ok here are some things that happened. First we did alot of reading on this forum and aol travel advisor and a few others. we told both our bank and credit card companys that we would be in Italy and had them do what ever they needed to do. As for the atm link to checking we changed our pins because they can not start with a 0 (zero) also they have to be 4 digits and ours were 6. we planed to use our credit card for hotels and sight seeing, trains, and dinner. cash for everyday stuff. snacks drink etc. We had 500 in travelers checks just incase, and I had 300 in us dollers that I changed at the airport in VCE when we got there just to have some euros. (I know that is not the best way but it worked for me) The second day we stated to have issuse acessing money. we found out that the hotel put in the wrong date for the incidentals and it flagged the card. We had to call the bank each time we wanted to use the card what a pain in the butt!!! Especially since we did not know when were were going to use the card or at what store. I finally got them to agree to $250 a day before I would have to call. I was not a happy camper. As for the bank stuff good luck calling the US with an 800 number we could not get it to work. so Make sure you have a local number with ya (we did not try it with a phone card) also since we tried the cards twice in one machine it locked us out. had to call the bank again to unlock the card which still did not work. they changed the pin a second time but it did not work and then you have to wait 24 hours after a pin reset to put it back we tried to get a cash advance at the atm machine with the credit card but there is no option for this and we were out of luck with that idea. SOOOO, we finally went into the bank and had them do it manually. no charge and the best rate 1.38 so that was good, except that you have to go into the bank one at a time and take a number it took 45 min to help 4 people as there were only 2 tellers working. guess im spoiled anyway. to sum up\\

check with your bank as to pin numbers
chack with your CC company as to daily limits.
check with the vender when you buy something or the hotel that they put in the right dates
always have cash in your pocket as most tourist sites only take cash!!!(the coliseum in rome is cash only)
have phone numbers and bank access numbers with you as well as a copy of your drivers lic and passport as you need these to change money from a bank or cash exchange booth. also if you use the internet/phone shop you will need your pssport to use the internet and phone they keep a log!! and the 2nd day we were there to police were there checking the log its a security thing. count your change as sometimes they tried to not give the right change and then they play dumb. all in all we had a great time and this was only a minor inconvenience.