Italy honeymoon!

[alli_esq]

Okay, everyone--I know I''m crazy, since I have like nothing done, but I figure I could get some good advice from the well-traveled PSers on here...

FH and I are leaving for our Italian honeymoon one week from today, and all I know is that we''re spending:

5 nights in Rome
3 nights in Sorrento (though I think we want to take one day trip to Capri)
4 nights in Florence
2 nights in Venice

We have the hotels and train transfers booked, but that''s all. We are getting tickets to a soccer match in Rome, and I plan on booking a trip to the Uffizi in Florence (soon--I know they book up!), but other than that--we''re just planning on exploring in general.

If you had to choose only one sight to see in each of these cities, what would you recommend? We''re on a budget, so I expect to do a lot of walking around, just appreciating the culture (neither FI nor I have really left the US before this--I went to London once in high school for about 3 days, but I barely count that).

Thank you all in advance!

 

[doodle]

DH and I honeymooned with Insight Vacations in Italy, so a good bit of our stuff was already planned out. One day while we were in Florence, I wasn''t feeling well so rather than going on the planned outing with the group, the hubs and I did some roaming on our own and stumbled into this little tiny church, Chiesa di Ognissanti. Out of all the churches we saw in Italy (including the Vatican, St. Marks, and the Duomo in Milan), this one was my favorite. It was totally empty, totally beautiful, and something about it was just...moving. Maybe because it felt like a spiritual place and not just another tourist site (and I''m not exactly religious either, but it just got to me). The Uffizi is amazing, and I''m eternally grateful to Insight Vacations for our experience there because we got to bypass the line, and when we came out several hours later, the line had barely moved (Italy in October is still PACKED with tourists!). St. Mark''s Square at night is an absolute MUST--so gorgeous, and since there aren''t nearly as many people, you can appreciate it more. The Pantheon at night is also really cool, and our tour guide told us that in her opinion, the best time for the Pantheon is when it''s raining because it looks really cool and very few people show up; we didn''t get to do this, but if you wind up with a rainy day, that may be something worth remembering. We took a day ride and a night ride down the Grand Canal, which was also fun (although I enjoyed the night ride more since it was on a bigger boat than the gondola we were on during the day--gondolas scare the CRAP out of me, haha). We also made a pitstop in Verona while traveling from one city to the next, and Verona was really pretty, although there were more Gypsies, so I felt I had to guard my belongings there more. A tip, too--take a REALLY good camera. A good bit of the must sees in Italy are dimly lit, so if your camera doesn''t have stellar shutter speed, you wind up with a lot of blurry pictures, which is disappointing. I wish I had known beforehand that my Nikon coolpix just wasn''t gonna cut it! I also recommend a purse with a strap long enough to cross your body so you can keep it in front of you (with your hand on it--I actually saw a thief snip a woman''s purse strap and was gone before anyone had a chance to warn her!) or a travel bag designed to be worn under clothing for limited access to thieves. As long as you pay attention to what''s going on around you, you''re good. You''re going to have such an amazing time! It''s so beautiful, and there''s so much to see over there that you really can''t go wrong.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

I have been to Venice and Rome. Venice top choice would obviously be St. Mark''s Square. Buy some corn and feed a bajillion pigeons. Don''t go on a gondola ride without negotiating the price first. If they say something that seems like too much, just say "no thanks" and start to walk away. They''ll lower their price. Make sure you find a nice little nook somewhere and just enjoy each other''s company. There are little back alleyways with the canal running through them that are perfect to get away from the crowds. Don''t get lost! Haha. I think I got lost constantly when I was there.

In Rome, it looks like you have a few extra days. Are you planning on seeing the Sistine Chapel? Go EARLY. Lines form early and get really, really long. I would try to make it to the trevi fountain at night. It''s just gorgeous. I found that cheap little sidewalk cafes have food that''s just as good as more expensive fancy restaurants. You''re in Italy, the food will be fantastic wherever you go.

Sorry for the rambling post. I''ve never been to Florence. I want to say that I hit Sorrento on a cruise over 10 years ago, but I''m not 100% sure so I don''t have anything to recommend. Take lots of pictures and have fun! Italy is sooooo romantic!

 

[doodle]

DON''T FEED THE PIGEONS IN ST. MARK''S SQUARE! I don''t know if they''ve changed this since I was there in October of last year, but when we were there, we were told by law enforcement that since all the pigeon poo erodes the buildings, they''re trying to get rid of them, so they will fine the hell out of you now for feeding them. Again, they may have given up on it since pigeons are stupid and stubborn, and with that many tourists they can always find something to munch on so they''re pretty hard to get rid of, but if that''s still ongoing, I didn''t want you getting fined!

I most def second TG about Trevi at night, too. A good rule of thumb--anything pretty is pretty at night, too, haha! A quote that has always stuck with me--before going on our honeymoon, I asked a former professor about our trip since he had taught there for a number of years with the study abroad programs, and he said, "If I can make you remember one thing, remember this: Being lost in Venice is better than being found anywhere else in the whole world." Tis true!

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Oh no! I''m sorry if I''m encouraging feeding pigeons if it''s now frowned upon! When I was there they were encouraging feeding the pigeons. They said the corn they sold was "enhanced" with something to make the pigeons sterile so they''d stop reproducing. Maybe there are just a bunch of pigeon urban legends out there!

Doodle, I like your quote from your professor! It is true!

 

[cara]

I''ve been to Rome, Florence and Venice and you will have an awesome time . Buy at least one Italy travel book to start looking through for things to do that you like in each place, and one small little Italian language book for pocket reference, unless one of you speak Italian. The Italians are nice and helpful and mostly love Americans, so don''t worry about mauling their lovely language. Plus its one of the easy ones, like Spanish.

In Rome there is also the Vatican, which is supposedly amazing. We didn''t make it there, but walked around the pantheon, ampitheatre, and downtown ruins in the blazing heat. Lots of old old stuff to see - and it is completely amazing what they had figured out some 2500 years ago and that we humans forgot and had to refigure out in the last couple hundred years. Be sure to eat gelato and pizza!

In Florence there are tons of churches (I think my favorite was the Fransiscan one with a Medici chapel in back?) and other things to see, and there a nice hill you can walk up on the other side of the river from the main one. That was worth it, as was walking up to see the view from Brunelleschi''s dome - though when I was trapped in the effective crawlspace in an endless tourist line I was a bit doubtful. David the statue was really impressive - I wasn''t prepared for it to be so big! Italians love to promenade - go out for a walk in the evening - and its a lovely tradition! Oh, and the bread in Florence has no salt. Its definitely a little weird and dry to people from the rest of the world.

You might consider a day trip to one of the smaller medieval walled towns like Sienna, Montalcino or San Grimignano. They are like frozen time capsules.

One thing is that there are lots of places to go that have a modest entry fee but it does add up. There are many lovely churches and museums that are nice to pop into but you don''t really want to spend half a day there so it was really easy to rack up like $30 of entry fees per person each day. Also we ended up buying English audio tours at a lot of places - again its often $5 but then you get a lot more out of your visit and have a clue about what you looking at. In the US I''m not a big museum or art or church person but somehow I just loved it all in Italy! We are just such a new country relatively and many of our buildings were made in less grand modern times.

Oh, and maybe bring a purse to wear Italian style - long strap worn across your body with the bag in front at your hip. Safer that way, though they do have the theives that will somehow confuse you and cut the straps quickly and run off. We also brought a small messenger bag with reinforced strap as a day bag - that was a lifesaver as backpacks aren''t secure and I could trade off carrying it with my hubby and leave my ladies'' purse in the hotel. When we were in crowds that seemed possibly dangerous we tried so have the bag physically sandwiched between us.

 

[doodle]

The church Cara is referring to *I think* is Santa Croce (and the Medici chapel is Pazzi Chapel). And yeah, the Vatican was friggin'' awesome, but I don''t know how the heck people can stand the wait to get in! We got to bypass the line there, too, with our travel group (they had an arrangement with them, so we actually got in an hour before it opened to the public). The Coliseum was cool, too.

 

[shertz1981]

A couple things I''d recommend for Rome and Florence:

Rome -- book a day trip to Ostia, which is this amazing ruin of a whole ancient Roman city. I also really liked the Roman baths and the Catacombs.

Florence -- The Bargello is my favorite museum int he whole wide world. It''s even better than the Uffizi if you like sculpture and historical artifacts -- and part of the sculpture exhibit is outside. It''s in a CASTLE. There''s also a glove place called Madova (spelling?) at the far end of the Ponte Vecchio -- they''ll make you any kind of glove you want.

Also, the Baptistery is super cool -- it''s only open at specific times, though. It''s right by the Duomo

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

I''d xmay the trip to Capri and do a day trip to Positano... Much more romantic!

 

[ladypirate]

I would recommend a day trip to the Cinque Terra from Firenze--it''s a couple of hours by train and such a neat place!

 

[doodle]

LP, looooooove the Cinque Terre!!!!!!!

 

[nkarma]

I wouldn't worry about booking the Uffizzi because I doubt they book up during November.

In Sorrento, I would take a day trip to Pompeii. I think it's an hour or less train ride. If you both are into historical sites, it is probably the one I have enjoyed the most. Being anywhere in Italy, you will definitely get your fill of beautifil architecture, artwork, and churches.

Also eat a lot of the food. I would go to Italy just purely because of the food. Try to avoid restaurants near major sites. If you walk a few blocks away, you will likely get something tastier and probably cheaper.

 

[luvbug]

I agree with ilovethiswebsite, and trading Capri for somewhere else on the coast. It is really beautiful, but in November most of the restaurants and everything else will be closed.
DH''s parents are from the coast and live there 1/2 the year. If you''re feeling brave take a car (or bus) up the coast and visit Positano (as ilovethiswebsite recommended) or Ravello is gorgeous. I''m partial to Amalfi for the huge catherdral.

Agree agree with the others that the Trevi fountain and Pantheon are musts. One of my favorite sites is the Moses statue at San Pietro in Vincoli. The Vatican is totally worth it IMO but will take up most of one day.

St.Marks is amazing and the gondola rides are a little pricey but so cool and romantic! I liked just walking around Venice, and the shops and market at the Rialto are fun.

Florence! one of my favorite places in the world. If I could only do one thing it would definitely be the David. If I could do two, climb to the top of the Duomo. The view from the top is breathtaking!!

Have an awesome time! I think Italy is best enjoyed leisurely with lots of strolling around and of course eating!! You need gelato at least once a day

 

[Dreamgirl]

Oh my goodness I''m jealous!!! I want to see Italy so bad. I''m sure you will have a blast!!