h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

you can hardly deny it - no doubt they reckon british women look too pale or something, and that i was a nausiating spotty gimp...

oh ok! not 'the women' but a number of females who i saw while i was staying in a small part of rome for a week...so probably not that many at all

Give'em enough rope...

The food
The wine
The cars
The countryside
The people
The politics
The language (not that I can speak or read it, it just sounds better than English)

Well that seems to cover most bases



I don't like the weather - it's too hot for me.

Good gracious what couldn't you like about the place?

Stromboli, Vesuvius, Etna...
The Italian Alps...
Florence, Rome, Venice, Verona, Lake Como, Tuscany...
Home of Galileo, Leonardo Da Vinci...
Birthplace of the Renaissance...
The attitude that "going out for the night" doesn't necessarily mean "getting p**sed"...
The melody of the Italian language...
The genuine friendliness and good humour of my many Italian friends...
Chianti, Barolo, Orvieto...

To me Italians always sounds like they're mad and yelling at somebody. They might just be talking normally, but they always sound like they have some great discussion going.

"The attitude that "going out for the night" doesn't necessarily mean "getting p**sed"..." sounds pretty good to me. I've been looking for a place like that.

Florence... what a beautiful city! Only those zillions of mopeds prevented it from being perfect. I was there for all of 3 days and even then I absolutely loved it. In terms of my favorite cities, it makes my top 5 list. But that's another thread.

-Eagle 1

The style. Definitely the style. I felt like an absolute tramp over there. Even the granddads are chic! And the thing is, they can carry it off, when we'd look silly.

The Amalfi coast. 'Nuff said.

Pompeii.

It is a great country for a holliday. I have been there may a year, starting way back in '62.
Only I will miss the feeling of being a millionaire, now the lire is gone.

I cannot describe it, You have been there and know it, or you should go and feel it.

I am off to Rome in May with some girlfriends for a little holiday to celebrate for various reasons
Been to Verona and Venice and stayed in the Lakes twice once as a family holiday and once as a romantic getaway!

Love the countryside around the lakes and the water was crystal clear and so warm!

Didn't go to the opera festival when we went to Verona but now wish we had!
My parents Probably thought we wouldn't enjoy it.

Venice didn't smell that bad like everybody claims and I have been at night and in midday/midsummer when it was boiling.

Really looking forward to Rome.
Apart from the obvious places of interest anyone know of unusual places or things to do in Rome?
What about in the evening?
Is there the equivalent of the Latin Quarter of Paris?

Will get plenty of guidebooks for Christmas I am sure.
We want to go sooner but no point going in the winter months if it will be cold/wet then there is Easter, which will be really busy!
.

If you're going to Rome then surely you should do as the Romans do.

The trouble with Italian style of course is that their winter style seems to involve wearing lots of fur. Consequently you'd get lynched if you tried that in the UK or USA.

hazlenut, you must do all the touristy things! I recommend a Sunday morning coffee at a cafe in the Piazza Navona. Just sit and watch and take it all in!

One thing I would like to suggest is to get to the Colosseum early as the queues build up very quickly and there is no shade. Also, if you are going to the Forum, join a guided tour. You find out soooo much more than if you just went around and looked at the ruins.

You MUST see the Vatican and St Peter's, no matter what your religious beliefs (or non-beliefs)

As for unusual, try this website http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187791-Activities-Rome_Lazio.html

Have fun!

We went to Sestri Levante for a week last year. It was the first time either of us had been to Italy.

Expecting similar attitudes as the French to our lack of language, I did my best to swot up on some Italian phrases, coupled with a translator on my pda.

Every time I tried to use my phrases, they were helping me out, second guessing me and producing what I wanted practically as soon as I finished my sentence. That of course was probably because they couldn't bear to hear me strangling their beautiful language.

We travelled to and fro along the coast by either ferry or train, both of which ran on time and were clean and cheap. Everyone was friendly and helpful.

As previous posters have pointed out the food and wine is wonderful, husband is a veggie and he found loads of things to eat.

The scenery was spectacular and the streets clean. The only complaint I can think of is the air conditioning could be better, but then we have virtually none in the UK, so even what little there was in our room was a bonus!

Coffee in the Piazza Navona? Caveat emptor! I was there at about eleven o' clock at night, and really needed the toilet, so decided to buy a café latté at one of the bars. Off to the toilet, *aahhh*, and back to find that two lattés cost us €15

Avoid the streetside cars with brown awnings selling food, ice-creams, whatever, especially if they're near or next to a major tourist spot. A measly ice-cream cone outside the Vatican can cost €4.

Incidentally, the super-expensive latté kept me awake all that night, on my last night in Rome. I lay awake thinking of a Guide entry I would write on all the things to do and especially *not* do in the Eternal City. Alas, laziness kicked in as soon as I returned home

It is expensive I will concur - I bought 4 cappucinos for €18 (about £3.15 each ) but how often do you get to do that? I wouldn't recommend you do it every day when you can go to a side street cafe and get 1 cappucino for €0.90c (about 60p). It's just like any big city tourist spot - you pays for the privilege of being there!!

The most surreal part of Rome is undoubtedly the gift shop on the roof of the Vatican. It's my abiding memory of the city; perfect for people with a sense of the absurd. You get there on the way to the top of the dome/cupola, when you emerge onto the roof between the domes. It's staffed by nuns, and has walls covered in crucifixes, trays full of rosary beads, and every other kind of religious merchandising you can imagine - postcards, icons, keyrings, hats, t-shirts, coins, statues... Am I the only one who finds its very existence hilarious?

Yeah, it's pretty silly. Stone Temple Pilots named an album after it. I bought a really great Beethoven's Greatest Hits CD there.