One of my favorite places I visited in Italy was Parma. Pretty sure we were the only tourists in the town. The food was INCREDIBLE! A very different vibe than the bigger cities. We did a bike tour that I will never forget 😍 Bike Food Stories

I live here in Rome and worked in tourism for almost 3 years (prior to covid). This is something I love helping with and actually am starting a private company for travel planning next year (currently expecting first child and tourism is still not up and going as you know). You've picked great destinations! And you're not going overboard with trying to add too much and giving each location the time it deserves! You have a couple great options. First get a RT flight to either Florence or Rome. You could fly into Rome, spend 3 days, get through jet lag, head to Florence and spend 3 days, enjoy a Tuscan wine tour, then take the train to Amalfi for 4 days, it's romantic, it's your anniversary and there are lovely little day trips you could take to the islands, such as Capri, or Napoli for piiiiiizzzaaa! Then spend your last 2 days in Rome before you fly out. Choosing Rome for your most days isn't just because I'm biased, but first you'll probably have a bit of jet lag so a lazy exploring day is ideal, it's your largest city with so many sites to visit, typically cheaper to fly in and out of and cuts down on train time since it is in the middle. Please feel free to let me know if you want help with Eurorail pass, non touristy restaurants, gelaterias, which sites to see at each location, best tour company's to deal with, especially so you're not dealing with lines at places like the Colosseum or Vatican, etc. Congratulations on 10 years, I'm sure you'll love your trip! ❤❤

Eeeek hope it’s refundable if needed!! A lot can happen between now and then obviously but they’re still not allowing American tourists, and you’ll likely still need to isolate 14 days even in September!

Trains. And if the ride is long enough, you can book an overnight, sleep while traveling, and be ready to see the sights when you arrive the next morning.

Difficult one, so many places to see. My favourite place in Italy is Puglia but you'd need the time just to see the places here. The train service is wonderful in Italy so could do Cinque Terre, Florence, Milan, Lake Como and Venice which I did last year. This might help: https://www.daredreamdiscover.com/destinations/italy/

I don't have any experience, but just wanted to say, you're a good dog mum :) <3

I trained and flew during my euro travels. In hindsight, my travelling partner and I wish we paid the extra to fly more often because time is money and from Amsterdam to Switzerland by train for example took 12 hours of our trip- and the energy you actually spend waiting on trains is extensive... it’s certainly worth taking train locally or to nearby cities, but big travels, stick to flight. Sorreto Italy is a must- you can do an excursion to Capri- a Greek looking island off the coast. I’m sure you have heard of cinque terre- it’s beautiful, mostly just good for the food, the hiking and “the picture”, beaches cost like 20 euro to get two chairs and an umbrella which I was not willing to pay. I suggest though staying outside of the traditional “cinque terre” in Levanto since it’s still beautiful, a LOT quieter with so many less tourists, and takes 5 minutes by train to get to the neighbouring villages. The 5 villages are between levanto and la spezia but they are inflated in price because of the tourist scene.

have fun!! stay safe :D You're inspiring me to travel again in the future!!

In Florence I did the most amazing day it was expensive but it was a tour through the Chianti region the food and wines were so yummy. I also do d a cooking school in the market I would recommend it too