im studying in cortona, italy for 4 months this upcoming spring... cant wait... taking notes on everything you guys are mentioning and then ill figure out what are the must sees... im going almost exclusively to see the art so id love to know about lesser known museums, chapels, cathedrals where i can find some cool medieval, renaissance, or baroque stuff
also gonna be hosting my parents for a couple weeks during my spring break so i need some family friendly fun stuff to do... trying to avoid the touristy garbage as much as possible
if people got more specific pointers rather than just city names i would appreciate it... stuff like good restaurants, hotels, attractions
italy was by far the best vacation i've taken and most amazing place i've been. i loved everything about it.
i only spent 9 days there, but went to venice, florence, siena, a stop in ferrara, and then rome. i could have walked around just looking at the architecture in rome for at least another month. i think i stood there just staring at the colosseum for at least an hour.
the food was even better than i imagined, and i had high expectations. except the pizza...i didn't think that was anything special.
i had no intentions of taking advantage of the shopping there, but bought this awesome red leather coat.
im studying in cortona, italy for 4 months this upcoming spring... cant wait... taking notes on everything you guys are mentioning and then ill figure out what are the must sees... im going almost exclusively to see the art so id love to know about lesser known museums, chapels, cathedrals where i can find some cool medieval, renaissance, or baroque stuff
also gonna be hosting my parents for a couple weeks during my spring break so i need some family friendly fun stuff to do... trying to avoid the touristy garbage as much as possible
if people got more specific pointers rather than just city names i would appreciate it... stuff like good restaurants, hotels, attractions
THANKS
Cortona! That's where they filmed "Under the Tuscan Sun"!
Siena was rockin! It was much more gothic than Florence, and hands down the interior of the duomo in Siena was the the most magnificent out of all the duomos I saw in my time there. I did not get all of the stories. What's this about turtles? I did hear about the horse race. I would've loved to have seen that.
Basically, the whole town of Siena is divided up into something like 12-15 districts, and each district has it's own symbol (horse, wolf, turtle).. If you saw a coloured flag that looked different in that town, it was representing whatever district they are from. They take it very seriously, for instance, if a turtle marries a wolf or what not, it is sometimes written in the marriage contract what the son or daughter will be. For the horse race, they all draw a random horse, and the horses are kept in whatever district and treated like kings the week before the race. On race day, everyone packs into the big square and the horses race around three times.
Man, I can't wait to go back to Italy. Hopefully I'll spend a week or two there next summer.
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
im studying in cortona, italy for 4 months this upcoming spring... cant wait... taking notes on everything you guys are mentioning and then ill figure out what are the must sees... im going almost exclusively to see the art so id love to know about lesser known museums, chapels, cathedrals where i can find some cool medieval, renaissance, or baroque stuff
also gonna be hosting my parents for a couple weeks during my spring break so i need some family friendly fun stuff to do... trying to avoid the touristy garbage as much as possible
if people got more specific pointers rather than just city names i would appreciate it... stuff like good restaurants, hotels, attractions
THANKS
I know its touristy, but seeing the Collesium (sp) was one of the single greatest experiences of my life. Walking up to the second floor, I was with a friend and we were both just speechless. I get chills just thinking about it.
Go see Assissi, its a beautiful town, just one street basically, but it's worth checking out. Gorgeous landscapes, scenery, etc..
There's a church in Florence (not the main one) that contains the graves of Gallelio and Machiavli among others, definitley worth seeing.
PM me if ya wanna see any pictures, maybe it'd help you decide what to do.
Oh ya, and if you're in Perugia (HIGHLY reccomended) , theres a little bar just up from the main square, almost a Japanese vibe, that was a REALLY nice place to just chill and have a drink. That was my school's hangout while we were there.
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
im studying in cortona, italy for 4 months this upcoming spring... cant wait... taking notes on everything you guys are mentioning and then ill figure out what are the must sees... im going almost exclusively to see the art so id love to know about lesser known museums, chapels, cathedrals where i can find some cool medieval, renaissance, or baroque stuff
also gonna be hosting my parents for a couple weeks during my spring break so i need some family friendly fun stuff to do... trying to avoid the touristy garbage as much as possible
if people got more specific pointers rather than just city names i would appreciate it... stuff like good restaurants, hotels, attractions
THANKS
vina della casa rossa... know it, embrace it, love it. The house wine is decent in most places and fantastic in others (especially Terra Terra in Florence...phenominal sangiovese from the Chianti region which is the region you'll be in in town) and let it warm up first before you drink it it will have more flavor. Take your time with eating always and read the menu's before you go in, it will save you some money in some cases and help you find out where the good local fair is.
The bruschetta with rocket salad tomatos and buffalo mozzarela is generally supurb.
Oh and you have to get gelato every time you pass an establishment that sells it
My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
Oh and you have to get gelato every time you pass an establishment that sells it [/quote"]
This man speaks truth. Having said that, the best I found was this little place up from the main square in Sienna, or another one close to the Duomo in San Giamano.
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
For our honeymoon, my wife and I toured for 9-days and then spent a week relaxing on the Amalfi Coast. It was one of the best vacations we've ever had. The only thing I had trouble with is that there's no peanut butter in that country and I'm a major addict.
Two women on my tour found out I was jonesing for PB and thought it'd be a good idea to tell me that they've been through it before, but this time, they were prepared and brought PB! Yessssssssss! Or so I thought...it turns out they ran out a couple of days earlier. Thanks for teasing me ladies. So I resorted to stocking up on Peanut M&M's and Snickers Crunchers and pretending the peanut taste was PB.
I know its touristy, but seeing the Collesium (sp) was one of the single greatest experiences of my life. Walking up to the second floor, I was with a friend and we were both just speechless. I get chills just thinking about it.
Go see Assissi, its a beautiful town, just one street basically, but it's worth checking out. Gorgeous landscapes, scenery, etc..
There's a church in Florence (not the main one) that contains the graves of Gallelio and Machiavli among others, definitley worth seeing.
PM me if ya wanna see any pictures, maybe it'd help you decide what to do.
Oh ya, and if you're in Perugia (HIGHLY reccomended) , theres a little bar just up from the main square, almost a Japanese vibe, that was a REALLY nice place to just chill and have a drink. That was my school's hangout while we were there.
oh i have NO intention of skipping the collesium! pretty sure thatll be part of one of my mandatory weekend trips anyway since like i said im gonna be at an art school... really looking forward to that though as roman history is my favorite period to study (artistcally, politically, socially, EVERYTHING)
ill do my best to stop in assissi, but if its that small then it may have to take a backseat to some of my other european travels... 4 months isnt alot to see ALL of europe as im hoping to! or atleast london, paris, ireland, amsterdam, athens, santorini, bruges, madrid... maybe stay into the summer to cross the mediterranean and see egypt
ill have to look into the church youre thinking of... got plenty of art textbooks so im sure i can find it... mainly wanna see everything rubens, caravaggio, and bernini (my 3 favorites) did in churches...
pictures would be great! send the best locales to sbrice2@uiuc.edu
out of all the places we went to while there back in march, including Rome, Florence, Venice, and many other regions and cities....this was by fay my favorite:
followed closely by Venice and San Gimignano (http://www.panoramio.com/photo/1728476) which was an awesome little village up in the hills in the Tuscana region i believe.
if we go back we won't even bother with Pisa and some of the stuff in Rome.
the food was generally good. although at the restaurants we were not impressed at all. the best food we had always came from the venders and the
lasagna at the hotel in Venice was amazing!!!
I thought Rome was hot and dirty (JUNE). I also thought it could be cared for a little more. The monuments and historical sites seemed to becoming more run down as a result of mass tourism and a lack of care. Someone mentioned no signs (in any language).
I loved Florence and Verona!
Sacramento 10-30-00, Bridge School 10-20 and 10-21-01, Bridge School 10-25 and 10-26-01, Irvine 06-02-03, Irvine 06-03-03, San Diego 06-05-03, San Diego 07-07-06, Los Angeles 07-09-06, Santa Barbara 07-13-06, London UK 06-18-07, San Diego 10-9-09, San Diego 2013, LA 1 2013
Basically, if there are any Italians on this board, you have a beautiful country filled with beautiful people (honestly the kids we met in Perugia (16-18) were some of the nicest kids I've ever met!).
Why thank you! I'm from La Spezia, right by the cinque terre. Will be back home for xmas yay!
Cincinnati '03 Flooded venue!
Bridge School '06 Night 1 & 2
Venice '07 pummeled by the sleet!
Nijmegen '07
Werchter '07
April Fools ~ LA1
It's a beautiful contry, great towns, best food ever, very good wine, ... but it's obvious that the country is on way down and I hate the extremist thinking and the fact that a lot of the italians are still voting for communistic and fascist partiys...can't believe that there is still a member of the mussolini familly who's on electoral lists!!!!
And the italian T.V. is the biggest shit, it's like the italian government wants to make their people turn into idiots with no real culture exept boobs and foods.
But I don't want to miss the beautiful landscapes, citys ( Firenze is absolutely marvellous, Rome is big, Perugia is one of the cutest towns I've ever been.), the food culture,... and the raggazzas
I kinda liked Italian tv myself. Didn't understand a word of it, but they were having so much fun in this absurd game, it was impossible to not laugh.
I spent a little under a week in Italy back in '01. Florence was the highlight of the trip for me. Venice did not impress me much. Rome was extremely busy, but it was awesome to see the Colosseum, the Vatican, St. Peters, and the Trevi Fountain.
We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.--Bill Hicks
Comments
around 350 or so. I'll have to send you a link.
also gonna be hosting my parents for a couple weeks during my spring break so i need some family friendly fun stuff to do... trying to avoid the touristy garbage as much as possible
if people got more specific pointers rather than just city names i would appreciate it... stuff like good restaurants, hotels, attractions
THANKS
http://seanbriceart.com/
italy was by far the best vacation i've taken and most amazing place i've been. i loved everything about it.
i only spent 9 days there, but went to venice, florence, siena, a stop in ferrara, and then rome. i could have walked around just looking at the architecture in rome for at least another month. i think i stood there just staring at the colosseum for at least an hour.
the food was even better than i imagined, and i had high expectations. except the pizza...i didn't think that was anything special.
i had no intentions of taking advantage of the shopping there, but bought this awesome red leather coat.
oh, and the views on chianti road....
*sigh* i need to go back.
Cortona! That's where they filmed "Under the Tuscan Sun"!
Man, I can't wait to go back to Italy. Hopefully I'll spend a week or two there next summer.
Go see Assissi, its a beautiful town, just one street basically, but it's worth checking out. Gorgeous landscapes, scenery, etc..
There's a church in Florence (not the main one) that contains the graves of Gallelio and Machiavli among others, definitley worth seeing.
PM me if ya wanna see any pictures, maybe it'd help you decide what to do.
Oh ya, and if you're in Perugia (HIGHLY reccomended) , theres a little bar just up from the main square, almost a Japanese vibe, that was a REALLY nice place to just chill and have a drink. That was my school's hangout while we were there.
vina della casa rossa... know it, embrace it, love it. The house wine is decent in most places and fantastic in others (especially Terra Terra in Florence...phenominal sangiovese from the Chianti region which is the region you'll be in in town) and let it warm up first before you drink it it will have more flavor. Take your time with eating always and read the menu's before you go in, it will save you some money in some cases and help you find out where the good local fair is.
The bruschetta with rocket salad tomatos and buffalo mozzarela is generally supurb.
Oh and you have to get gelato every time you pass an establishment that sells it
Oh and you have to get gelato every time you pass an establishment that sells it
This man speaks truth. Having said that, the best I found was this little place up from the main square in Sienna, or another one close to the Duomo in San Giamano.
Two women on my tour found out I was jonesing for PB and thought it'd be a good idea to tell me that they've been through it before, but this time, they were prepared and brought PB! Yessssssssss! Or so I thought...it turns out they ran out a couple of days earlier. Thanks for teasing me ladies. So I resorted to stocking up on Peanut M&M's and Snickers Crunchers and pretending the peanut taste was PB.
(Shawn Smith's official website, but not Thee Shawn Smith)
Wembley 18/06/07
If there was a reason, it was you.
O2 Arena 18/09/09
ill do my best to stop in assissi, but if its that small then it may have to take a backseat to some of my other european travels... 4 months isnt alot to see ALL of europe as im hoping to! or atleast london, paris, ireland, amsterdam, athens, santorini, bruges, madrid... maybe stay into the summer to cross the mediterranean and see egypt
ill have to look into the church youre thinking of... got plenty of art textbooks so im sure i can find it... mainly wanna see everything rubens, caravaggio, and bernini (my 3 favorites) did in churches...
pictures would be great! send the best locales to sbrice2@uiuc.edu
http://seanbriceart.com/
I wish I made it to Amalfi Coast!!!
Religion built that? That is some powerful stuff!
I thought Rome was hot and dirty (JUNE). I also thought it could be cared for a little more. The monuments and historical sites seemed to becoming more run down as a result of mass tourism and a lack of care. Someone mentioned no signs (in any language).
I loved Florence and Verona!
Why thank you! I'm from La Spezia, right by the cinque terre. Will be back home for xmas yay!
Bridge School '06 Night 1 & 2
Venice '07 pummeled by the sleet!
Nijmegen '07
Werchter '07
April Fools ~ LA1