Thread: Trip to Italy

Just to confirm what Stubear said, do NOT eat in the Piazza Navona! You'll notice I said in my post to find restaurants in the surrounding streets, rather than in the square itself.

Originally Posted by dannywonderful

Just to confirm what Stubear said, do NOT eat in the Piazza Navona! You'll notice I said in my post to find restaurants in the surrounding streets, rather than in the square itself.

+1! Definately dont eat there, you'll pay through the nose for it and there are much better places down the little back streets!

Originally Posted by dannywonderful

I love Italy and Rome in particular. I swear if I moved to Italy I would weigh 300lbs within a year because the food is that good. Rome is like a living museum and although it gets crowded at the Trevi Fountain and you have to be careful of pickpockets etc. I'd still go to see it. It's so beautiful and you have to throw a coin so you'll return one day.

When you go to see The Colosseum you'll see the Forum just over the road, do that first because your ticket for the Palatino gets you into both venues ( Palatino and Colosseum ), but the queue for the forum is always shorter so you'll save time ( up to an hours time at the Colosseum ).

The Spanish Steps, Pantheon and Piazza Navona are best suited to late afternoon/early evening. I'd finish at the Piazza Navona as there are several fine restaurants in the surrounding streets. Don't forget to try the gellato.

The Vatican can take a day purely because of the queues. Plan on snacking rather than finding somewhere to eat near there, the restaurants in that area are overpriced and poor in comparison to the rest of the city. Make sure you take plenty of water with you, although if you see drinking fountains then feel free to drink as the water is fine.

One place I would tell everyone to try is Est! Est! Est! dei Fratelli Ricci which is the best pizzeria I have ever eaten in. It's mostly dark panelled wood and rustic furniture, but it has a great atmosphere with a very good house wine to go with the pizzas. It's at Via Genova 32 just off Republica.

No matter what restaurant you're in you'll find it's customary to order at least two courses, but don't sweat it too much, it's a cosmopolitan city and they're used to foreigners just ordering one course.

I've been to a few other places in Italy and enjoyed them all, but Rome has a particular pull for me. Have a great time.

+1 on Est! Est! Est! my wife and I had great pizza there. Try the olive ascolani (if that's how it's spelled) olives stuffed and wrapped in meat and fried in breadcrumbs.The Trevi fountain is best seen at night when it's easier to get near and is lit up.We spent our honeymoon there before going to Venice.We returned for our tenth anniversary to Rome.We love it so much.I know you'll love it too.Have a great time!

Oh and pictures please when you return so we can drool and day dream.

Bumping because somebody has returned from the motherland and I want to hear stories and see pictures!

Correct... I'm back from the motherland and I do have a ton of pictures. I'll post a few favorites here when I get a chance (I took over 500).

Thanks for the WB.