Who here has been to Italy?

MrBrian

Glad you liked it Pac...But were you able to do anything related to Ferrari/Lamborghini? I always gotta ask that question.

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Italy really is such an amazing country. I was in love with it so much that I started to learn Italian...from an Italian dictionary at first! Nice language to communicate in. But I'm still not as fluent as I would like to be at this point in time.

Pacomc79

MrBrian wrote:

Glad you liked it Pac...But were you able to do anything related to Ferrari/Lamborghini? I always gotta ask that question.

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Italy really is such an amazing country. I was in love with it so much that I started to learn Italian...from an Italian dictionary at first! Nice language to communicate in. But I'm still not as fluent as I would like to be at this point in time.

honestly, sitting at the train station in Bologonia thinking... boy this is what 20 minutes from Modena... I need to call my sister and get her friends number.... but it didn't work out. I actually saw more Mazareti's and only one lamborghini Gallardo. I was closer to a ride on a nice Ducati. Oh well.

next time we do the autostrada. I really would like to drive a smart equipped with nitrous though.

I HATED that I only knew english. I picked up quite a bit of italian but it would have been so much better had I known much more. Sure a lot of people speak english, and I would have annoyed my wife by reading everything had I known more Italian... but I feel like I cheated myself a bit by not learning more of the language before I went. Still, even with the language barrier, the people were really nice and incredibly accomodating. It's pretty obvious there is so much more to learn or experiences to be had in places where no one at all speaks much english all over the Italian countryside.

PJLaur

keeponrockin wrote:

Wasn't Siena absolutley breathtaking? Did you get the story of all the different parts of town (turtles, etc...) and the big horse race they have every year?

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.

small town beck

PJLaur wrote:

I didn't make it to Monterosso! Isn't that part of Cinque Terre? I made it to the other 4 villages, but had to make a train. I liked Vernazza(sp?).

I went to different parts of Tuscany, Siena, Umbria, Florence, Cinque Terre, Rome, Sperlonga....I think that's it?!

It is.. they said it was more touristy but we stayed in the older part and it was great. I loved Vernazza as well... had dinner there one night and it really was a highlight!

Loved Florence.. loved IT. Wish I could have spent more time there and Verona as AMAZING!!! Simply amazing.

I have to get back... ahhh Europe will have to wait until 2009 for me sadly!!

MrBrian

Pacomc79 wrote:

honestly, sitting at the train station in Bologonia thinking... boy this is what 20 minutes from Modena... I need to call my sister and get her friends number.... but it didn't work out. I actually saw more Mazareti's and only one lamborghini Gallardo. I was closer to a ride on a nice Ducati. Oh well.

next time we do the autostrada. I really would like to drive a smart equipped with nitrous though.

I HATED that I only knew english. I picked up quite a bit of italian but it would have been so much better had I known much more. Sure a lot of people speak english, and I would have annoyed my wife by reading everything had I known more Italian... but I feel like I cheated myself a bit by not learning more of the language before I went. Still, even with the language barrier, the people were really nice and incredibly accomodating. It's pretty obvious there is so much more to learn or experiences to be had in places where no one at all speaks much english all over the Italian countryside.

Yes! The Italian countryside.
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btw, you got lots of pics of the trip I hope? You should post a couple if you can.

lmao...a Smart equipped with Nitrous, sounds dangerous...I like it.

Lostdoggie

The thing I liked best about Pisa is that it's close to Sienna. I loved Sienna because it still has a medival feel to it. Florence was amazing too.

PJLaur

Pacomc79 wrote:

Just got back. I loved that every city is walkable though Venice was by far my favorite in that stead because it scared me a lot less to walk around with less traffic and there seems to be something cool everywhere. It's so relaxed and laid back. The Plazzo Ducale (Doges Palace) was incredible and it pays to book online. Venice is so well signed and marked it's easy to negociate. Florence and Rome tend to not have enough signage and they have the frustrations of a name change every two blocks like most other modern cities. I think it would be fun to live in Venice most of the time. It's just expensive.

I loved Florence and Tuscany for virtually everything, arcitecture, art, local food. Walking and traffic takes a bit of getting used to as do the multitude of street vendors. (I don't want any roses or magnets or fake prada purses but thanks) I did tip most of the street musicians. Speaking of which the Medici's had a fine collection of musical instruments on display at the Gallery of the Academy (David) that I enjoyed seeing.

If you like artwork at all you'll love Italy. Arcitecture. Likewise. History. Impecable. Italy is a phenominally interesting place for a vast numbers of reasons.

Rome was probably my least favorite but amazing none the less.

One thing I think I most noticed was that you really need to take time to find the right place to eat. The tourist places are not unlike the tourist places here. The little Trattorias and Osterias and family owned restaurants were the best.

In Florence Terra Terra and Antique Barile were my favorite places to eat. Both small if not tiny spots on little alley's with tables out in the street.

In Rome there is a tremendous speghetti restaurant with a menu that reads like a novel and cheap excellent food. It's near the Trevi fountain on a little side street L Archetta I think.

Venecian food is not the best but we found a great lunch spot over in San Polo off of San Silvestre just a little Trattoria and there is a pretty nice seafood spot on the St Marks side of the Rialto Bridge that was quite good.


One of my favorite things by far was the Euro Italia train. Electric, extremely quiet. Very comfortable. Fast. and with big windows to see the countryside. If the US had these trains I'd take them in a second over most hour to two hour air trips. FLorence to Rome on the train was spectacular. Sunflowers, olive trees and grapes as far as the eye can see.

I traveled by myself to Italy. If there was something I could change about my trip, I would've gone to Venice. Then again, maybe it's best I save that for another time when I'm not by myself since it is the romance capitol and all.

Rome was amazing, but I must say I got overwhelmed by the Disney World-esque Tourist jungle there. I preferred Florence. Though, the colliseum was absolutely incredible.

luxpjamer

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

xscorcho

ive been to italy twice... i dont understand the hype behind it... i prefer most other european countries to that one....

best thing: gelato
worst thing: the men are way too pushy

Glorified Irish Guy

i went to italy a few years ago on a school trip, worst experience of my life, i hated the place!!! I really want to go back after hearing how great it is, actually experience it properly on my own, but to me at the moment Italy sucks

Pacomc79

MrBrian wrote:

Yes! The Italian countryside.
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btw, you got lots of pics of the trip I hope? You should post a couple if you can.

lmao...a Smart equipped with Nitrous, sounds dangerous...I like it.

around 350 or so. I'll have to send you a link.

Kilgore_Trout

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

nfanel

xscorcho wrote:

best thing: gelato

agreed. i ate gelato every day, sometimes twice.

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.

PJLaur

sgossard3 wrote:

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"!

keeponrockin

PJLaur wrote:

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.

keeponrockin

sgossard3 wrote:

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.

Pacomc79

sgossard3 wrote:

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

keeponrockin

[quote="Pacomc79

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.

Shawn Smith Collective

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.

urbanhippie

I've always wanted to visit Venice. Sooooooo romantic.....