Italy Thoughts Part 3

Well, so much for good intentions on blogging. I've had a couple of busy weeks, and procrastination on the transcribing of my little lists on post-its has become my favorite pastime! (I've been carrying them around in my wallet, so I have the best intentions)

Reference Material

I spent several months trying to become as familiar as I could with Venice, Florence and Rome. Websites, books, TV travel shows (we programmed the ReplayTV to record any show with the word "Italy" in it), and the Sacramento Italian Cultural Society. In addition to the study of places, Cindy, Ryan and I made a very good choice in starting to learn the language. The incredibly friendly people became friendlier when they heard us speaking very bad Italian. (The magic phrase "sto imparando l'italiano" instantly creates a new Italian teacher for you.) I think having two beautiful children in tow tends to help on the friendly part too!

Anyway... Here is once again another list! I found these things to be extremely helpful in learning about Italy, learning the language, and just some good general travel tips.

Web stuff:

One Bag Website I am now a firm believer in packing extremely light. I mean really light. I thought that I did a really good job in packing for this trip, but actually, I still over packed! I ended up with an unworn pair of pants and pair of shorts. The "One Bag" website provides a great list to help prune the baggage.

In Italy Website A good one stop shopping place for places to stay, and things to do. Even if you don't book things here, it can give you some good ideas as to what is out there.

You can also take a peek at some of the stuff I bookmarked with del.icio.us. I tried to bookmark interesting sites.

The Rick Steves "Graffiti Wall" You have questions? They have probably been answered in this forum. If not, I think it is a pretty friendly community and have a help line forum in which you can ask questions.
Dead Tree Based Stuff:

The Eyewitness Travel Series of books:
Top 10 Venice
Florence
Rome
Italy

I really enjoy this series of books. Lots of information, maps (not the best for navigation, but good for giving a general overview of place) and great pictures.

The Rick Steves Italy Book

By combining the Steves books with the eyewitness series you pretty much have all of the bases covered. Rick Steves sets things up so you don't even have to think about preparing a custom itenirary. These iteniraries are totally touristy, but he does have many good tips.

Italy, Instructions for Use

An incredibly cool little book. Pocket sized and absolutely packed with all things Italy

Chow Venice (order an autographed copy from the author )

Food Lovers Guide to Florence

"Chow Venice" and "Food Lovers Guide to Florence" were invaluable. I studied both books quite a bit before we left, and picked Patrizia's brain a bit too. Dining out in both cities (and figuring out where to eat) was a breeze. I didn't really fully appreciate the whole "knowing which are the great restaurants" until we got to Rome. We lucked into eating at good restaurants in Rome, but ended up wandering around looking at different restaurants before deciding where to eat.

I'm going to stop here on this entry, so I can get it posted (It has been in my "edit" area for over a week!)

Next up, places to stay, eat and a couple of good recommendations for taxi service.