What great stories and memories!! I LOVE it! Thank you all for sharing!! <3
Think about your trips to Italy...what was the absolute best part of your trip and what wasn't? What would you do differently? If you could give one or two pieces of advice what would they be? Anything you wish you had done, but didn't? Or was there something you wish you hadn't done?
Just curious!
Hi there -
It might be worth mention that you are taking a tour with Nada's Italy? Although I believe you're spending a couple of extra days on your own, it may make a difference in how people who have taken tours might respond versus folks who've traveled independently. :O)
We took a RS tour to Italy, and loved it so much! For me, the best part was the scenery. I love photography, so just enjoying the natural beautiful and the architecture was my favorite part. If I had to do something differently, I would have researched places to eat more thoroughly before going. Maybe it is just because the food in Italy gets hyped up so much, but we were actually kind of under-whelmed with most of our meals. Some of the best food we had were things we purchased from street vendors or quick sandwich shops. A lot of our nicer meals were not as good as we had hoped, even thought we tried to avoid the most touristy areas. We assumed that pretty much everything in Italy would be good, but we didn't find that to be true. One of our best meals was an optional dinner organized by our tour guide in a small restaurant where we had Florentine specialties. So I know these delicious, authentic places exist, but I think you have to work a little harder to find them that I expected. Have a great trip!
I thought Naples was awesome. Crazy for sure, but in all the best ways. I was only there for a couple of half-days. I wished I had stayed there, but was also happy to have snoozy Sorrento to retreat to. I think it’s a shame that so many tourists pass right through.
The worst: The Path of the Gods. I am making it my life’s work to discourage people from doing this. People make it sound easy, it’s not. The views are spectacular, but find me a place around there that doesn’t have spectacular views. I think about all the other ways I could have spent that day that wouldn’t have kicked the crap out of me. It’s got a sexy name, that’s it. Don’t be fooled. Sometimes you hear about things like this and wonder why they’re not in a RS guidebook. There’s usually a good reason.
In many ways Italy is one big "best" which is why it's so crowded in many places, much of the time. The worst is how crowded it can be at the blockbuster sights. For me there's no place like Rome but it can be a monumental hassle and exhausting as well. I think they make the experience at the Vatican Museums poor on purpose because it just adds to the perception that this must be great if it's so mobbed. It is great, but wish they would look into limiting entries further, like like they have at the Borghese or the Uffizi. Advice: cut back on the number of places you visit and stay longer in each place. Don't mix far flung places into one itinerary (good rule of thumb generally). Don't just go to the "big three" of Venice/Florence/Rome, mix in some smaller towns. Actually I need to get better at that myself. Five trips all or part in Italy and I have never visited Assisi, for example. Finally made it to Orvieto in 2016 and it exceeded expectations. You don't have to go back to the big three on every trip, as tempting as it might be you would end up taking the same trip over and over. It's hard, when you go eight or ten years between visits to skip one of the biggies, but if you don't you'll never see the other great places that aren't as crowded and can be so much more relaxing. as Rick says, "assume you will return."
OK I'll play.
The best was easy. It was sharing our first kiss with my wife, 8:30 in the evening, Florence, August 10, 1966. We were on a school trip. She was 14, I was 15. We got to go back 50 years later and share another kiss near the same spot.
I do have a regret from that first trip. We were in Rome in the middle of a heat wave and had a free day. We could have taken a day trip to Pompeii, but decided to stay in the city. We had a great time exploring, but I wish we had taken the Pompeii trip.
It's all good, I can't think of a "worst". I would recommend getting out of the big three and see some of the countryside and the small towns. I also recommend not cramming every waking moment with sights to see. We spent a glorious, relaxed afternoon doing a food and wine pairing at Castillo di Verrazzano, the agriturismo we stayed at. We sat down at 12:30 and didn't leave until 4:00. We got to know the two other couples there, as well as the staff, including the owner, who kept bringing over unmarked bottles of the newest vintage for us to taste and critique.
We also went to a monastery and participated in Vespers that was celebrated in Gregorian chant. There was a lady from a nearby town, the monks and us. That was it. It was quiet and peaceful, a contrast to three nights later when we were in Rome on the last Saturday before Christmas amongst thousands of Romans finishing up their shopping.
As a person who absolutely loves Italy, I could write a very long answer!
Absolute bests:
1. Taking our first trip to Italy through RS Best of Italy. We learned so much about Italy through this trip which set the foundation for several independent return trips.
2. Venice! Such a magical, unique city. I'm always so happy to be there and sad to leave.
3. Smaller towns - Stresa, Siena, Cinque Terre (before it became crowded), Verona, Padova, Moena, etc. The towns are so interesting.
4. The food! We took a cooking class in Rome and learned so much about what is real Italian food. Yum!
5. The churches - love seeing art in the churches and taking time to be there. My favorite is the Parma Cathedral.
Things to do:
1. Take the local transportation. We prefer the trains between towns and the local buses or trams in town - great way to meet people and have some interesting stories.
2. Reward yourself with a daily gelato. Relax and enjoy the moment!
3. Pack your sense of humor; there are no lines in Italy and somehow it all works fine.
What would I do differently?
1. I've learned to do a lot more research on the internet (months of weekends), so when we're there, we know if there's a festival & all of the options of places we would like to see (then we're flexible & see what sounds fun that day). After the first trip, we've focused a lot more on the lesser sites and find we really enjoy them because they're not crowded.
2. Enjoy the moment. We've increased the number of days we stay at a location and find it's great to have a small glimpse of being a local.
On my third trip to Europe I finally dipped my big toe into a wee bit of Italy. So happy I did! Venice can be awesome! The first look as the water taxi curves to the right and Venice "opens up" right before your eyes. St Marks Square, literally empty at sunrise..... The conversation with a local about our policemen hiding out on the highways/freeways to give out speeding tickets. He had heard about this from his friends who had visited the USA and thought they were joking. Buying my watercolor of the canals from a local artist and having to bargain for it! Going into Frari Church and seeing Assumption by Titian, with the sun's rays shining through it's back making it come alive with vibrant colors. That was the beginning....
Next trip added a bit more....Loved hiking in and exploring the Cinque Terre, got lucky hardly any tourist! Sestri Levente, relaxing chill time at the beach!
Pisa was okay for a quick stop.....
Driving in Florence was CRAZY! I was the passenger!! At one point had to literally close my eyes as the hubby navigated through teeny tiny streets, avoiding people, scooters, bikes and cars -just to get to the parking garage!
Biggest surprise - Florence, loved it! I don't usually like big city's, but I definitely fell in love with this one!
Driving around exploring the little town's, churches, castles in the Italian Alps. hiking in the Dolomites. Sitting down at a table and making friends over schnitzel and beer!
Not so good - TOLLS -
- developed a shellfish allergy, but can't really blame italy for that!
Wish I had done - More gelato!
Going again? You bet! This April! Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento and Tuscany.
Advise - Put down the phone, camera or whatever and just "be". If your traveling with someone look them in the eyes and discuss/enjoy these wonderful places!
I've gone 5 times, 4 times over the last 2 years, The best was 3 nights of concerts outside at Umbria Jazz Fest 2016 in Perugia followed by 2 nights of sunsets at Cinque Terre. The worse before I knew any better in 2002 was walking through the Rome metro stop at Termini before it was automated and not validating my ticket when the metro police decided to check one time and I got a 50 euro fine. Also in 2017 hungry and settling to eat at a restaurant in Rome where someone outside aggressively try to pull customers in off the street. That was the worse meal.
Can’t pinpoint a best, too many to chose from. Just wandering Venice is up there though!
What I’d do differently? Not walk around Rome with my daughter, lost, in a heat wave when she was hangry! Lesson learned? Always have a granola bar in your purse, bring reading glass so that you can read the map!
The best? The minute I walked thru the doors at the Venice train station. If there is such a thing as love at first sight when it comes to cities - this was it. We only had one night, but most of two days (mid-morning arrival from Bologna, and a late night flight out from the airport - gave us until about 5pm or so). Biggest mistake on that trip was heading to Murano - we had only two partial days and we spent how much time to go to Murano, only to arrive about 30 min before the stores closed. Then having to wait awhile for the vaporetto back...ugh. That was a precious waste of hours in an already short visit. But we've been back 3 more times, and hopefully going back next year.
Another best on our first trip? Going out to the Appian Way while we were staying in Rome. Loved the afternoon we spent there.
The worst? The trains...and learning about the trains in Italy on a first ever trip to Europe. We made a few big mistakes...and didn't realize (at the time - are they better now?) that regional trains can get slower and slower...meaning that connection you thought you'd make left 20 min ago. We were heading to Cinque Terre and the ticket said via Ferrara, so we stupidly thought that meant we had to change trains in Ferrara - yeah - no, that's not what it meant. We got off the train then spent an hour in this little station for the next one. Listened to my husband and we got off at the wrong stop to go to Herculaneum in Naples. It was a Sun - had to wait an hour for a train to take us back one stop. Going to change trains in Milan to go to Bologna. Regional was slower and slower - arrived just in time to see our connecting train leaving. We were very ignorant of how the trains worked. I'll shorten the story, but an hour later we ended up on the wrong train, went to Verona instead, just missed our connection to Bologna because - you guessed it - the train was running late. Another hour wait for the correct train. We had planned to get to Bologna around 6pm - it was around 11pm when we finally got to our accoms. We are much more savvy about the trains now, and I laugh now, but when I found out we were on the train to Verona, I had to go to the bathroom for a good cry - what a day.
But from all our trips, I have learned to slow down. That first trip, we did 5 nights in Rome (which was good) then did 2 in CT (with a stop in Pisa), 1 in Genoa, Bologna and Venice - we should really have taken travel times into account and based somewhere instead of 1 night stays. We had a few days in Milan on another trip and took a trip to Lake Como - we should have skipped Milan and just stayed somewhere there.
Also, if you aren't a wine drinker (we usually drink milk at home)...wow, is soda expensive with meals. We learned to spilt a litre or two of water with our meals.
And seriously - don't underestimate how much time it takes to move between places!!
Also learned - be an early bird. Nothing like getting up at 6:30-7am and walking over to the Colosseum, or walking around Amalfi...or seeing St Mark's Sq and Rialto Bridge almost empty. I got up at 6:30 and went to the Rijksmuseum last year so I could get a photo of the IAmsterdam sign without 50 people crawling all over it - there were 4 other people there.
Now, if only I could convince my hubby the benefits of being an early bird. But I just let him sleep and head out on my own. He'll be ready to wake up when I come back in 90 min.
I didn't learn the early bird thing until our 3rd trip to Venice - but what an eye-opener, and a 'from that time forward this is what I'm going to try and do' moment. Not every day of a trip, but if we are in a large city and near the centre, I'll try and do it at least one morning of our stay.
Funnily enough. traveling by train is one of my favorite parts of being in Italy, and Europe in general for that matter!
Oh - I like the train system now that we are familiar with the quirks - but that first time trip to Italy and all the train issues we had - I was cursing trains almost the whole time.
It is a great help now to have our iPad and am able to use apps to find out train schedules/travel options (I love the Rome2Rio app). I mean, our 1st trip wasn't that long ago (2008) but we accessed computers I think twice on our trip - at internet cafes. Next trip we had a mini-laptop. Next an iPod/mini laptop...next trip iPad mini, now the same mini and a reg size iPad - what a difference technology makes!
Amen to that, Trayla!
Yes, I love European train travel, especially the ones north of Italy that are timed like a Swiss watch. In Italy...not so much but it's endearing nonetheless. When you can start in Paris, end up in Salerno, and only stay in hotels within walking distance of train stations, how great is that? Can't do that here at home.
My first trip to Italy was a bicycling trip from Peschiera. On one of our rides we stopped in the square in Solferino for break, and to have some expresso and sweets (it's what you do when you bike, caffeine and calories). A man, who had to be in his 80's, approached us said, "I think the world would be a more beautiful place if everyone rode a bicycle". Someone translated that for us, he spoke very little English. We invited him to sit with us. We drank expresso and talked for nearly an hour. Oddly, our interpreter left after 20 minutes, but that didn't stop the conversation. If you want to see something amusing watch four Americans who speak about six words of Italian talking to a man who speaks about ten words of English. Patience and a sense humor go a long way! I could have stayed and talked all day, but we were had 45 miles left on our ride, and finally had to say goodbye to our new friend. I saw many stunning sights on that trip. Italy is a country steeped in history and culture and all of it was memorable. But I will remember that single hour of time for as long as I live. You can't plan for it and no tour an take you there. Don't be afraid to get off the beaten path and meet the people who live there. Language is only a barrier if you allow it to be.
What would I do differently? The second time I went to Italy I took allot less luggage.
What a great thread this is turning out to be!
Things I would do again:
-- Pay for a private tour of the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel
-- Say, hey - this looks like a good place to eat, even if it's not in any guidebook.
-- Throw coins in the Trevi fountain
-- Take photos like crazy on my phone
-- Take time to just 'be' there
Things I did and wouldn't do again:
-- I could easily skip some of the 'must eat here' restaurants we tried
Thins I didn't do and wish I had:
-- We still haven't made it to Pompeii. I'd like to go there.
