Warning: We are not going to get into any touristic information or set out in detail any of the following places.About this information please check our section "The World of the Travelling". In this present section we are going to give personal information such as our own experience from our trips, anecdotes, recommendations,etc; the sort of useful information you search for before beginning your trip on, but impossible to find in any touristic guides.
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ITALY
Spring is the best season to visit Italy, without any doubt. The climate varies according to latitude and altitude. In the North winters are cold and summers hot. In the Lake area the weather is mild. In the rest of Italy we can find a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters, and dry , hot summers, even hotter in the South.
You must take with you a passport if you are not a member of the European Union; in case you are a EU member, you only need to bring your ID with you.
Currency: The Italian "Lira"
Language: Italian.
Shopping: As you may know, Italy is in the van of fashion; many famous designed clothing as well as leather items come from Milan. Furthermore, it is very well known its China from Ravena; straw objects and jewels from Florence; glass (Murano) and cameos from Venice.
If you want to achieve one piece of art and certain antiques you need a license of the Fine Arts Superintendence (Italians are quite strict with art). It is very common to send the piece of art from the store to its destiny by airmail right away.
Pets need a sanitary certification.
All credit cards are accepted.However, banks are quite reluctant to accept Traveller´s Cheques (We do not advise you to buy them).
Tips are very popular. People usually give an 8 or 10% of the bill´s cost.
Serious Warning: If you visit Italy by car, as motorways ( Auto Estrada) are good and fast, do not even dream of stopping because a car is making signals to you to do so, or because any other has a flat tyre or a mechanical problemproblem. This very usual kind of "banditry" can ruin your holidays. In fact, when you drive by crowded places or tolls these " good fellows" disappear from view.
Watch also out for your belongings in your car when this is parked in the street. It would be better for you to leave the car in the hotel car park: you may not be the gainer financially but you will be in freedom from anxiety.
Furthermore, be careful with the common " bag-snatching". Leave all your documents and valuables in the hotel.
Be extra careful in the aerea of San Calixto catacombs (we saw three bags being snatched in only one afternoon).
With all these "safety " suggestions, we do not want to alarm you or give you the impression that Italy is an unsafe country. All these villanies occur, unfortunately, all over the world, where there are crowds and people are unobservant and trusting.
Italians are very kind, outgoing and witty with tourists.
As for gastronomy is concerned, we are not going into details, it is good and cheap. As you surely know the national dish here is "pasta" cooked in many different ways. If you want to vary the menu, ask for "antipasto", that is a dish with delicious hors d´oeuvres; meat is not of high quality, though it depends on the region. Try not to eat the "gelattis" (ice-cream) sold in the streets.
Italy is one of the most important countries as art regards. Some visits to monuments and museums in Italy could make you feel weighed down. Nothing worse than going over so many museum rooms without knowing the characteristics and information of the epoques you are visiting. Do not try see so much, see a general touristic guide, and see the most you can.
If you go to the " Fontana de Trevi" you might want to throw three coins and check if the legend come true: " you should come back to Rome in the future" as the legend says. Rome has to be seen in stages. We advise you to devote to it at least five days if it is tour first visit.
A good thing for you to do would be to engage a city tour guide ( a day time guidance) in the same hotel reception, where you can find some offers and whom staff will help you very eagerly (as they have a little commission from the travel agency). Italy has good Tourism offices, with excellent tour guides who speak several languages. These guides are usually Art or History students or even graduated teachers who have a good grasp of the subjects they talk about in the tours.
Try to get together with a group of people talking, either your own language or another one as maximum; if you get into a group where the guide has to give his lecture in 3 or 4 different languages, you obtain less information in the tour. This sort of tour is useful for you to form an idea and decide the different places that are more interesting to visit calmly later on.
Vatican and Vatican Museum. You need a day as a minimum to see it. We are not going to get into details but "Miguel Angel Pity" is on the right of the Basilica, almost at the entrance. Also, it is nice to see the Sixtina Chapel, the Vatican Museum, and the Vatican Treasure.
The nearest, best kept and most visited catacombs are the ones of San Calixto. You will need a whole morning or afternoon to visit them. You will be lead to them throughout a historical route: The Apia Roman Road.
Keep another day to visit the temples and churches : " Santa Maria la Mayor ", " San Juan de Letrán", "San Pablo Extramuros", " San Pedro Invicoli" ( where the remarkable " Moises" by Miguel Angelo is kept).
Visiting the Monumental Rome : Coliseum, Plaza Venezia, Plaza di España, the Phanteon, Fontana di Trevi, Colina di Quirivel, Plaza Novona, the Capitol, the Palatino, etc.
We suggest that you should go for an evening walk so that you can see Rome at night, with its lightened monuments ans fountains that give Rome a special touch. Nights are very pleasant and inviting for a walk. Do not miss Via Venetto, synonym of wealth people, and have a drink at one of its pavement cafes.
Art and culture can be breathed in every corner of Italy. There are unnumerable churches, palaces and exhibitions, such as : Duomo ( where the unfinished piece of art by Miguel Angelo " Pietá" remains ), the Baptistery, Ghiberti Golden Gate (if you climb up till the Giotto bell tower at sunset, you will be able to enjoy a fantastic view of Florence in an ochre colour).
Also, there is the possibility to go to the Fine Arts Academy ( where "David" by Miguel Angelo is placed). Do not go early in the morning, better late in the morning, otherwise you will find long queues . Visit " Vechio Bridge" with its goldsmith shops in the same bridge; Bóbilo gardens , Medici palace, and so on.
VENICE : A fascinating city with its narrow canals and labyrinthine streets. Vehicles are parked near the "Plaza di Roma", and from that pint on, all the traffic movement is made through the canals by the famous "Vaporettos" ( big boats, sort of buses there). Venice is a museum city. The best way to book a "Gondolatta" trip ( driven by night) is from your own hotel. A Gondola will come and pick you up there. You will see many gondolas with their lamps on, and all the "gondoliers" dressed in typical suits (in striped red and white shirts, and straw hats with their strips hovering around). These will drive the boat with a huge pole throughout the canals, towards the big canal , where all the gondolas from the other hotels will finally meet. Everybody being met there, the "Gondolata" starts. In the middle of the row there is a Gondola with the musicians and the "canzoniere" who sings the "tarantellas" (popular songs). The Gondolata files by under the Rialto Bridge (crowded with tourists who see the "Gondolata" from a great view). It is a very unforgettable romantic experience. Plaza di San Marco. This "Plaza" is the main meeting point, where the Basilica of San Marco represents an obligatory visit (you will observe the inclined and cracked floor due to the pitiful and unstoppable decline that Venize is going through). Campanello. We recommend to take a lift to the tower. A magnificient view of the city and Sant Jorge Island can be seen from there. Another important visit: Ducal Palace. One of the attractive things to do is going over the " Sighs Bridge" that joins the palace with the dungeon. This bridge is so-called because of the prisoners sighs when walking over it to serve. That walk was the only piece of freedom left for them. Another suggestion would be a trip to Venize Pool: Murano, very famous place for its glass hand-made production. It is well-known island for its intense light and warm colours, where many painters and artists live. At nightfall you can have a rest at one of the street cafes in Plaza di San Marco, where a pianist plays unforgettable Italian melodies. Grand Lake area: "Como Lake", "Gonda Lake", "Mageon Lake", trip to the three islands: "Bella Isola, Pescaton Isola, Grande Isola"." an
ASIS : "San Francisco Basilica de "Santa Maria de los Angeles" (it is under reconstruction because of a recent earthquake). Minerva Temple.
MILAN: Very industrial and rich. We suggest a visit to the Duomo, the commercial Plaza, and "Santa Maria de la Gracia" church (where the "Last Dinner" by Leonardo de Vinci is showned).
VERONA: The city that inspired the tragic romance between Romeo and Juliette. You can even visit the lovers´tomb. The house of the Capulet with its famous balcony. Going beyond fiction and believing the story was inspired in a real fact is possible there.
One of the offered tours by many agencies is : Pompeii, Sorrento, and Naples. Their access from Rome is relatively quick through the "Auto Estrada Sol", a motorway that runs Italy from North to South.
We arrive in Pompeii (placed on the slope by the Vesuvius). This city was totally destroyed and buried by the Vesuvius emanations. This city was discovered accidentally when some works were being done to build some roads in the XIII century. There was no knowledge of this city before then as Pompeii dates back from BC times.
Pompeii is avery interesting point to visit; you will be able to contemplate the perfectly designed streets with their drains; the Patrician houses that still keep some of their mosaic and friezes. There is also a museum that not only shows vessels and tools but also many well-kept charred and fossilized bodies due to the volcano´s eruption.
From this point you get to Sorrento, a charming seafaring villa with splendid views. There, you will not find neither architectural nor monumental beauties; Naples´ beauty is its kind, open-minded and cheerful people.
Did you know that the Pizza was invented in Naples? (You have to eat one there!).
Naples harbour is also important to see. We advise you to stroll along the old neighbourhood. At this harbour you can take some fast cruisers called "Jet Foil", driven by turbine. These cruisers tour till Capri.
CAPRI : We commend Capri. You need a whole day to visit it. It is a wonderful island in the middle of transparent sea waters. One of the best attractions to visit is the " Gruta Azura" ( the "Blue Cavern" ). A bubble is formed in the rock, where the sea water goes in; the walls of this cavern reach to the sea level, so the sun goes in from outside through the chinks at the sea level.
The mineral composition of the rocks in this cavern causes an unusual phenomenon. All the cavern achieves a blue fluorescent illumination which gives an indescribable fantasy touch. To enter the cavern you have to remain ducking you head in some small boats, as this cavern is practically under the sea level.
The Capri Plaza is a very lively centre point where there are many shops to buy souvenirs. We advise you to have a stroll along the August gardens since you get a spectacular view from there.Besides, you can climb up to the Solaro hill with a cair lift (to the highest part of the island) and see ,if the day is clear, the Naples and Salermo Gulfs.
SICILY: Agood and especial place for those who want to run away from the crowds, looking for quite and deserted creeks. We have to warn you though that heat is extreme in summer. Its people´s character also varies. Thus, in the same way as Italians from the Centre and North of Italy are out-going and friendly, and the Napolitans cheerful and expresive, the people from Sicily are the contrary. They are quite introverted and reserved (they would never interfere in a conversation, for example).
The main city in Sicily is Palermo, placed at the back of a big blue Bay. It is a charming city with narrow streets and small shops.
As we always mention at the end of every trip, in case you need further information do not hesitate in asking us for it. Besides, we have the advice of an expert in Art and History.