Don't be concerned about Rick Steves, that dude is spot on. Here is some stuff for your time in Italy!!!!....
(some of this might not be applicable if you are going with your mom)
Florence - Uffizi and Accademia both have brutal lines. I guess there is a way around having to wait in them, but it seemed troublesome and costly for only a slight advantage IMO. Just get up early and get there before the rush. Luckily Florence's center is small enough that you don't have to go out of your way to see how bad the lines are while deciding what to do for the day. On the other hand, if you are mainly in Florence for the architecture, nearly everything is free and more easily accessible.
- There are plenty of great hostels right in the center within walking distance of the train station. We were able to get a nice and clean room pretty easily even in June.
- The clubs are to the east of the Duomo. Mostly small and for the tourists, but they are concentrated so it's easier to have fun/meet people there when compared to a place like Rome where everything is spread out and more likely to focus on local patronage.
- Cross the Arno on foot on the way to Piazzale Michelangelo. The south bank has less tourists and I think it makes for a more authentic, less busy and cheaper way to get a good meal.
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Eat Florentine steak. We took a survey from some locals at our hostel for the best one and they said Il Latini was the place to go.
http://www.illatini.com/illatini/virtual-tourGood lord was it a meal. I'm sure there are other places that are great as well, but it's hard for me to imagine it being better. Traditional 5 courses and a different wine for each
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- Chianti flows like water and is just as cheap.
Cinque Terra- If you want to hike the trail to each of the five towns, start from the south end at Riomaggiore. It starts off just a smooth stone path with railings and you start to wonder what the big deal about this place is, but once you get past Manarola it starts getting interesting. Stone stairs start ascending and descending hundreds of feet above the coast line. It's actually a good workout especially if you have a backpack on. It's only 10 kilometers of trail, but the villages are unique and take awhile to explore, so you can't do the whole trail in a day. Luckily the InterCity rail stops at each town, so you can hop on and go to wherever your hotel is. Pretty sure a Eurail pass would cover these rides, but if not, keep your eyes peeled for the Carabinieri and stay on the opposite side of the train from the ticket takers. This way you can probably sneak a 10 minute train ride without having to wait 20 minutes in line for a ticket at the depot. (Rick Steves doesn't tell you this nugget of info.)
- Lots of kinds of seafood you can't get in the U.S.. After dinner have some Lemoncello for your "digestivo".
Rome- For visiting the Colosseum I found out that they let me use the same ticket stub as the one that I had used to get into the Roman Forum. Since there happens to be a separate line for people that already have tickets it saved me a ton of waiting time and I got to walk right in. The ticket booth that I used to enter the Roman Forum was south of the Colosseum on San Gregorino street.
- The line for the Vatican museum/ Sistine Chapel is usually hours long. I thought it was worth it (It is a massive museum), but I was also told that I was there on a good day and that it was usually much longer. If you are going to try it I would set aside a day just for it. You could also maybe squeeze in visiting St. Peters in the morning if you go really early before people show up.
- Rome is really busy; crazy drivers and suicidal scooters. It's dirty and the public transportation system/Metro is comparatively bad. If you have already been basking in the sterile cleanliness of Munich and Switzerland you are going to feel like Rome is third world country in comparison.
- Eat some tiramisu and plan for a 6 euro/day budget for gelato. Seriously I would get like 3 gelatos a day.
So many flavors!
Other Stuff- I would give some serious consideration to adding Venice as a stop on your trip. It only takes a couple days to really feel like you've explored the city and it is a pretty cool place. I was there in July and never once saw any evidence of tidal or flooding issues even with it raining one evening. Good food. Very picturesque. Not really a lot to do other than explore the maze of streets and chill out at the cafes along the water and people watch. Very relaxing.
