Venice, Florence, Rome
foggyj
14 years ago
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recordstraight
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Back from Italy - a food report
Comments (37)bri29... Are you sure you can't tack on an extra couple of vacation days on those work trips? That's what I used to do when I traveled for work (drove my boss nuts!). I don't know if it would work for your schedule, but, if you haven't already, I'd highly recommend staying overnight in Venice. The evening stroll along the canals, when the large tour groups are gone, is magical. Compumom... You're WAYYYY overdue for a visit. The apartment stays are not as difficult to arrange as you might think. Though some require a week stay, especially in the high season, there are many more apartment owners who will rent for 3 or 4 nights. It does take much more planning time to find the right place though. As for the agriturismos, many of these are run like a small hotel or B&B, so you can stay even one night if that's all you can allow for your schedule, but to really get the experience, again 3-4 nights to me is about minimum. What we do is pick a place based on location that allows us to do day-trips from that spot. It really saves on the wear and tear of packing and unpacking, and too much hotel/restaurant food. Eileen...there's always a 20th anniversary trip?! ;) Barnmom... I think it's a combination of tons of walking and numerous espressos. That might be the true key to the "mediterranean diet" Dlynn... That's one thing I like about Italy; there are plenty of options that are a great alternative to fast food, even if you're not a gourmet eater. Annie... Hand gestures, shrugs, smiles all go a long way toward communication. And people are mre than happy to communicate in whatever language works. Grazie, everyone for the kind words!...See MoreThings to do in Italy
Comments (3)Venice - I agree with walking around. It is wonderful to get "lost" there. We skipped the gondola ride. We don't regret it. We did take the vaporetto, both at night and in the day and that was good for us. You can also go to Murano and see the glass sculptures or to Burano where you can see lace. we enjoyed the lace museum there and watching the women make it in the museum - my daughter would have enjoyed that when she was 8, my sons not so much. Florence - if your child is interested in science you might want to look at that. There may be some parts of it that are not interesting to an 8 year old, but other parts will be. I picked this up from Rick Steves - try gelato when you can. It really isn't very much and it was fun to see who had the best pistachio gelato in Italy. My husband on the other hand tried all different flavors. I recommend Rick Steves audio tours. he has some humor in them though an 8 year may not get it all, and it is probably good that he/she wouldn't get it ALL though I wouldn't have any problems with my former 8 year olds listening to the tours. The great thing about them when it was just DH and I was being able to stop a "tour" at any kind and get something to eat or go to the bathroom and then return to the tour when we were ready. I also downloaded other tours, but they were usually more stuffy than Rick is. Get some really good art books from the library if you don't know much about art (another tip from Rick). Teach your 8 yea old about it in small doses. That makes the art even more interesting. One thing you could teach him is perspective. Then as you study the art when you go you can ask his opinion about how well the artist did with perspective. don't forget to learn about mosaics as well. If you go to the Vatican and st peters and you have an active 8 year old climb up to the top of the cupola. That was one of the first things we did in Italy and it was amazing to see all the things inside and then to look over Rome from the top. You can hike all the way or take the elevator part way and hike the rest depending on your fitness and fatigue. If you get there late enough in the day you will have to use the elevator for the first part as they won't let you walk up all the way. It costs more, but for us it ended up being perfect....See MoreRome--books about it or set there
Comments (53)I apologizes if I have been a little rude, may be, I should have written "I have to dissent" Instead of " I must", but the fact is, that I know badly one language, my own (Italian) and I know a few words of another one (English) besides I forgot to say that, when I read The da Vinci Code, I, like Cindy, enjoied it , but it was clear to me that....ok Cindy has already said the same thing I want to say it was a page turner for me. I think it was towards the end when things got too convuluted that I screamed 'enough'. I was surprised that it took such a hold. And very surprised how many people read this as non fiction. Anyway I want also back Woodnynph2 advice about Tim Parks, he is a really good judge of Italian behaviour, I've only read his non fiction books, because his novels are a little too intelectual for my poor education grelobe p.s. of course one Brown's book...is enough Here is a link that might be useful: Tim Parks non fiction books and other...See MoreFlorence, IT Vacation Help
Comments (25)While I enjoyed Florence, I did suffer severe art overload there...probably because we were trying to fit in so many things. I think the Pitti Palace put me over the top. The best thing we did was to go see the David at night when there were no crowds at all. I second adding Venice. It was by far my favorite and wasn't the least bit dirty...it is a most beautiful city to walk, esp since there is no vehicle traffic. Very different from Rome where they rode the scooters even on the sidewalks! We did go to Lake Lugano which was nice, but given the short amount of time you'll have, if you do nothing but Florence and Venice, it will be plenty.... Regardless, you will have fabulous food. I don't think you can get a bad meal in Italy. And enjoy the wine. We polished off a full bottle of wine every night before dinner...we didn't get drunk, headaches or hung over. It was just delish and perfect and inexpensive....See MoreWhitelacey
10 years agogr8daygw
9 years agofoggyj
9 years agoYayagal
8 years ago
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