We have been to Italy four times, for a week each. Don't try to hit too many cities; the joy of Italy is relaxing in a piazza sipping espresso or limoncello and just enjoying life.
Rome is by far the most interesting, with many great museums, the Colosseum and the Forum, the street life and the Sistine Chapel. Venice is a crowded tourist disaster in the daytime, but in the evening, after the large groups leave, St Marks square is truly magical. Florence has great food, David, the Ufizzi and the marvelous view from across the river, best seen from the Piazzella Michelangelo. The most enjoyable part of Italy, however, is the Naples area, which has the kind of Italian food that most of us love, great scenery, and the most Italian lifestyle. Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, Ravello. Capri all are great places to just enjoy the food, the wine (or Limoncello), the views and the people. I have never been bored in Italiy, not for a moment, not even in Milano. Dan Matyola http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 3:55 AM, John Coyle <jco...@iinet.net.au> wrote: > Hi Doug - I spent a month in Italy last year, starting in Milan and then went > to Verona, > Venice, Ravenna (Hi Dario!), Bologna, Lucca, Florence and Rome. We travelled > by car > between Venice and Rome, and the only aspect I would advise you about is > ensure you have a > GPS navigator in the car you hire. Signage in the cities is clear, but > generally very > close to the turn you need to make, so it's easy to miss. Bipin has covered > just about > everything else. > We had a diesel Audi A4 wagon, as there were four of us, and it was very > economical. Fuel > is not cheap, but if you stay on the major roads the economy can be good. I > found driving > in Italy not terribly stressful (I have driven a couple of times in France as > well, so the > LHD scenario was not new), apart from ensuring you are aware of everything > and everyone > around you - shouldn't be a problem for a NutDriver! > Italy is a great country, we found the people friendly and helpful. The > scenery in the > northern part (Venice to Lucca) is spectacular, helped by we had > exceptionally good > weather most of the trip. > Photography-wise, agree with Bipin a very wide angle lens is essential; for > over 80% of > my photographs I used my 16-45. Cranking up the ISO will enable you to > capture good > interiors, as flash cannot be used in many places - but you can in the > Vatican, > surprisingly enough. Tip - hang around the Vatican tourist office (left-hand > side of the > square as you look at St. Peter's) at 2:30 every day for an English-language > guided tour, > conducted by one of the priests posted there - our guide was a Canadian. > Great value for > money - it's free! > In Venice, go for the Doge's Palace secret tour,: you have to book online, > but again it's > cheap and you get to go to parts of the palace not open to tourists on their > own. > HTH - don't hesitate to ask if I can help with any particular query. > > > John Coyle > Brisbane, Australia > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: pdml-boun...@pdml.net [mailto:pdml-boun...@pdml.net] On Behalf Of Bipin > Gupta > Sent: Friday, 25 May 2012 3:39 AM > To: pdml@pdml.net > Subject: Being a Tourist in Italy > > Hi Dough, we were in Italy for a week - usual tourist route - Naples, Rome, > Pisa, > Florence, Genoa, Turin, Venice and back to Rome via San Marino. We rented a > motor scooter > between Pisa and Florence for the fun of it. > Here are some things to remember:- > Italy is pretty small. For that matter entire Europe too compared to the US. > So doing 250 > Km per day is no big deal. You can do it in easily in (3 to 4) hours with a > tea and > restroom break. So your driving limit between 1100 to 1300 hrs may not > suffice. > Note: most tea/coffee stop places serve luke warm tea or coffee. So smile and > say you want > it piping hot. > Italy has stricter drink driving laws, allowing 0.5 milligrams of alcohol per > millilitre > of blood. > Seat belts front and rear are obligatory everywhere, unless you are using a > motor scooter > where a helmet and a visible jacket is a must. > Be careful of merry young Italian drivers. Here is why: tiny cars in very > narrow roads can > literally mean an inch away; they keep cutting you off; they will almost run > over you; > they ignore stop signs and traffic lights, etc. Be on the lookout brother and > drive safe. > To some RHD folks (Britain, Japan, India), LHD can be very confusing. > When approaching a roundabout give way to traffic already on the roundabout, > on your left. > Speeding and other traffic offences are subject to extremely heavy > on-the-spot fines. > Speed limits: on motorway 130 Km - Radar traps are frequent. Dual Carriageway > 110 Km. > Towns 50 Km. In the rains these limits drop. > Two warning triangle should be carried at all times. > The winding and slow country roads will drive you crazy eventually. Take > breaks. > Don’t get confused between KMPH and MPH. I paid heavy fines. > Lock your car and don’t keep valuables, passports or cash in the car. > Thieves are everywhere in Italy. Beware brother. > As for travel and street photography Italy is wonderfully enchanting. > Please carry a 10-20 mm lens, or you will miss the monuments and churches in > its splendid > beauty. Tripods not allowed inside most monuments, museums and churches. Very > narrow > streets and spaces around most tourist hot spots. > Regards. Bipin - from a far away enchanting land. > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the > directions. > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
