Wanted: Recommendations for a trip to Italy

[BizCT]

Multi-week vacation and only a carry on?

 

 

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[Otto]

Nice pics Chef and Storm, when I went with my wife the first time we visited almost every church in every town.  After 2 weeks she said if you take me into one more church I’m going to kill myself. (Joking of course). They do seem to blend all together.  My father’s two best friends growing up in Sicily were both priests - one at the Vatican, another in Scicca on the southern Sicilian coast.  So on that trip, we saw a lot of churches.  

Good advice to slow down, eat, drink, and enjoy the culture.  Take siesta.  Eat dinner late late late.  After a week of that schedule, you will understand what La Dolce Vita means.

Goose - Pisano - my great grandparents were from near Palermo.  My father’s side is from near Catania, high up on Mt. Etna.   Now I want to go back!

 

[goosifer]

5 hours ago, nyslowhand said:

. . . Pickpockets, photo taking scams, shady local tour guide services & cabbies, etc. . . .

BTW - If you've never done any genealogy yourself it'd be beneficial to pay a local search specialist in the city/area you mentioned before arriving. They know how & where to look and for the few hundred dollars it'll be a deal.

 

Yeah, I worry about that stuff, especially the cabbies. I try to keep a high level of awareness, vigilance and paranoia.

Interesting idea on hiring someone; I hadn't thought of that.  I will have to look into that.

[goosifer]

26 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Multi-week vacation and only a carry on?

 

 

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We did a two week trip to Italy and Paris with just carry on, and pulled it off. Was a miracle that Mrs. Goose did it, too. Although with all the crap we have with in on this Florida trip, I am looking into bringing a backpack, too, and a shoulder bag. The airline allows two carry on bags plus a personal bag. Her solution was to give out lots of stuff for dry cleaning. Mine was hand washing clothes in the bidets.

My wife did a post on her blog about doing this, if you are interested Link

Edited February 5, 2019 by goosifer

[goosifer]

33 minutes ago, chefhunter86 said:

Ok here are my Italy suggestions. Forget about the churches, museums, all that crap. Eat, drink, walk, relax. It is a beautiful and amazing place. If you try to see every god dam museum there you will not see anything else. See the Colosseum from the outside, it’s a waste of time to go in. Find the small out of the way restaurants, eat what’s not on the written menu if offered. The Amalfi coast is beautiful, don’t stay to long it’s also a tourist trap. Sicily is amazing, go there and drink espresso fredo, it’s The Godfather ( pun intended) of all that Starbucks frozen crap. Eat cured meats, drink red wine, have fun




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I'm with you there, brother. In that regard, I am especially looking forward to Turin and Bologna. Although, we did fall in love with Sorrento and are going back for a few days. We will also go back to Amalfi for a day and visit Amalfi, Ravello and Scala.

Edited February 5, 2019 by goosifer

[Marion]

Have the name, but don't speak Italian. I will learn the tourist basic words before I leave, and I do speak some French, fwiw. What camera and lens did you use in Italy? Your pics look great. I was looking at my wife's pics from when we went to the Amalfi coast a few years ago, and they look gray compared to yours. (don't tell her that, though). I wanted to go to Lake Como, but wife is so anti-Milan (doesn't want to even change trains in the station, sigh), and I needed to trim the list, so it got cut.

Milan is disgusting. Tons of refugees it was super gross when I was passing through 2 summers ago

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[virgil]

I agree with Otto and ChefHunter's recommendations.  I've traveled to and worked in Italy and could spend a lifetime exploring the different regions.  Don't be afraid to drive in Italy- maybe avoid driving in cities.  But, driving between destinations will allow you to see the countryside in ways that the train won't.  Avoid tourist traps at all costs- Italy is filled with them.  Get off the beaten path and seek out neighborhoods and restaurants that don't cater primarily to tourists.  I prefer to travel slow and spend a bit more time in fewer places to get a better feel for each city or village.  Montalcino is a mountain town in Tuscany and was a highlight- an hour or so from Florence.  The central market in Florence.  The catacombs in Rome.  Ravello.  Bologna doesn't get a lot of attention, but is a great small city to visit.  Siena and Lucca are also great and easy day trips from Florence.  Venice is not what it was, but is still worth a visit- be sure to spend a night or two there so that you'll have the city to yourselves in the early morning and evening once all the day trippers and cruisers have left.  Naples is crazy, but definitely worth a visit also.  Amalfi coast is stunning, but can be very touristy- avoid Sorento.  Capri is definitely worth a day trip- the blue grotto is neat.  If you spend time in or around Lake Como, you can do a quick day trip to Locarno in Switzerland.  Typing this from my desk at work is depressing....

[goosifer]

27 minutes ago, virgil said:

I agree with Otto and ChefHunter's recommendations.  I've traveled to and worked in Italy and could spend a lifetime exploring the different regions.  Don't be afraid to drive in Italy- maybe avoid driving in cities.  But, driving between destinations will allow you to see the countryside in ways that the train won't.  Avoid tourist traps at all costs- Italy is filled with them.  Get off the beaten path and seek out neighborhoods and restaurants that don't cater primarily to tourists.  I prefer to travel slow and spend a bit more time in fewer places to get a better feel for each city or village.  Montalcino is a mountain town in Tuscany and was a highlight- an hour or so from Florence.  The central market in Florence.  The catacombs in Rome.  Ravello.  Bologna doesn't get a lot of attention, but is a great small city to visit.  Siena and Lucca are also great and easy day trips from Florence.  Venice is not what it was, but is still worth a visit- be sure to spend a night or two there so that you'll have the city to yourselves in the early morning and evening once all the day trippers and cruisers have left.  Naples is crazy, but definitely worth a visit also.  Amalfi coast is stunning, but can be very touristy- avoid Sorento.  Capri is definitely worth a day trip- the blue grotto is neat.  If you spend time in or around Lake Como, you can do a quick day trip to Locarno in Switzerland.  Typing this from my desk at work is depressing....

virgil, it's amazing how much in sych we are. Not sure if you read through my list of cities or not. One interesting difference, we loved Sorrento and will go back. It may be a tourist trap, but damn they do it well. We did Capri last time, and once was enough. We enjoyed Anacapri more than Capri, actually. Had lunch at a small restaurant, and the owner gave my wife his Limoncello recipe.

[Al Bundy]

I cant speak for Italy, but I have rented a car in France and Spain and drove all over.  No issues..  I rented, when possible, in small towns that the train could take me to. Then cruise to even smaller out of the way places.  I did have to rent in Barcelona, which was a bit nerve racking to think about, but it was fine. I was able to get off the beaten path and it was worth it.  This trip sounds great Goose. Only one problem I see. You are going in Oct... Bow season , duck season, goose season!!  

[Hunter007]

1 hour ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Multi-week vacation and only a carry on?

 

 

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Best way to travel in my opinion if you are moving around from place to place . 

[Al Bundy]

Only thing that was a bit crazy. I had to push the side mirrors so they didn't scrape something. This was the only white knuckle time I had. Small hamlet in Spain

 

[Hunter007]

10 minutes ago, Al Bundy said:

Only thing that was a bit crazy. I had to push the side mirrors so they didn't scrape something. This was the only white knuckle time I had. Small hamlet in Spain

 

You will find more of that in italy believe me I drove from  italy to France a few times 

That's why I told him better off getting the smallest car you can be comfortable in . But it depends some places have space other don't like your  picture . Near Milan there is plenty of room near Amalfi and near   Cinque Terre  gets tight. 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Storm914

[Elmo]

I didn't care for Rome, Milan, or any of the big cities.  Felt they were typical tourist traps.

I second the Cinque Terre recommendation.  Venice is a must.  One of my favorite places.  Of course Vatican is also a must even though that's a tourist trap as well.  I also recommend San Marino.  Like the Vatican, it's actually a different country within Italy.  We drove past there on our way to Venice and planned a stay in nearby Rimini for our visit but it was a torrential downpour during the whole time so we never really got to see it.  One of our regrets.

Driving around in Italy was fun but over 1/2 year later, they kept sending me driving violation tickets that you can't dispute.  I ended up paying them because odds are, I'll probably be back in Italy again at some point.

[Otto]

1 hour ago, Storm914 said:

  Cinque Terre  gets tight. 

DON'T Drive to Cinque terre, take the train there, then the boats from town to town.  Or hike between them (pay the trail fee)  

[goosifer]

6 minutes ago, Otto said:

DON'T Drive to Cinque terre, take the train there, then the boats from town to town.  Or hike between them (pay the trail fee)  

I found the ferry that goes from town to town, so we can take a lot of pics. No hiking for us

[Jeremy K]

I would be most interested in seeing anything related to ww2 if it's still around ,I'm guessing Italy probably doesn't keep many reminders in place of that time .

[Hunter007]

1 hour ago, Elmo said:

I didn't care for Rome, Milan, or any of the big cities.  Felt they were typical tourist traps.

I second the Cinque Terre recommendation.  Venice is a must.  One of my favorite places.  Of course Vatican is also a must even though that's a tourist trap as well.  I also recommend San Marino.  Like the Vatican, it's actually a different country within Italy.  We drove past there on our way to Venice and planned a stay in nearby Rimini for our visit but it was a torrential downpour during the whole time so we never really got to see it.  One of our regrets.

Driving around in Italy was fun but over 1/2 year later, they kept sending me driving violation tickets that you can't dispute.  I ended up paying them because odds are, I'll probably be back in Italy again at some point.

Unless the date on the ticket was when u did not have that rental car  that would be the only way to get out of it . 

[goosifer]

4 minutes ago, Jeremy K said:

I would be most interested in seeing anything related to ww2 if it's still around ,I'm guessing Italy probably doesn't keep many reminders in place of that time .

I'm sure they do. I did 28 days in Europe when I was 18 with my best friend who was a military history buff. We hit several military museums. I think Sicily has some stuff related to when the Allies invaded. I'll have to take another look.

[Otto]

11 minutes ago, Jeremy K said:

I would be most interested in seeing anything related to ww2 if it's still around ,I'm guessing Italy probably doesn't keep many reminders in place of that time .

I don't recall any official exhibits or sights, lots of statues though.  Every time our family took us around, they would explain what we were seeing at to when it was built or destroyed....before the war, or after the war, or by the time of Etna eruptions.

[Hunter007]

With so much history there ww2 does not get much intention since there is so much older stuff to see over there  every castle has a  war story behind it and there are thousands of them over there I'm sure some place has stuff about it  I never noticed the times I have been there though .

[Robhuntandfish]

My advice is to bag Italy. And go on that sheep trip with biz.  That's prob on your bucket list too and sounds more fun.  And just eat Italian every night.  Your welcome. Lol

[Elmo]

11 hours ago, Storm914 said:

Unless the date on the ticket was when u did not have that rental car  that would be the only way to get out of it . 

They were all me.  I just can't recall 6 months ago if I was speeding.  One claimed I drove down bus only lane.  Guess not being able to read in Italian came back and bit me.

[Hunter007]

2 minutes ago, Elmo said:

They were all me.  I just can't recall 6 months ago if I was speeding.  One claimed I drove down bus only lane.  Guess not being able to read in Italian came back and bit me.

It's all  traffic Camara's over there   scans the car so pretty much nothing you can dispute  .

Cops don't deal with traffic stops over there any more all technology cameras  . Been like that for many years 

[nyslowhand]

18 hours ago, goosifer said:

Interesting idea on hiring someone; I hadn't thought of that.  I will have to look into that.

That way some else can do the background research in the libraries, churches and local govt archives. All for a few hundred bucks and then you can visit the sites they've revealed as your ancestors. Just be aware there are probably genealogist in local Italian/Sicilian towns that would help out for a fraction ($$) of what a so called professional genealogist would charge. If you've done any of this background work yourself, you're aware your current surname may not be the same as your ancestor's surname. Lot of Ellis Island Immigration &/or American-ization of foreign surnames.

FYI background - Remember Italy was on Hitler's side during WWII. The Allies did invade and recapture Italy through Sicily first. This was in part due to the cooperation of Sicilian & American mafiusu informants. Also well know is the fact the Vatican helped fleeing Nazi leaders escape after the fall of Berlin and the end of the war Visiting WWII historical sites in Italy &/or Europe can be a heart-breaking or soul searching experience and not as glamorous or interesting as would be expected. It is what it is.....

On a brighter note.. Tons of history in Italy and worth the effort to see the true "Italy" when going off the beaten tourist path.

[goosifer]

18 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

My advice is to bag Italy. And go on that sheep trip with biz.  That's prob on your bucket list too and sounds more fun.  And just eat Italian every night.  Your welcome. Lol

Well, yeah, that is on my bucket list, actually. But what's that got to do with sheep?

Edited February 6, 2019 by goosifer