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Feb 6, 2007 12:57:44 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 12:57:44 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 12:57:59 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 12:57:59 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 12:58:20 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 12:58:20 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 12:58:51 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 12:58:51 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 12:59:13 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 12:59:13 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 12:59:37 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 12:59:37 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 13:00:12 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 13:00:12 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 13:00:40 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 13:00:40 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 13:01:13 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 13:01:13 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 13:01:45 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 13:01:45 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 13:02:31 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 13:02:31 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 13:04:23 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 13:04:23 GMT 9.5
Italy When to visit
The best months for sightseeing are April, May, June, September and October, but there are some traps. For example, if you visit major art cities over Easter you will be among even larger than usual crowds of foreign tourists. From March through May, bus loads of schoolchildren take part in excursions to cities of historical and artistic interest.
If possible, avoid travelling around Italy in August. The heat can be too much – especially as most of the locals are on the move and cramming roads, trains and planes on their way to sea and mountain resorts.
June and September are among the best months to visit resorts. They are all open but less crowded.
The climate is hotter the further south you go, but there is plenty of coastline and the shore breezes do help. The hottest months are July and August and brief afternoon thunderstorms are common inland. Winters tend to be mild, but prepare for some rain.
Don’t count on off-season rates in major cities, though some hotels in Rome, Florence, Milan and other big centres will reduce rates upon request if business is slow. Resort areas, on the other hand, do have recognised off-seasons and you can save a considerable amount on hotel rooms by visiting then.
If you are looking for special events, the period from May through September has a range of fiestas. Outdoor music and opera festivals are held mainly in July and August. What to take Light and cool is the rule for clothing in the summer, but be aware that you will need to cover legs, shoulders and arms when visiting churches or the Vatican Museums. Even in the summer, evenings can get cool and this is particularly true in the mountains – where nights can be chilly. A raincoat will come in handy both for summer thunderstorms and winter rains.
Italians tend to dress well. It’s not generally good form to wear shorts in the city. On the other hand, men are not required to wear jackets and ties except at the absolute top level hotel dining rooms and restaurants. You don’t need to be too formal at the opera, though people in the expensive seats still tend to get dressed up.
Beware of purse snatchers and pickpockets, and prepare for them. Money belts worn under your clothing with zippered compartments are a good idea. Money At the larger cities and resorts you will be fine with travellers cheques and major credit cards. However small shops and restaurants may require cash. Certainly in smaller towns and rural areas, you will need cash. Get hold of some Italian Lire before you travel, thus avoiding long lines at airport currency exchange booths. Keep some Lire notes ready for tipping – an accepted and expected practice in many places despite the service charge attached to your bill. Taxi drivers, hairdressers and theatre ushers will all expect a tip – as will service station attendants who give directions or clean your windscreen. We can provide cash for you on the spot before you leave. Shopping Leather goods, textiles, jewellery and ceramics are among the best buys. Rome and Milan are the places to find silk ties and scarves, hand-stitched sheets, excellent boots and knit fabrics. Florence is well known for its handcrafts and beautiful woollen clothes.
Store hours tend to be from 9 am to 1 pm, then 3.30 pm or 4 pm to 7.30 pm or 8 pm. Shops in northern Italy have shorter lunch times and earlier closing times. Florence Every visitor to Italy will have their own favourite city, and for many that city is Florence. Take time to study its fine details and be awed by some of the world’s greatest art treasures. Explore the elegant shops with their fine Florentine crafts. You will then understand why the city has earned such titles as ‘City of the Arts’ and ‘Jewel of the Renaissance’.
If you are a first time visitor to the city, orientate yourself by using the Arno. Most of the city sits on the north, or right, bank of this river. Here you will find the Piazza del Duomo, Florence’s religious heart; Piazza della Republica, the bustling commercial centre and Piazza della Signoria, the ancient political centre and now a meeting place full of outdoor cafes.
The other side of the river is known as the Oltrarno, which translates to ‘beyond the Arno’. On this side you can explore the Piazzale Michaelangelo, the Pitti Palace and Bomboli Gardens, and the churches of Santo Spirito and Santa Maria del Carmine.
Part of the city’s centre is closed to traffic, except for those with permits, making things easier for pedestrians. When looking for a particular place in Florence, be aware that houses are numbered on a ‘double system’. Places with black (nero) numbers are private dwellings and red (rosso) numbers refer to commercial buildings, such as shops.
Florence has a domestic airport (Peretola Civic Airport) and a taxi fare into the city will cost roughly $20. The closest international is at Pisa but this is notorious for fog – as is the airport at Milan. It’s safer to count on arriving or leaving Italy through Rome and catching the train to or from Florence.
The easiest method of getting around Florence itself tends to be by foot. Buses are good value at $2 for a ticket, but at rush hour they can be slow and crowded. You can buy tickets at tobacco counters, in bars and at news stands and they can be used for more than one ride – having a time limit of one and a half-hours instead. You get on at the back of the bus and off from the middle. Automatic ticket machines rather than ticket collectors police the system and some passengers don’t bother to buy tickets. But controllers do occasionally check and there is an instant fine if you’re caught without a ticket.
If you have hired a car, be aware that parking can be difficult to find. It is easiest to park at your hotel or at an attended lot outside the centre of town, then walk in. Taxis have meters, but there are extra charges for picking up luggage, night rides etc. A small tip will be expected – the equivalent of $1.50 will be sufficient. The city’s main train station is Stazione Centrale Santa Maria Novella.
Keep a few Lire aside for shopping in Florence, one of the world’s most fashionable cities. Clothing, gold and silver jewellery, handmade lingerie, leather goods and antiques are all good buys. Staying in Florence Over 400 hotels can accommodate more than 20,000 visitors – but don’t get complacent, it can still be difficult to find a room in the peak season. As in other Italian cities, hotel rooms can be extremely expensive, but you can also find comfortable and reasonably priced establishments.
The food in Florence is generally excellent but, again, can be expensive if you are not careful. A good tip is to order one Florentine steak between two people – you’ll probably find the steaks large enough to satisfy you both. If you are travelling alone, eating out can be a great way to meet the locals. You’ll probably be steered toward communal tables at small and busy restaurants. Rome Leonardo da Vinci Airport is served by both international and domestic flights and is 33 kilometres from the central city. The quickest and cheapest way to get to and from the airport is train. The service is new, clean and efficient and runs from 6.30am to 12.15am. The one way fare is approximately $10. A moving sidewalk from the airport’s main terminal carries passengers to the train station (metropolitana) near the airport.
Once in Rome, you may choose to hire a bicycle. Pollution and traffic jams have made bicycling popular – but it can be dangerous. Mopeds, scooters or motorbikes are alternatives – helmets are compulsory for such transport.
The city bus company (ATAC) offers weekly bus passes and inexpensive 90-minute and full day tickets. But beware that the buses can get extremely crowded; sometimes making it impossible to get off at your chosen stop. Pickpockets are common on the crowded buses.
Major rental cars such as Hertz, Avis and Budget can be found, as can local firms. The international airport has desks at which tourists may buy coupons that can be redeemed at gas stations around Italy. The coupons must be purchased in foreign currency. It’s good practice to fill-up in the morning. Gas stations close for two hours at lunchtime and are closed for the night by 7pm in winter, half an hour later in summer.
Taxis can be hailed or found at stands. The current minimum fare is the equivalent of about $10 for the first three kilometres, or (when traffic is slow) the first nine minutes. Surcharges for holidays, late night driving, suitcases etc. exist, and you will be expected to tip as well.
Horse-drawn carriages are a romantic alternative, but not necessarily a much cheaper one. They are available at major city squares, in front of the Colosseum, near the Trevi Fountain, on Via Veneto, and in the Villa Borghese. You can also go by boat, on a number of vessels cruising the Tiber River.
The main post office is at 19 Piazza San Silvestro and is open from 8.30 am to 8 pm weekdays, until noon on Saturdays. The best buys if you have a shopping budget are in quality, hand-finished leather goods, jewellery, fabrics, shoes and sweaters. Elegant clothing by top Italian designers doesn’t come at bargain-basement prices anywhere, but it will work out less expensive in Rome than in New Zealand. Seeing the sights The biggest problem you will have with Rome is deciding where to start. The city has so many sights of historic and religious significance, plus some modern attractions as well, that it demands time from the traveller. It wasn’t built in a day and you certainly won’t see it all in a day – or a week for that matter. So obtain a good map, decide where your main interests lie and go for it.
You could start by taking in the view of Rome and the surrounding hills form Piazzale Garibaldi at the top of Giancolo (Janiculum Hill). Otherwise try the view from the top of St Peters dome. Then visit the Museum of Roman Civilisation and its room-sized scale model of ancient Rome – to get a glimpse of what the city once looked like.
The classical city is still with us and waiting to be ‘discovered’. Visitors will notice how most of the straight streets in the Campus Martuis (Via delle Bottoghe Oscure, Via dei Coroari or Via dei Cestari) have survived intact from ancient times. Notice how the important feature here is the piazza – not the streets. The streets only serve to connect the piazzas.
Taking time and going by foot is always the best way to get to know a city – but not always the most practical. If time is limited to a few days, take an organised bus tour.
The Dutch Roman Catholic sister of Foyer Unitas take free tours (though offerings are appreciated) to many sights around the city and the Vatican and give slide presentations on various subjects.
Walking tours are available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and some Saturdays. Taking one of these will give you an idea of where you wish to spend more time. Most of historic Rome, which is also the city’s centre now, is within the third century Aurelian Walls and is walkable.
The ancient centre is close to Piazza Venezia, the heart of the modern city, and most of the sights of ancient Rome are around the Capitoline, Palatine and Aventine hills. They can be seen on foot. Much of papal Rome is centred in the Vatican, but all of Rome is a religious centre.
Virtually all the museums, monuments are archaeological sites run by the state or city are closed on Sunday afternoons and many on Mondays.
The Colosseo (Colosseum) was completed in AD80 and is a fine starting point for a visitor to ancient Rome. Open daily, it remains a symbol of the grandeur of Rome.
Adjacent to this Palatino (Palatine Hill), a great spot for a walk or a picnic, and the Foro Roman (Roman Forum). The latter was the commercial, civil and religious centre of ancient Rome. Its large ceremonial buildings included three triumphal arches, two public halls, half a dozen temples and many statues and monuments.
Other famous sites include the Pantheon, the best preserved of roman buildings. It was founded in 27 BC by Agrippa and later became a Christian church which contains the tombs of Raphael the first two Kings of Italy. The Vatican The Vatican City State fits into a land area of little more than one square kilometre within the city of Rome yet the headquarters for the Roman Catholic Church has been independent under the sovereignty of the Pope since 1929. It has its own printing press and newspaper, currency, railway and radio station, as well as its own postage stamps and post office. (Recent visitors report that the postal system here is far more efficient than elsewhere in Italy. Vatican stamps can be used in Rome, but not elsewhere in Italy, while Italian stamps may not be posted in Vatican mailboxes.)
The Pope holds general audiences each Wednesday on St Peter’s Square (10 am in summer, 11 am in winter). If the weather is bad the audience will be held in the Sala Udienza Paolo VI.
Guided tours in English are offered in Vatican City. Points of interest include the Vatican’s museum complex, which houses one of the most impressive collections in the world. Of great interest here is the Sistine Chapel, with Michelangelo’s frescoes of the creation on the ceiling and his Last Judgement on the altar wall. The chapel is open from 9am to 4pm in the summer, but closes at 1pm in winter. Staying in Rome Rome has more than 500 hotels, but in high season prices can be staggering – up in the thousands of New Zealand dollars per night for the most expensive. Bargains can be found and you may be able to talk hoteliers into off-season rates in the winter.
Eating out can be a delight in the city, but be aware that authentic Roman kitchens are dwindling in number – making way for Chinese restaurants, fast food outlets and the like. Real Roman cooking remains robust and hearty and you can still enjoy a dish of spaghetti all’amatriciana (tomato, bacon and pecorino – ewe’s milk cheese), or coda alla vaccinara (oxtail stewed in tomato, onion and celery). Plenty of seafood is available, but it can be costly. Recommended are the antipasta marinara (a mixture of seafood in a light sauce of olive oil, lemon, parsley and garlic) and spaghetti ale vongole (spaghetti with clam sauce).
Other roman specialities include tripa (tripe flavoured with mint, parmesan cheese and tomato sauce), and wildboar sausages – especially popular, along with salami, as an antipasto course.
Romans usually have fresh fruit for dessert, though there is no shortage of sweet desserts. Try the cafes and bars for sandwiches and other snacks, along with good Italian wines and coffee. Venice You’ll hear people say that Venice is too crowded with tourists, its dirty and the canals smell bad. But would any first time visitor to Italy actually contemplate missing Venice? You cannot help being fascinated by this city – resting on 118 islands, seperated by 200 canals and reunited by 400 bridges.
Travelling by air, you will land at Venice’s Marco Polo airport, 13 kilometres north of the city and serving both international and domestic flights. It is linked with Venice by water-taxi, but buses tend to be cheeper.
Most Venice ‘experts’ and guide books recommend getting ‘lost’ and setting your own pace to explore, but knowledge of a few facts will help you get around, the city is carless, so if you are driving around Italy you may leave your car in a lot or garage at Piazzale Roma after crossing the Ponte della Liverta. Although these places have security, don’t leave valuables in the car.
An alternative is to park at Mestre and take the 10-minute train ride to Venice. This is particularly useful to avoid high season traffic congestion.
If you want to arrive in style and luxury, you can allways take the vintage Venice Simplon Orient Express from London to Venice via Paris, Zurich, St Anton, Innsbruck and Verona. The trip (of course) is not cheap but it is special. Less luxurious trains also serve the city and you will be meet by water taxis and gondolas at the station.
Once in Venice, public transport means going by water. Tickets will cost the equivalent of between $3 and $5. The least expensive way is to use Motoscafi and Vaporetti, the former being express boats that make only a few important stops and the latter being much slower.
Water taxis are faster, but much more expensive. Gondolas are more romantic but will also put a bigger hole in your pocket.
A 50 minute trip could cost more than $100 although you can fit five people in each. If you don’t give the gondolier specific directions he will determine the route and may or may not act as a tour guide at no additional cost.
If you want a ‘Gondola Serenade’ you will have to make special arrangements. You will probably be able to work this out at your hotel and the cost will be close to $50 per person.
Along with canal exploration, Venice’s activities and attractions include a selection of museums, fine musical theatre and performances. You can rent bikes if you wish to explore by land.
Special places of interest include Piazza San Marco (St Marks’s Square); Basilica di San Marco (St mark’s Basilica) – built to shelter the tomb of St Mark, whose bones had been smuggled out of Alexandria; Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace) – the pink and white palace next to the Basilica; and Grand Canal – lined with some 200 marble palaces built between the 12th and 18th century. Also worth visiting are the Galleria dell’Accadamia (Gallery of Fine Arts); Chiesa del Redentore (Church of the Redeemer) and the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute – dedicated to the Madonna for delivering Venice from a plague. Staying in Venice You can stay in the centre of town for further away at the Lido. Be warned – Venice has some of Italy’s most expensive hotels. Very expensive places will charge the equivalent of $700 a night or more. However a search can reveal moderate and inexpensive hotels. Remember too, that many hotels in Venice offer considerable discounts in winter.
If you are travelling in peak season, finding a room at all could be difficult. Overcome this by staying in Padua, a 30-minute train ride away or in Ferrara, just a little further away.
Eating can be a delight in Venice, particularly if you are dining on fresh seafood and sipping a good wine from Veneto. Frozen fish never tastes as good, so be sure to ask if the seafood is ‘fresco’. Just as you may have to search for inexpensive accommodation, the same applies to food and wine. But moderately priced meals can be found and it is well worthwhile exploring the wine bars and cafes where you can often get a light meal. And on summer evenings, stroll to one of the many ice cream shops and enjoy a gelato.
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Feb 6, 2007 13:05:29 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 13:05:29 GMT 9.5
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ That Was ICT Crap
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Feb 6, 2007 13:06:15 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 13:06:15 GMT 9.5
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Feb 6, 2007 13:07:01 GMT 9.5
Post by nairda on Feb 6, 2007 13:07:01 GMT 9.5
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