Yikes - Italian train strikes?!

In my research for our trip I ran across articles about the somewhat frequent (but pre-planned/ announced) train strikes that occur in Italy.  I don't remember running in to any issues last visit - but the Internet sure is a wealth of information, and it is something I wanted to make sure we were aware of before leaving.

We've booked Trenitalia to get us from Rome to Florence, then Florence to Venice, then Venice back to Rome (with a short regional train ride to Santa Marinella for a night before back to Rome).

The following blog posts, found on Pinterest, explain where to look for info on if a strike may be coming.

https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/travelers-guide-strikes-italy
https://www.italiarail.com/strike-information
http://italyexplained.com/how-to-deal-with-italian-train-strikes/

As I reviewed the site today to see of upcoming scheduled strikes I was concerned to see one of our travel dates, October 15, as a scheduled national strike day.  We have an 11 am train booked to take us from Rome to Florence.

I looked at the detail, and not understanding Italian - but could tell the strike was for October 15-16 and impacted Trenitalia nationally.  My first reaction was "UGH!" and to look at rental car options or other bus options - neither of which are even remotely preferable.

Eventually I got wise enough to try to translate with google what this alert and strike detail was really saying and YAY, I think we'll be ok.  The planned strike is scheduled to take place from 21:00 (9 pm) on Saturday, Oct 15 through 21:00 (9 pm) on Sunday, Oct 16.  By that time we'll have taken our train ride to Florence and should be settled in until we head to Venice on the 18th.  Of course, we'll still have to watch close and be tuned in to what is going on as we get closer and after we arrive in Rome, but fortunately the strikes being planned and announced in advance seem to rarely change.  Whew!!

Florence planning

Our second city/stop on the trip is Firenze for 3 nights.  We'll arrive via train mid-day on Saturday, October 15 and depart the morning of Tuesday, October 18.  I recall from my 2001 visit the beauty, art and relaxation of Firenze.  It is a very walkable town with lots of amazing architecture and history.  In brainstorming how to spend our time in Firenze we'll leisurely spend the first afternoon/evening exploring the many sites of the city; the different piazzas, the Arno and Ponte Vecchio, and the Duomo.  Maybe even attend Mass in English Saturday evening at the Duomo.

The remaining two full days in Firenze we'll take advantage of some tours.  On Sunday the 16th we have an electric bike tour booked through Viator in the late afternoon.   The earlier part of our day will be left to explore the Mercato Centrale, stroll along the Arno, and enjoy the city.

Monday the 17th we'll be taking a day trip/tour with Avventure Bellissime from Firenze to Cinque Terre.  This will be an all day adventure, and we're looking forward to learning from our guide about this precious area of Italy and seeing the beautiful small towns along the sea.  

T-minus 13 days until Italy!

It has been a busy summer, and we are now about 2 weeks away from departing on our Italian adventure.  Summer brought some extra excitement as we sold our house and moved.  It's been a great change, but certainly occupied our time from late May until mid-August.  Now we are just settling in to our new home.

In the midst of our move and now getting settled this fall; all of our final planning is taking place and we are preparing for our trip.  In my research and preparation I found some fun live webcams from famous sites around the world.  Here are some from places we'll be!

Piazza Navona Rome: http://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/lazio/roma/piazza-navona.html

We'll be there Thursday, Oct 14 to meet our first Walks of Italy tour around 4:45 pm Italy time; which is around 9:30 am at home.

Piazza Signoria Florence: http://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/toscana/firenze/piazza-signoria.html

We'll  be there from Saturday, Oct 15 - Tuesday, Oct 18.  The hotel we're staying at in Florence is in the back left corner of this camera shot.

Piazza San Marco Venice:  http://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/veneto/venezia/piazza-san-marco.html

We'll be visiting this famous Venetian site sometime Tuesday, Oct 18 in the afternoon or Wednesday, Oct 19 (or maybe both).