Looking for some Italy advice

[SubbaBub]

It's the polite thing to try to do anywhere but ultimately unnecessary to get by. I've traveled to something like 25 countries now and learn 4 phrases before I go: hello, thank you, do you speak English, where's the bathroom. And that's more than you need in any kind of tourist areas. Shoot, the public transport is easier to navigate than NYC in Rome by far.

Only time I've felt a little out of it because of the language barrier was rural Tanzania, and my dad speaks Swahili fluently so I was fine.

Also learn how to ask for a table (tabla) at a restaurant, the menu (il Menu) (men-oo), the bill (il conto, literally the count) and how to properly address your waitstaff (Cameriere). Please, thank you, of course.

Mi scusi cameriere, il conto, per favore! Gratzi mille.

However, I prefer, "per cortesia" instead of per favore when asking for the bill. It's one step above the typical americano translation.

 

[Icculus]

X

Where are you flying into and out of the country.
That can change your ability to take in different places.

Flying into Milan, but immediately taking the train Venice. When fly home, it will be from Roma

 

[Icculus]

Since this is the Boneyard.... I highly recommend checking out: Capuchin Crypt

La Cripta dei Frati Cappuccini, the bone chapel in Rome

You can see it in less than an hour. Purchase tickets ahead of time

I'm not going to lie, this looks extremely cool.

 

[Icculus]

One of my favorite places in Rome is the Basilica of San Clemente. It’s a church that doesn’t really stand out from others but you can descend one level and be in a church that it was built over. Pretty interesting, but if you go down another level you’re in a Mithraeum, built by soldiers returned from Persia who discovered and worshipped Mithras. Look at the initiation pits and the sacrifice table and let your imagination go nuts.
Also, the one restaurant I always visit is Filetti di Baccala. They only serve cod filets, puntarelle salad and bread. Great place.

It may sound weird to say, but I've always been fascinated by Mithraism. I'm going to make every effort to check this out.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Flying into Milan, but immediately taking the train Venice. When fly home, it will be from Roma

If your going to be in Milan you should try to work in a stop at the cathedral (Milano Duomo). It's the only thing touristy in Milan but it is a sight to behold. If you can take a later train to Venice (one should run that route every few hours) without screwing up other plans it would be worth it.

Also, I could have sworn that I posted a very long, detailed description on Venice and Rome yesterday morning. I will try again tonight (don't want to attempt from a cell phone).

 

[HCCForever]

Also learn how to ask for a table (tabla) at a restaurant, the menu (il Menu) (men-oo), the bill (il conto, literally the count) and how to properly address your waitstaff (Cameriere). Please, thank you, of course.

Mi scusi cameriere, il conto, per favore! Gratzi mille.

However, I prefer, "per cortesia" instead of per favore when asking for the bill. It's one step above the typical americano translation.

Personally, I would add one more request. One more beer please. Un altra birra per favore. Or as stated above, Un altra birra per cortesia. I have used that phrase in a few countries.

 

[8893]

In Struggling Murano, a Design Intervention

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I hope this helps

Venice

Venice is small but it is also beautiful (and fascinating). You can see all of Venice in two full days (including a visit to Murano) without needing to rush through anything if you plan well. I agree with an earlier comment that San Marco at night, and overseeing the lagoon is extraordinary. I also highly recommend walking Ponte Rialto (other side of Venice but not all that far of a walk) in the evening.

Venice is my son’s favorite destination. I personally place Florence and Rome above Venice but in many ways that is similar to quibbling over Russell vs Wilt vs Kareem.



Rome

You cannot see all of Rome in a few days so strategizing on what you want to see and planning accordingly is the best path. I will begin (and likely repeat a few times) by stating beware of pickpockets. They are everywhere and often work in teams to have someone distract you while another grabs your wallet, bag, whatever. If someone stops you to ask a question that logically shouldn’t be asked, look around immediately and put your hands on your belongings.

Over the course of a bit less than a day (without rushing through anything) you can do a tour beginning at the Coliseum, then pass the Arch of Constantine and Palatine Hill towards Circus Maximus. From there head to Piazza Venezia, then Altare della Patria (I highly recommend taking that tour) then through Trajan’s market, the forum and Capitoline hill back to where you began. This offers quite a bit of ancient Rome as well as some modern beauty.

A second tour that can efficiently cover less than a day would be to start at the Spanish Steps (I can’t believe that morons did what they did with scooters the other day), walk down to Trevi, then to the Pantheon (absolutely tour inside) and over to Piazza Navona. One stop that I highly recommend on this walking tour is to stop at Antica Birreria Peroni (Peroni’s brewery in Rome form the mind 1800’s that has been converted into a restaurant). Take your time on this tour, beware pickpockets and also beware street merchants/vagrants/refugees who will attempt to offer a trinket worth pennies only to attempt to guilt you into paying them five to ten euro for it.

The Vatican is worth a day even if you are not religious. A lot has been spoken about it, one thing I will add is it isn’t a significant walk to Trastevere from the Vatican and the best time to visit Trastevere is in the evening. I will agree that early tours all normally the best.

I will add, if you are going to be there in the summer an underground tour of the Coliseum may be difficult. Mid-fall it is borderline unbearable (due to heat, humidity and limited ventilation), I personally would not consider it in the summer but, it is something that should be experienced at some point and if this will be your only opportunity, it may be worth enduring.

Don’t be afraid to do the tour at your own pace (as there is time to see quite a bit if planned reasonably well) and it isn’t a bad idea to stop at different shops, café’s, restaurants as you go. Finally, beware pickpockets, they are everywhere.

 

[huskymedic]

I will be going on my first ever trip to Italy in about 3 weeks. I've always known the Boneyard to be a great (or mostly great) source of expertise on many subjects.....so I'd love to hear people's tips, advice, must-do's, don't-do's,

Don’t push your electric scooter or drive your Maserati down the Spanish Steps:



-> The scooter incident came weeks after a man from Saudi Arabia drove a Maserati sports car down the steps, damaging at least two of them, according to the police in Rome. Mr. Pasqualetti said that incident was not an act of vandalism, but an accident. “Instead of turning right he turned left and found himself on the staircase,” he said, “at that point he did not have the time to brake and went down the stairs.” <-

 

[CL82]

You cannot see all of Rome in a few days so strategizing on what you want to see and planning accordingly is the best path. I will begin (and likely repeat a few times) by stating beware of pickpockets. They are everywhere and often work in teams to have someone distract you while another grabs your wallet, bag, whatever.

My mom and dad were shopping in Sicily and my mom her purse over her shoulder. They had separated and my dad glanced over and saw a scooter driving quickly in the direction of my mom. At first he thought “that guy is a nut, he’s going too fast” but then he realized that he was going for my mom‘s purse. He walked quickly over to my mom and lifted the purse off her shoulder holding it just as the guy snatched it and drove by. My dad‘s a pretty big guy and he just whipped his arm back pulling the purse free of my mom and pulled the guy off the scooter. The guy is on the ground a little banged up and sees my dad standing over him and starts saying “No, no, please senore no!” He scrambles up gets a running start on the scooter and then weaves his way down the road. Afterwards my brother-in-law said to my dad that he did look kind of menacing standing over him. And my dad laughed and said, “I just wanted to make sure he was OK.”

 

[AreBee1969]

This is fantastic. I am heading to Italy in a few weeks as well. Skipping Rome and spending the majority of the time in Venice and Tuscany with two days in Napoli and flying out of there. Never been before so we are going with a tour group. The tour is pretty loose and offers lots of optional trips as well as complete days on your own.

 

[AreBee1969]

I will be going on my first ever trip to Italy in about 3 weeks. I've always known the Boneyard to be a great (or mostly great) source of expertise on many subjects.....so I'd love to hear people's tips, advice, must-do's, don't-do's, food recs, best "old stuff" to see, best things to make feel like Anthony Bourdain Junior, etc.
The itinerary is pretty much set in stone. We are spending 3 days in Venice, 3 days in the Abruzzo region (Pescara and elsewhere) and 4 days in Rome.

Well @Icculus, how was it? We had a great time. We used Gate1 Travel for the tour and it was great. The tour manager was fantastic and extremely well organized. He also added in several personal touches that really made you feel like part of a family, corny as it sounds. Every place we went, our tour manager handed over the tour to a local guide, so you got a real local perspective on the history of the area.

Although it was a busy tour, we never felt rushed and we always knew what we were doing next. We had a group of 20 so it wasn't too big at all. This type of tour was truly a beginner's guide and when we go back we will know where we want go and what we want to do.

Venice was the only destination that felt touristy. If we ever return to Italy we would definitely skip Venice.

Montecatini in Tuscany was our home base for five days and from there we did day trips to Lucca, Florence and Cinque Terra. We skipped the optional trip to Siena and went back to Florence for a second day. I could spend an entire vacation in Florence. My favorite city by far. Cinque Terra are five coastal towns linked only by boat. Really cool to see and we got in a little (extremely crowded) beach time. Had dinner at a farm that produces its own wine and olive oil. Ridiculously good.

Naples was our final stop and from there we did day trips to the Amalfi Coast and to the Isle of Capri. Both amazingly beautiful destinations and crazy driving tours. The roads are insane! Highlight for my girls was eating dinner at the table next to Matt Damon and his family in Naples.

Overall observations:

The wine - freaking ridiculous and cheap! I bought a bottle of Barolo for 10 euros at a rest stop and it was better than anything you can get here for $30-$40.

The food: I'm going to preface this by saying I group with an extend family of amazing Italian cooks and I'm married to an amazing Italian cook who I met at an Italian Restaurant. That said the food was decent. Never had my socks knocked off. Even the Bistecca Alla Fiorentina was just average. It was 35 ounces but it wasn't the life changing experience I was told it would be. Lots of seafood and all good. I ate mussels until they were coming out of my ears. Bread was great except in Tuscany where they don't use salt in the bread.

The people: all really nice and helpful with those who don't speak the native tongue as a first language. Service was pretty bad everywhere and servers were always indifferent, but I guess that's just Italy. But when I'm on vacation I don't want to have to a dance to flag down a server when I need a drink or my check. When we tipped them, their tune changed and they were very gracious, but at that point it didn't do us much good.

Safety: a woman in our group had her Apple watch taken right off her wrist and she never knew it. I never had any issues with confrontational beggars or anything but at times I found myself paying more attention to my pockets than to the tour guide and that pissed me off a bit, but overall I always felt pretty safe for my girls (18 and 22). Even where we were in Naples I felt fine.

Great trip overall and hope to go back sometime in the next five years.

 

[8893]

Well @Icculus, how was it? We had a great time. We used Gate1 Travel for the tour and it was great. The tour manager was fantastic and extremely well organized. He also added in several personal touches that really made you feel like part of a family, corny as it sounds. Every place we went, our tour manager handed over the tour to a local guide, so you got a real local perspective on the history of the area.

Although it was a busy tour, we never felt rushed and we always knew what we were doing next. We had a group of 20 so it wasn't too big at all. This type of tour was truly a beginner's guide and when we go back we will know where we want go and what we want to do.

Venice was the only destination that felt touristy. If we ever return to Italy we would definitely skip Venice.

Montecatini in Tuscany was our home base for five days and from there we did day trips to Lucca, Florence and Cinque Terra. We skipped the optional trip to Siena and went back to Florence for a second day. I could spend an entire vacation in Florence. My favorite city by far. Cinque Terra are five coastal towns linked only by boat. Really cool to see and we got in a little (extremely crowded) beach time. Had dinner at a farm that produces its own wine and olive oil. Ridiculously good.

Naples was our final stop and from there we did day trips to the Amalfi Coast and to the Isle of Capri. Both amazingly beautiful destinations and crazy driving tours. The roads are insane! Highlight for my girls was eating dinner at the table next to Matt Damon and his family in Naples.

Overall observations:

The wine - freaking ridiculous and cheap! I bought a bottle of Barolo for 10 euros at a rest stop and it was better than anything you can get here for $30-$40.

The food: I'm going to preface this by saying I group with an extend family of amazing Italian cooks and I'm married to an amazing Italian cook who I met at an Italian Restaurant. That said the food was decent. Never had my socks knocked off. Even the Bistecca Alla Fiorentina was just average. It was 35 ounces but it wasn't the life changing experience I was told it would be. Lots of seafood and all good. I ate mussels until they were coming out of my ears. Bread was great except in Tuscany where they don't use salt in the bread.

The people: all really nice and helpful with those who don't speak the native tongue as a first language. Service was pretty bad everywhere and servers were always indifferent, but I guess that's just Italy. But when I'm on vacation I don't want to have to a dance to flag down a server when I need a drink or my check. When we tipped them, their tune changed and they were very gracious, but at that point it didn't do us much good.

Safety: a woman in our group had her Apple watch taken right off her wrist and she never knew it. I never had any issues with confrontational beggars or anything but at times I found myself paying more attention to my pockets than to the tour guide and that pissed me off a bit, but overall I always felt pretty safe for my girls (18 and 22). Even where we were in Naples I felt fine.

Great trip overall and hope to go back sometime in the next five years.

Sounds like a great trip. Make sure you hit Siena next time. I think you’ll like it.

 

[Icculus]

Well @Icculus, how was it? We had a great time. We used Gate1 Travel for the tour and it was great. The tour manager was fantastic and extremely well organized. He also added in several personal touches that really made you feel like part of a family, corny as it sounds. Every place we went, our tour manager handed over the tour to a local guide, so you got a real local perspective on the history of the area.

Although it was a busy tour, we never felt rushed and we always knew what we were doing next. We had a group of 20 so it wasn't too big at all. This type of tour was truly a beginner's guide and when we go back we will know where we want go and what we want to do.

Venice was the only destination that felt touristy. If we ever return to Italy we would definitely skip Venice.

Montecatini in Tuscany was our home base for five days and from there we did day trips to Lucca, Florence and Cinque Terra. We skipped the optional trip to Siena and went back to Florence for a second day. I could spend an entire vacation in Florence. My favorite city by far. Cinque Terra are five coastal towns linked only by boat. Really cool to see and we got in a little (extremely crowded) beach time. Had dinner at a farm that produces its own wine and olive oil. Ridiculously good.

Naples was our final stop and from there we did day trips to the Amalfi Coast and to the Isle of Capri. Both amazingly beautiful destinations and crazy driving tours. The roads are insane! Highlight for my girls was eating dinner at the table next to Matt Damon and his family in Naples.

Overall observations:

The wine - freaking ridiculous and cheap! I bought a bottle of Barolo for 10 euros at a rest stop and it was better than anything you can get here for $30-$40.

The food: I'm going to preface this by saying I group with an extend family of amazing Italian cooks and I'm married to an amazing Italian cook who I met at an Italian Restaurant. That said the food was decent. Never had my socks knocked off. Even the Bistecca Alla Fiorentina was just average. It was 35 ounces but it wasn't the life changing experience I was told it would be. Lots of seafood and all good. I ate mussels until they were coming out of my ears. Bread was great except in Tuscany where they don't use salt in the bread.

The people: all really nice and helpful with those who don't speak the native tongue as a first language. Service was pretty bad everywhere and servers were always indifferent, but I guess that's just Italy. But when I'm on vacation I don't want to have to a dance to flag down a server when I need a drink or my check. When we tipped them, their tune changed and they were very gracious, but at that point it didn't do us much good.

Safety: a woman in our group had her Apple watch taken right off her wrist and she never knew it. I never had any issues with confrontational beggars or anything but at times I found myself paying more attention to my pockets than to the tour guide and that pissed me off a bit, but overall I always felt pretty safe for my girls (18 and 22). Even where we were in Naples I felt fine.

Great trip overall and hope to go back sometime in the next five years.

In general, the trip was fantastic. A few observations:
The waiter thing was very hard to pin down. We'd get great food and great service, but it sometimes felt like you need to tackle the waiter and put him in a headlock before you got your check.
Venice was my favorite. Yes, it's a little tourist-y, but wandering the streets & canals is dreamlike. You feel like you are in a magical labyrinth. I couldn't stop taking pictures because every step you take, you see a scene that's picture-worthy.
All the food I ate was good, but the best thing I ate was a Porchetta sandwich with crispy pig skin at a festival in the mountain village of Corvara. Sublime.
I put a lot of energy in trying to track down the best Gelato. But, in truth, that's probably unnecessary. I went to at least 10 different places and all of it was excellent.
Rome was great, but I don't think I ever got used to the "head on a constant swivel" mentality you need when u walk around the back streets to avoid getting run over lol.
I will never ever go back to Italy in the Summer. It hit 100 multiple days in Rome. Not fun.
This may be a weird thing to observe, but it was striking how many Italian restaurants there were. It was a very high percentage. Even in the more non-tourist areas. I guess gastronomical variety isn't as important over there for the average Italian?
The people of Italy were just wonderful. They were a pleasure to be around.
Public transportation was good (trains) & fairly easy to figure out for a non-native speaker.
For some reason, Euros have a distinct monopoly-money feel.
I did several "skip-the-line" tours & in all cases, they were totally worth it.
You could not pay me enough, to drive there in the cities. Just madness. Parking was an adventure because you were never entirely sure what a sign meant However, we drove a bit through the countryside and that was fine.

 

[storrsroars]

This may be a weird thing to observe, but it was striking how many Italian restaurants there were. It was a very high percentage. Even in the more non-tourist areas. I guess gastronomical variety isn't as important over there for the average Italian?

That is, indeed, a weird thing to observe. Been to Italy multiple times and never once thought, "Where can I get a taco?".

Thing is, Italian food in Italy isn't "Italian" food in the U.S. There are just so many things to eat there that are native that you don't often find in the U.S. So to me, that passes for "variety".

Now, if you're in Belgium, after a few days you're dying for a taco because Belgium only makes like five dishes, lol.

 

[Icculus]

That is, indeed, a weird thing to observe. Been to Italy multiple times and never once thought, "Where can I get a taco?".

Thing is, Italian food in Italy isn't "Italian" food in the U.S. There are just so many things to eat there that are native that you don't often find in the U.S. So to me, that passes for "variety".

Now, if you're in Belgium, after a few days you're dying for a taco because Belgium only makes like five dishes, lol.

I wasn't thinking for myself. The food in Italy is made with such care & quality, I never wanted anything else.
BUT, I was thinking about a local who lives there 24/7/365.

 

[August_West]

That is, indeed, a weird thing to observe. Been to Italy multiple times and never once thought, "Where can I get a taco?".

Thing is, Italian food in Italy isn't "Italian" food in the U.S. There are just so many things to eat there that are native that you don't often find in the U.S. So to me, that passes for "variety".

Now, if you're in Belgium, after a few days you're dying for a taco because Belgium only makes like five dishes, lol.

I had a taco in Edinburgh today . Was decent too.

 

[August_West]

In general, the trip was fantastic. A few observations:
The waiter thing was very hard to pin down. We'd get great food and great service, but it sometimes felt like you need to tackle the waiter and put him in a headlock before you got your check.
Venice was my favorite. Yes, it's a little tourist-y, but wandering the streets & canals is dreamlike. You feel like you are in a magical labyrinth. I couldn't stop taking pictures because every step you take, you see a scene that's picture-worthy.
All the food I ate was good, but the best thing I ate was a Porchetta sandwich with crispy pig skin at a festival in the mountain village of Corvara. Sublime.
I put a lot of energy in trying to track down the best Gelato. But, in truth, that's probably unnecessary. I went to at least 10 different places and all of it was excellent.
Rome was great, but I don't think I ever got used to the "head on a constant swivel" mentality you need when u walk around the back streets to avoid getting run over lol.
I will never ever go back to Italy in the Summer. It hit 100 multiple days in Rome. Not fun.
This may be a weird thing to observe, but it was striking how many Italian restaurants there were. It was a very high percentage. Even in the more non-tourist areas. I guess gastronomical variety isn't as important over there for the average Italian?
The people of Italy were just wonderful. They were a pleasure to be around.
Public transportation was good (trains) & fairly easy to figure out for a non-native speaker.
For some reason, Euros have a distinct monopoly-money feel.
I did several "skip-the-line" tours & in all cases, they were totally worth it.
You could not pay me enough, to drive there in the cities. Just madness. Parking was an adventure because you were never entirely sure what a sign meant However, we drove a bit through the countryside and that was fine.

Good you got out before government collapses.
Britain might be next .

 

[storrsroars]

I had a taco in Edinburgh today . Was decent too.

Well, Scotland ain't Italy when it comes to food. Glad to hear theyve got tacos now though. When I was there it was either curry, doner, fish & chips, or something boiled to a 2nd death.

 

[AreBee1969]

Glad to hear your trip was great as well.

All the food I ate was good, but the best thing I ate was a Porchetta sandwich with crispy pig skin at a festival in the mountain village of Corvara. Sublime.

I forgot about the sandwich I had in Lucca (Tuscany). Mortadella and fresh baked bread, nothing else. Ridiculously good. Wife got prosciutto and buffalo mozz and we got a few side dishes of risotto and olives. 13 Euros.

I put a lot of energy in trying to track down the best Gelato. But, in truth, that's probably unnecessary. I went to at least 10 different places and all of it was excellent.

Our tour manager was from Rome but now lives in Australia in the off season. He has his own Gelato shop in Melbourne and was extremely determined that we get the best gelato no matter where we went. He ate three gelato three times a day!

You could not pay me enough, to drive there in the cities. Just madness.

The Amalfi Coast drive and the drive from Capri to Anacapri were absolutely nerve wracking! Narrow roads, hairpin turns, crazy drivers, short guard rails and hundreds of feet to fall. Our min-bus drivers were freaking amazing.

 

[Frank06830]

Nice write up. I got a kick from your comment about Porchetta and Corvara. As you know it is a small hill town in Abruzzo. Not too far from Pietranico another small hill town where my parents were from. Amusing you found porchetta, a rustic, agro based dish so outstanding with all the other Italian dishes. Good taste sir. Porchetta was something my mom Angelina would make a couple times a year. Brought back fond memories They say all of the Pope’s cooks are from Abruzzo . Sorry for TMI. Your trip recap increases my urgency to go back.