dgardi

My wife and I just returned from a 10 day trip to Italy. This was our first trip to Italy. Don't worry if it is your first, everyone spoke a little English. The trains are easy to use. And the wine is incredible. We did not go on a tour, we braved it on our own. It was the best thing we ever did. Here are some of our thoughts on each place: <BR> <BR>VENICE: <BR>1) You must eat at Da Ivo. It was our best meal in Venice (possibly our best meal of the entire trip) and it was a great setting. <BR>2) Do not go on the American Express Tourist Office tour of the Doge's palace. Rent the audio tour device that is available where you buy tickets at the Doge's palace. The American Express tour guide was rude and she skipped over interesting areas of the palace. <BR>3) Utilize the vaparettos (water taxi). The #1 is what we New Yorkers would refer to as the local. The #82 is faster, especially if you are going from San Marco to the train station. If you are arriving at the Venice airport, take the vaparetto #1 to San Marco which is the central location for a lot of the hotels. Purchase a tourist 24-hour ticket so you can hop on and off the vaparettos as much as you want to see the Grand Canal. The vaparettos are the best way to see the Grand Canal. <BR>4) A gondola ride will cost you anywhere from 100,000 - 200,000 lire. You have to negotiate. Take a gondola ride, it is worth it. <BR>5) We had lunch at Harry's Bar. It was delicious, but it cost the two of us 260,000 lire FOR LUNCH. If you are not afraid to drop some money on a good lunch, then I recommend it. <BR>6)Skip the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. <BR>7)Have drinks in the lobby at the Hotel Danieli. It is a great setting. <BR>8)We ate at Gritti Palace. If you are into formal and expensive dining - this is the place for you. The food was terrific, but I still like Da Ivo better. <BR>9)Train strikes - it happened when we were about to leave Venice. Don't get frustrated, from what I understand it happens often. <BR>10) We stayed at the Hotel Cavalletto which is run by Best Western. As far as location, you can't get any closer to ST. Mark's square. It was sufficient, the staff spoke English. So I would recommend it if you cannot afford Danieli, Bauer or Gritti Palace. <BR>11) Get lost, walk around, soak in the people. You are safe walking just about everywhere. At least we felt that way. <BR> <BR>FLORENCE: <BR>1) Go to Borgo Antico for Pizza. It is in Piazza S. Spirito. Pizza was fantastic and it was not expensive. <BR>2) We ate at La Posta and Ristorante Bibo. Both were good, not great. <BR>3) The walk to the top of the Duomo is a pain in the butt. Do not do it if you are afraid of small spaces mor if you are not in decent shape. The view is breathtaking, but it is an ordeal walking up the stairs. <BR>4) Go see Michelangelo's David. I am not that enthusiastic about art and sculptures - but the David is amazing. <BR>5) We stayed at the Hotel De La Ville. A great location, a pleasant staff who spoke English. I would highly recommend this hotel. <BR>6) Unfortunately it rained every day we were in Florence, so we have to go back to really enjoy it. <BR>7) The best gelato we had was at Vivoli. I am not sure where the heck it was in FLorence, but find it. You will love it. <BR> <BR>ROME: <BR> <BR>1) Do not waste your time with the Castel San Angelo. It is near the vatican, but it was a huge disappointment. <BR>2) Eat at Ristorante Girarrosto Toscano. It is close to Via Veneto near the old city walls. We ate there twice, the food is excellent and the service is great. <BR>3) Walk as much as you can, it is a great way to see the city. <BR>4) GYPSIES - we did not have a problem with thieves, gypsies. We heard horror stories before we went to Italy. On our last day we watched 4 little gypsy girls pillage an 60 year old American tourist waalking down the street with bags. They surrounded him and their hands were everywhere. Before he knew it his wallet was gone. If it wasn't for a few locals screaming at the girls, that man would never have known. WEAR MONEY BELTS OR THE PASSPORT/CREDIT CARD HOLDERS THAT GO AROUND YOUR NECK AND TUCK IT INSIDE YOUR SHIRT. We never had to worry about being pickpocketted. <BR>5) We stayed at Hotel Sistina (near the top of the Spanish Steps). It was in a great location, central to everything. It was functional and it wasn't too loud. The staff was not all that friendly, but they did speak English. <BR>6) We ate at the outside restaraunt at the Hotel Imperiale. It was a great meal and the waiters were very nice. <BR>7) Get the audio tour headsets for the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel. It was well worth it. The headsets give you interesting descriptions of the works and detail about the Sistine Chapel.

howard

In an otherwise excellent report, I will disagree with two points: <BR>1. I guess it depends on the guide, but we thought out Amex guide in Venice was wonderful, so good, in fact, we wrote a letter complimenting her when we returned. <BR>2. We did not find the climb up the 463 (yes, 463) steps to the top of the Duomo in Florence to be an ordeal but rather a strenuous and exhilarating experience and would indeed recommend it! (However, we do agree that you should be in shape to attempt it.) <BR>Otherwise, a very solid report!

Deb

I agree the report is solid. However, I would recommend the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. I'm not particularly fond of modern art but the setting is wonderful.

chrissy

Thanks for some great information. I will definately check out the da ivo restraunt. am glas to hear the gypies did not bother you all that much, I too was concerned. What is the best way to get from the train station to the hotels in Venice? Are the vaperottos near the train station? Is it necessary to purchase a 24 hour ticket on the vaperotto's

chrissy

HEY IT CUT ME OFF&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt ;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; <BR>......to continue......is it necessary to purchase the 24 hour ticket for the vaperotto's if we are staying just 2 nights? Did you feel you needed a tour guide for any of the must see's? Do we need to be at the sistine chapel at 8am for it not to be over crowded? Thnaks for any information

howard

I can answer two of your questiosns: <BR>1. The vaporetto stop is right outside the stazzione in Venice. <BR>2. It's usually best to get to the Vatican Museum early (i.e., so that you can get to the Sistine Chapel). Lines can get very long as the day progresses, and more people will be wending their way through the museum to the Sistine Chapel.

carol

The vaporettos are the Venetian equivalents of public buses. You can pay by the trip and do not have to buy a 24-hour ticket.

Phil

Make sure you are taking the water buses and not the water taxis, which <BR>is outrageously expensive. A trip from the Venice airport to Venice will cost you 75 US Dollars.

gerry

<BR>Hi! thanks for the information. <BR>Aside from Sistine Chapel, did you go also to St peter Basilica? How much time did you spend there? I am thinking of hiring scala reale for vatican tour. <BR>cost is $35 each plus $20 registration fee exluding the entrance fee of L18,000. How much is the audio tour? I am planning to spend 4 hours in there. Can we do it on our own?

Beth

I think you need some help for the Vatican and St Peter's. Scala Reale is great. If you'd rather, I've heard the audio tour is outstanding. I also really like Rick Steve's book, "Mona Winks" which has tours of all the great museums of Europe. Except for the Sistine, the Vatican has a huge collection of mostly unlabeled sculpture. Its best to have some sort of guide. <BR> <BR>Howard may be right about going in the morning. But we took our Scala Reale tour at 1. And the guide said coming in the afternoon there were shorter lines. This is only during the extended hours (late spring through early fall, I think). We had no wait in line at all, but the Sistine was very crowded. We got into St Peter's around 4:30, and it was not crowded at all, and we got to see a Cardinal beginning an afternoon service. <BR> <BR>I really liked the Peggy Guggenheim collection, but then I do like modern art. If you like Pollock, Chagall, Magritte, it really is worthwhile. <BR> <BR>Rick Steve's book has a great tour of the Doge's palace. I still chuckle when I think of him describing those incredible frescos by Titian as just so much Renaissance wallpaper. It does get to feel that way... ho hum, another masterpiece....

AmyB

Here's another tip: Don't take too seriously museum reviews from someone who admits, "I am not that enthusiastic about art and sculptures...."

Beth Y.

I agree with previous poster about the Gugenheim and other comments by Dgardi on art. I don't like modern art, but the Gugenheim is a good collection. All you need to do is connect with one piece to make it worthwhile and the setting is great.

Mary

This is a good report, but just wanted to second Howard's comment on American Express; we took the afternoon tour to the Frari (it concludes with a gondola ride which was a great way to ride in a gondola without spending $$$) and our tour guide was wonderful--a native Venetian, she really made the city come alive. <BR> <BR>Also, I find I walk more in Venice than actually take the vaparetto so I don't think the passes are worth it--just pay by the ride. <BR> <BR>In Rome, we felt perfectly safe and never saw any evidence of street crime--you're in a big city, just be heads up and you'll be fine. <BR> <BR>Mary

howard

From what I've read on several postings, the Scala Reale tours are supposed to be outstanding. Unless money is no object, however, I would save them for another tour. First, the audio tour at the Vatican Museum is outstanding (the best we've ever experienced in any museum). From our experience and observations while there, we felt the audio tour was better than the guides we encountered in the museum. <BR>I believe the cost of the audio tour was around 12,000 lire, definitely a lot cheaper than the alternatives. (I could be a little off on the price.) <BR>As for St. Peter's Basilica, we used Rick Steves' "Mona Winks" and felt it <BR>more than fit the bill as a "guide." <BR>As for how much time you'll need, that really depends on you! You may find that four hours is not enough for both the museum and the basilica. We are art lovers and we were comfortable with about three hours-plus in the museum and about an hour-plus in the basilica. We could have easily spend more time in each, but we never felt rushed. (Keep in mind, however, that if you want to go to the top of St. Peter's you'll need more time. We didn't go to the top because the line was too long.)

Russ

Just a note to say that I agree with all of the original posting except: <BR> <BR>1) I really enjoyed the Peggy Guggenheim collection. <BR> <BR>2) 260,000 lire (over $130) for lunch is not for me. <BR> <BR>3) The walk to the top of the Duomo in Florence was a highlight of the trip. <BR> <BR>Otherwise, nice detail. You've conveyed a good sense of your experience. Bravo.

cheap sarah

this sounds bad but if you are going to take a vaparetto (sp?) and its quite busy, it appears no one really cks tickets. there's a fine if you get caught but it doesn't appear any of the locals paid when i was there (unless they have mo. passes) <BR>

xxxxxxxx

Yuk. Another person who thinks it is OK to steal a free boat ride. <BR> <BR>

noname

Oh, c'mon xxxxxxxx (8 xes, right?), get off the moral pony already! We're not talking about the Brinks robbery!

fudge

No Name: <BR>Kids get put in detention for stealing bubble gum; you can go ahead and say its ok to steal a ride, but right is right...and you're wrong. <BR>Remember you have until the 17th to file your IRS return; why don't you fudge on the charitable gifts...its not the Brinks you know....

Phil

Oh no! <BR>There it goes again: We had a discussion about riding without tickets a week ago. <BR> <BR>So one more time: Many cities in Europe rely on an honour system for the collection of public transport fares. <BR> <BR>This doens't mean that fares are voluntary contributions. <BR> <BR>Most residents hold season tickets. <BR> <BR>It generally works well, as the proportions of unticketed riders are usually below 5%. <BR> <BR>AND: YOU ARE A GUEST! Usually guests don't steal. <BR> <BR>Please pay your fare. Thanks <BR> <BR>Phil