The point I was trying to make is that carbonare, pizze and risotti are not Roman, yes you can eat them in Rome but that is not quite the same thing. You can eat very well in Rome. You can eat Roman food very well, but for me the best would be in a market for an "unidentified meat" in a bun. You'll also find Italian food people love to talk and if you just ask they will do their level best to explain why their food is the best. In the market, with a bun and a glass of wine you can often sit on a bar stool and watch the market progress around you.

Another piece of advice is that in the highly touristy places you will find buskers luring you into each restaurant, I would avoid, but if you want to see a suberb salesman in action go with it.

Finally you will find Gelatarie in a number of places, my advice is to look out for "gelato artigianale fatto in casa" this means the icecream is not made in a factory or from powdered ingredients knocked up out the back, but by skilled workers on the premises. Prices will be high E3 a little tub, but the quality is worth it. Especially after a good evening meal walking "home" with the one you love.

Just an enivronmental note here. Bottled water is not a necessity of life in Italy. The water is drinkable and restaurants will bring you tap water if you ask for it. "acqua di rubinetto" while drinking fountains and street taps are everywhere (most map apps will even show them as a small blue water drop). Re-using water bottles is better for the climate.

Sorry for the immense confusion. This is a 14 day trip to Italy and Malawi was idea Amalfi ....

In Rome we are thinking of hubbing out of a hotel in the colosseum/piazza venezia/monti area for that 6/7 day stay. Would that be suggested workable and a good idea? And as far as the Amalfi, for the 6/7 day stay we would like to know if it is possible to hub out of one hotel for the duration of that stay too. Is that practical and a good idea?

I think your idea to base in two places - one in Rome, one in the AC region is very good. Day trips are great because you can plan for several of them, but then once you are there if you find enough to do and don't want to take the day trips you don't have to (no hotel reservations to deal with, etc.). From Rome you can certainly do a day trip to Florence and while there is more to do in Florence than can be done in one day, at least you can see some of it, decide if you want to go there on a future trip. Another great day trip from Rome is Orvieto, a hill town in Umbria but a quick train ride from Rome. Totally different feel than Rome and small enough to really enjoy in a day.


In Rome the two hotels I have stayed at the most are Hotel Julia which is about a five minute walk from the Trevi Fountain, and Hotel Floris ( www.florishotel.it) which is on Via Nazionale about ten minute walk from the train station or from Piazza Venezia. I recommend both.

For the Amalfi Coast I suggest basing in Sorrento, a town I really love for itself, but it also has the best transportation connections to the smaller towns along the coast (Amalfi, Positano) as well as the islands (Capri, Ischia) as well as to Pompeii and Naples. It's at the end of the train line so easy to get to coming from Rome (with luggage) whereas staying in Amalfi or Positano is a bit more trouble to get to initially.

Here's my photos of these places - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f739967755, abaout te

This would be my advice.
1) Don't stay within a couple of blocks of Termini station. While hotels are cheap there is a reason, lots of tourist traffic, lots of back packers, a fair few dodgy types.
2) Do stay somewhere near either a bus stop or a metro terminal/train station because using the public transport system is so easy and cheap you will want to and because, though Rome is a great place for walking, sometimes you just want a lift. If you look at google maps you will see the metro lines form a sort of complicated U and I'd advise against being miles from any of these stations. BTW Rome is built on 7 hills, don't stay on the top of any of them.
3) Make sure your shoes are broken in, there are a lot of cobbles and new shoes or high heels will kill you.
4) Where you propose is where many tourists stay and everything is on your door step.
5) When I go I prefer to stay in the Vatican area (near St Roma Pietra station) as it is a bit more residential but nothing wrong with your destination.

I agree with bilboburgler about the immediate area across the street from Termini, and also the area on the opposite side (away from the center). But there is at least one five star hotel within two blocks of Termini, and the hotel I recommend, the Floris, is another few block past that (towards Piazza Venezia). Mixture of mid and upper priced hotels, stores, etc. Not at all dodgy.

As for two bases on Amalfi I would say yes - split between Sorrento and do Pompeii and Capri and Vesuvius, etc from there then move to say Amalfi the town and putz along the coast -Positano and Ravello are neat. Then take ferry or bus to Salerno and take dirct trains to Rome- bit easier than going back via Sorrento and Naples.

We stayed at https://www.hotelcampodefiori.com/en/ in Rome. The staff and location were great. They have an incredible roof terrace. We walked almost everywhere, took taxis when we were too tired. The best part of Rome is walking around a corner and finding some wonderful fountain, building, piazza, sculpture. Lots of museums besides the Vatican.

Every time I open up Fodor's it makes me want to get on a plane...

The Termini station area is very heterogeneous. As Isabel said, just across from Termini station there is the 5-star Exedra hotel. (I don't remember which chain owns it now.) There are also quite a few four-star hotels, to balance the cheap digs and youth hostels. The area around to the west and southwest are fine, and there are plenty of people around at night. There are several excellent restaurants in the area, uncluding the Trattoria Monti. The restaurant is located in the trendy Monti neghborhood. It's a convenient area for your stay, especially if you'll be doing any day trips by train. I used to turn up my nose at the train station area, but the area has improved greatly in the last ten years, and some other parts of the city are now overly inundated by tourists. Now, more often than not, I stay near Termini station.

I think it really depends on what you want to see and experience while on the Amalfi Coast. As others have noted, you can certainly stay in Sorrento and day trip from there. But some of us love Naples, with it dynamic and vibrant ways, and so would want to have two bases, Naples and (in that case) perhaps Amalfi or Positano. And so people want to spend a night on Capri (which is, IMO, much nicer after day trippers leave) and so include a night or two there, even though it means changing locations.

I wish this were true. I once did a Google search for gelato artigianale, and up popped all sorts of "just add water" mixes that could legally be called artigianali as long as they were mixed on the premises.

The rules for "gelato artigianale" are very flexible, and there's no rule at all for "fatto in casa" (home made)

bvlenci, you are right, but at least it gives you a fair chance to avoid "just add water"

bvlenci - since you are talking about gelato and you live in Italy maybe you know - how hard is it to find sugar free gelato? Is that even a thing? Here in the US at 'good' ice cream shops they often have just one or two flavors, but they do make it. Just found out I can't have concentrated sweets and I'm not sure how I'll deal with next summer's trip to Italy since gelato every day is what I do on vacation.

I just googled gelato senza zucchero and found hundreds of websites devoted to the issue. Seems stevia is sometimes (often) used instead of sugar, which wouldn't be my first choice but can be a decent substitute for sugar, I guess.

I've never seen sugar-free gelato, but I've never looked for it.

What exactly does "concentrated sweets" mean?

I'm not a big consumer of ice cream, and I eat it very slowly, to avoid getting a persistent tickle in my throat. I've found that most gelaterie will sell me the kiddie size. If you're allowed to have ice cream in moderation, a kiddy sized gelato every now and then might be permitted. Ask your doctor.

Good news! Generally speaking, Italian gelato has less fat, fewer grams of sugar and fewer calories than American ice cream.

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nut...ream-2157.html

Thanks StCirq, bvlenci and Jean. That article was helpful, and while I had googled gelato in the past I was mostly concerned with calories and fat, not sugar so now I've researched it a bit more. And you are right that portion control is probably the answer. I finally found a couple of reviews of at least two gelato shops (both in Rome) that have it, so maybe other do as well. I'm not too concerned about being able to eat healthy in Italy even though up till now my diet in Italy was certainly very heavily pasta and pizza and gelato, none of which I'm really supposed to have now.

To answer your question, 'concentrated sweets' is basically desert - candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, etc. I just got diagnosed with diabetes which was a shock cause I have none of the risk factors. That also means though that the usual things they tell you to do to manage it - loose weight and get active - I can't really do as I only weigh 110 pounds and already walk 4 miles a day (more like 8 when traveling). So nice to know there's hope I can still indulge in my favorite gelato.

All things in moderation. At least the portions are smaller in Italy!

Which diabetes?
How tall are you?

Yes definitely portions are more reasonable in Italy than here in the US

bilboburgler - type 2 and five foot 2