Response to Email

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Hey guys, this is just a response to an email, and I realized I was writing down some handy tips. I might come back and add to it, but here's what I told Archit about travelling in Italy:

Ciao Archit!

I hope you're enjoying Italy as much as I did! The websites I used the most for planning travel were, of course, www.trenitalia.it, and then www.hostelbookers.com for hostels. I have heard of other people having lots of problems with www.hostelworld.com- I like hostelbookers b/c there is no booking fee.

As far as places to go...My absolute favorites were Cinque Terre, Florence, Venice, and Rome (and of course Napoli but you already live there😊. Each of those places has a lot of fun things you can do in a weekend. If you want to buy tickets ahead of time for museums in Florence(which I highly recommend, unless you want to start standing in the Uffizi line at 7 AM) go to www.aboutflorence.com. They also have a lot of info and recommendations, and ideas for "theme based itineraries" such as Florence by Night, or Villas in and around Florence. They also have lots of links.

Rome can be kind of crazy, but just try to hit the highlights-the forum, the Coliseum, St. Peter's, etc. I don't have a specific website for you, but I would also see if you can get tickets online for the museums and maybe St. Peter's so you don't have to stand in line.

If you like hiking, eating good seafood, laying in the sun, or all three, Cinque Terre is amazing. My study abroad school organized our trip, but you can get there by train. A train connects all five towns, and there are also numerous ferries between the towns, which is a nice way to see the beautiful buildings and streets marching down to the sea.

Venice is AMAZING! I went during Carneval, but the tourist season really picks up right about now. BRING SUNBLOCK! The sun reflects off all the water, and you'll definitely get toasted without even feeling like you're in the sun a lot. My absolute favorite major square that I saw in Italy was St. Mark's square. It is kind of dominated by Napoleon's er...monument (can we say compensating? *cough *cough) but it is incredibly beautiful. St. Marks itself is one of the coolest churches, a mix of Constantinople and the West. I didn't pay extra to go see all the treasures and go up to have a better view of the square, but I wish I had.

Anyway general recommendations about travelling in Italy:
1) have a really thorough plan. Get all your info (train reservation #'s, hostel booking codes, addresses and directions of stations, hostels, at least one tourist office and important things you want to see) on ONE itinerary, so you don't have to be flipping through all those annoying papers.
2) Pack light! (and wear comfy shoes) There will be lots of times you are trudging through windy cobblestone streets, possibly lost, carrying every single bag you packed. I did ten days all around Italy with one school backpack, and was much happier, even though I didn't have three different kinds of hair gel and different shoes for each day😊
3) Speak Italian! Even if you think you suck (I know I did) it really goes a long way toward Italian-tourist relations.
4) Relax! It is hard to do sometimes, especially if you have fifteen Italians yelling at you when you have no clue about what to do. (A funny story about that: ask my friend Nick about getting locked in a Port-a-Potty) Travelling has its ups and downs, and both are necessary to really learn about the culture you have come to experience. Just know that if everything goes terribly wrong, it's still possible to have an eye-opening trip--as long as you keep your eyes open. Just take a deep breath, and remember how lucky you are to be in Italy in the first place!
Ciao and buon viaggio. I will try to be more active in the forums, so if you have any more questions, feel free to post there or email me back!
Heidi

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