Belated Honeymoon to Italy

[Bob-WY]

Been to Rome for a couple days.

We hired a guide for just us. Well worth it. Few things we learned

Food, it was hard to beat just walking into any street side place in the Spanish steps area, order spaghetti and house wine, then be amazed.

We stayed at the top of the Spanish steps, good location

We did the Vatican when it opened. They have dress code once you go inside, no hats, but shoulders and knees had to be covered.

Get avoid the line tickets for the colleseum, its AMAZING.

Use taxis, but tell them to out on the meter, THEY WILL take advantage of you, the meter offsets that somewhat. With our guide we took a taxi from Vatican to colleseum. Guide told me to get the taxi, then she would take over. Driver wasn't to happy, he thought he had a dumb American tourist, but ended with a local, she caught him twice trying to take a longer route and made him take the direct route

 

[Deleted member 52098]

Whatever you do, make sure you eat a lot of pistachio gelato. Trust me you’ll thank me when you get back.

Squid ink pasta is a must too.

PS don’t expect to jump on Hunt talk in Europe, I just got back and it’s blocked outside of the United States and Canada

Well the trip is off if HT is blocked

 

[BirdManMike]

Well the trip is off if HT is blocked

Its only blocked if you are on a foreign IP (ie connected to wifi). It isnt blocking if you using data (ie paying international roaming and data fees). Totally worth the hundreds of dollars in cellular fees.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Its only blocked if you are on a foreign IP (ie connected to wifi). It isnt blocking if you using data (ie paying international roaming and data fees). Totally worth the hundreds of dollars in cellular fees.

Say it with me Boomers V - P - N

 

[BirdManMike]

Say it with me Boomers V - P - N

Nah, the disappointments of picking up ones phone, attempting to browse hunttalk, then being denied are life lessons, especially when its repeated exactly just minutes later.

 

[blueridge]

Good on you, @MtnElk !
Florence is where it's at. There's a great art district. Of course, the David statue, but also free art along the square with gelato on every corner.
Places to eat: Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco & Rifrullo.
Watch the sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo.
Have a great time!

 

[devon deer]

Well the trip is off if HT is blocked

Not blocked for me because I am special

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Have a great trip, keep everything in your front pocket and watch out for the scam artists.

 

[Western Traveler1]

Great information so many of my suggestions have been covered several times. Do drive the Amalfi coast and visit/stay in Positano. Florence is not to be missed.
Here is a tip to hang onto your wallet/cash/credit cards.
If you see a sign warning “Beware of Pickpockets“ in a crowded area, Do not pat your pocket, pouch under your shirt or? to check if you still have it. They are watching. If someone abruptly stops in front of you in a crowd and someone bumps you from behind grab them and your valuables..
it is said that a distant relative of ours has a painting in the Uffizi gallery in Florence (some gal on a shell) and a mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

 

[3855WIN]

Have brunch at the Hassler Rooftop Hotel near the Spanish Steps in Rome.

 

[Deleted member 52098]

We are finally in the stage of getting ready to plan Air Bnbs, trains, etc and I must revisit this list once again. Thank you to everyone that has made suggestions, I am very excited and may reach out with questions as we progress.

I add a 4th hunting trip right after Thanksgiving... so I extended our trip for an extra day and a half and bought her soccer tickets to see Roma play. With any luck, all will be forgiven ha

 

[Wild Bill]

We are finally in the stage of getting ready to plan Air Bnbs, trains, etc and I must revisit this list once again. Thank you to everyone that has made suggestions, I am very excited and may reach out with questions as we progress.

I add a 4th hunting trip right after Thanksgiving... so I extended our trip for an extra day and a half and bought her soccer tickets to see Roma play. With any luck, all will be forgiven ha

You’ll be fine. I haven’t done anything like this for my wife (yet) and she still gave me a kiss before I left for work this morning.

 

[BirdManMike]

It’s almost always Hotels over AirBnBs for me these days. There is no longer any cost savings by staying in an AirBnB.

Plus, hotels have a couple other benefits:

1. There isn’t a list of cleaning you have to do before leaving.
2. Breakfast included, often quality breakfast (this is a major decider in hotel selection for me).
2a. Continental breakfasts are the best - pastries, cured meats, fruit, and cheese.
2b. Usually, hotel breakfast starts at least an hour before anything is open in town. Especially in smaller towns, you can’t get even a coffee before 8am, often 9am. In the cities, you may find yourself walking a few blocks each morning just for a coffee and pastry, passing multiple unopened coffee shops, unless you’re one to sleep in.


My .02€.

 

[JShane]

My wife and I were over there last month. Visited Venice, Naples, The Amalfi Coast, and Rome. Had a great time in every city. Trains were a great way to travel, we used a bus to travel from Naples to Pompeii. Vesuvius is rather ominous across the bay from Naples. Food you won't go wrong anywhere you sit down in our opinion. The Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel were indescribable. Traffic laws are a suggestion it seems in Naples just fyi.

Pm me if there's a question you have i didn't answer. Happy to help.

 

[hank4elk]

What are miles?
What is a wife?
New washer & dryer?
Coupon book at local Olive Garden?

Jeez ,take her and reap the benefits of good relationship.
I was lucky.
My ex-SO was from Europe.
Trips exploring the west sufficed.
High tea in BC, gained multi-points.
Holiday in Santa Fe gained me a friend for life.

 

[JDH]

My wife and I were over there last month. Visited Venice, Naples, The Amalfi Coast, and Rome. Had a great time in every city. Trains were a great way to travel, we used a bus to travel from Naples to Pompeii. Vesuvius is rather ominous across the bay from Naples. Food you won't go wrong anywhere you sit down in our opinion. The Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel were indescribable. Traffic laws are a suggestion it seems in Naples just fyi.

Pm me if there's a question you have i didn't answer. Happy to help.

Sounds like your itinerary pretty much matches ours in October. But we will only spend a few hours in Naples and will be in Cinque Terre for a couple of days.

 

[Deleted member 52098]

Thanks everyone for the advice, tips and tricks! We leave Saturday morning at the crack of dawn and I’m really excited. We decided to go with more of a floating itinerary instead of plans all day every day. But the following are what we ultimately decided to do and book:

Sistine chapel and vatican
AS Roma game
David
uffizi gallery
Colosseum (just outside visit)
Rome museum of Art (I think that’s what it’s called, wife is a big artist)
See the place in Florence where Dante, etc are all huried
Got reservations to some famous Rome eatery my wife wanted.

The rest will be whatever we see as we walk along

I’m probably forgetting stuff too, I mean I haven’t even packed.

But we are going to review this thread before we leave Newark and lose access to the wisdom of Ht

 

[JDH]

Thanks everyone for the advice, tips and tricks! We leave Saturday morning at the crack of dawn and I’m really excited. We decided to go with more of a floating itinerary instead of plans all day every day. But the following are what we ultimately decided to do and book:

Sistine chapel and vatican
AS Roma game
David
uffizi gallery
Colosseum (just outside visit)
Rome museum of Art (I think that’s what it’s called, wife is a big artist)
See the place in Florence where Dante, etc are all huried
Got reservations to some famous Rome eatery my wife wanted.

The rest will be whatever we see as we walk along

I’m probably forgetting stuff too, I mean I haven’t even packed.

But we are going to review this thread before we leave Newark and lose access to the wisdom of Ht

Have fun. One thing we did that was interesting was the basilica of st Cecilia. It was a church built on a church, built on an even older church. So it was basically like a catacomb experience.
Do you know what part of Rome you are staying in? Make sure you know where the nearest taxi stations are.

 

[Deleted member 52098]

Have fun. One thing we did that was interesting was the basilica of st Cecilia. It was a church built on a church, built on an even older church. So it was basically like a catacomb experience.
Do you know what part of Rome you are staying in? Make sure you know where the nearest taxi stations are.

I think in Rome we are near the vatican... if memory serves me correctly lol

 

[JDH]

I think in Rome we are near the vatican... if memory serves me correctly lol

We ate at this place a few times and every time was great. It was just a couple of blocks away from where we stayed.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KkrYzCdnApMB1MfU6

If you're interested, I think 7 of the apostles are buried in Rome.