-- B. TRAYNOR, HAMILTON
A: Cruise lines typically offer passengers organized shore excursions at each port of call. These trips cost extra and the price tag can get pretty hefty depending on the package.
In some instances it makes sense to take a shore excursion but in others it's easy to explore on your own. If you'd like to make an independent trip, remember that timing is everything. Ensure you build in enough travel time to allow yourself time to enjoy the ports of call but still get back to the ship before it sails. The ship will not wait for passengers who return late from independent touring, and catching up with it in the next port can be costly.
A few years ago, while on a Mediterranean cruise, we did an independent trip to Florence, Italy, from our port of Livorno. We taxied to the train station, took the train to Florence and spent a lovely afternoon with friends who greeted us with a Tuscan lunch steps away from the famous Duomo.
After returning to Livorno, we waited at a cruise-approved pick-up stop with an anxious bunch of cruisers who also did independent trips that day. We managed to board the last shuttle bus headed for our cruise ship -- talk about calculating everything down to the last minute!
Later that evening over cocktails, our cruise group reminisced about the afternoon. One couple managed to hire a driver who took them to Pisa, Florence and Bologna. Needless to say, they only had enough time to snap a photo at one landmark in each city.
If you want to avoid the anxiety of independent trips, I suggest booking shore excursions. Cruise lines post excursion details on their websites. The descriptions are generic but give you an idea.
Personally I enjoy the independent approach, mapping out our day and doing something different. For more information on Sydney and Halifax, visit the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism at novascotia.com and the Halifax city site at halifaxinfo.com. For Quebec City, visit Quebec City Tourism at quebecregion.com/e and for Montreal, log onto Tourism Montreal at tourisme-montreal.org.
Q: When I was a university student, I visited a leather school in Florence. I couldn't afford to buy anything then but would like to return and buy something this time around. I haven't been able to find any information on it. It was in a church if that helps.
--D. LOKUN, ETOBICOKE
A: Florence's Monastery of Santa Croce -- which is a landmark in its own right as may famous figures are buried there including Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli -- has a leather school on site called the Scuola del Cuoio. Visitors can enter the school, which as started by the Franciscan brothers, through the church or its gardens or via a private entrance off Via San Giuseppe.
The school and showroom are open weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays during tourist season from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is 5 euros (about $8.25). See scuoladelcuoio.com. If you don't have time to visit, the school has an online store. Q: How far is the drive from Chicago to Indianapolis? We're going to Chicago for a wedding and I was thinking we could take a day trip from there. We look forward to your help.
-- K. STYLES, MARKHAM
A: The distance is about 263 km. If you average 110 km/hour by car, it should take about three hours to get to this Midwestern city southeast of Chicago. Remember that Indianapolis, Ind., is one hour ahead of Chicago, Ill.
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