Planning a vacation to Italy. Advice requested!

Iceman wrote:
> scottdanzig wrote:
> > I do like seeing the awe-inspiring tourist attractions. And I don't mind a day or two of
> > just relaxing. Maybe Venice would be good for that.
>
> Venice is a beautiful and unique place, with great architecture, but it
> is definitely not relaxing. The whole area from the train station to
> St. Mark's Square is absolutely packed with tourists from about 10 AM
> to 5 PM every day, and you will need to do a lot of exploring on foot
> before reaching the quieter parts of the city.

My mistake then. Will plan to relax elsewhere or not at all :)

> > 2) Any tips on a hotel in Venice? At least the right area to stay in?
>
> We stayed near the train station and it was fine. I would actually
> recommend staying in that area, even though it gets mobbed at mid-day,
> because you can see St. Mark's Square and the Doge's Palace early
> before the crowds really arrive.

Sounds about right. Do you remember the name of the hotel you stayed
at?

> > 3) How much is there to do in Naples?
>
> People are really divided on Naples. Some people say that it's the
> most truly Italian city, that it has an active street life which
> Northern Italian cities lack, and that it has a beautiful setting built
> up on hills around a bay. Others say that it's just a dirty high-crime
> city, devoid of any real places of interest (except being close to
> Pompeii), and that your time is better spent about anywhere else in
> Italy. I hold the latter opinion, but there are many who hold the
> former.

I've been getting bad vibes from Naples, except for their pizza. It
sounds like you're right.

> > Is there a nearby city that's a better fit for a tourist?
>
> Not nearby, but you might consider Florence or Siena instead.
I'll consider Florence. What's worth checking out in Siena?

> > 4) Will I be able to experience the perfect Sicilian cannoli (my
> > favorite food ever) somewhere in Rome, or do I have to go to Sicily for
> > that? :)
>
> Rome has great bakeries, and they all have cannoli. What's unique
> about the Sicilian ones?

Well, from how I've been previously educated, there's the Sicilian
cannoli, which you're probably used to, and the baked "rest of Italy"
cannoli, which looks like this:

http://novita.spb.ru/temp/canollo_2.jpg

Thanks for your advice!

- Scott

scottdanzig wrote:
> Iceman wrote:
> > scottdanzig wrote:
> > > 2) Any tips on a hotel in Venice? At least the right area to stay in?
> >
> > We stayed near the train station and it was fine. I would actually
> > recommend staying in that area, even though it gets mobbed at mid-day,
> > because you can see St. Mark's Square and the Doge's Palace early
> > before the crowds really arrive.
>
> Sounds about right. Do you remember the name of the hotel you stayed
> at?

In the Venice train station, there were many hotel representatives. We
approached one, and asked to see the room before we committed. It
looked fine, and was, and he cut us a deal. (I think it was 90 euros
for 3 people.) I don't remember the exact name of the hotel. Normally
I stay in youth hostels.

I've travelled a lot in the Third World, so even the most basic
European hotels are fine as far as I'm concerned. (hot water and no
insects? great!) If that isn't the case for you, then you might want
to do more research and book in advance.

> > > 3) How much is there to do in Naples?
> >
> > People are really divided on Naples. Some people say that it's the
> > most truly Italian city, that it has an active street life which
> > Northern Italian cities lack, and that it has a beautiful setting built
> > up on hills around a bay. Others say that it's just a dirty high-crime
> > city, devoid of any real places of interest (except being close to
> > Pompeii), and that your time is better spent about anywhere else in
> > Italy. I hold the latter opinion, but there are many who hold the
> > former.
>
> I've been getting bad vibes from Naples, except for their pizza. It
> sounds like you're right.

I thought the food in most of Italy was incredible, even at inexpensive
places. But IMO the pizza in Naples, while pretty good, was not quite
at that level.

> > > Is there a nearby city that's a better fit for a tourist?
> >
> > Not nearby, but you might consider Florence or Siena instead.
> I'll consider Florence. What's worth checking out in Siena?

It's a beautiful old city.

> > > 4) Will I be able to experience the perfect Sicilian cannoli (my
> > > favorite food ever) somewhere in Rome, or do I have to go to Sicily for
> > > that? :)
> >
> > Rome has great bakeries, and they all have cannoli. What's unique
> > about the Sicilian ones?
>
> Well, from how I've been previously educated, there's the Sicilian
> cannoli, which you're probably used to, and the baked "rest of Italy"
> cannoli, which looks like this:
>
> http://novita.spb.ru/temp/canollo_2.jpg

I'm sure you could find the hard shell, sweet cheese cannoli in Rome.
Rome's population comes from all over Italy, so Sicilian specialties
can't be hard to find.

On 15 Jan 2007 11:28:15 -0800, "scottdanzig" <sdanzig@>
wrote:

>Day 1: Fly to Rome
>Day 2-4: Tour Rome
>Day 5: Tour Mt. Vesuvius
>Day 6: Tour Pompeii
>Day 7: Tour town in outskirts of Rome (one or two of those that you
>just suggested)
>Day 8: Take train to Florence
>Day 9-10: Tour Florence
>Day 11: Take train to Venice
>Day 12-13: Tour Venice
>Day 14: Fly home

seems sensible to me (assuming the connections exist). They will all
be busy places of course.
--
Mike Reid
UK walking, food, photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Spain walking, food, tourism "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk"
Beginners UK flight sim addons "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:49:57 +0000, d4g4hd.uk (David Horne,
_the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:

>We did swim in a rocky cove near Sorrento, but that was in June. The sea
>was rough, and brisk. Not for the faint-hearted or light swimmer!

here's a swimming pool not for swimmer-lite

"http://www.fell-walker.co.uk/hierro18.htm"

they have several, just sheltered enough to swim, just unsheltered
enough for the water to come in.
--
Mike Reid
UK walking, food, photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Spain walking, food, tourism "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk"
Beginners UK flight sim addons "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

The Reid wrote:

> On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:49:57 +0000, d4g4hd.uk (David Horne,
> _the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:
>
>
>>We did swim in a rocky cove near Sorrento, but that was in June. The sea
>>was rough, and brisk. Not for the faint-hearted or light swimmer!
>
>
> here's a swimming pool not for swimmer-lite
>
> "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk/hierro18.htm"
>
> they have several, just sheltered enough to swim, just unsheltered
> enough for the water to come in.

A few years ago I stayed at a hotel in Sorrento that had its own rocky
beach with an elevator from the hotel to sea level.

Frank F. Matthews wrote:
> The Reid wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:49:57 +0000, d4g4hd.uk (David Horne,
> > _the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:
> >
> >
> >>We did swim in a rocky cove near Sorrento, but that was in June. The sea
> >>was rough, and brisk. Not for the faint-hearted or light swimmer!
> >
> >
> > here's a swimming pool not for swimmer-lite
> >
> > "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk/hierro18.htm"
> >
> > they have several, just sheltered enough to swim, just unsheltered
> > enough for the water to come in.
>
> A few years ago I stayed at a hotel in Sorrento that had its own rocky
> beach with an elevator from the hotel to sea level.

Would you remember the name perhaps?

- Scott

scottdanzig wrote:

> Frank F. Matthews wrote:
>
>>The Reid wrote:
>>
>>
>>>On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:49:57 +0000, d4g4hd.uk (David Horne,
>>>_the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>We did swim in a rocky cove near Sorrento, but that was in June. The sea
>>>>was rough, and brisk. Not for the faint-hearted or light swimmer!
>>>
>>>
>>>here's a swimming pool not for swimmer-lite
>>>
>>>"http://www.fell-walker.co.uk/hierro18.htm"
>>>
>>>they have several, just sheltered enough to swim, just unsheltered
>>>enough for the water to come in.
>>
>>A few years ago I stayed at a hotel in Sorrento that had its own rocky
>>beach with an elevator from the hotel to sea level.
>
>
> Would you remember the name perhaps?
>
> - Scott
>
La Tonnarella

http://www.latonnarella.it/

The views of the bay from the second floor rooms were very nice.

The first floor rooms had terraces.

You can check our website - there you can compare prices from over 20
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