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What Fun Thing Have You Always Wanted To do? (Non-difficult child)
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<blockquote data-quote="Lil" data-source="post: 646514" data-attributes="member: 17309"><p>Hmm. Let's see....</p><p></p><p>Not sure when you will be there in April, but we landed on the 8th. It was after Holy Week, but still "off season" which was great. Not too touristy yet. We actually stayed on Campo di Fiori and we were so central we walked almost everywhere the first week. We walked to Vatican City. The public transportation was pretty easy to navigate. When we got stuck we were in a hotel near Termini Station, which was convenient to go back and forth to the airport...over and over and over. </p><p><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite11" alt=":rolleyes:" title="Roll Eyes :rolleyes:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":rolleyes:" /> Our second week there was "culture week" or something, and all the tourist attractions were free. Which kind of sucked because we saw most of them the first week! </p><p></p><p>Okay, Rome tips. </p><p>1) GOOD walking shoes. You'll find it easy to walk miles. On the up side, I found the pharmacies stock the best blister pads ever! </p><p>2) Buy a Roma Pass.</p><p>3) Try to learn a little Italian. You only need basics; please, thank you, do you speak English? We found that if you tried to speak a little Italian, they were more than happy to speak English. Most useful phrase was "Dove' Qui" (totally spelled wrong), which roughly translates to "Where is here?" Say "Per favore, Dove' qui?", hold out a map, and you'll have someone point out where you are. Then you know where to go! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p>4) Galleria Borghese! If you love art, it's AMAZING! <a href="http://www.galleriaborghese.it/" target="_blank">http://www.galleriaborghese.it/</a> You have to book in advance. </p><p>5) If you like creepy, the capuchin crypt.</p><p>6) The Sistine Chapel...find the time there is the least people. It was the most disappointing part for me, because it was so crowded and loud! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /> I had expected quiet reverence and got noisy tourists. I'd pay for a private tour if I had money.</p><p>7) DO NOT DRIVE IN ROME OR NAPLES! Seriously, just don't. Italian drivers are CRAZY! In fact, there is a trick to crossing the street...if you see an opening, just go. Don't look anywhere except the other side of the street, don't make eye contact with the drivers, don't, under any circumstances, change your pace! If you start speeding up or slowing down, they'll be where they think you would be if you were maintaining and hit you! Best tip - get in a group of people crossing the street...absolutely best - follow nuns! </p><p>8) Buffalo mozzarella cheese. If you can figure out how to eat it every day, do. Best cheese ever.</p><p>9) There's always room for gelato. Always. </p><p></p><p>We booked a scavi tour, into the excavations below the Vatican. Well worth it if you like history.</p><p></p><p>For art and architecture, the churches are the place to go. All of them. Just amazing.</p><p></p><p>Trastavere is a cool neighborhood. We enjoyed wandering there. </p><p></p><p>I could go on forever. </p><p></p><p>My understanding is Naples is just a big, dirty, noisy, city. We did not do Pompeii, we went to Ostai Antica instead. But, we did spend three days on the Amalfi coast. Specifically, we stayed in a town called Agerola, WAY up...like right above the town of Amalfi. Apparently there is a hiking "trail of the Gods" or something like that, which is supposed to be amazing. We booked this little B&B: <a href="http://www.nidodeglidei.it/" target="_blank">http://www.nidodeglidei.it/</a></p><p>It was FIFTY euro a night! Unbelievable. April is very off season for Amalfi. We stayed in the Eros room and you literally could see the medication from the bathroom! We took the bus to Amalfi. DO NOT DRIVE DOWN THE MOUNTAIN from Agerola to Amalfi! It's 11 km. and takes 30 minutes! Back and forth with a cliff to the sea on one side and a mountain on the other! Really, I considered kissing the ground when we got to the bottom. <img src="/community/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/sick.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":sick:" title="sick :sick:" data-shortname=":sick:" /></p><p></p><p>We took a boat to Positano, walked up the hill to the top and took the bus back to Amalfi. Do it the other way! That's a heck of a climb UP. If we go again, we'll take the bus and then walk DOWN to the boat! LOL</p><p></p><p>This is getting really long, guess I'll stop now. But really, I love talking about this, so you just let me know if you want to p.m. about it. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> </p><p></p><p>Oh! One other thing...we were in Agerola on Italian Independence Day, which I believe is April 25, and they had a party in the piazza, with folk music and free wine and dancing. Amazing! So much fun and it was such a fun little town and the people were SO friendly and we were pretty much the only tourists that early in the year and we were treated so well! Be advised...the more rural, the more people don't speak English...but you get along fine with a phrase book and charades! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p>OH! And the mot important tip! The best Chianti has a black rooster on the label! </p><p><img src="/community/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/Graemlins/2.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":wine:" title="wine :wine:" data-shortname=":wine:" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lil, post: 646514, member: 17309"] Hmm. Let's see.... Not sure when you will be there in April, but we landed on the 8th. It was after Holy Week, but still "off season" which was great. Not too touristy yet. We actually stayed on Campo di Fiori and we were so central we walked almost everywhere the first week. We walked to Vatican City. The public transportation was pretty easy to navigate. When we got stuck we were in a hotel near Termini Station, which was convenient to go back and forth to the airport...over and over and over. :rolleyes: Our second week there was "culture week" or something, and all the tourist attractions were free. Which kind of sucked because we saw most of them the first week! Okay, Rome tips. 1) GOOD walking shoes. You'll find it easy to walk miles. On the up side, I found the pharmacies stock the best blister pads ever! 2) Buy a Roma Pass. 3) Try to learn a little Italian. You only need basics; please, thank you, do you speak English? We found that if you tried to speak a little Italian, they were more than happy to speak English. Most useful phrase was "Dove' Qui" (totally spelled wrong), which roughly translates to "Where is here?" Say "Per favore, Dove' qui?", hold out a map, and you'll have someone point out where you are. Then you know where to go! :D 4) Galleria Borghese! If you love art, it's AMAZING! [URL]http://www.galleriaborghese.it/[/URL] You have to book in advance. 5) If you like creepy, the capuchin crypt. 6) The Sistine Chapel...find the time there is the least people. It was the most disappointing part for me, because it was so crowded and loud! :( I had expected quiet reverence and got noisy tourists. I'd pay for a private tour if I had money. 7) DO NOT DRIVE IN ROME OR NAPLES! Seriously, just don't. Italian drivers are CRAZY! In fact, there is a trick to crossing the street...if you see an opening, just go. Don't look anywhere except the other side of the street, don't make eye contact with the drivers, don't, under any circumstances, change your pace! If you start speeding up or slowing down, they'll be where they think you would be if you were maintaining and hit you! Best tip - get in a group of people crossing the street...absolutely best - follow nuns! 8) Buffalo mozzarella cheese. If you can figure out how to eat it every day, do. Best cheese ever. 9) There's always room for gelato. Always. We booked a scavi tour, into the excavations below the Vatican. Well worth it if you like history. For art and architecture, the churches are the place to go. All of them. Just amazing. Trastavere is a cool neighborhood. We enjoyed wandering there. I could go on forever. My understanding is Naples is just a big, dirty, noisy, city. We did not do Pompeii, we went to Ostai Antica instead. But, we did spend three days on the Amalfi coast. Specifically, we stayed in a town called Agerola, WAY up...like right above the town of Amalfi. Apparently there is a hiking "trail of the Gods" or something like that, which is supposed to be amazing. We booked this little B&B: [URL]http://www.nidodeglidei.it/[/URL] It was FIFTY euro a night! Unbelievable. April is very off season for Amalfi. We stayed in the Eros room and you literally could see the medication from the bathroom! We took the bus to Amalfi. DO NOT DRIVE DOWN THE MOUNTAIN from Agerola to Amalfi! It's 11 km. and takes 30 minutes! Back and forth with a cliff to the sea on one side and a mountain on the other! Really, I considered kissing the ground when we got to the bottom. :sick: We took a boat to Positano, walked up the hill to the top and took the bus back to Amalfi. Do it the other way! That's a heck of a climb UP. If we go again, we'll take the bus and then walk DOWN to the boat! LOL This is getting really long, guess I'll stop now. But really, I love talking about this, so you just let me know if you want to p.m. about it. :) Oh! One other thing...we were in Agerola on Italian Independence Day, which I believe is April 25, and they had a party in the piazza, with folk music and free wine and dancing. Amazing! So much fun and it was such a fun little town and the people were SO friendly and we were pretty much the only tourists that early in the year and we were treated so well! Be advised...the more rural, the more people don't speak English...but you get along fine with a phrase book and charades! :D OH! And the mot important tip! The best Chianti has a black rooster on the label! :wine: [/QUOTE]
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What Fun Thing Have You Always Wanted To do? (Non-difficult child)
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