overlooking the docks and boats. But you should wander up to the top of the town and take one of the paths that lead over to the back arm of the lake which is a little quieter and more peaceful. You can sit on one of the benches and enjoy the view of the lake and small harbor that is full of pleasure boats. The Hotel Belvedere has a restaurant where you can sit outside and look over this side of the lake without having to do much hiking (though you do have to hike up to the hotel).

Umbria is fast becoming a tourist destination for travelers wary of the crowds in Tuscany. Umbria is populated with many small medieval hill towns as well as the lively university town of Perugia, the capital of the region. Known as the “Green Heart of Italy” because of its green, rolling hills Umbria is one of the most pleasant places to visit in Italy. In Umbria you can enjoy both the exciting nightlife of Perugia and the quiet of an agritourism vacation.

Here are the best places to visit on your trip to Umbria:

Perugia – With a population of about 150,000 Perugia is the largest city in Umbria. Perugia was settled by the Etruscans in the 5th century which qualifies it as old. Today Perugia is young, cosmopolitan and artsy. It is home to both the University for Foreigners and the Umbria Jazz festival.  Piazza IV Novembre is the heart and soul of Perugia. This large open piazza is where locals and tourists congregate at all hours of the day and night. The Piazza is home to both the impressive Palazzo dei Priori and the beautiful Fontana Maggiore. Perugia is also home to the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, considered the most important art museum in Umbria and a beautiful Duomo dedicated to San Lorenzo.

Which is better for you? Solo travel or Group Tours? That depends on how you like to travel, how comfortable you are with traveling by yourself or with family and friends and how much you enjoy planning a trip.

Italy is an easy place to find tours that cater to your specific interests. Like art? There are plenty of group trips that focus on museums? Like walking? There are tours that cater to serious hikers and leisurely walkers.

Italy is also a country you can easily explore on your own or with a small group of family and friends. Italians are used to tourists and try to accommodate reasonable requests even if they don’t speak Italian. And there are so many travel guidebooks focusing on Italy that help is close at hand.

Now there is something called independent travel which combines the two. You travel with a tour group but you can decide to tour on your own or participate in a group tours. As for me, I like to plan my own trips but there are times when group travel makes sense especially if you are traveling to hard to get to places or places with restricted access.

Here are some tips to help you decide if you should plan your own trip:

Beautiful and wild Sardinia is unlike anywhere else in Italy. In Sardinia you can stay in 5 star resorts complete with golf courses and tennis courts as well as rustic accommodations on a rural farm. Want to party the night away with the jet set crowd? Then head to Flavio Briatore’s Billionare or the Lord Nelson Pub. Not all the wildlife is in the clubs, if seeing soaring eagles is more your thing then go to Gennargentu National Park.

Sardinia has more outdoor opportunities than just about anywhere else in Italy. Whether your preference is hiking, boating, surfing, kayaking or horseback riding you will find it here. Sardinia is home to parks, nature preserves and UNESCO Heritage Sites all with their own unique fauna, birds, animal’s, and marine life.

Here are just some of the areas highlights:

Naples, you either love it or hate it. For many people visiting Italy, Naples is a place you pass through on your way to Pompeii or Capri. For others, especially Americans, it is the city of their ancestors or at least the city their ancestors passed through on their way to America, so they have a connection with the city no matter how tenuous.

Chaotic and stressful, beautiful and lively, polluted and gritty all describe Naples. Naples is a city, there is nothing quaint about it. Look one way and you are looking out over the beautiful Bay of Naples, turn around and you are looking at urban sprawl.

Whether Naples is a destination or you are just passing through on your way to Amalfi, there are a few things you need to know about Naples:

The Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline that goes from Sorrento to Salerno. Packed with wealthy tourists in the summer it becomes an affordable and relaxing retreat in the spring and fall. Blessed with the natural beauty of mountains, cliffs and the sea, the Amalfi Coast is one of the most beautiful places in Europe. The Amalfi Coast is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.

The Towns of the Amalfi Coast:

Sorrento – Sorrento sits high on the cliffs overlooking the bays of Naples and Salerno. Walking the streets in the summer you will feel like you have walked in the summer version of carnevale. Don’t even think about driving here in the summer, traffic is horrendous. Making matters worse there are no traffic lights in the center of the city.

Positano – Positano is considered the most picturesque of all the towns and is the one most of us are familiar with from pictures and posters. The brightly colored houses of Positano cling to cliffs looking like they are going to tumble into the brilliant turquoise sea at any moment. Positano is known for its beautiful beaches (composed of both sand and pebbles), expensive shops, chic tourists and the number of steps you are likely to have to climb to get anywhere.

1. Mt. Etna – You can see Mt. Etna from all over Sicily, you get the feeling the mountain is trying to lure you to come and visit. Walking along craters and traipsing through the lava of Mt. Etna you will find it difficult to believe that you are still in Italy, you feel like you are on a different planet.

2. Monreale – The Cathedral at Monreale outside Palermo, is a wonder of mosaics. The outside of the Cathedral is austere but inside everything glitters.

3. Taormina – Taormina has a little bit of something for everyone – beautiful views of the Ionian Sea, an ancient Greek/Roman amphitheater, impressive public gardens, great restaurants and shops, a funicular and a beach.

4. Ragusa – The thing that makes Ragusa special is that there are actually two Ragusa’s the old and the new. The new city was built after the earthquake of 1693, which by most of our standards does not make it very new. The old city was renovated after the earthquake.

5. Erice – Sitting at the top of either a large hill or small mountain, Erice glistens in the sun. With the white stone buildings and ancient stone streets Erice has an almost fairytale appearance.

Tourists visiting Italy often fly into and out of Milan. The big question is do you stay in Milan overnight or do you head straight for the train to Venice?

Milan gets a lot of bad press and not without reason – the traffic and pollution can be terrible, there is no historic center like you find in Florence and Rome and the city does not have the unique appeal of Venice. Milan is where money is made and most people do not want to think about that while they are on vacation.

Still…….there are a few reasons to spend at least a day in Milan at one end of your trip or the other.

1.Walk the Roof of the Duomo: Every city and many small towns in Italy have beautiful cathedrals and Milan is no exception. What is unique about the Duomo in Milan is that you can walk along the roof. The cathedral brings to mind a sandcastle so you walk among spires and around statues. You can also sit and look out over the city.

Women in Stilettos: I complain when I have to wear high heels for a couple of hours at a party. Go to Italy and you see women of all ages in stilettos going about their daily activities – riding Vespa’s, shopping, on the train, hiking along the trails of the Cinque Terre, etc.

Chatter is Everywhere: On cell phones and in groups Italians like to talk. There is a constant buzzing of chatter in the background wherever you go. If you listen to cell phone conversations you have to wonder if the person on the other end of the phone is listening the whole time or if both people are talking non-stop.

No Salt: Several years ago I overhead an American couple complain about how bland the food in Italy is. I could not believe what I was hearing. So many Americans are used to eating fast food and processed food that they can’t appreciate fresh food prepared with natural herbs and little salt.

Grapes Growing in Backyards: Vineyards grow behind houses in small towns all across Italy. Families harvest the grapes and make their own wine so they always have a stash of wine available.

Coffee Comes in one Size: Order an espresso, cappuccino or coffee and no one asks you if you want a tall, grande or veniti. You get whatever size the restaurant or cafè serves.

Not Just Coke:Wine and beer are sold in vending machines all across Europe which makes a nice change from only having soda and water.

When you travel to Italy, or any other country where you do not understand the language well you need to make sure you can tell someone if you are having a medical emergency. If you have a known medical condition write that condition on an index card in both Italian and English. You need the English translation so you know what you are saying! Be sure to have a native speaker look at your card so you know that you have written everything correctly.

Most doctors, medical personnel in hospitals and pharmacists know some English. If you are staying in a hotel and have a problem, it is likely they will know of a local doctor who understands English.

I have had to buy all sorts of medicines for minor problems at pharmacies all across Italy and have found that pantomiming works well though depending on your problem you may have to leave your inhibitions at the door.

Here are some key phrases:

It can be scary going to a country where you don’t speak the language if you have a severe allergy. I have an allergy to bees (api) and wasps (vespe). It is pretty easy for me to avoid areas where bees and wasps hang out and I always make sure I carry my EpiPen and a few Benadryl with me. So far, I have not had a problem getting my EpiPen through airport security.

Food allergies can be tricky because different ingredients are commonly used in different countries such as hazelnuts and almonds in Italy.  You need to be particularly careful because your waiter may not know exactly what is in the meal you are ordering.

I always suggest writing your allergy on an index card in both English and Italian; make several copies in case you lose one. Be sure to have a native speaker verify that you have written everything correctly. And don’t forget your EpiPen and Benadryl when you travel.

Here are some common food allergies and their Italian translations.

Italian Beaches that have a blue flag flying are safe for you to enjoy. The Mediterranean Sea is beautiful, that beauty at times can be deceptive. Just because a beach looks clean and the water is the blue-green that is unique to the Mediterranean does not mean the swimming is safe for you and your family. Like many of the world's beaches some of Italy's beaches are sadly, polluted and dirty.

Europe, South Africa, Morocco, New Zealand, Canada and the Caribbean have all implemented the blue flag system over the past few years. The Blue Flag Program is owned and run by the independent non-profit organization - Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)

The Blue Flag program works to promote sustainable development at beaches and marinas by using strict criteria for water quality, environment management, safety and other services.

It is hard to find a bad meal in Italy. In a country where eating is an art form it pays to take a minute and learn about the different types of restaurants you will find on your next trip.

•Autogrill (OWtogreel) - These are the markets and restaurants that are found in the rest areas off the expressways. Don't be fooled, I have bought some of my best meals in the Autogrill's. The larger Autogrill's have food that you can buy to take on a picnic.

•Bar (bar) - Bars are on every street corner in Italy. Coffee and a wide variety of other drinks are served in bars. In most bars you go to the cashier first and place your order, then you take your ticket to the counter and order what you paid for.

•Caffè (kaffEH) - A caffè is a coffee shop that may offer breakfast or a panini but generally does not serve much food.

•Osteria (ostayREEa) - These are small restaurants that offer simple fare. Check the menu first though, simple does not always mean inexpensive.

Knowing a few basic Italian words and phrases will make your trip to Italy even more enjoyable. Going to a country where your native language is not the primary language can be intimidating and a little bit scary. Even the most experienced travelers can get a little panicky knowing they will not be hearing their language spoken for the next week or two. Not to worry, there are a number of easy things you can do to make sure you are understood in a foreign country, speaking louder is not one of them.

I use Rick Steves Italian Phrase book when I travel to Italy. I speak a little Italian and find Rick Steves Italian Phrase Book very helpful. However, I speak even less French and Spanish and find his phrase books even more useful when I visit those countries. In France and Spain I do a lot of pointing to words in my phrase book.

To get you started here are 10 basic Italian words and phrases:

I recently returned from a trip to Sicily where lost luggage was a major topic of conversation. A couple of friends in my travel party had their luggage delivered two days after they arrived in Taormina. On the trip home my luggage took a short detour to France.

What is a traveler to do?

I avoid the lost luggage risk going to my destination by packing light and only taking carry-on bags even if I will be gone for several weeks. I realize this a challenge, particularly for women, but you can do it if you try by reminding yourself that if you need something it is the perfect excuse to go shopping.

You can't possibly pack enough to meet every possible need that may arise without bringing a steamer trunk so accept the challenge to pack lightly. And, be prepared to rinse a few things out in the bathroom sink.