i love visiting Italy! I have been there many times for work and play, and one of my best friend's lives in the middle of Italy. You are going to love it! There is so much history to see and so many experiences to, well, experience! From seeing the pope at the Vatican, to going to the Uffizzi, to throwing coins in the trevi fountain, to walking through the leather market in Florence, to tasting all of the wonderful foods and wines.

Take advantage of that friend!!! I know that is one of the reasons that I go back to Italy every couple of years...the free accommodation, but also the free tour guide! they will take you to some of the out of the way places/off the beaten track!  To get you into the mood, I would recommend reading john Grisham's Playing for Pizza - a very cute story about a washed up US football player living in Italy. Good luck...and I look forward to following your goal!

Ohhh, thank you for the book rec! I discovered several years ago that it really makes a trip more special to read stories that are set in the place beforehand. It gives me a more personal connection. It was great to go to southern Sweden after reading the Kurt Wallander mysteries by Henning Mankell.

Thanks!!

This sounds amazing!  One of my friends is planning to rent a villa in Tuscany for her 40th next year.  Sadly, unless something completely awesome happens for me, I won't be able to help celebrate!

I'm jealous of you both!  But, will support you in your goal anyway =)

Also, I've read (and seen) Under the Tuscan Sun.  Book is very different from the movie, but gives amazing descriptions.  Also, Eat, Pray, Love.  If you haven't read that, "Eat" is the Italy part.  The way she describes a Marguerita Pizza makes me want to live on them for the rest of my life!

Thanks for the support Zin! ^_~

And for the book recs too--I know of those but have never read them, so I will definitely look into it.

Okay, update on this goal!

(1) I have committed to dates when my friend will be there, and SO & I have both requested the time off work and been approved. Trip will be this year!

(2) I bought the plane tickets. It SUCKED. ;_; Between the time I originally wanted to buy them and today when I bought them, the price per ticket rose $400! But some aggregators were not even showing the return flight I wanted anymore, so I was afraid we would be screwed if we waited. (Most or all of the other return flights ended up giving us an overnight layover, which is a big NO.) I'm feeling the pain pretty hard-core right now, and I might cry if I happen to see the price drop (I'm going to try to force myself not to look at prices again now that I'm committed). BUT, I know the pain of regret if I let the flights we wanted go unavailable would be at least as bad, if not worse. So, I'm trying to stay calm. Honestly, this part, the buying tickets and staying calm about them part, is always the most stressful part of travel for me. I hope I'm not alone in that...