A Trip to Italy
The plane tickets are set. Kim and I are headed to Italy for about two weeks in the fall.The basic plan is Rome, Florence and Venice with maybe a night or two in or around Siena. We still need to figure out how many nights here and how many nights there and we also need to book our hotels (which we hope to do over the next several days), but needless to say that we are pretty excited about the trip.
If you had any, we’d be very interested in any recommendations (or tips, tricks, whatever) that you might have about what to see / what to avoid, how many nights we need in each place (or places close by), wonderful restaurants, hotels, etc. or any other thoughts you might have.
Hi Paul!
I’ve was in Venice for a long weekend and it’s not a huge amount of time for that city. However it was long enough for a preview. FYI - there are no cars and the water taxis can only take you so far. Sooooo, don’t pack a lot of luggage because you will be dragging it around some steep bridges on your arrival/departure. Venice is beautiful and very walkable.
Have fun!
Alicia
Alicia
19 Jul 07 at 1:25 pm
That sounds so great. I hope you both have a fabulous time. I would love to hear recommendations from you after the trip. I really really want to go to Italy.
Susan
25 Jul 07 at 8:07 pm
Ok, it’s likely that these will only come in spurts as I remember the couple of months I spent in Italy.
First off, be comfortable, but if you are planning upon visiting churches or the Vatican, be aware that they have a dress code. Khakis are fine, for men but many places frown in jeans - particularly ripped ones. For women, you must have your legs and shoulders covered - dressing other than modest / demurely may get you asked to leave or not let in at all. I’ve seen it done.
You’ll be hard pressed to find eggs for breakfast in Italy.
Yes, everyone will know you are American. I have no idea how they do it.
With restaurants be aware that you can be charged differently due to where you sit in the restaurant. The bar fee is one price, inside table another, outside table usually the cheapest - unless of course you’re around the Pantheon or something - and yes, definitely have lunch there in the square. You’ll never forget it.
Be very weary of what they call ‘gypsy children’ - these are adept pint-sized pick-pockets that can casually take everything out of your pockets, slit a leather bag, or beg a quarter when 1,000 of their friends are around the corner watching where you keep your money. We kept them away by yelling ‘Mr. Green Jeans!’ and weird things at them when they first attempted to approach us. It worked. Generally criminals are not ever interested in harming you in Europe, they just want your stuff. You rarely noticed you’ve been mugged until hours after.
Also be very careful when you get on the trains. This happened to me twice and is part of the info passed around the backpack circuit. You’ll never see it coming, but as soon as you attempt to get on a train, a MOB of people rush you entering the doors, by which your arms get plastered to your sides and then they attempt to strip you of valuables. It’s a bit scary, and yell / let your knees go if it happens so you slip out of their reach. Create a scene - that’s the last thing criminals want. Tell Kim to keep her purse in front of her at all times. Keep your passport in a travel wallet under your clothes - even shower with it. I only escaped the rushing both times because I had this really thick, cheap purse that actually knotted closed so it was impossible to open.
Eat plenty of gelato - and definitely try the weird stuff. You have no idea how good a scoop of cheese and a scoop of onion gelato (ice cream) is.
Eat tomatoes. I had no idea they tasted like that before I got to Italy. Eat Bruschetta - for god sakes eat the Bruschetta off the side delis if you see them!
They have a form of siesta in Italy, plan your days around it. Consider napping.
Definitely hit the Uffizi in Florence… consider if you really want to waste an entire day (yes an entire day) seeing the real David by Michelangelo. It will take you a whole day and they have a fantastic copy outside the Uffizi / Medici square. By the way, there’s a fantastic park across the river that overlooks all of Florence which was designed by Michelangelo - you can have lunch there.
The Santa Croce in Florence is where all those famous big shots have their tombs (note:this doesn’t mean their bodies are there though)
People enjoy Pompeii, it’s very well set up for tourists, but I really enjoyed Ostia Antica - a bit of a long train ride (out of Venice if I recall right), has way less tourists and lets you really feel an ancient city.
Public toilets in Italy are a hole in the ground … yes, it’s a hole … in the ground… just a hole. They have handles that you use to stand over the hole, but it’s STILL A HOLE IN THE GROUND… and don’t count on toilet paper either. Always carry tissue packets with you and consider a couple of packets of adult personal wet wipes. Trust me, even if you get extremely lucky and never have to go outside your hotel room, you will still have planned for the worst.
That’s all I can think of for now in a couple of minutes. I’ll post more later if I think of anything.
Oh, no flash photography in any museum. They will yell at you. I was particularly embarrassed by it.
Nichole
30 Jul 07 at 1:28 pm
ah! be sure and rent ‘roman holiday’ before you go!!!
Nichole
30 Jul 07 at 1:39 pm