After each trip, there is the inevitable letdown Jess and I feel when our vacation is done. As regular readers know, we are heading on a SW roundtrip (in less than one month!). But this time when we come back, we have something to look forward to – ITALY!
In January, we will be spending a week touring Italy. I’ve been (although it’s been 10 years since I was there), but I’ve always wanted to go back because I saw nothing more than Rome and Florence. Jess hasn’t, and it has been one of the places she has wanted to go most. So when we finally found a great deal on airfare, we jumped on the opportunity and booked.
We’ll be hitting up:
Have you been to Italy? We’d love your recommendations for restaurants, sights to see, and can’t miss experiences!
Hi Nicole! I love travel too and so I follow your blog :) Although I’m based in Asia, I did a 1-month eurotrip in Nov 2011 and spent quite a bit of time in Italy. Trains are not the cheapest and I paid a whole lot of money just getting around Italy. It can cost anywhere from 30euros for a place a few hours away and even 100 euros for somewhere far ie rome to milan. Make sure you get to your train station well before it departs though ie 15-30 min – sometimes the stations are huge and it can take you a good 10 minutes to find the right platform. I ended up getting lost a lot and was late for trains – surprise surprise, non refundable.
Do plan your stops well! – I followed the somewhat popular route and did Italy in this order: Venice, Cinque Terre, Florence, Pisa (just a quick like half day trip), Rome, which is great, but then I went all the way back up to Milan (because I decided last minute I wanted to go to the Swiss Alps to ski. But no, don’t do that!).
In general, I think you need basic Italian phrases to get around. I was surprised that a lot of locals don’t really speak English and they can be quite unhelpful. In Rome, I stayed with a local family via a room I rented through Roomorama – I loved it and it really added to my experience immersing myself in the local environment. I highly recommend the family I stayed with (was 25 euros a night or something) or finding short term rentals with Roomorama. Every host I stayed with (via Roomorama) gave me lots of advice and cared for me. I loved Rome! It is incredible, you must see the Sistine Chapel, the roman ruins, bla bla.
http://loveyouwrongtime.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/roamin-in-roma-with-roomorama/
In Florence I stayed with in a really lovely boutique bed n breakfast I also found through Roomorama. A lot of people like Florence, but quite honestly I got a bit bored after 2 nights. It’s just the David statues, a lot of art and museums there.
I didn’t do Bologna and Lucca, but my absolute favourites were Cinque Terre and Venice. Prepare to get lost all the time in Venice – each nook and cranny and turn looks the same and you’ll wander around in circles. I wish I had longer in Cinque Terre, it is breathtaking. I didn’t hike 5 towns in a day, I don’t know how people do that – I am pretty fit and I only managed 2 towns from morning till afternoon. I had to leave in the evening but I wish I didn’t. The best would be to stay in Monterosso (sort of like the most ‘IT’ town in Cinque Terre). I need to do a blog post on Cinque Terre!
Hope you enjoy your trip and do keep safe :)
Thanks for the great advice Estelle! We are excited to get lost in Venice – it’s probably top of my list in Italy. My great-grandmother is from Lucca, so I’m excited to see where the family comes from. :)
That’s great that you’re heading to Italy and seeing a wisely chosen selection of places. I would recommend going a bit further north if you can fit it in and seeing the lakes, especially Lake Como. Don’t be put off by the fact that you’re there in winter as the lakes can look even more stunning then when they’re fringed by snow-covered mountains. Enjoy your trip anyhow and happy planning :-)
Thanks!
Hi!
I’m an Italian follower of you blog and I visited all the cities you’ve written about except Lucca, Venice and Verona, but I live in Naples and I think you should come here because tourists find it spectacular.. Here they see something special and I think there is, although living here is very difficult because of different problems. So I advice you my city and some other places that you must see if you want to visit something amazing:
Costiera Amalfitana and in particular: Ravello (City of Music), Vietri sul mare and Sorrento (in Campania)
Siena (in Tuscany)
PS. If you come to Naples let me know!
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