I lived in Florence for four months and visited Rome in that time! I can definitely recommend some places to go and things to do. I would also offer a few tips for dressing/blending in, purely because Europeans as a whole tend to be more forgiving towards tourists who aren't typical "tourists". Is there anything you're already committed to seeing?
Oh! Lucky you! And haha. Yes, tips are good. I like to think we aren't the stereotypical 'crazy Americans' but we are Texans and can talk loud ;) As for things to see, the only definite things are the major tourist things that most folks want to see. We know the Ancient Rome sites, the Vatican area, Pompeii and some art museums in Florence. My mother and her friend prefer trying to organize some tours to take us around to some 'day trip' type things, as they don't really want to deal with catching trains and doing those all ourselves. We've about agreed to try to blend a bit of what they want with organized either hiring a driver to take us around Tuscany etc. with doing it ourselves for the things that wouldn't be too stressful such as Pompeii (as it seems pretty step by step on what to do to get there on your own). Otherwise, we're pretty open on just making the most of our time without breaking a bank and killing ourselves doing too much in a short time.
If you're interested in day trips, there's a beautiful place about an hour outside of Florence called San Gimignano, which is jokingly called 'the Manhattan of Tuscany' because it has a ton of skyscraper-like towers. Pisa is also very close (and you'll get to see another cool historic landmark!). You should absolutely get up early to visit the Mercato Centrale (they have a ton of dried fruit and nuts--a cheap snack that travels well); you can even have lunch there at a few of the stalls. The Mercato is also very closely located t the leather market, which is awesome and very inexpensive! Good place for durable and beautiful souvenirs
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Oops, too many characters!blahblahcakes64January 4 2015, 16:09:00 UTC
-If you sit down in a cafe, they charge you more (it's a service fee, since Europeans don't do tipping). If you're just stopping for a quick drink, be like an Italian and drink your espresso/cappuccino/caffelatte standing up at the counter. Like with the gelato, tourists can be overcharged for coffee--an espresso should really only be 1,50 or so. American drip coffee just doesn't exist there. An Americano is the closest thing to a black coffee. If your family tends to put in a lot of milk and sugar, just order them a caffelatte and put in one packet of sugar--that's as close as you're going to get
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Happyyyyyyy New Year, Inell!!! If anything I miss tamlane AND you too on LJ!
Oh you might be coming to Italy... let me check... yep, I still live here and I'm still Italian, so if you need any help with language/hotels/tips/translations/booking-some-quirk-hotel-where-nobody-speaks-English, etc, just ask! I love holidays and I love to organise holidays so for any curiosity, or suggestion, or problem you might encounter, just ask, you know how to contact me. *\o/* Pfft, by the way, you need to come to my ciiiity!
Oh my word! Don't talk to me about writing!! After smutty_claus I lost it. I am writing right now my entry for the Advent Prompt A Thon on hp_het_taboo (lightofdaye if you're reading this, I am writing something!! I just passed the 9,000 words, and I have no clue who's going to beta a story with rape and cross gen and underage, but I am writing something for the fest-that-finished-last-week... solemnly swear!)
Yeassssshhhhh!! Hugo (and Lily)! Hugo (and Lily)! Hugo (and Lily)! ;) xxx
I had my French friends coming to visit last summer, they travelled to Como, Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples, by car, though. But I've been to both Florence and Rome and I have a great-aunt living in Rome, and I got tons of info for my French friends, I'll forward you the email I wrote to them. :) Oh.. trains. Hehe, they can be tricky the first time you use them, but don't you worry there's nothing crazy like the trains that split up and the first three carriages go here and the last four go there (like they do in the UK!! I was freaking out the first time I got on a train like that all alone!). In Italy, you only need to validate tickets when there's no time or date on them - for more economic trains that stops in every station - but if you catch a train from Rome to Naples, you'll surely have a time and a date on it, so you just keep it with you and show it to someone when you're on the train. I can give you my mobile number and you can text me or call me in case you need instantaneous help, though. :3 So don't you worry
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That would be a lovely trip, I'm sure! I considered trying to get to Milan, but I don't know if it's feasible with time and budgets. I'm still in the info gathering stage. I do know there's probably not much chance of our renting a car, but I do plan to check prices and compare with hiring one etc. to see the differences. We started discussing it this early so we'll have time to see what money we need and make sure we don't miss anything. I'll definitely be happy to have "an inside contact" during planning and when we're there etc!
Knowing you, it'll go over 15k. LOL *hugs* I hope you get it finished, though, then maybe you can write Hugo next ;)
Oh! I missed that you got a job, I think? Congrats! Is it one you wanted? I think I'll probably be okay with the 3somes thing if I could choose a ship and general idea and just go with it. My original one dropped so the new one just hasn't given me a 100% 'this is it!' kind of idea yet. Almost too many possibilities, in a way.
It's nice to "see" you and I hope you had a great holiday time. <3
I don't think I've done an lj post mentioning it actually. I just randomly tell people. Lol. Yes its an SQL one I applied for, rather than one an employment agency had suggested out of the blue.
Oh your assignment has changed? That's annoying. Hope it works out for you!
I have had had a nice holiday thanks.Been seeing friends for the new year the last few days.
I hope it works out, too! I turn 40 in 2016, so I'm going to consider it a milestone birthday gift to myself to justify spending so much money >_> LOL
Yes, that's one of the biggest issues! When I was in the private office, I was able to write at work more often than not. Now that I've been moved, there are constantly people around, so I can't even sneak a few lines here and there. Then the muse is gone by the time I do have time to write. This new schedule will take away my Thurs/Fri which I had been using to write, too, so that's another reason I'm not sure how much I'll actually get done now
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Yeah, exactly! I mean, I could write out some quick porny thing without even trying most the time, but I'm at a point where I want to write things that maybe go beyond that whether it's a kink, relationship, or dynamic that I feel interested in exploring. Not that a quick porny thing isn't nice occasionally. LOL
I'm going to enjoy the 4 extra hours a week pay, definitely, but going from four days off to two days off just means having to change a lot of routines that already got set in place and reorganizing time etc. I'll deal with it, but it's just an inconvenience how often my schedule seems to change lately. :D
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Oh you might be coming to Italy... let me check... yep, I still live here and I'm still Italian, so if you need any help with language/hotels/tips/translations/booking-some-quirk-hotel-where-nobody-speaks-English, etc, just ask! I love holidays and I love to organise holidays so for any curiosity, or suggestion, or problem you might encounter, just ask, you know how to contact me. *\o/* Pfft, by the way, you need to come to my ciiiity!
Oh my word! Don't talk to me about writing!! After smutty_claus I lost it. I am writing right now my entry for the Advent Prompt A Thon on hp_het_taboo (lightofdaye if you're reading this, I am writing something!! I just passed the 9,000 words, and I have no clue who's going to beta a story with rape and cross gen and underage, but I am writing something for the fest-that-finished-last-week... solemnly swear!)
Yeassssshhhhh!! Hugo (and Lily)! Hugo (and Lily)! Hugo (and Lily)! ;) xxx
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Knowing you, it'll go over 15k. LOL *hugs* I hope you get it finished, though, then maybe you can write Hugo next ;)
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I'm going to have to balance writing my 3somes piece with starting a job this month! Eek!
Well its good that your happy with writing situation at least. Good luck with everything going forward!
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It's nice to "see" you and I hope you had a great holiday time. <3
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Oh your assignment has changed? That's annoying. Hope it works out for you!
I have had had a nice holiday thanks.Been seeing friends for the new year the last few days.
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Yes, that's one of the biggest issues! When I was in the private office, I was able to write at work more often than not. Now that I've been moved, there are constantly people around, so I can't even sneak a few lines here and there. Then the muse is gone by the time I do have time to write. This new schedule will take away my Thurs/Fri which I had been using to write, too, so that's another reason I'm not sure how much I'll actually get done now ( ... )
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I'm going to enjoy the 4 extra hours a week pay, definitely, but going from four days off to two days off just means having to change a lot of routines that already got set in place and reorganizing time etc. I'll deal with it, but it's just an inconvenience how often my schedule seems to change lately. :D
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