Anybody have advice for me about Rome?

Bubble envelopes protect them from getting crushed. I didn't have any issues with germination.

Wrightie sent me over here to post. We went to Rome at the end of Sept.
It was a really fun vacation. Exhausting but fun. We bought a couple of
Fodor's books (they actually had complimentary not overlapping information)
I read a book on Roman architecture recommended by Fodors - it was somewhat
beneficial but not necessary.

We made reservations for a tour of the Vatican and avoided the long lines.
We also reserved a time to see the Galleria Borghese and purchased an
Architecture Tours ticket. The former is required - can't get in without prior
reservation and the latter saved time waiting in lines to buy the tickets. All
these and more were available at www.selectitaly.com

(Did I tell you all this over in the vacations forum?)

We stayed right in the midst of Ancient Rome, right by the Imperial Forums.
It was beautiful. I loved the forum, the colloseum, the pantheon and the baths
of caracalla. My favorite museum was Campidolgio (its where Marcus Aurelius
statue was displayed until recently, right at the top of the hill above the forum).
The statues there are amazing. (Well the vatican museums were just too amazing
for words too. But somehow all the opulence there bothered me. Especially
St Peters. To each his own. These did have the most concentrated display of
ancient through renaissance art you'll ever find.)

We ate twice in the Jewish Ghetto. My favorite restaurant (not for the food but
for the ambience) was a place along the Cavours, the road from Termini Station
to our hotel. The head waiter (a woman) was hysterical. I always just got the
house wine and enjoyed it. DH loved the carbinaro pasta (I know that's not spelled
right - its pasta with eggs, bacon and butter. And did I mention he's skinny &
can eat that stuff all day!)

We walked and walked. OH - the flower/farmers market is wonderful. Its called
Campi de fiori and is pretty close to the center of the city. You have to go in the
morning to see all the activity.

I hope this helps. If there's anything you want to ask, don't be shy.

Edited to add: there's a place where they have a cat colony run. its in an ancient
market but the name escapes me right now. Its pretty cool - all these cats running
around the ruins. Down stairs there is a shelter of sorts though we didn't go there.

I'm gonna keep remembering tidbits so my apologies if this is just too much. We
saw escaped parots at the Villa Borghese. We met an interesting man there too.
Its a big park adjacent to the Galleria. The man was from an old roman family of
obvious means. He told us about his family and his business. And answered our
questions. We walked around the park with him for maybe 30min. He had some
sort of conference call at his office next to the park.

This message was edited Nov 18, 2007 5:24 PM

This message was edited Nov 18, 2007 5:26 PM

Thanks Tammy! neat stuff. I saw a show that mentioned the Jewish ghetto, my BIL is Jewish and we might want to see that.
Thanks wrightie for pushing Tammy over here!

I will second the fact that there is a major pickpocketing problem. And don't leave items in your hotel either. I suggest a deep handbag with lots of stuff in it, some of which makes noise, like extra keys and whatnot. Keep your valuables near the bottom. Make a photocopy of your key documents and any cards you are taking and leave it at home in case things go missing.

You must see the Catacombs.

I think many highlights of Rome itself have been mentioned, but if you have time, get over to Pompeii.

Purchase a nice handkerchief in advance. In some places you should have a head covering in religious spaces.

Don't fall for the "It's been blessed by the Pope" thing for religous souvenirs.

Avoid any tours where they take you to a specific place to eat lunch. Those end up at the worst touristy places.






This message was edited Nov 19, 2007 1:56 AM

We looked for places to eat that seemed to be full with locals. The
Romans do eat later in the day than I'm used to ... like 1pm for lunch
and after 7pm for dinner. Some restaurants open at 6pm for dinner.
(We had breakfast at the hotel included)

Tipping is a little lighter than here too - typically you round up a bit.
Like if the bill is 23 Euros, you'd leave 25.

The best book I bought was a little red book that had overlay transparency
pictures to show the current state of the ruins in the picture and then the
overlay showed what is thought to be the original state. The street
vendors sold it near the forum & colloseum.

Tam

I carry money, credit cards, passport and valuables in a passport holder necklace, tucked inside my blouse. That way, if a bag is stolen, at least I've got the essentials with me

And if for some reason you need to get at your main stash or your cards for a big purchase, duck into the bathroom and take out just what you need and put it into a pocket so that nobody sees what else you have on hand.

And rush out now and rent Roman Holiday before you go.

If you rent video or have a nearby library you should also check out the Rick Steves video of his tv show, just for reference. Some of the places he mentions get crushed from popularity, but the show is nice anyway.

And consider shipping stuff back to yourself to save trouble of carrying it, and the risk of things going missing from your bags.

This message was edited Nov 19, 2007 8:18 AM

This message was edited Nov 19, 2007 8:19 AM

This message was edited Nov 19, 2007 8:26 AM

This all sounds like excellent advice, and just the kind of practical info I was looking for. Can't thank you all enough!

Ditto above.... I traveled with a dozen people all over southern Europe. Bought nothing but this really cool little ginger-jar kinda looking thing in so. France in a town where all of their pottery clay is dug locally and has a certain coloration. Carried it through France, into Italy, up to Britain the last two days to meet DH and then fly out of Germany for home. He carried it home and broke it promptly, before he got to his plane.

So yeah, ship anything you want to take back!

Sally, I have no advice since I've never traveled across the Atlantic, but just had to chime in and let you know I'm so envious :) Sounds like a fabulous trip - has always been my dream to travel to England, maybe, just maybe, one of these days !

oh Pagancat, how disappointing. Bytheway, I still regret not buying a piece of local-clay pottery from NE Alabama when we were there. A pretty marbled orange and cream color. That's not as far as France...

I also suggest that if you see something you really want, or have some idea of a category of item that you want to bring home, that you check the net first.

Twenty years ago you always bought the item that you could never find at home. These days, that's rare. If you can, do a quick search at the hotel business center or a net cafe to see if you can find the item without the tourist markup online, and shipped to you at home. It's not the same as saying that you bought it on your trip, but for a large savings it's worth it, and then you can move on to something else that's harder to find. There was a French soap that I had hoarded and then realized I could restock easily from overseas sites.

And remember that you cannot lock your luggage these days. Once again (I know that I already said this), ship everything home that you can't carry personally onto the plane. Your hotel can probably help with this.

Another thing: since you have some time, learn a few basic phrases. Just what the standard greetings are in certain situations (entering a shop or restaurant, greeting a waiter, saying goodbye, etc). Even if you don't speak the language the effort makes a difference in how you are received. Go ahead and butcher a phrase, but try.

And definitely rent A Room with a View. Different city, but still worth it.

rcn- this will be my first time and I wouldn't be going if not for my sister and her hub, and my own hub 'conspiring' to treat me. I think I will feel very adventurous on the plane by myself, or scared~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

andi---hmm, that sounds smart- I was thinking I might buy myself a good leather handbag. but I would have no idea of quality by looking at it and price, I would be easily overcharged.
So you're saying, better not buy goodies and put them in checked luggage for home? they might walk?
Yes I will work on my basic phrases. going to look for a website while I'm thinking..

Nah, no reason be be askeered. If I can do it, so can you.

Some things that you can do to secure your luggage these days include packing a bunch of twist ties and using those to put through your zipper to secure it. Or you can purchase the one padlock that airport security endorses, and for which they hold the master key. I prefer the little zip ties that you can pick up at any hardware store. You have to cut through them in order to open your zippers. You could always reserve those for the return flight then cut through them on this side. And if they are open when your luggage comes off the carousel, then you KNOW that there may be a problem (albeit unlikely)....

Sally, you're stopping in Florence too, right? I understand they have excellent leather goods there, so unless you see something before getting there that you like, you might try looking for a handbag there.

Oh my. I'm jealous. Bring lots of $$$$!

allright- as of Wed around noon I am leaving MD and not coming back till I am sick of red wine, gelato and porchetta sandwiches, my feet are killing me and I can't stand the sight of another ancient structure and beautiful garden.




Been nice knowing you...LOL

I've been thinking that you're trip should be rolling around soon. Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. In bocca al lupo and buon viaggio! (Good luck and good trip).

Well... with that pledge, the only way your gonna come home is the
sore feet part. LOL

Enjoy!

Bon voyage! Have a wonderful and safe trip!

Have a wonderful time, Sally. Don't forget to visit all the wonderful gardens too. You can probably carry your wine glass with you on the tours. LOL

One request...would you bring me back a single male...check my trade list to see if there's something you're interested in. ^_^ Have a wonderful and safe trip!!!

Bon journo!

Have a wonderful trip Sally. I cant wait to hear stories and to see pics.

Ruby

Have a fabulous time, don't be afraid to go off the beaten path!!!

... and if I might add, heh, if you carry a Lonely Planet's Guide to Rome, you *shall* go off the beaten path and have the time of your life!

Have a blast, Sally! Think of me whilst sipping vino & tasting local olive oils...

Sally, Have a great time! Take lots of pictures, and enjoy.

gosh you guys are sweet! Yup, got my Lonely planet Rome and been highlighting~~~~~

I am so jealous. I am so jealous. We found the Rick Steves' books on Italy to be really useful, by the way.

have those plus Lonely planet. Steves has some free audioguides at his website. Need my17 yr son to fix up the iPod for me for the trip!
'open this, click this, click and drag that, open that,.....'

Go have a great time for us!

This message was edited Apr 22, 2008 9:56 AM

Sally: I love this forum: www.tripadvisor.com. If you have questions on the fly, post them and you should get quick feedback. Here is a link to the Rome forum on tripadvisor: http://rome-hotels.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g187791-i22-Rome_Lazio.html. I know it says "Rome Hotels" but it is a broad-based forum. We have used tripadvisor a lot, and it has really saved us!

Thanks happy
I'm cut pasting all the hints and will print tonight to take. mySis has laptop. I went to LaTarget to day and found a Panasonic camera clearanced- 60 bucks 7 Mega pixels. Now gotta find the cable as it came bare bones- still thought it was a deal. -

I bet it uses a standard USB cable. What a deal indeed!

phew- it has passed the hubby test the "you bought something technical without my advice and without searching the internet for the best deal" test
and we think we have a memory card from old camera---now if you were an old mem card, where would you hide in my house?

In the old camera or in the computer slot...that's where they'd be in MY house

Ha- the old camera had a fatal accident and then became an experimental subject involving violent methods of dissection.

AAAHHHHHH I'm listening to the soundtrack from Life Is Beautiful. Found it right there at the library- its a sign!

When do you leave?

Wednesday around 2 45 I fly from BWI to JFK to Rome "Sleep" on the plane and get there bright eyed and bushy tailed for coffee and cornetti

So you've still got over 12 hours. Piece of cake. Do you have inflatable pillows for the plane? Eye shades? Ipod? Slippers? And drink tons of water to deal with jet lag. Switch into Italy time as soon as you can.