In the middle of August, the hubs and I finally did it. We went to Italy. It was the thing we had wanted to do since we got married. It just never really seemed like the right time. Given our recent plans of having a kid, we figured it was time to get that trip in.
I plan to post a ridiculously detailed account of our trip, more for us to remember it forever than for the reading public's entertainment...however, maybe you'll find it mildly entertaining. That'll have to wait for a later date when I have the time and patience to be meticulous enough to search through hundreds of pictures to do the trip justice.
Until then, I wanted to leave you with some tips in case you will be traveling to Italy in the near future. I hope you will find them useful.
Tip #1: Travel with people who are hilarious.
And are preferably miniature versions of you and your partner, are willing to do whatever you tell them to do in pictures, and have similar habits to you. The peeps we traveled with were basically the travel sized additions of the hubs and I. We had the same tolerance for heat, walking, got sick of looking at ancient stuff at the same time, have the same affinities for Coca Light, same tolerance (or lack thereof) of alcohol, and most importantly, the same priority placed on eating delicious foods.
The pictures are essentially of our travel companions demonstrating their ability to follow instructions in picture taking. Oh, and our love of Coca Light.
Tip #2: Don't get ripped off.
The cab ride from the Rome Airport to whatever hotel you're staying at shouldn't be more than 45 Euros. Don't get duped into paying 60 or 70 Euros just because you don't know where you're going. Also, if a Gypsy asks you to hold her baby, DON'T. Their posse will just rip you off as you hold their baby.
If you take a train ride from Florence to Pisa, don't buy a first class ticket from the kiosk. There's no such thing on the train, but they don't mind charging the chumps who opt for it 5 extra Euros each way. On the back of the ticket in tiny print, you'll see that you have to validate your ticket in Florence before you leave. Do it or they find your ass another 10 Euros on the train. Sne bit her thumb at the ticket. Shakespeare would be proud.Tip #3: Don't expect awesome service.
As a general rule, the servers in Italy don't get tips because the second you sit at their table, they get a service charge of at least 2 Euros. The food prices factor in a tip so they have no real motivation to make you happy aside from their basic human decency. Don't count on that too much, though. I think in the 2 meals per day that we ate out over the course of 8 days, we had 2 servers that were really nice and helpful. 1 in Florence, and 1 in Rome. Oh, and I probably could have made a tip out of this, but under no circumstance should you eat in an Asian Pizzeria. You'll thank me for that golden nugget of advice...trust me.
Tip #4: Don't have ridiculous expectations.
Just like anything, it's better to be pleasantly surprised than horribly disappointed. Case in point, the Sistine Chapel. For some reason, I was under the impression that this painting would be spectacular, large, and the ENTIRE ceiling. It turns out, it's relatively small, hidden among a ton of other stuff, and nothing to write home about. I think these photos speak for themselves.
The Anticipation. The Let-Down.
Tip #5: Be prepared to spend a lot of money on Coca Light.
Randomly on about the 5th day in Italy, I started to really think about the amount of money we had spent on Diet Cokes. On average, a can of Diet Coke costs 4 Euros. I drank about 3-4 a day. We were there for 8 days. That's just about 128 Euros on Coca Cola Light. Roughly translated, that's a little over $204.00 on soda. Yeah, sickening, I know. Here's the really crappy part; There are no diamonds in the bottom of the can. RIPOFF!
Tip #6: Take in the local performers.
If you're in Florence, make sure you check out Ken Mercer. He performs in Ufizzi Square every single night at 9:30pm to 11pm. He's amazeballs. Seriously. Oh, but be sure to participate or he will actually get pissed, pack up and leave, leaving you very very sad.
Tip #7: If you meet really nice people, they're not likely locals.
Locals seem to hate tourists...especially American tourists. I guess I can't blame them. The only two things I could watch in English were CNN and the Jersey Shore. I'd hate us too if that was all I had to go on. It might also be because we're Indian. It seemed like the only other Indians we saw in Italy were the annoying dudes selling roses while you eat dinner. Anyway, we met tons of really nice people while were there. A fantastic French couple from the Pink City named Alice and Jerome, A nice guy on a bus who was South African, A great couple of girls from NYC who were about to jump a girl who cut the line in St. Peter's Square, and a sweet couple from AZ who got robbed blind on the Metro. We sure didn't have much luck with any honest to god Italians though. Oh well, better luck next time, I guess...
Tip #8: Make sure you get a passport stamp in Italy.
You'll thank me for this one later too. I think it's more of an effort to get a stamp than to walk out of the Rome airport without so much as a glance at Customs or Passport Control. It's fine and good when you land in Italy and are excited to begin seeing the sights or go to the hotel...however, when you try to leave Italy and you've got some hardass German dude asking you where the hell you came from and how long you've been in Europe, you'll think to yourself "Hmm...maybe I SHOULD have gotten that stamp, after all..." Learn from our mistakes.
I'm sure there are a million other things that I missed, but these are the things that stick out the most. I hope it was helpful...
HAPPY TRAVELS :)
