Vivia Italia!

[MickeyManiac001]

A friend of mine and I have booked the Viva Italia trip for September 21, through September 29, 2008. I was thinking it might be nice to see if there is anyone out there who is also booked for this trip!

Also, I was wondering if anyone could tell me if purchasing a Prada or Ferragamo handbag/shoes is within the realm of reason, and I am also interested in several Italian perfumes. How expensive will this be? Is duty free shopping a good deal on things like this? How does duty free shopping work? Do I buy on the way over or on the way back?

As you can see I've never been out of the country before, so any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

 

[Pakey]

Didn't do Italy ABD so can't help you with that.

Did spend several weeks over there last year with DH. Did not find that the upper end goods were any cheaper there than here. That was in Florence, where most of the leather manufacturers are located, and in Milan, their fashion industry capital.

Regarding duty free--on your return flight you will fill out a government form that the airline personnel will distribute regarding the purchases you are carrying home. You will declare the items and the amounts spent. Up a certain amount of your total is duty-free. I do not remember what the limit was per person.

 

[eva]

Sorry, we're going September 14th. I'm interested in earning more about what are good buys in Italy too.

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

My DH and I will be on the same trip as you! We are so excited! This is our first trip to Europe and we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary!
Looking forward to seeing you there!
I have no idea about the handbags or the duty free shopping. I need to start doing some research!

 

[MickeyManiac001]

How exciting! Myself and a co-worker are going! It's really neat to find someone else on our same trip! Where are you from? We are in Florida. I'm in Orlando, i.e. Mouse Town and my friend is near Ft. Lauderdale. How are your plans progressing? So much to plan! I was told that when we get off the plane, there is an ABD rep to meet us...I told our ABD concierge that we will be wearing Minnie Ears so they will also be looking for us! She thought it was a great idea! This will be SO much fun! I can't wait! P.S. I tried to send this as a private message, but I'm not sure if you got it, so I put it here too!

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

Hi Mickey Maniac! I live in NY so we will be flying out of JFK to Italy (also on Alitalia). I called ABD to do our air ( I told them what flights I wanted and they got the same price as I did). That way the air is covered under the original insurance we purchased.
We are going to WDW in a few weeks, so I have been focusing on that lately, but once we get home, I'll be focused only on Italy!!
I believe once we land in Rome and collect our bags and go through customs, the ABD rep should be right there to meet us. We're arriving at 6:15 am, how about you? I liked that time b/c I thought we could get to the hotel and take a quick nap and be ready to go after lunch etc!
That is a good idea with the Minnie ears, I'm sure there won't be too many of those in Rome!
I will check my PM, I'm new to this, so I will see if I got it!

Can't wait for September!!!

 

[MickeyManiac001]

Ohmy! You are coming down to WDW!!!! Let me know when and maybe we could arrange to meet for dinner! I'm a Disney Cast Member so I can hook up with you anywhere. We haven't made our airfare reservations yet. But expect we will shortly. I think we have a some time. AFter I made our trip reservation, I went over to Epcot and hung out at the Italy Pavilion for a while, it was neat! I saw the masks that we will be making.. those things are expensive here! I was amazed! I was just checking out the stuff that I will look for over there! I can't believe I'm doing this, it's like a dream or something! I've never been out of the country!

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

I'm excited to go too! This is a dream vacation for DH and I (especially Venice for me...I can die a happy person after I go there!). I was thinking of giving the mask to my DD when we get home, I'm sure she would like to have that. I'm not sure what they look like, so I will check them out at Epcot when we are there in a few weeks!
Since it is our anniversary I may have to convince DH to buy me a nice Fendi or Louis Vuitton bag while we are over there

 

[wdwsos]

I'm excited to go too! This is a dream vacation for DH and I (especially Venice for me...I can die a happy person after I go there!).

I had to respond to this because I know exactly how you feel! From my 2006 trip report, albeit a little sappy :

I don’t know how best to describe Venice without sounding trite. It was like a dream. A fairytale land set on water. There are no cars, no motorbikes, no trucks, and no “street noise” other than the sound of people walking and talking. The only motors you hear are those of the waterbuses ferrying people between stops, or the barges delivering goods. My older son lives only minutes away from the “other” Venice -- the Venice canals in California -- and I actually love to stroll this area when visiting him in Santa Monica. To see this incredible city, hundreds of canals and tiny islands amid the tidal waters of the Adriatic Sea, was more moving to me than any cathedral or work of art -- this whole city is a work of the art of man. I could live in Venice. If someone gave me a ticket to anywhere on this planet at this moment, it would be to the Marco Polo airport.

I liked Venice.


~~~~

Dotti

 

[glassslipper2004]

Dotti -

Thanks for the excerpt from your trip report. For whatever reason, I have always wanted to go to Venice. Somehow it just seems like such a unusual place, with so much history, something out of a magical, romantic dream... I don't know how exactly I've formed this opinion of it, and maybe on a sweltering August day it won't seem quite so amazing, but I just can't wait to go!

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

I had to respond to this because I know exactly how you feel! From my 2006 trip report, albeit a little sappy :

I don’t know how best to describe Venice without sounding trite. It was like a dream. A fairytale land set on water. There are no cars, no motorbikes, no trucks, and no “street noise” other than the sound of people walking and talking. The only motors you hear are those of the waterbuses ferrying people between stops, or the barges delivering goods. My older son lives only minutes away from the “other” Venice -- the Venice canals in California -- and I actually love to stroll this area when visiting him in Santa Monica. To see this incredible city, hundreds of canals and tiny islands amid the tidal waters of the Adriatic Sea, was more moving to me than any cathedral or work of art -- this whole city is a work of the art of man. I could live in Venice. If someone gave me a ticket to anywhere on this planet at this moment, it would be to the Marco Polo airport.

I liked Venice.


~~~~

Dotti

Dotti you are giving me chills!! You make it sound even more wonderful than I am anticipating if that is even possible!!! I don't think I can wait for September to be here, I may drive myself crazy!