Help, Have You Been To Italy? :-)

[BellaRisa]

Hey folks,

I'm planning *now* to take Bill to Italy in May 2010 for his 40th birthday. I know I need to take him to Rome (he's a History Channel freak and MUST go to Rome lol), and I plan to visit Florence too, and Naples if we can. Any place you recommend we see, places we should stay, places we should eat...?

We'll have about 7 days including travel time, any advice/tips will be greatly appreciated

 

[TklDuo-Ann]

cool gift idea!

If he's a history buff, I would imagine that he'll want to spend a decent amount of time in Rome rather than a quick run through. So, I'd plan at least 2 days to cover all the sights of Rome itself. There's so much right there that you could spend the entire week.

I'll be seeing my aunts in a few weeks. I'll ask them if there's anything less known that he should check out.

 

[falcon]

Venice during Carnivale time is reall super cool! However, be on the lookout for pick-pockets!! There are a lot of them down there at that time and mothers tend to use their kids as either bait or the "pickers" themselves. Seen it first-hand. Aside from that, Venice during that time is really neat!!

 

[cornell1975]

I'm from Italy BellaRisa, so feel free to contact me here or wherever u fell more comfortable for any advice 🙂

 

[nostradamas]

Hey folks,

I'm planning *now* to take Bill to Italy in May 2010 for his 40th birthday. I know I need to take him to Rome (he's a History Channel freak and MUST go to Rome lol), and I plan to visit Florence too, and Naples if we can. Any place you recommend we see, places we should stay, places we should eat...?

We'll have about 7 days including travel time, any advice/tips will be greatly appreciated

Hi Bella!

We go to Italy every few years, and have a blast every time.
The Pantheon and the Colosseum are a must-see.

Here are some others in Rome:
http://goitaly.about.com/od/romeitaly/tp/ancientrome.htm

My wife absolutely loves the wine country and swears by Italian wines.
Tuscany, Florence or Venice - you can't go wrong with any of these options.
Great scenery and food.
Some tours: http://www.italyandwine.net/

Here's a book you might like in advance:
http://www.astheromansdo.com/index.htm
It's a great site filled with ideas, recommendations, and even a forum.

Props to you for a really cool vacation idea that will be the trip of a lifetime.
You and Mr. Bill will fall in love with Italy... it's the epitome of romance.

Ciao, babies!

 

[BellaRisa]

Thank you so much!!! I'll be PMming you guys with questions

 

[nenezinho]

Hello Bella!!!

Just another view:

If he has some kind of love for Napoleon´s campaigns in norther Italy you should really look for the area around Como, it´s wonderful place to stay, quite near Milan if want to go shopping, the combination of lakes and high mountains makes it a really nice and romantic landscape.

And you can travel easily into switzerland, france or even Austria a bit further away.

Only problem is that this is really northern italy so quite a distance from Rome. But it has some great places of it´s own like Milan for more rush/shops/fun, Verona for history and drama (Romeu and Juliet city), also i´ve been to a place in between Verona and Milan called Sirmione which is kind of a little fortified island inside of a lake, with the Alps as background....another lovely place!!!

If you have the time to also take a tour around northern italy, go for it! it´s worth the time 🙂

 

[JPie1]

Thank you so much!!! I'll be PMming you guys with questions

hey, I'm turning 40 (hehe), can I come too! LOL

 

[chicago]

Never been, but studied Italian language and culture for about five years.

I know I'd love to see Venice, maybe you could stop there.

 

[falcon]

bella, also be sure to see Naples and Milan. Both are places of my family's ancestry 🙂 here is a photo of my family crest, with our name dating back to 1410, originating in Milan.

 

[Icycle]

Hey folks,

I'm planning *now* to take Bill to Italy in May 2010 for his 40th birthday. I know I need to take him to Rome (he's a History Channel freak and MUST go to Rome lol), and I plan to visit Florence too, and Naples if we can. Any place you recommend we see, places we should stay, places we should eat...?

We'll have about 7 days including travel time, any advice/tips will be greatly appreciated

If you've only got seven days, I suggest that you only visit one or two cities. With such a short trip, if you try to add on another destination, you'll end up spending a lot of your precious vacation time in train stations or on the autostrade.

Rome and Florence sounds like an excellent itinerary for a 7 day trip! Rome is especially nice for a history buff, since you can find art and architecture from every era of the last two millennia, all check-by-jowl in the city. And if you like art, Florence has one of the best art collections in all of Europe.

 

[BellaRisa]

If you've only got seven days, I suggest that you only visit one or two cities. With such a short trip, if you try to add on another destination, you'll end up spending a lot of your precious vacation time in train stations or on the autostrade.

Rome and Florence sounds like an excellent itinerary for a 7 day trip! Rome is especially nice for a history buff, since you can find art and architecture from every era of the last two millennia, all check-by-jowl in the city. And if you like art, Florence has one of the best art collections in all of Europe.

7 days is a short trip?? Wow, I've been a parent for a long time 😛 We haven't both been away from both kids for more than 3 days yet, I'm already wondering how I'll get through 7 days without our girls

We'll definitely do Florence, and Naples and Assisi too if we can

 

[JPie1]

7 days is a short trip?? Wow, I've been a parent for a long time 😛 We haven't both been away from both kids for more than 3 days yet, I'm already wondering how I'll get through 7 days without our girls

We'll definitely do Florence, and Naples and Assisi too if we can

7 days is short when you consider traveling to a country like Italy and the fact you have to fly overseas. I do however understand about the kids! 🙂

 

[penny lane]

I'll echo JPie, 7 days in another country is not a long trip. I would just stick with one or two cities.

 

[cornell1975]

If i can give u an advice, just go to Rome and Florence... they are very close one another and there's so much to visit that 7 days won't be enough... another place u can visit is Pompei, since it's close to Rome too... but obviously it depends on which type of trip are u searching for 🙂

 

[nostradamas]

If i can give u an advice, just go to Rome and Florence... they are very close one another and there's so much to visit that 7 days won't be enough... another place u can visit is Pompei, since it's close to Rome too... but obviously it depends on which type of trip are u searching for 🙂

That's solid advice. Trying to hit too many places can water down the experience.
Hopefully the U.S. $ will be a little stronger. Converting to Lyra before you go can save time and headache as well.

 

[ticklebunny 2]

I am afraid I don't really have any tips or suggestions, and no advice to give you Bella. However best wishes and good luck with that special amazing trip to Italy for your hubby for his 40th birthday that is great!! Really a thoughtful and a great gift, hope it is all you hope and wish for it to be.. bet and know he is absolutely going to love it! That is really neat. I have never been to Italy but it looks like a beautiful and fascinating place to visit, would love to go there someday and take a visit for a bit....be so neat.

Best wishes to you Bella