Advice while in Italy

[Travis]

My wife and I are traveling to Italy next week, sort of a spur of the moment getaway for two weeks and neither of us have ever been.

We will be traveling light; Passports, credit cards, backpacks and handheld GPS and will get around via rail or bus while there.

Have hotels in the following cities:
Rome
Florence
Venice
Sorrento
Sestri Levante

Have already booked a few tours but would appreciate any advice as to what to do or not to do while there, and if there are any members that live in Italy?
Well . . . . . :cheers:

Thanks

[blue2000s]

My wife and I are traveling to Italy next week, sort of a spur of the moment getaway for two weeks and neither of us have ever been.

We will be traveling light; Passports, credit cards, backpacks and handheld GPS and will get around via rail or bus while there.

Have hotels in the following cities:
Rome
Florence
Venice
Sorrento
Sestri Levante

Have already booked a few tours but would appreciate any advice as to what to do or not to do while there, and if there are any members that live in Italy?
Well . . . . . :cheers:

Thanks

Venice is cool and Florance has some nice museums but it's more or less a huge shopping mall. I suggest you take one day and drive north into Switzerland. Beautiful mountain driving. There's a cool little town at the base of the Matterhorn that's a half day's drive from Milano. I don't know what the weather will be like this time of year though.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/bellylint/P7290041.jpg

Also spend a little time at the lake Como/Maggiore area. Stresa is one of the little resort towns but there are a bunch all along the coast of the lake. You won't regret it.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/bellylint/P7290053.jpg

[bmussatti]

I love Italy because it is one of the few places you can eat ice-creme for breakfast! When I was there a few years ago, I had gelato three times a day for a week. Great stuff!

Vatican City is wonderful!

Read Dan Brown's (DaVinci Code) book titled "Angels & Demons". It is set in Vanican City and gives some great historical info about the city and places around it.

[Perfectlap]

Rome is my favorite city in the Europe. a bit touristy but the neighbohring Molise region is the training ground of most well known chefs.
Outside of the touristy areas you can't get a bad meal. Vendors take food very personally in Italy, bad mouthing a rest. is like saying they're mother wears combat boots, so as long they serve mostly Italians. If they mostly serve Germans and Americans who they think have no sense of good taste they don't care and serve you tomatoes that may not even be from Italy. At some of the places I ate you had to have this speical seal in order to say your tomatoes where genuine San Marzano(sp?) tomatoes if they weren't grwon on volanic soil no certication.
You think they do that at the olive garden? LOL
And one large tasty bottle of frizzante water for the pricely sum of one euro. NIRVANA.
Why do we have such shit water here???

The last time I was there I toured with a Professional cycling team (domestic)
whose main sponsor was the Collavita Pasta factory so they knew a thing or too about food!
In Rome try some Pizza/pasta at Il Moccoletto on Via Lucania 31-47
another great restaurant is Santa Chiara in the Parco Nazionale della Maiella.
You will see ZERO tourists at Santa Chiara. I had a 20 course dinner there one night, very cool decor I think the rest. was built into the side of the mountain.
Il Sagittario in Campobasso was another good one. I went to a tour of the Cantina Tollo winery and haven't touched a French wine since. Try the Tinganello if you are not in a jacked up menu tourist trap.

[RandallNeighbour]

A friend went to Rome early this year and had his wallet stolen while walking around. It was the old "bump and grab" with numerous parties involved in the theft, one of whom was a small boy according to the guy's wife.

Word to the wise: Use the safe in your room and only carry what you need each day; and buy a pouch you carry around your neck under your clothing.

It's a pain, but there's nothing worse than killing an entire day or days on end trying to get your credit cards cancelled and replaced and just as bad, get your passport replaced. :cheers:

[Perfectlap]

if you do carry your wallet tie a rubber band around it. Pick Pockets hate that.

[jk0001]

If you can make it go to Monza and walk the track...... it is amazing. Also go to Maranallo :cool: and see the Ferrari test track, I could sit there for days.

[fab]

Travis

If time permits, try to get to the Amalfi Coast, it is absolutely beautiful. I spent a summer there and fell in love. Don't forget Capri too but be alert in Naples there are some rough areas. Watch out for the gypsy......
Have fun and ENJOY!

[bmussatti]

Travis

If time permits, try to get to the Amalfi Coast, it is absolutely beautiful. I spent a summer there and fell in love. Don't forget Capri too but be alert in Naples there are some rough areas. Watch out for the gypsy......
Have fun and ENJOY!


If you go to Capri, make sure you see the Blue Grotto! Very cool.

And go to the ancient city of Pompeii, it is on the train route down to Capri.

[Perfectlap]

I took the hydrofoil to Capri(BUMPY RIDE!) I wasn't too impressed with Capri it was the only time in the two weeks I was in Italy that I saw swarms of Tourists and the food was ok but well below what I was enjoying everywhere else. We went right past Pompei because we spent too much time sunning on the beach in Capri our big mistake.

p.s. if you have an Amex use it in Europe. They have a policy of giving you the best exchange rate of the day on your purchases. Matercard and Visa screw you and Amex is 100% better on resolving disputes. I have a friend of the family that runs businesses here and there and swears by Amex for travel in Europe.

[jeffsquire]

My wife and I are traveling to Italy next week, sort of a spur of the moment getaway for two weeks and neither of us have ever been.

We will be traveling light; Passports, credit cards, backpacks and handheld GPS and will get around via rail or bus while there.

Have hotels in the following cities:
Rome
Florence
Venice
Sorrento
Sestri Levante

Have already booked a few tours but would appreciate any advice as to what to do or not to do while there, and if there are any members that live in Italy?
Well . . . . . :cheers:

Thanks
___________________________
1. If you like the beach then don't miss Rimini beach off the Adriatic sea.
2. I second the thought of traveling north in the mountains. They speak German there as well, if you speak it.
3. DONT MISS SICILY. Highly underated, beautiful, great outdoors and beaches.
4. Rome is one of my favorite cities. But then again I'm a history nut. I heard about a place called Ostio Antica while living in Europe and visited it. It's absolutly beautiful with the reported best preserved ruins even ousting Rome. Here is an excerp from Internation traveler.

The Colosseum in Rome. Impressive. But for the best-preserved
Roman ruins in the world, you need to go to Ostia Antica.


The Best-preserved Roman Ruins in the World

International Living Postcards--your daily escape
http://www.internationalliving.com

Monday, August 30, 2004
Ostia Antica, Italy

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Ostia Antica boasts the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world, as well as a beautifully preserved fortress and a borgo with history spanning from the fourth to the 15th century.

Situated four miles from the Fiumicino airport, it is accessible by car, bus, or by train via Rome.

On arrival in this small town, you'll be welcomed by the imposing view of the Rocca di Giulio II. The fortress was built during the papacy of Giulio II and served as a major defense point for the city of Rome--it was strategically situated on a bend of the river Tiber. A walk around the borgo, away from the cars and the chaos, is a good way to start your tour of town. And the fortress itself is worth a visit, giving you a feeling for what life as a soldier must have been like back in those days.

In 1557, the river changed its course and the fortress lost its importance. It was used for a while as a prison, but soon ceased to have any appeal to rulers and enemies alike.

The small town and surroundings went into decay and became marsh. In the 19th century, a small group of farmers from Romagna was called in by the Pope to drain the area. Today's town is the result of the hard work of those 500 men.

Although still uncertain, the origins of Ostia have been traced back to the 7th century B.C.

The ruins are so well preserved that the amphitheater still stages shows from opera to Roman tragedy and Shakespeare (in Italian).

You can spend hours marveling at the mosaics, thermal baths, and imposing structures of the temples. It costs $5 to take a look around the ruins, with concessions for pensioners and students. You can get back to Rome easily, too, by train, car, or ferry.

Andrea Splendori
For International Living

[jeffsquire]

My wife and I are traveling to Italy next week, sort of a spur of the moment getaway for two weeks and neither of us have ever been.

We will be traveling light; Passports, credit cards, backpacks and handheld GPS and will get around via rail or bus while there.

Have hotels in the following cities:
Rome
Florence
Venice
Sorrento
Sestri Levante

Have already booked a few tours but would appreciate any advice as to what to do or not to do while there, and if there are any members that live in Italy?
Well . . . . . :cheers:

Thanks
____________________________
Don't forget to taste the Limoncello liqueur if you go to capri. TASTY!! Made from the most unique lemons on the planet.

[Travis]

Thanks All !!

Great advice from a group of great people :cheers: