Tell Me About Italy

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

I agree with you. This place gets a bad rap as touristy, which I suppose it is. But honestly seeing and climbing up the leaning tower was great fun. Our kids were early teens and everybody really liked it. It was worth the half a day and riding the Italian train system.

I think we had to book ahead to be able to go inside. Which was well worth it.

Meh, I personally disagree about Pisa, BUT if you do go to Pisa, you MUST take a day at least and do Cinque Terre, which is basically adjacent on the train.

[Locke]

Pisa is most certainly a 'Tourist Trap' but its still neat.

The trick to Pisa is to not make it the central point of your travel for the day as opposed to just a stop. Ignore the veritable cornucopia of vendors selling crap, see the place and then move along with your trip.

Its still a very cool place to see. Also...you can get close and try and push it over.

"What are you doing??"

Finishing the Job!!

[Terradude]

Originally Posted by The Familia

I can’t stress enough to try and stop in as many smaller towns and villages as possible. My family is from Abruzzo and my wife is from Umbria. I can’t say enough good things about the smaller Umbrian towns like Spello, Assisi, Siena, and Todi. If you make it to Abruzzo, we did an amazing e-bike ride along the coast in Ortona. They converted an old railway line into a bike path. My relatives also own and operate a porchetta food truck outside of Teramo and have won numerous awards. I highly recommend checking out Abruzzo, mountains, farms, beaches all in one location!

My wife and I have been to Italy a number of times - organized tour, bike tour through Tuscany, disorganized ad hoc tour in a rental, etc. I can say that I love...love....love the smaller towns of both Tuscany and Umbria. Get out of the Instagram crowds, find a place to stay for a while and take local day trips or just stay in the town and walk around. Take your camera. Ask the locals where to eat. Expect the unexpected. On one of our trips we were driving north to an Agritourismo north of Emilia-Romangna, got lost, got angry and decided to try Verona. The next day we were drinking wine and buying bread from the locals while listening to opera in a 2000 YO amphitheater. Amazing.

If you're in Umbria, do yourself a favour, visit Assisi and chill out. I'm in no way religious but walking in the footsteps of St Francis calms you down.

Also, when you're in Umbria.....try the porchetta!