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Louisville, KY: We are 4 folks in our mid-fifties traveling to Italy in early May on a leisure tour including Rome, Florence, and Venice. With our free days (one+ per city) some of us want to go on a bike ride, have a cooking lesson, and find a yarn store. Any suggestions?

Christopher Winner: Bike is no problem. There are rental outfits in Rome and Florence (not Venice, it's not a bike city). Here's a Rome site for rentals: Click here. Regarding cooking, there are dozens of cooking classes, but most last a week or two. Get in touch with my friend Wendy, who's an expert: FlavorOfItaly.com

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Miami, FL: My fiance and I will be going on our honeymoon November 26th for 16 days. We are 29 & 34 years old. Neither of us have traveled to Italy, and we love food, wine, and beautiful scenery. We want to start in Paris for 3 nights, head to Positano for 3 nights, Rome for 3 nights, and Florence for 3 nights. I have questions about the weather in Amalfi coast for the first week of december. Is it too cold? Is everything open? Is it worth the stop considering the time of year? Also, what are great places to eat, plus nice, centralized hotels?

Thank you,
Eli

Christopher Winner: Dear Eli: Positano is unpredictable in December: could be temperate, could be rainy. Still, it's delightful, even under cloudy skies. Yes, all is open ¿ though some seasonal hotels could be closed. I'd honestly recommend, for romance's sake, that you consider staying on Capri or Ischia. True, not all hotels are open, but there are a few, and you'll have these jewels to yourself. As for Positano hotels (affordable ones), try Buca di Baco and the Murat. We have a few nice restaurant choices on our site (theamericanmag.com) under food. But, admittedly, not all are open in December.

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Westampton, NJ: My husband and I are hoping to plan a return trip to Italy, perhaps next spring, our prior experience being several ports on a cruise. We're both in our late 50s but my husband has medical conditions that limit his mobility (he is still ambulatory) and we're both reluctant to drive on foreign roads. How would we go about putting together a package covering Florence and Tuscany using perhaps a driver, public transportation, or a combination of the two. We do not speak Italian. Thank you.

Christopher Winner: Given what you've told me, I think this is just the kind of trip that can't be left to chance. Italy can be exasperating when it comes to instant organization. Find a tour company in the States that can set this up for you. This is just the kind of trip that should be organized for you, so you don't face the small and large problems "cold turkey" afford. Public transportation, while comprehensive, is exhausting, and I don't recommend it if there are matters of health involved.

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Portland, OR: I'm traveling to Italy with my husband in late April (April 29-May 13) to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. We're traveling from Portland to LAX to London to Rome (whew!) and will be doing the reverse out of Venice. We're traveling to Rome, Siena, Vernazza, and Venice.