I wanted to let you know about a few interesting resources on the web for Mediterranean-bound travelers - new to me, though maybe not to all of you. One of the most interesting sites that I have seen so far this year was brought to my attention a month or so ago - Dan Hostetler's page of Italian festivals. Go to http://www.hostetler.net/CGI-SHL/dbml.ex... and you will find a well organized, searchable index of festivals, grouped by date and region. Want to know what's going on in Abruzzo in January? This is the place to find out. Want to know the patron saint of any given day? That's here too! This is clearly a labor of love by Hostetler, an American living near Milan with his family, and definitely a site worth visiting more than once.
If you are looking for an Italian getaway that takes you beyond the "big three" cities of Florence, Venice, and Rome, visit Eiolie On Line at http://www.enexa.com/eolieonline/index.h... - the site is mostly in Italian, so keep a translation dictionary nearby, or use one of the online translators if you must, though you'll probably come up with some pretty weird sentences that way! These volcanic islands are just Northwest of the tip of Italy's "boot," and include Lipari, Stromboli (with its active volcano), and others. Various ferries shuttle visitors from island to island, and the site contains contact information for these services, as well as a hotel index and other tourist info. I haven't yet been to the region, but I have seen a couple of movies shot on location in these islands, and I'm definitely putting them on my list for a future visit.
I've recently been doing a lot of fare comparisons - trying to book a trip to Italy in the Spring, but needing to spend a few days in London first. To begin with, all the flights I could find were horrendously expensive connections departing from Heathrow or Gatwick, via the major European airlines - then I talked to my dear Uncle George in England, and he gave me some information that all Europe-bound travellers should know: the really cheap flights go from London's Stansted airport, not Heathrow or Gatwick! Even my favorite local travel agent was clueless on this subject when I consulted her, so I did a bit of online research, and came up with some good stuff to share. If you already know about this, just ignore me, but I think it's definitely information worth sharing, and should be especially helpful to first-time European visitors.
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