Saving Money On Car Rentals

Car rental rates have soared in the last several years. Even using sites like Kayak and Priceline you tend to get some high rates. Some time ago I saw a reference in the New York Times to a site called Autoslash.com. I tried it earlier this summer and was able to get a very reasonable rate for the July 4th week in Hartford, Connecticut. previously my best rate for the week was about $400. I ended up paying $241 and got the car from Hertz. That was a substantial savings thanks to AutoSlash.

I have booked a 21 day rental in Sicily and did quite a bit of shopping. I searched Hertz, Auto Europe, and Avis. Each gave me rates that were in the $800 range. Hertz got down to about $760 and it was looking better. I got a quote from AutoSlash and found that they could get me a $747 rate for the same period and they would continue to search for updates to the rate. Hertz is the provider.

Now for the really good news! We leave on Tuesday and today I got an email saying they checked rates and it went from $765.51 to $305.89. This is a substantial savings. Note the original quote I got was $747 but Hertz raised it. When I brought this to the attention of AutoSlash they contacted Hertz and got the rate reduced.

Give AutoSlash a try and compare with other search engines. Hotwire, Hotels.com, Kayak have been helpful to me in the past, but not have reduced the rates after booking.

You do not pay up front! Also keep in mind many credit card companies will cover your CDW which can save you several hundred dollars on a rental.

I have no affiliation with any site mentioned above.

Always good to have some tape. In Palermo a driver strayed into my land and hit the mirror. He then continued as if nothing had happened. Luckily I had some tape and we survived. I rented with Europcar and got it through InItaly.com. They covered the damage but still charged me $100. That is why credit card CDW is better. BUT read your credit card agreement throughly.

August 11, 2017 0

Gotcha

As I casualy drove from Borghese park where I dropped off my wife in Rome to return our rental car in Rome I was oblivious to what was happening around me.

Seems that while I was enjoying the views, I was being watched. As the sights went by and my GPS took me to the airport traffic cams were doing their job. Enforcing the zona limitato and preparing to send me a multa salata, A slaty fine which I would have to pay on line. That was the first and last time I would not be aware of the resident only driving areas in many cities in Italy
As we return to Rome this year, public transport will be our preferred method of getting around. I must say it was fun driving by the colosseum with out a care in the world, but expensive.

August 10, 2017 2

Papal Audience Tickets

After searching and searching I found the following site which will allow you to get tickets to a Papal Audience. I hope you find this of use if you are going to be in Rome this year.

On most Wednesday you can attend the public audience in St Peters Square in front of St Peters Basilica. You can request the tickets by email and there is no charge. You will be directed to the web site to St Patrick’s American Community in Rome. All the information you will need can be found on this page.

Saint Patrick’s American Community in Rome

Once you are on the page, the ticket link is on the right side of the page. Allow two to three weeks for a response. You must pick up your tickets in Rome the day before the audience.

Here is a copy of the reply I received for my request:

The St. Patrick’s Catholic American Community of Rome is happy to assist you with 2 tickets for the Pope’s General Audience on Wednesday September 13, 2017 at 10:00 AM in St. Peter’s Square – Vatican City. While the Pope begins his presentation at 10:00, the gates open at 8:00 and the seating fills up quickly. We strongly recommend arriving early. The audience usually lasts for one hour. Please check www.vatican.va under info/Prefecture for any change in the program.

Reserved Tickets can be picked up on Tuesday afternoon, September 12, 2017 between 4:30 and 6:30 PM ONLY in the Foyer/Sacristy of the Church of St. Patrick (San Patrizio a Villa Ludovisi), Via Boncompagni, N. 31 (near the corner of Via Boncompagni and Via Piemonte) near the US Embassy and the Via Veneto. The Church itself will open at 4:00 PM, and you are welcome to come inside. However, we do not begin the distribution of tickets until 4:30 PM. And if you would like to stay and join us, our weekday Mass in English at St. Patrick’s is at 6:00 PM.

If you are unable to pick up your tickets on Tuesday afternoon, on Wednesday morning between 7:30 and 8:30 AM you can go to the Bronze Doors – St. Peter’s Square – Vatican City – and ask the Swiss Guards for tickets to attend the General Audience.

Please Note: The tickets are Free of Charge, but we ask you to consider making a free will offering of 5 Euros or 5 U.S. Dollars per ticket so that we can continue to offer this service.

Saint Peters Basilica, Rome

August 6, 2017 0

Into the Heart of Sicily by Julien Zolli

Here is another video by Julien Zolli. He capture the sights, sounds and tastes of Sicily. From cities to tiny villages, Sicily never fails to charm a traveler. The beaches help one escape the heat that has plagued Europe this year. If you visit, renting a car is the best way to get around. The roads are good and the views are amazing.

The gentlemen of Ericie, Sicily.

August 6, 2017 0

Sicily Land of Myth from Julien Zolli

I found this wonderful video on Facebook and could not stop watching. it is short about five minutes but conveys the emotion my wife and I feel when we return to Sicily.

Julien Zolli is a French film maker who can be found on Vimeo and YouTube

Here is the link to this amazing video from a very talented individual. You can Google him to see more videos he has produced.

August 3, 2017 0

Oh crap, the canceled my FLIGHT!!!!

It is only a matter of time untill something like that happens. It happened to us twice. Once in Vienna, and the last time in Rome. We were on vacanza, so it was not the end of the world, but it involved extra costs. In Rome we had to stay an extra three days ( so hard to take). The airline had a bogus reason but never went into details.

As we were in the airport to leave my wife found a notice in the airport regarding the rights of passengers in the EU. Click the link below to bring you to this page.

EU Passenger Rights

Much has been written on this subject, but if your are delayed or have your flight canceled check this site. Also check it if your baggage is lost or delayed. Last year Air Berlin would not let us bring our suitcase as carry on even though our connection was only an hour. Our baggage did not make it.

We went back to the airline (Eurofly USA div of Meridiana) through our credit card company and saved almost $1000. They did not contest our chargeback through the credit card company.

With all our trips to Italy, still like Alitalia the best.

The site below may be of help also:

Air Help

May the help be with you!

July 28, 2017 0

Il mio sogno…… My dream was to bike the hills of Tuscany

People that know me know I love bicycling. Add that to my love of Italy and you have my dream vacation. I told my wife about it, but she did not wish to go back to Italy again so soon, especially as our last trip was an 18 hour affair which was diverted from Miami to Freeport in the Bahamas! For several years I was getting brochures from Vermont Bike Tours and the ones in Italy really intrigued me

So I signed up and started practicing climbing the hills in Vero Beach, Florida. Well not quite, there are no hills here. Best I could do is keep going over the two bridges that the connect the mainland to the barrier island. Add a back pack and some weight and it was a start.

Our trip began in San Gimignano and ended in Pienza. Each day we biked 35-45 miles. By the end of our trip we have climbed more than 10,000 feet. The crowded roads we traveled on!

Olives and Grapes

Quick stop.Always beautiful views.

Each morning Claudio and Elena would give us a briefing on our ride for the day.

Each day brought new sights and some tough climbs.So much beauty. I stopped frequently to take photos.

Monteriggioni, a beautiful walled village.Loved the shirt Elena was wearing.

Torre del Mangia, Siena

From the top of the tower, this where the Palio is held. Our rides took us through the town and alleys.Another amazing duomo.

One of our rides from SanGimignano to Siena.

As always when I am in Italy it is the Food. Fresh produce that has not traveled 3000 miles in a refrigerated truck. Always items that are in season. This was the best bruschetta I have ever had. The tomatoes were RIPE!

I passed by a couple of locals and they volunteered to take my photo. This was on one of those roads where we hardly ever saw another auto. This trip was really a sogno!! I can not recommend Vermont Bike Tours enough. Every aspect of the trip was perfect. Can not wait to do another ride in Italy. Continue reading “Il mio sogno…… My dream was to bike the hills of Tuscany” →

July 27, 2017 0

Off the Beaten Path: Capo di Ponte

Another little town we happened upon unexpectedly, Having left Lago Iseo and trying to further up toTesimo in northern Italy we happened upon this small village.

There was nothing special about it, but upon further investigation we found the hotel Cumili in the center of town that just opened. Next we found that there were prehistoric rock carvings close by.

It is an easy walk to get around the park. Signs are very informative and the views from high up on the hiltop are amazing. The styles are Tyrolean as we are approaching the northern area of Italy. Switzerland is a short ride from here.

Map of Capo di Ponte and the surrounding areaAs we left heading north top Tesimo, there was still snow in the hills as we passed a ski area. This photo was taken on July 14th, 2008.

Some more information from Wikipedia

The stone carvings of Val Camonica (Camonica Valley) are located in the Province of Brescia, Italy, and constitute the largest collections of prehistoric petroglyphsin the world.^[2] The collection was recognized by Unesco in 1979 and was Italy’s first recognized World Heritage Site. Unesco has formally recognized more than 140,000 figures and symbols.

July 20, 2017 1

Posting from my iPad.

The WordPress app for desktop computers does not like to work with my Apple Photos application. I have found several workarounds for this, mainly by opening the Apple Mail app and starting a new message. I then open the media browser and select the album that has the photos for the post I am composing. My photo library has over 30,000 images. That is difficult to manage worth the media browser for mail. But the WordPress app for IOS meshes nicely. I am able to choose from any of my albums. This is so much easier that the other method.

Some photos taken last year in Firenze. Beautiful trip. Climbed up the campanelli and viewed the entire town. This year we are spending 51 days in Sicily and mainland Italy. We will be visiting Cefalù, Castello Buono, Siracusa, Gange, Lago di Garda, and almost three weeks in Roma. Can not wait.

July 17, 2017 0

Off the Beaten Path: San Giovanni in Fiore

In 2001 we made our first sojourn to southern Italy by car. Our destination was Sicily and we had several stops along the way. In Cosenza we stayed at the Hotel San Francesco. Cosenza was a nice town and we were going to take a day drip. The receptionist at the hotel suggested San Giovanni in Fiore. Her directions ( pre GPS days) were follow the signs for Sila, a mountainous region about forty-five minutes away. It is home to the Parco Nazionale della Sila. We followed the signs and eventually arrived in San Giovanni in Fiore.

At first there was not much to see. The streets were empty of people but as we approached the center we came upon the Abbey. Music was coming from the abbey and a young man approached us. He said he was a tour guide and brought us into the Abbey,

The town appeared deserted.The abbey.Today there was a wedding in progress.

The original abbey burned in 1215 and was rebuilt on a new location in 1230. The interior shows the stone walls. We left the abbey and our tour guide took us to a piccolo ristorante. As is common in Italy, there was no sign and the door was a strubg if beads hanging down to prevent flies from coming in. The entrance certainly did not attract a crowd. Lunch was fantastic. We were give a glass of grappa to finish off the meal. In the mirror you can see the only other customers that day. I especially liked the stone work which is so prevalent in Calabria. Another street with out anyone around.As we left to head back to Cosenza, we ran into a small traffic jam. This is why I love Italy.