the Grand Tour blog

Final hotel confirmations

Booked Hotel G in Milan through Venere. I've booked Hotel A in Cremona by email, and phoned today with CC details. All hotels are now booked except London, which can wait for next year when Travelodge, etc. should have some offers. The average price is reasonable, comparing well with the first Grand Tour, and I think I’ve done pretty well considering I'm visiting Rome, Florence and Venice.

Set up a Train List, to keep track of the travel planning.

Hotel confirmations

Have now received booking confirmation from Hotel D in Vicenza. Enquired, booked and confirmed Hotel T in Lucca. Everything is now booked from Bolgna on. I need to make a decision about Cremona, then I will just have London and Milan.

Booking hard!

Booked and confirmed the Rome B&B near the station. Spent some time on Google Maps and Street View – it’s very close to the station! Slightly concerned to see ‘Discoteca Laziale’ on the ground floor, but it’s actually a record shop.

Booked Best Western Hotel Maggiore in Bologna through Venere. Instant confirmation.

Booked Hotel C in Venice through Venere.

Filled in the web form for Hotel D in Vicenza, the last of my must-have hotels.

Spent much time on Venere looking for London hotels. A reasonable-looking one opposite Euston at £55, but that includes breakfast which I don’t want as I’ll be leaving early. No cheap offers on Travelodge, but their offer calendar stops at the end of December, so maybe they’re only available a couple of months ahead.