We just noticed a new five-star review on Amazon.com for our Clued In Florence book and feel excited, happy, and inspired after reading it. Here’s snippet we can share with our readers:

I am fortunate to have traveled to over 30 countries and have used all of the popular guidebooks, Rick Steves, Frommers and Lonely Planet… and this one is best of all. Soooo easy to read, lots of usable good info, and fun too!! I highly recommend this book. I just ordered a 2nd copy to be sent directly to my cousin in California, who I will be traveling with. I have rated over 50 products, and this rating is by far the best, and only 1 of 2 that I have ever written such a detailed review.

Thank you for those kind words. We hope our other Clued In travelers will share our weblink and book titles with their friends and neighbors so that we can continue to grow our brand.

Happy travels, Dean and Andie

This month’s (city by city) blog posts are now up and running and specify many fall events that you won’t want to miss… three in London alone. There are also major restoration projects in Paris and Venice to be aware of, so check out the page for the city you’re planning to visit in late September or October.

We are just back from our sixteenth trip to Venice and are here to tell you that La Serenissima was very hot and not serene at all! This is one city where the month you visit really matters, and even which days of the week. Wow. It was tourists galore during the last week of August (and up to the the U.S. Labor Day) in a way we’ve never seen before. Predictively, the nasty crowds were nowhere to be found in neighborhoods farther afield from Piazza San Marco and disappeared completely after sundown.

One of the great joys of Venice is staying overnight in the historic island city (not on the mainland.) You have the place to yourself along with just a few other wise visitors, which makes the musical quintets and thick hot chocolate on the piazza somehow more magical.

If you simply must visit Venice during summer then do yourself a favor and stay west of the Grand Canal in the lovely Dorsoduro neighborhood. We heartily recommend the hotel Villa Maravege or Ca’ Maria Adele, or even the Palazzo Barbarigo which technically is in the San Polo neighborhood. This way you can enjoy Venice the is it is supposed to be visited and stray into that gorgeous piazza at night only. An early morning visit to the Doge’s Palace is probably tolerable.

But if you want your Venice visit to be one you’ll remember forever, plan your trip for October or April. These are the months when it really shines! (Note that October traditional has some flooding.) Last tip… if you want to save on airfares and hotel rates then go ahead and visit Venice in November or March but make sure you include a weekend so that the piazza is alive and kickin’. Example: a Tuesday night in mid-March means no quintets will be playing in the evening and the piazza will be empty and dull. Such a bummer.

Hope this helps! Dean and Andie