Keri_James

Ciao... So I have been to Italia may times as a tour guide for mad Kiwis and Aussies 8 years ago. That meant that for 3 seasons I did all the stock standard trips with my pax.

This time I am going to Roma (summer) to study 4 weeks at Dilit with my cousin who has never left NZ's beautiful shores! I want to guarantee her an amazing time and also for myself to sample the wild and raw Italy I never had a chance to meet.

So the task is whirling around Italy, showing my coussie the big stuff but me getting a feel for the smaller pleasures it offers- the intimate villages, coastlines, activities such as bike rides, boat rides, gentle hikes, festivals, homestays, fab hostels, tour groups.

Is that a challenge or what? If anyone can offer idas for when I'm in Roma - day trips, best beaches, weekend breaks, activities within Roma itself then that would be fab. And of course the rest of Italia.

I'm not on any kind of budget my cousin is on a gap year, so I should be mindful of that.

Thanks in advance - this has been driving me nuts thinking about where to start/finish etc

ParadiseLost

As a tourguide I assume you also only saw the biggies in Rome, Florence and Venice along with some short stops in smaller historical towns/cities?

With a month in Rome you can hit alot of sites that you missed which seems to be your plan.

Again assuming after you show your cuz the biggies in Florence and Venice, you will have a chance to visit the many sites & areas that weren't on your tour.
So even if you visited those cities multiple times you will still be like a 1st time visitor.

For Rome I recommend the 'Oxford Archaeological Guide-Rome'.
It explains in detail the biggies but with a month in Rome you will see many minor things (say like an ancient column inbedded in a building's wall).
Later back in your room you could look-up what it once was and how it get to be there.

Also click-on on my name 'ParadiseLost' (my 'Recent posts' and 'Posts I have commented on'), my directions/info are dated but others have updated or added on to them (daytrips-Ostia Antica, Via Appia/Catacombs (bike it on a Sunday when the Via is closed to traffic), Tivoli & Hadrian's Villa, *St. Peter's Scavi Tour*, *Julius Caesar's Assassination Walk* etc).
Regards, Walter

charnees

For a weekend break, take the train to Orvieto and if you can, rent a car for a trip to the west a few miles to Lago do Bolsena. Also near there is Civita di Bagnoregio and plenty of ETruscan ruins. We have stayed in a little town near there called Torre Alfina, which is truly tiny. Two streets through town, one grocer, two butcher shops, one bakery, two cafes, two little albergos, and some fantastic gelato at one of the cafes. The Albergo Nuovo Castello has a fantastic restaurant. Their rooms are simple, clean, and inexpensive. The owners are very nice. They do not speak English, though. Hardly anyone in town does. There is some public art around town, nothing intrusive, just little things you notice as you walk around. There is a botanical reserve outside town where you can walk. And a forest nearby where you can bike, although I don't know much about it.

charnees

Lago DI Bolsena. Sorry.

Keri_James

that's the meat and veg im talking abt- invaluable! grazie mille

lincasanova

Bevagna is lovely

charnees

Let me know if you go to Torre Alfina! Here are some photos.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3&l=e3285880a6