It's Official :: I'm off to Roma!

[Jade]

Originally Posted by @theCBE

We should make a Travel thread for the summer and sticky it.
I'm going to be in Rome this summer as well, only for about 5 or 6 days though as part of my Europe trip. Starting in Spain then Portugal then Italy and Greece. Starting in Mid June and finishing at the end of July. I can't wait.

I will be in Budapest and Croatia as well 3 weeks from today!!

Any advice on any of the above places would be appreciated. Seems like CPers are quite the globetrotters.

The only one of those I went to other than Italy was Greece. Good choice, beautiful country. Try to get to the oracle at delphi, heard it was nice but didn't have time. Also, try to get to some of the smaller islands. Santorini is supposed to be very nice, but was a bit out of the way, again, I didn't have time to go there, hopefully will in the future. Mykonos is really pretty. A bit of a party island in high season, but easiest way to get to delos which is amazing. Probably the highlight of my entire trip. If you can make it, I highly recomend it. Greece was probably my favourite country to visit. People were very nice, wasn't too expensive, overall great place to travel.

[Aeneas]

The hotel was called (probably still is) The Beehive. Run by Americans. Like I said, very close (within 2 blocks) to Termini, the main train station in Roma. Simple but clean, safe, free internet, small cafe. Never ate there too busy elsewhere. I will dig up the contact info.

Train travel is direct and easy, I just prefer to drive. Would be nice not to have to find parking everywhere!

[icarus]

Originally Posted by La Flames Fan

One thing I do want to avoid is being "touristy". How can you tell the difference between a restaurant that is geared towards tourists versus a local restaurant away from the those hotspots?

A restaurant that is near: 1) a main square frequented by tourists 2) souvenir shops 3) African guys selling knock-off Gucci purses, is likely to be geared toward tourists. Unfortunately I ate at many of these in Rome and was not impressed with the food. Get off the beaten path. Walk toward people who look like locals and away from people who look like tourists and eventually you'll find your restaurant.

Originally Posted by Aeneas

The hotel was called (probably still is) The Beehive. Run by Americans. Like I said, very close (within 2 blocks) to Termini, the main train station in Roma. Simple but clean, safe, free internet, small cafe. Never ate there too busy elsewhere. I will dig up the contact info.

There are also a number of small, boutique hotels in the area around the Spanish Steps. That's where I stayed and the location was great. I would recommend not staying in big fancy hotels, but the smaller cheaper boutique ones.. that goes for all of Europe.

[jimmy11]

Originally Posted by Aeneas

The hotel was called (probably still is) The Beehive. Run by Americans. Like I said, very close (within 2 blocks) to Termini, the main train station in Roma. Simple but clean, safe, free internet, small cafe. Never ate there too busy elsewhere. I will dig up the contact info.

Train travel is direct and easy, I just prefer to drive. Would be nice not to have to find parking everywhere!

I stayed here too and it was great. Good location, friendly staff and clean.

[disco_inferno]

Originally Posted by Locke

When you go to the Coliseum be careful with the guys that dress like gladiators for pictures. They will accost you and they have a tendency to steal your stuff.

Locke.

We were there with my high school and taking pics with those guys...one of them bagged my buddy with his sword, hard...so funny!!

[La Flames Fan]

3) African guys selling knock-off Gucci purses

Hahaha...I heard about that too...though I could use a Gucci....hmmmm...

[icarus]

Originally Posted by La Flames Fan

3) African guys selling knock-off Gucci purses

Hahaha...I heard about that too...though I could use a Gucci....hmmmm...

Bad memories. I went to Rome with four girls and they went back and forth between the designer stores and the street vendors to pick the fakes that looked most realistic. It was hell. (Well, that part was hell. The girls + Italian wine turned out to be quite fun )

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Have fun in Rome. you know what they say...when in rome...

[@theCBE]

s

Originally Posted by Jade

The only one of those I went to other than Italy was Greece. Good choice, beautiful country. Try to get to the oracle at delphi, heard it was nice but didn't have time. Also, try to get to some of the smaller islands. Santorini is supposed to be very nice, but was a bit out of the way, again, I didn't have time to go there, hopefully will in the future. Mykonos is really pretty. A bit of a party island in high season, but easiest way to get to delos which is amazing. Probably the highlight of my entire trip. If you can make it, I highly recomend it. Greece was probably my favourite country to visit. People were very nice, wasn't too expensive, overall great place to travel.

Thanks for the tips.. So far Athens, Santorini and Crete are the places we are seeing for sure. Probably skip over Mykonos as I heard is pretty similar to Santorini and crazy partying isn't what we are looking for.
Did you make it up to Northern Greece at all? Corfu or any of the Ionian Islands? We are debating whether its even worth making the trek all the way up there.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Jade

The only one of those I went to other than Italy was Greece. Good choice, beautiful country. Try to get to the oracle at delphi, heard it was nice but didn't have time.

Delphi was probably my favourite place in Greece and possibly the most beautiful setting I visited in all of Europe.

[Cowperson]

In the Globe & Mail travel section this morning, "A Hip Roman Neighbourhood"

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...specialTravel/

A couple of questions:

1) Can I take a napsack in most Roman attractions and

2) if camera's aren't allowed, can they be checked at the door of an attraction?

Cowperson

[Aeneas]

My last trip (June) I did not take a bag anywhere to avoid hassles. Easier to do if you have car and/or hotel. Just carried Camera and water. Very few places had "no bags" signs and I believe most had facilities to store them. Many places had the no camera signs out, but I think that means no flash photography. At least that's what I was told. I noticed you've included Milan; if you are going to Santa Maria della Grazie, you'll have to check everything if memory serves. Quite the sealed enviroment to protect The Last Supper.
Some places were more concerned with noise and attire than bags and cameras. Everywhere I went people were taking pictures with flash, and were usually confronted by staff.
In summation, I had a camera in hand at every big tourist sight visited, and only was asked to check it the once.

[4X4]

ooh, I have so much advice but no time to give it right now. Maybe tomorrow morning.

Cow, you can take a bag anywhere you want (except the borghese museum, which is a must see IMO, and they have lockers), just don't keep anything valuable in it, and don't be surprised to find a slit in the bottom or top of it when you get back to your hotel.

Cameras are not banned anywhere, there are places that you're not allowed to use them though. Just leave it in your pocket.

[Cowperson]

This is an interesting site to leaf through for Rome travel tips re: local customs . . .

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...Rome-BR-1.html

Cowperson

[mac_gurl]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I too will be spending a couple days in Rome (June 5 - 7). Should be a great time!!

[Eric Vail]

I have been to Rome several times, and actually went to university there for a semester. If you have specific questions, I could help.

One piece of advice is to bring long pants to see the churches in. Many churches such as St. Peter's Basilica will not let you in unless you are modestly dressed - meaning no shorts or tank tops.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

How long are you going for?

I cant remember exactly where, Spezia I think? But if you are interested in hiking there are quite a few nice trails near there.

Also if you are in a town near there, and you smell a bakery, DO NOT TRY TO FIND IT. You will find it, but they will never be open when they say they are.

MYK

La Spezia and the Cinque Terra... Hiking and absolutely breathtaking views of the Mediterranean. If you go here, stay in the 5th town (can't remember if that's Rio Maggiore or if Rio Maggiore is the 1st town (relative to La Spezia).
In the 5th town is a place called the Souvenier Inn and it is super reasonable and very clean.
You can hike to all the towns. Take a little walk through Vernazza too.
The city (term used loosely) past the fifth town is a waste of time. Don't bother.
Cinque Terra deserves at least 3 days if you have the time. Cinque Terra is an hour or two past Pisa (by train) and Pisa is 3 or 4 from Roma. IF you're in the area, make sure you spend a day in LUCCA (I'm not just biased because my Dad was born here, it really is beautiful. The wall, the churches, the narrow streets... Trust me)

By comparison, Roma and the surrounding area (Ostia, Tivoli) deserves 6 days unless you are going full tilt and seeing stuff every day.

Go to Vatican on a Tuesday if possible, unless you want to see the pope (wednesday and sunday). Avoid thursdays, fridays and saturdays at the Vatican where possible. Mondays and sundays sometimes have funny opening times and musuem closures.

The last sunday of the month is free at the Vatican museum.

If you're a student, bring your ID and use it everywhere.

Photocopy your passport and have your parents on call to fax it wherever.

WATCH YOUR POCKETS on busses and trains and in crowds around attractions. Never fall asleep on a Trenitalia train unless you're with a friend who is awake. You may wake up to no luggage.


Take the time to learn a few phrases in Italian before you get there. Learn things like please and thankyou, and do you speak english? Asking if they speak english before actually speaking english will get you MILES in Roma. Especially if you're speaking to an Italian. Not so much with the immigrants.


Oh there's so much more. I'll try to post again.

[@theCBE]

Thanks for the tips 4x4.. the stuff about Cinque Terra especially. I'm spending a few days in Florence so one of those is definitely set aside for Cinque Terra. Is there much to see in Pisa? besides the tower of course..

[Jade]

Originally Posted by @theCBE

s

Thanks for the tips.. So far Athens, Santorini and Crete are the places we are seeing for sure. Probably skip over Mykonos as I heard is pretty similar to Santorini and crazy partying isn't what we are looking for.
Did you make it up to Northern Greece at all? Corfu or any of the Ionian Islands? We are debating whether its even worth making the trek all the way up there.

We didn't really have to worry about the party island part of mykonos, because we were there in off season (october) so there weren't that many people there. The ruins on delos was completly worth going there. Way more impressive than Athens. I'll try to get some pictures up for you to see. Santorini is supposed to be really nice though. Wanted to go there too but couldn't. Not sure what the ruins around santorini are like, but could be interesting as it is the island many believe to be atlantis.

Went to corfu, was a nice break, but not sure I would recomend it. Again a bit of a party island (pretty much all pink palace, the most well known resort on the island, is about). Sounds like they have a lot of interesting activities you can do (cliff jumping ect.) and the toga party we went to was fun (greek dancing as entertainment, and had a plate broken on my head), but if you are short on time, unless you want time off, not sure its worth it. My impression might be a bit onesided though because it rained almost the whole time I was there (hard) and my sister had a really bad migraine, so I didn't get that far away from where we were staying.

[4X4]

Pisa can be accomplished in about an hour if you don't go into the Duomo or up the tower. You walk out the front of the station and look at the big map, walk straight down the main drag to the tower, snap a pic and walk back to the station.


In Roma, you'll probably enter the city via Termini train station. IF so, go to platform (binario) 24 and walk about halfway down (about 100 meters) to the tourist info center. Get a free map here. This free map is better than the crap they sell at the news stand (and free!).

Don't fear the station guys trying to sell you a hostel or hotel. They will probably get you an equal or better price than you'll pay online (unless you happen to roll in on a holiday or some kind of festiva). If you do need the services of a station guy, (and trust me, they'll be swarming you like flies on crap), try to find Lorenzo, if you do, tell him Mike sent you and he'll really take care of you. There's a couple guys there that I definitely don't vouch for, but most of them are pretty good guys just trying to fill their hostels and B&B's.
In fact, I might as well plug Lorenzo's place. He's my ex business partner (I sold my half to him when I moved back to Canada). You can find it on Hostelsclub under the name Travel Point. May or may not be in your price range. Not really a party hostel (rockstar, it's not the same place you stayed at, we sold Kiara after teh season was done) it's a B&B.




Don't take the tour bus. Rome is very foot friendly. Get a good pair of flip flops and you'll be fine strolling around the city with your free map. The tour bus is a total waste of money unless you're trying to condense Rome into a day or two.

Learn how to jaywalk. You'll never get anywhere unless you walk right out into the street and stare down the oncoming traffic. They'll merely dodge you. Don't take it personally.


There are so many things to do in Rome, but you can get all that info from a Frommers or Lonely Planet book.

My best advice is to stare at the map for a good 10 minutes and orient yourself. You'll see just how close everything really is. Note a few of the main roads like Via Natzionale, Via del Corso, Via Vittorio Emmanuele Secondo, Via Foro Imperiale, Via Cavour. Note the location of Piazza Venezia and these roads and you'll have no problem taking the back streets (avoiding road noise and discovering things not mentioned in your travel book).



Please please please take an afternoon to wander the streets of Trastevere. It is probably the oldest "suburb" in the world. You'll find buildings over 1,000 years old here, and you'll probably eat one of the best meals of your life here. Find an out of the way mom & pop place. It'll be cheap and soooo forking good. Some vino rosso and stracotto di manzo. Oh god I miss rome.

Don't forget to greet them in Italian. "Buon giorno (before 2:00) buono sera (after 2:00), non parlo italiano, parli inglese?"