Get a hotel or hostel near the main train station or near a metro for easy arrival/departure and access to the city. Also convenient if you backpack weighs 50+ lbs.
As soon as you get off the train and arrive into a new city, get a map and study it. Get your bearings and then start walking. You can look like you own the city when you know where you’re going! :-)
Bring some travel laundry detergent to do some laundry in the sink. 8 pairs of underwear and 12 days..... hmmmmm........
Bring a bag that’s comfortable to carry for miles and miles of walking :-)
Make sure your SD card is in your camera before you hit the town! ugh....
Be mindful that as you travel and collect souvenirs you will need some place to put them so plan accordingly and buy light things :-)
In Rome the cars yield to pedestrians and you basically have the right of way. Not so in Florence. Make sure to follow crosswalk signals... um we found that out in a hurry, thank you very much!
Make sure to walk down the less crowded side streets. You will often find some great restaurants or shops that have better prices than centrally located tourist shops. Just do this more in the day so that you don’t en up in sketch-o-sketch parts of the city at night.
ALL the hotels in Italy require that you leave your room key with them if you leave the hotel. They don’t want to rummage through your stuff. It’s just they way they do it and they often only have one key to your room. And if you don’t leave it with them they will chase you as you leave yelling “la llave per favore!”
Don’t make eye contact with vendors OR restaurant servers standing out in the roads. They will inevitably start telling you why you should buy their goods or sit down and eat now at their restaurant whilst they compliment your figure, eyes, hair.... you name it! Trying to peel away from one of those encounters is like avoiding those annoying mall surveys, but now pretend the person is a pushy Italian who just make 75 Euro off of their last tourist-victm.....
If you bring Kelly O’Donnell with you to Italy make sure she has an iPod and several moments to herself every day so that she can break it down and you don’t even have to look like you’re together.
PDA is very acceptable here (that’s an understatement) so if that’s your thing you’ll fit right in! If it’s not then, well...... uh....... just do what Kelly and I did. Find a cute outfit walking around and talk about the Italian fashion that is 2-3 years ahead of the US and then go buy yourself a one-piece jumper outfit with tapered cuffs - Kelly did!
Often restaurants charge a cover charge of 2-3 Euro just for sitting down. Water is expensive there, too. Bring a water bottle to fill up. The tap water in Rome is AMAZING and is very cold. Other cities are good, too. We found Rome’s is the best though.
Be prepared to sweat in any and every outfit you wear. It’s just going to happen.
Gelato for breakfast is completely acceptable. Don’t feel guilty :-)
Kelly and me from the Piazza di Michaelangelo in Florence!
love this post! so fun!!!
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