RFI: Italy

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also how can i avoid little malevolent dwarf women draped in red coats?

amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 21 August 2003 17:43 (twenty-one years ago) link

how long are you staying? if it's more than a week often you can rent an apartment. My b/f and I did that when we were in Rome; it was awesome. Not all that cheap but not unreasonable...you may luck into something affordable.

teeny (teeny), Thursday, 21 August 2003 18:15 (twenty-one years ago) link

i only think i'll be there a few days. i'll mostly be in pordenone and a neighboring town but i fly in and out of venice so i might as well spend a few days there.

amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 21 August 2003 18:22 (twenty-one years ago) link

When I was there in '94 I stayed at a pensione off this little piazza called Manin, I think. It had a statue of a guy with a lion and perhaps the only modern-looking building in Venice. Anyhow, there's a narrow walkway frm there to where the Bovolo steps (this you may find on a tourist guide) are, and the entrance was in a corner of that smaller piazza. I don't remember the name of it, but I may have that at home.

nickn (nickn), Friday, 22 August 2003 00:44 (twenty-one years ago) link

This may be the place I was talking about above. (From Rick Steves' online site.)

Alloggi Alla Scala, a seven-room place run by Signora Andreina della Fiorentina, is homey, central, and tucked away on a quiet square that features a famous spiral stairway called Scala Contarini del Bovolo (small Db-€77, big Db-€87, extra bed-€26, breakfast-€7.75, CC, 5 percent discount for payment in cash, tell her when you reserve if you’ll be paying by credit card, sometimes overbooks and sends overflow to her sister’s lesser accommodations, Campo Manin #4306, San Marco, tel. 041-521-0629, fax 041-522-6451, daughter Emma SE). To find the hotel from Campo Manin, follow signs to (on statue’s left) “Scala Contarini del Bovolo” (€2.10, daily 10:00–17:30, views from top).

nickn (nickn), Friday, 22 August 2003 22:44 (twenty-one years ago) link

two years pass...
Does anyone have some restaurant recommendations for my 65 year old korean parents? They're going to Rome, Venice, Siena, Cinque Terre, and Florence. Moderate and splurge restaurants that aren't too touristy but not so local that they will feel intimidated. They don't speak Italian - so if you can remember if the restaurant was somewhat welcoming to english-speakers, that would be helpful.. And my mom won't eat animal organs.

phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 07:50 (eighteen years ago) link

Rome: La fiaschatteria (Via della Croce, 39, Rome. Closed Sunday) . Near Piazza Spagna, the staff will struggle but should be able to help. Food is lovely and it being Rome go for anything with veal or tripe (vitello and tripe). My spelling/memory is awful but Salimbocca is this parmesan and parma ham coated veal cutlet. Perfection on a plate. Not touristy and not pricy, traditional local cuisine.

Yesterday's NY Times had this on the restaurants of Rome: http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/travel/26rome.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1143537437-fdWgEeQZ0jxnfh91O6yjjQ (Don't eat before lunch. I was starving by page two)

Florence: The best place in the city is "Il Latini" (Via il Prato, 68/r, 055/294766, closed sunday) but be warned, there is always a crowd outside. Tell them to book if they can (we were lucky: Sister's friend's boyfriend works there so we got in on short notice) and not to be polite: Push or don't eat :) There are two sittings, go for the later one. Stunning food. Otherwise there is always "Osteria del Boia" (Osteria del Boia Via Ghibellina, 70r Tel: 055 2638940) beside Santa Croce. Does an incredible Bistecca Fiorentina. Changed owners a while ago but no negative reports yet. Neither are touristy but it being florence everyone speaks English of a sort.

As to the others, can't be of any help. Hope they have fun.

Kv_nol (Kv_nol), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 08:24 (eighteen years ago) link

Venice - Corte Sconta. They speak English there too. You need to book in advance as it's very popular, and fairly expensive, but the food is just superb. Oh, and they need to like fish.

Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 08:40 (eighteen years ago) link

I can describe locations, but not names of restaurants in all of those places. I am awful with names.

Ed (dali), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 08:54 (eighteen years ago) link

thanks for the tips so far. i mean, a little touristy is fine since they don't want to feel so out of place that people will be staring at the elderly koreans in the corner. i'll make reservations for them at il latini and corte sconta. any idea on how much per person with just a glass of wine each?

ed, anything you can conjure up would be mightily apprciated. i know in rome they're staying on piazza navonna, if that helps.

phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 19:06 (eighteen years ago) link

corte sconta is bloody amazing, not cheap, but worth every penny - they *have* to have the 7 course starter thing - unbelievable quality

Porkpie (porkpie), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 19:50 (eighteen years ago) link

Il Latini is a very serious eatery. They have their own vineyards, produce their own meat etc. I remember being pleasantly surprised at the cost but it wasn't cheap (approx 50 euro a head with wine maybe 3-5 euro). La Fiaschatteria is v affordable (20-30 max incl. wine). Wine is not expensive anywhere really if you go for the white (and odds of it being drinkable are very high) and food tends not to be pricy unless you go for luxury items or things that are out of season. Steak is not the middle priced safe option that it is in so many other countries, it tends to be the most expensive thing on the menu!

If I think of anywhere else I'll put it in. Otherwise Piazza Navona is near enough Piazza di Spagna (and via della croce of course) that they can go so far as to have as many as TWO glasses of wine and get home safely :)

Don't worry about being out of place etc, the people in most places are there for the food. It's the very touristy places that'll try to fleece them and generally take away from their experience as a whole. That said it sometimes seems that Italy's very existence relies on tourism so it's harder to avoid than you might think.

Anyway, they'll be in all these romantic places: do you think they'll have eyes for anyone but each other? *sigh*

Kv_nol (Kv_nol), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 19:50 (eighteen years ago) link

How's the write-up coming along, Chris ;)

Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 21:38 (eighteen years ago) link

it's a work in progress Mark

Porkpie (porkpie), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 20:37 (eighteen years ago) link

is there a bottega veneta outlet store?

phil-two (phil-two), Friday, 31 March 2006 19:22 (eighteen years ago) link

in Florence apparently:

http://www.outlet-firenze.com/bottega_veneta_outlet.htm

Porkpie (porkpie), Friday, 31 March 2006 21:14 (eighteen years ago) link

oh man then i'm going to italy when i have like $6K to drop. (ie never) (but i'll probably go anyway)

joseph (joseph), Saturday, 1 April 2006 04:53 (eighteen years ago) link

yeah il latini was really good. there were a couple other places in florence we liked a lot but i can't remember names (one of them translated as "13 goblins," i think, but i don't know what the italian is for that.)

in rome, there's a really good place just down the street from the pantheon, called due colonne. we had a good lunch there.

we spent two weeks in florence, siena and rome, and never had any problem with not speaking italian. sometimes we had to use hand gestures, and having good guidebooks is a big help, but in the cities especially english is usually enough to get by. (i heard an italian giving directions to german tourists in english, because it was the only language they all understood.)

gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Saturday, 1 April 2006 06:29 (eighteen years ago) link

In the Cinque Terre, there is a seafood restaurant in the older part of Monterosso called Ristorante Belvedere.


http://www.ristorante-belvedere.it/

Chris K (Chris K), Saturday, 1 April 2006 19:52 (eighteen years ago) link

Cripe. The computer went haywire. Sorry.

The Restorante Belvedere is on the beach and the fishing boats pull right up to it. They have an English version of the menu available, which they kindly offered to me. When I choose the Italian one, they were very patient with me when I butchered their language. There were a few tables full of tourists, but lots of locals as well. The food was wonderful and set me back about 30 euros for a three course meal with wine.

Chris K (Chris K), Saturday, 1 April 2006 20:06 (eighteen years ago) link

five months pass...
REVIVE!

I'm going to Italy in January. No real destination other than Rome because that's where I'm flying into, but I'm going to try to grab a train up to Venice and back through Florence/Siena. This will be my second trip to Italy - the first time I was in Lake Como, Milan, and Trieste.

I'll consider the trip a success even if I just hang out in Rome and drink coffee all day, but recent reports encouraged.

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 14 September 2006 22:24 (eighteen years ago) link

go to pyramide clubs

and what (ooo), Thursday, 14 September 2006 22:29 (eighteen years ago) link

Do the Venice thing, please! Also remember how cold it is in Italy in January (ave temp maybe 35 degrees).

=== temporary username === (Mark C), Thursday, 14 September 2006 22:31 (eighteen years ago) link

i am going there on saturday

cousin larry bundgee (bundgee), Thursday, 14 September 2006 22:31 (eighteen years ago) link

Also remember how cold it is in Italy in January (ave temp maybe 35 degrees)

Well aware of that. It keeps the fair-weathered tourists away.

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 14 September 2006 22:39 (eighteen years ago) link

Best time of the year. I love it in venice there. I notice on the other thread that you are flying via zurich in which case you could get the train from Venice or Milan to Zurich rather than go back to rome to get the plane. Its a really pretty train ride, winding up through the alps.

A good itinerary would be Rome-Perugia-Siena-Arezzo-Firenze-Venice- Zurich

Ed (dali), Friday, 15 September 2006 05:58 (eighteen years ago) link

There's only one thing to see in Arezzo, the perugino frescos but they are well worth it and it would make a good 2 hour stop over on the way between Siena and Firenze.

Siena has the truly excellent Palazzo delle Papesse modern art gallery.

Ed (dali), Friday, 15 September 2006 06:01 (eighteen years ago) link

one year passes...

Going in June - probably Rome, Venice and Milan. So - revive. And anything important/recent to know?

Mordy, Sunday, 18 May 2008 02:04 (sixteen years ago) link

drive around - dont fly around. also, visit assisi if you get the chance.

sunny successor, Sunday, 18 May 2008 04:32 (sixteen years ago) link

Don't drive or fly around, take the train, it is cheap and you will meet people.

Ed, Sunday, 18 May 2008 08:25 (sixteen years ago) link

I wouldn't spend too much time in Milan. Take a look at stopping in Siena, Perugia, Assisi and or Ravenna on your way up to Venice.

Ed, Sunday, 18 May 2008 08:28 (sixteen years ago) link

Not to denigrate Milan, but given a limited amount of time on a first trip to Italy, it wouldn't be top of my list.

Ed, Sunday, 18 May 2008 08:29 (sixteen years ago) link

I was waiting for Ed to appear and talk about trains, which are very cool in Italy. Try to arrive in Venice when it's dark because you'll be even more blown away when you wake up to it in the morning.

Milan is no good unless you have fashion business but I've heard good things about 10 Corso Como, which is expensive or trendy shopping.

suzy, Sunday, 18 May 2008 09:06 (sixteen years ago) link

The Duomo in Milan is very impressive (on the outside) and you can go up onto the roof, but as others have said I wouldn't bother spending more than a day there at most.

Nasty, Brutish & Short, Sunday, 18 May 2008 10:56 (sixteen years ago) link

('there' = Milan, not the cathedral roof)

Nasty, Brutish & Short, Sunday, 18 May 2008 16:41 (sixteen years ago) link

milan kinda blows for tourists.. and for fashion too unless you like shiny italian suits. though 10 corso como is pretty fly. if you got $$$

phil-two, Sunday, 18 May 2008 23:33 (sixteen years ago) link

I'm in Venice v briefly (roughly 24 hours) on June 16th/17th, flying to Rome for three days and then Florence for a couple more after that. No trains for me tho alas.

blueski, Sunday, 18 May 2008 23:39 (sixteen years ago) link

Hey, we'll be in Italy at the same time. I'm leaving June 15th and coming back the 29th.

Mordy, Monday, 19 May 2008 00:57 (sixteen years ago) link

yeah, take the train if you want to meet other tourists, i guess

sunny successor, Monday, 19 May 2008 14:31 (sixteen years ago) link

i'll be getting into milan on june 18th/19th and playing music in some small towns for a week, then in southern switzerland for a couple of weeks.

Jordan, Monday, 19 May 2008 14:34 (sixteen years ago) link

?
Take the train if you want to meet Italians.

Also flying in Italy this summer will suck. Alitalia is going to go bust or be strike ridden and that will have knock on effects with the other carriers. Besides, FFS, it is only 700km between Rome and Venice with lots of beautiful countryside in between.

Ed, Monday, 19 May 2008 14:34 (sixteen years ago) link

xpost
the question mark was a expression of bemusement at Surmounter's post.

Ed, Monday, 19 May 2008 14:44 (sixteen years ago) link

Ed is right, the train's the best thing to travel on in Italy.

REMEMBER TO STAMP YOUR TICKET AT THE SMALL MACHINE BEFORE GETTING ON! This is not made clear enough to foreigners. Also slow train from Florence means that you pass near Siena and things.

Assisi is a must. Cannot emphasize it enough!

hyggeligt, Monday, 19 May 2008 15:00 (sixteen years ago) link

i assume you mean me, ed?

you both didnt meet any italians driving through italy?

sunny successor, Monday, 19 May 2008 15:01 (sixteen years ago) link

I'm flying because I would only have one night in Venice otherwise - schedule is tight. Also it was revoltingly cheap (£15 RyanAir).

blueski, Monday, 19 May 2008 15:14 (sixteen years ago) link

Why do you want to meet Italians on a train? What makes you think Italians get on trains thinking "oh, I hope some tourist bothers me today"?

But thirded, the trains aren't bad. Personally I'd rather have a car for freedom and stuff but the trains are probably cheaper.

Mark C, Monday, 19 May 2008 15:27 (sixteen years ago) link

I never bother anyone on the train, but plenty have struck up conversations with me. (including one who took pity on me as I was living in turin at the time)

Ed, Monday, 19 May 2008 15:29 (sixteen years ago) link

three weeks pass...

What's the WIFI situation in Italy right now? Is it hard to get a free connection in Rome? Are there hotspots?

Mordy, Friday, 13 June 2008 18:33 (sixteen years ago) link

three years pass...

We're heading to a campsite by Lake Garda this summer. I've just received the 'parc guide' and am a bit alarmed by these two bits:
Swimming caps must be worn in the pool
and
In order to use the pool facilities, many require their male guests to wear fitted lycra swimming shorts, and not the 'boxer' or 'surf' style. Please check with the parc for their restrictions on this.

I lived in Italy for three years, but I never went to a swimming pool in that time. The thing about swimming caps does ring a bell, though - I'm pretty sure a female (British) colleague of mine was moaning about it. Would they seriously expect me to wear one? (I am a man with hair shaved to just a few millimetres length). What about my three-year-old daughter?

As for the trunks thing, this just seems mental. From experience, I know hypochondria is par for the course in Italy - the terror of the 'colpo d'aria' which is unknown in the rest of the world, for example, or the number of people I met who genuinely feared a shower soon after eating could cause them serious harm - and in this context the hair / swimming cap thing makes some sense on a hygiene level. But I can't even begin to see what the thinking is behind the clamping down on 'boxer/surf' style swimming costumes. It doesn't seem to make sense on any level: I can't see any health issue (real or imagined) and if the issue was one of, er, 'modesty' then surely the speedos would be outlawed and the baggy trunks encouraged?

Food Processors Are Grebt (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Monday, 20 June 2011 21:16 (thirteen years ago) link

Caps are definitely a hygiene thing and they are required in almost every Italian swimming pool.
As for the shorts, this is completely news for me too - never heard about any "restriction" about it and its patently a crazy idea.

Marco Damiani, Tuesday, 21 June 2011 07:25 (thirteen years ago) link

Have you already been down there? We have a local friend from Sicily that we want to visit with and we keep putting it off because we can't make seasons work out.

Yerac, Friday, 4 January 2019 22:39 (five years ago) link

nope, first time in Europe for either of us

sleeve, Friday, 4 January 2019 23:01 (five years ago) link

Bumping thread again with a non-standard RFI...

Before leaving for (but after booking flights to) Italy I've injured my knee.

Pretty much the worst thing I can do for it is stand for long periods, which really sucks for a place so rich in galleries and sites of antiquities. Walking long distances to is Not Good. At least sitting and gorging myself is still in (and er, worry about the resultant weight gain once the knee's better).

I'm in Bologna at the moment, no definite plans except need to get to Palermo by the 26th of January (though maybe go on the 18th to see Palermo vs. Salernitana).

Anyway, excited about the train from Napoli to Palermo - perfect sedentary sightseeing. Any other recommendations like this?

S-, Monday, 7 January 2019 18:23 (five years ago) link

Bologna is excellent for just eating. I've been twice and don't have any memory besides eating and walking. But that is almost everywhere I go, I guess. Are you wearing a knee brace or anything?

Yerac, Monday, 7 January 2019 18:26 (five years ago) link

It really is. More places I want to try than time I have to try them. Also been invited to a couple of people's houses for food which has been great.

Nah no brace, perhaps I should have looked into one. The physio said to take it easy, which I thought I was. Obviously not enough. Venice clearly not the best place if you want to avoid walking and stairs (also pretty much anyone's house in European cities).

S-, Monday, 7 January 2019 22:28 (five years ago) link

Ugh Venice, city of people with rolling luggage. I have knee problems a lot. You should just go to the pharmacy and get a compression sleeve, or even an ace wrap to at least keep it stable and keep it from swelling when you do walk.

Yerac, Monday, 7 January 2019 22:36 (five years ago) link

revised tentative itinerary:

fly to Amsterdam, stay a day, then plane to Nyons area in France for a few days

Nyons to Genoa, 1 -2 nights there

Genoa to Salerno and then bus to Minori (Amalfi coast) for a night

Salerno to Paola on the west cost of Calabria (the fast train goes this way)

Paola to Cosenza inland by bus, 3-4 nights total in Calabria

back to Naples for flight out to Amsterdam

has anyone here spent time in Calabria?

sleeve, Friday, 11 January 2019 15:52 (five years ago) link

I only went to Genoa once, to change trains coming from the Cinque Terre, but there was a problem with our train and we got stuck there for several hours. The food in the Genoa train station cafeteria was ghoulish: I felt sorry that chickens died only to be prepared so miserably. I don't know what there is to do there besides eat, but that would be good enough for me.

L'assie (Euler), Friday, 11 January 2019 16:24 (five years ago) link

Why are you going to Nyons?

Yerac, Friday, 11 January 2019 16:36 (five years ago) link

to stay with friends for free! 3-4 days

sleeve, Friday, 11 January 2019 16:38 (five years ago) link

I had not heard of Nyons, but I see that it's close to Montélimar, famous for its nougat which got it a mention in "Savoy Truffle".

L'assie (Euler), Friday, 11 January 2019 16:41 (five years ago) link

haha noted!

sleeve, Friday, 11 January 2019 16:42 (five years ago) link

I had not heard of it either but it's super, super close to vacqueyras/gigondas where I did a grape harvest.I've gone in and out of the Orange and Avignon train station a lot.

Yerac, Friday, 11 January 2019 16:47 (five years ago) link

we would consider alternatives to Genoa anywhere on the Ligurian coast if anyone has recommendations, just stopping for a night or two because it's on the way to Florence

sleeve, Friday, 11 January 2019 16:51 (five years ago) link

well the Cinque Terre is lovely! I haven't been for twenty years though. when we went we just showed up in Vernazza, asked at a bar if he knew of any rooms in town, ended up staying with the bartender's sister's family for a couple of days. a kind of proto airb&b I guess.

L'assie (Euler), Friday, 11 January 2019 16:53 (five years ago) link

thank you, will investigate.

sleeve, Friday, 11 January 2019 17:26 (five years ago) link

Genoa is worth it - a bit gritty with a real port atmosphere. The old town is dark, sinewy and interesting. Also it's a perfect base for some nice day trips, eg Cinque Terre but also Porto Fino, which off season is truly lovely.

licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, 14 January 2019 09:02 (five years ago) link

Sestri Levante is a very nice medium-sized town that you can use as a base to visit the Cinque Terre, etc. It is pricy, but Hotel Vis a Vis is awesome with wonderful views of two bays.

Andrew "Hit Dice" Clay (PBKR), Monday, 14 January 2019 14:22 (five years ago) link

I just booked for a trip to hike in the Dolomites in the first week of September. Does anyone have any recommendations on hiking (especially overnight stays in a Refugio), where to stay, restaurants, etc.?

Andrew "Hit Dice" Clay (PBKR), Monday, 14 January 2019 14:24 (five years ago) link

two weeks pass...

I recommend 'Midnight In Sicily' if anyone is looking for a history of Italy focussing on the corruptions of Andreotti and a personal take of the years 1978-1992. It's in English.

S-, Friday, 1 February 2019 20:11 (five years ago) link


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