Christopher Winner: You heard correctly. Train travel is convenient and effective. If there's a caveat it's that some smaller towns (particularly hilltop ones) are not reachable. Gubbio, in Umbria, is absolutely spectacular -- getting there by train is difficult. Same with Assisi. Costs vary. A fast train (Eurostar) from Rome to Florence runs 33 euros one-way, about $42. Commuter trains are cheaper. Bottom line, train travel is fantastic in connecting most major cities and large towns.

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Rockford, IL: My wife and I are going to Italy the last two weeks of October. We love walking tours and would like to know who you suggest for Venice and Rome.

Christopher Winner: This question is so immense I don't know where to start. Let me just repeat what I've said before in these chats. Find a spot you like in the city, take out a map, and wander. Just wander. Venice is simpler. There are no cars. The insides of the city are circumscribed. Walking goes, literally, with the territory. When you can't walk any more you have to board a vaporetto, the water metro. Rome's another story. I'd head for the Palatine and Aventine hills, into the great greenery in shouting distance of the Colosseum. I'd walk through the Villa Borghese, from Piazza del Popolo to the zoo. All this, truly all of it, you can see on any good map. Plan less, walk more. Get lost!

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Middleville, MI: Nov. 5 we leave for a trip to Itlay with 2 friends in their late fifties for the second fall in a row. Our iterinary is Rome-Siena-Florence-Venice( where we depart on a cruise to the Greek Islands for 7 days). Our friends have never been to Europe but we will be repeating our stays in these cities. We would like to take day trips from Siena and Florence by bus or train. Do you have any suggestions as where to visit?

Christopher Winner: In Tuscany (from Florence or Siena): Lucca, Pienza, Montepulciano, San Gimignano, Cortona (of "Under the Tuscan Sun" fame), Montalcino, Volterra, and Orbetello -- which overlooks Monte Argentario (a rugged promontory that has two chic ports, Santo Stefano and Porto Ercole, interesting even in the autumn.) See: theamericanmag.com/features.php?show_article_id=456&show_column_id=20

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Brookfield, Wisconsin: My husband and I plan to visit Florence and Venice next May. He would like to show me the area around Aviano, where he was stationed in the Air Force in the 1970s. I think the best way to do this is to hire a driver. How can we find a reliable car and driver for a day? What should we expect to pay? Or, should we rent a car and drive ourselves? (I've seen Italians drive!)

Christopher Winner: I covered Aviano for USA Today in the days of the Kosovo bombings. It has its own site, which you no doubt know: aviano.af.mil A train from Venice (Mestre) to Aviano (changing at Sacile) runs about 90 minutes. There are many daily departures. That will be far cheaper than hiring a driver, which from Venice (Mestre or Pordenone, since there are no automobiles in Venice) will run you at least $200 roundtrip. Don't be afraid of Italian driving. Northern drivers are more sensible than their southern counterparts. Countless U.S. military personnel drive throughout the north.

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St. Augustine, Florida: We're planning a trip next year 2008, and noticed that there are large differences in price from January to April. Is the weather that cold/bad in the winter months?