peterpansy said:
SInce you guys are talking about Italy... Going there on Wednesday (Genoa, Pisa, Florence, Milan, Venice). Any tips/advice? Must-see places? Places to avoid? Thanks!
You have no idea how jealous I am! I was just talking to a buddy of mine and I think we decided to go at the end of the summer, leaving the night of the MCAT and coming back for the first day of classes.
As far as advice goes, I can't really recommend what to see in florence, because when we were there we just hung out with some locals and drank a lot of wine. There are some amazing clubs there (all marble, 20-30 foot white marble columns, etc...) and other great nightlife stuff if you know where to look. Definately check out the duomo, and check out the museum if it's open.
I'd recommend not spending too much time in venice (it'd be better spent elsewhere, but it is worth it to see the area), but things to see while you're there are la piazza san marco (St. Mark's square, where that picture of me was taken with the birds), and definately check out the island of *****o (where the glass blowing all happens and whatnot). The cemetary island looked interesting to see, but I didn't stop there. A great thing to do in florence is to just grab a couple bottles of wine and wander around to get lost. It's beautiful there, and definately easy to get lost, so go have fun fun! See if there are any events around. When I was there, they had a Salvadore Dali exhibit that was amazing (I think it was at la palazzo grasso if I remember correctly).
I've never been to the others, but I can tell you what people I met told me. I was told that pisa was very over rated. Basically, they have the tower and that's it from the people I talked to.
Genoa is interesting, but if you have a chance, take a train 20 or so miles south to Le Cinque Terre. They're these 5 small mountainside / oceanside towns that are just gorgeous. At least go see one or two of them (I recommend Monterosso and Vernazza). If you want to see a few of my pictures of them, check out
http://studentweb.stcloudstate.edu/piau0301/italy/.
That area is the most beautiful area I've ever seen.
As far as general advice, make sure to check out some open markets if you can find them. The one in florence is pretty easy to find, and is on the opposite side of the duomo from the river. They have amazing local food there, good local wines, and it's all really cheap. If you have any cooking facilities, make use of them and go to the market often. It's worth your time. Another thing is that I noticed almost all restaurants charged pretty similar prices. Therefore, go to good restaurants. The best indicator for how good a restaurant is is people not speaking any english at all. They're usually on somewhat back streets, and if you stroll by at around 5:30 - 6:00 you can see the family eating their dinner. If you see this, wait around and go to that restaurant.
Cheap italian wine is good. Get table wines too. Some of the really tuscan them have an almost vinnegary taste to them, but it really grows on you. If you want to have some good chianti, get something from montepulciano.
Italian guys can be very up-front when it comes to women. If you're not comfortable with this, travel in groups, etc.
The public transportation is technically not free, but the only people that ever pay for it are tourists. We never paid for busses (or ferries, in the case of venice), but be careful as you can get fines you get caught.
In general, I don't think there are any "must-see" places, as the entire country is beautiful. Just take it all in, make sure to wander around aimlessly from time to time, and enjoy everything you can. Eat a ton of food, and make sure to drink an equivalent amount of wine. Tipping isn't usually necessary unless you go to very touristy areas. Nothing is very cheap in Italy, but some things are a better deal than others. If you're eating out for every meal, expect to pay 10-15 euros a piece. Like I said before, you'll save a ton of money if you hit up the markets from time to time. Don't plan on buying anything in venice, as almost everything there was ~50% more expensive than rome or florence. If I remember any other great tips, I'll try to post them.
Why rain on their parade?
All of my friends who were pickpocketed were pickpocketed by children. Also, if you eat in a restaurant and ask for water, it'll be carbonated. If you want "flat" water, ask for "acqua naturale." That's all the random info I have in my head. You can PM me if you'd like. Buon viaggio! 🙂
