martahan

Hi 2 all
I am going to go to Italy, but can't decide where exactly
Could you give me some advice?
Perhaps you have been to this country, if yes, where exactly and which hotels did you stay?
Thanks you in advance

cherry

Rome is absolutely beautiful - even in the rain and i would love to go again. I would highly recommend it. Being an archaeologist it was heaven for me wandering around all the Roman ruins - things i have often studied but never seen until then. I also wandered into the vatican square on a sunday afternoon and saw Pope Jean Paul doing one of his cannonisation ceremonies - I dont speak Italian and Im not vaguely religious but somehow that kind of seemed special. I stayed at a hotel near the Spanish steps - cant remember the name. I also visited parts of Tuscany and Sienna - it was all as romantic and beautiful as I had imagined and 5 days just wasnt long enough - especially when you are supposed to be attending a conference *grins* good job it was a sociable one which involved lots of "field trips"

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callumf

Small fishing village called Rapallo - its one of the most beautiful places on the earth

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sigged by Firebird of Stratics! Thanks!

Cal Soulshadow

I've only been to Venice - it's definitely worth stopping by there, if only for a day or two. After all, we could lose it to global warming soon!

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Floria

I did a trip with my parents years ago from the south tip to the north on the east coast by car. Quite interesting however the south feels a bit neglected. There's not too many people there, everything is a bit run down and the restaurants don't have so full menus. Yet it is very nice because it isn't overrun with tourists.
The Gargano is a very nice area, it's that little tip above the "heel" when you look at the map. It's a national park with forests and small towns and it's quite different from the countryside around it. It almost felt a bit magical.

Up further north you probably want to see Florence and Rome and maybe Ravenna and then Venice of course. However plan your route in advance because changing from east to west coast isn't that easy due to the Apennine mountain range that runs north-south.

Even further north, you can visit Verona, which features the 2nd largest colloseum after the one in rome. In the summer it's used for open-air opera. If you love opera, you should really visit. It's open air, but without microphones and speakers, because the "arena" as the locals call their colloseum, has an awesome accoustic. No need to dress up much when you go for seats higher up. Some locals even bring pic nic baskets when they have seats on the top rows. Verona also has a very nice medieval old town to explore.

I think we travelled in August and we always found a nice room without any advance booking - that is when you have a car and don't mind that sometimes your hotel is a bit away from the town center.

Oh, and if you order pasta with fish or sea fruit, don't put parmesan on them or you'll look like a bloody noob

Mathias Janus

Milan daaaarling! tis the place to be seen
*Waves*

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