Anyone been to/lives in Italy?
I'm leaving in a few days for a trip to Italy with my mother and two cousins. I can't describe how much I'm looking forward to it. Not just for the vacation but for more personal reasons. My mom and I have been trying to go to Italy for years but something always came up and we couldn't do it. Last February we booked a 10 day tour for this month. We said, no matter what happens we are going to Italy. Then back in October my mom was diagnosed with cancer. She was afraid she would not be able to go because she didn't know how sick she would be. We were going to arrange for my bf to take her place. I told him that even though I loved him I didn't want him to go because that would mean my mom was too sick and I wouldn't enjoy the trip knowing my mom was home missing everything. We really lucked out that my mom's chemo treatments finished in February and she is feeling well enough to go. :w00t!: That makes this trip even more special to me.
So to make a long story short (too late) has anyone been to Italy? Any travel tips you can give me? Any suggestions on what to see and what is a waste of money? We have a tour booked so there will be plenty of sight seeing but we will have a couple of free days too. We start in Rome and leave from Milan.
Hi biodancer, I've only been to Rome (took my man there for his bday a couple of years back!) which I (we!) loved; didn't find it too expensive but then we spent most of the days walking round the sights. Make sure you throw a coin over your shoulder (can't remember which one!) into the trevi fountain and promise to return! Rome has drinking water fountains everywhere so you can top up your water bottle. If you plan on going to the Vatican, make sure you wear something covering your shoulders (for girls; fellas have to wear long trousers) otherwise you wont get in! Also, the Sistine Chapel was closed Mondays (which was the day we went).
You may have a little problem explaining vegan fare and drink to the italians, but many areas do a lot of (accidentally) veggie dishes (pasta, gnocci, pizza).
I've just checked the weather for Rome over the next 10 days and it's not predicted to be that great (showery from wednesday on) and cold so make sure you've got a warm jumper and rainproof jacket!
Have a great time. Safe travels. X K
how exciting! i have been to italy (i went to venice, florence, rome, and spent a couple hours in sienna and pisa). i really had a lot more fun just getting off the beaten path when i was there, but pretty much everything is amazing.
Wow--that is amazing that your mom has recovered so much she can go on this trip. Where else are you going in between Rome and Milan? Try to enjoy every minute of it.
In Rome don't miss the Colloseum, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Rome is just incredible--around almost every corner is something amazing.
We found two vegetarian restaurants in Rome--one is the the guide books (Fodors) and I can't remember the name, but it is in a really trendy, upscale area and it is very cool to walk around the back and see the pretty restaurants set up in the back alley. The other restaurant was recommended by our hotel--it was called Arancia Blu ("blue orange") and was also trendy, but in a younger, grittier way and it was in a more gritty part of town. My husband can't eat dairy and even at those places we found dairy free options limited but we still managed to get by.
FYI--the first restaurant I was trying to remember was called Margutta Vegetariano.
There is quite a bit on the web about vegetarian restaurants in Rome.
Anyway--enjoy!
Thanks so much jkl! I'm writing those down!
Hey, biodancer, so how was the trip? where'd you go, what'd eat, etc?
I am so envious! I have never been, but my universal advice is to not accept opened drinks from strangers, ever.
Hey, biodancer, so how was the trip? where'd you go, what'd eat, etc?
The trip was awesome, aside from the fact that it rained 8 1/2 out of the 10 days we were there. We said if we ever go again we would not go in March. We went to Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan, and stopped in smaller places along the way like Verona and Pisa. I was on a tour so it was pretty heavily scheduled and organized. There were good and bad parts to being on a tour.
Pros: 1) you don't need to figure out where the sites are or how to get there because the tour bus will take you. 2) you don't need to wait in those long, long lines for some of the sites because you get to go in a special "tours" door and they already have your tickets for you. 3) the local guides are great and you get to learn so much more about what you are seeing than you would if you went alone or read from a tour book.
Cons: 1) The schedule. You were up early and moving all day long. By day 5 we all wanted a day just to sleep late or do nothing. 2) Where you ate (nost of the time)was already scheduled and in those places vegan food was hard to come by. Most of my food options were loaded with cheese. It got to be a joke with me and my family "she's vegetarian, she'll have the cheese." I still consider myself ovo-latco, but I've been eating vegan at home for a little while now so the switch back to such heavy dairy wasn't easy. Also their definition of vegetarian means no chunks of meat in the dish. There were a couple of times I tasted chicken flavoring in my rice (confirmed by my omni family). I tried three times to find vegetarian restaurants listed on Happy Cow and couldn't locate any of them.
Anyway, this post is getting a bit long. All in all it was a great time. ;)b