Saturday, August 27, 2016
Friday, August 5, 2016
44 Tips for Traveling in Italy
1. Plan and Pre-Book major sights and attractions whenever possible, especially if you are traveling in mid-March (spring break) or between May and July.
2. Don't use third party booking websites or companies.
Companies like TickItaly will charge you an arm and a leg for a reservation you could easily make on the official museum website (or officially sponsored website) yourself. Here is a list of official museum/gallery websites:
Vatican Museums
Roman Forum and Colosseum (combo ticket)
Borghese Gallery (Rome)
The David (Accademia, Florence)
Uffizi (Florence)
Last Supper (Milan)
Doge’s Palace (Venice)
St. Mark’s (Venice)
3. Avoid restaurants with pictures of the food.
4. Make the most of the high-speed train.
It is only takes an hour and a half to get from Florence to Rome or Florence to Venice, and only thirty minutes to get to Bologna! Plus the trains are comfortable and reliable. They are my preferred way to travel around Italy. You can purchase tickets online or through a local travel agent in Italy. If you are in Florence, the lovely staff at FlorenceForFun can help you get great discounts!
5. Don't let anyone help you put your luggage on the train or take it off.
This is a scam (mostly by gypsies) to force you to tip. If you are fine tipping, go for it, but be warned they are not the most upstanding characters.
6. Watch your bags as the train arrives and departs the station.
Just incase somebody tries to hop on and steal something at the last minute.
7. Be prepared to lug all of your luggage down cobblestone streets and up stairs (and on and off trains).
If your bag is too heavy or large to do this yourself, you need to rethink what you have packed! There are lots of streets and squares taxis can’t go down, so even if you cab it, you still might have another block or two to haul your stuff. Elevators can also be a rarity and you will often find random small sets of steps you have to navigate.
8. Bring a portable luggage scale, especially if you are traveling via discount European airlines.
They are serious about bag weight.
9. Get up early every once and a while.
Many cities, like Rome and Venice, have a completely different feel without the hoards of tourists. It is worth it to get an early start (especially in the hot summer) to get a different perspective of the city and to see many of the monuments not littered with people.
10. Always carry cash.
Most places will not let you use your debit or credit card for smaller purchases and restaurants don’t split bills.
11. Wear comfortable shoes.
12. Look up if your bank has any affiliations in Italy (i.e. Bank of America and BNL) to avoid service charges and fees.
13. Unlock your phone and pop in an Italian SIM card.
If you have an iPhone that is out of contract (i.e. over two years old) this is fairly easy to do and Italian SIMs are inexpensive.
14. Don't forget sunscreen.
15. Don't put cheese on seafood pasta.
Despite how delicious the cheese is here, Italians do not put it on everything.
16. Leave valuables at home.
Flashy jewelry says “rob me because I have money.”
17. Carry a copy of your passport instead of the original and leave the original locked in your room safe (or hidden in your room).
18. Separate your debit and credit cards.
In case you are pick-pocketed, it is best to separate your debit/credit cards. I never keep mine together, so that if the worst happens, I always have a fall-back card.
19. Exchange money via your debit card at the ATM.
This is the easiest way to get euros and ensures the best exchange rate.
20. Call your bank before leaving the country.
21. Bring a copy of your health insurance card.
22. Don't put your shoes or feet up on chairs or seats on the train.
This is considered rude.
23. Don't sign the petition against drugs!
It is a scam to get your email and then sell it.
24. Hold your wine glass by the stem.
The heat from your hand changes the character of the wine when you hold the glass.
25. Limit the amount of skin you show.
This is for practical reasons, like entering churches, and because in general Italians show less skin.
26. Bread is not served with oil and balsamic vinegar.
27. You have to call a taxi, you can’t flag them down.
28. Drink the house wine, it’s delicious and cheap.
Rome
29. Start at the Roman Forum instead of the Colosseum.
There is rarely a line at the Forum. Pick up or purchase your tickets there and when you are done, you can skip the line at the Colosseum, since you will already have your ticket.
30. Sneak into St. Peter's Basilica (Shhh!).
If you are not on a guided tour but want to visit the basilica without waiting in another 3 hour line, you can "sneak" in. There are two ways to exit the Sistine Chapel (the end of the Vatican Museum tour). If you take the door in the back right corner (if you back is to the Last Judgment) you will head straight to the church without exiting the complex. This is how all the guides do it, so just blend in and if anyone asks, say you’re on a tour.
31. Visit the Vatican Museum at night.
They now offer night tours, which can be reserved on the Vatican Museums’ website.
32. Skip the Vatican Museum line.
If you find yourself in Rome without a reservation for the Vatican Museums and facing the typical 3-hour line, don’t worry you can pay (double) to skip the line. Find a shady looking gentleman hawking tours and a “skip the line” pass. These companies reserve blocks of entrance times and then sell them for double. It stinks that you will have to pay double, but it is still better than wasting 3 hours of your day. If you don’t want the tour, tell them you just want to skip the line.
33. Eat as far away from major attractions as possible.
34. Drink the water.
The public drinking fountains throughout the city spew fresh spring water that is still brought to the city by the ancient aqueducts. The water is delicious, clean, and free!
35. The Roman Forum has zero shade, bring an umbrella or hat in the summer.
Florence
36. Opt for an aperitivo instead of dinner every once in a while.
Aperitivi are typically served from 7ish to 9ish. You pay for the drink, usually around 7 to 10 euros, and get to enjoy the complementary buffet. Trust me it is a ton of food. You get to try new Tuscan dishes and save money.
37. Walk everywhere.
Florence is small and the best way to see it is on foot.
38. Invest in the Florence Pass/Firenze Card.
You get to skip the line and save money.
39. Try new foods.
As gross as cow’s stomach and chicken livers sound, the Florentines consider them delicacies and they are delicious.
40. Climb the Duomo's cupola.
Venice
41. Get lost.
You will get lost so why not embrace it?
42. Spend the night.
So many tourists only come for the day and Venice is very eerie at night.
43. Take the Vaporetto down the Grand Canal (for a much cheaper tour).
44. One Venetian gondola seats six.
To save money, pack in as many as possible, since the price is per gondola not person.
44 Tips for Traveling in Italy was posted first here
Colorful Destinations Around the World
Whether it’s the white of the Taj Mahal or the blue of Bora-Bora’s waters, a specific hue can affect how we remember a place.
Lavender paints a field purple in Provence, France. The apex of the Dome of the Rock shrine glints gold in Jerusalem, Israel. The red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, jut into a boundless blue sky.
Color makes us stop short in our journeys, compelling us to linger, gawk, and—long after we’ve returned home—remember a destination.
Memory, in fact, works better in color. Psychologists in Europe studying the effects of color noted that we humans are significantly better at recalling color images because color tugs at the senses, creating a stronger connection to the parts of the brain that store and trigger memories.
But color doesn’t just affect your memory of a place. It can affect our mood while we’re looking at it. And that mood’s not just personally motivated; how a color makes us feel is connected to our cultural background. Here’s how certain colors can evoke reactions.
Red
Picture of a person covered in tomatoes at La Tomatina Festival, Spain
Photograph by Ander Gillenea, Bostok/Redux
Image Credit
The world’s largest food fight, dubbed La Tomatina, breaks out at 11 a.m. on the last Wednesday of August every year in Buñol, Spain. Tens of thousands of people and 110 metric tons of overripe tomatoes flood the streets in an every-man-for-himself-style melee for one single, all-out, red-dipped hour.
Crimson can excite. This exuberant color often signifies a festival, such as La Tomatina, which for an hour on the steamy last Wednesday of every August drenches the streets of Buñol, Spain, in 110 tons of vibrant red fruit. Also in Spain every spring, scarlet scarves denote the daring feats of the Pamplona bull runners.
White
Photograph by Jenni Holma, Getty Images
Image Credit
Sunset settles over Oia, Santorini, and a crisp white enclave of houses clinging to the hillside. Originally used to lessen the heat of the sun, then to meet official edict beginning in 1974, the whitewash has become a refreshing and welcoming signature style of the Greek island.
In some cultures, white calms. Think of those milky houses of Santorini stretching to the sun-dappled Aegean Sea. They have become such a unifying symbol for the Greek island that it’s been a law to paint houses white since 1974. They fit the Western association of white with cleanness and purity.
On the other hand, the glistening snowy marble of India’s Taj Mahal or Myanmar’s Hsinbyume Pagoda—both tributes to beloved wives—are reminders of the Eastern association of white with mourning.
Blue
Photograph by Frans Lanting, Getty Images
Image Credit
Two tones of brilliant blue waters lap gently at the barrier reef that circles Bora Bora and the green jut of Mount Otemanu. The extinct volcano, at 2,400 feet, beckons with hikes and 4x4 tours that offer unparalleled views of the lagoon and the darker surrounding sea.
A very saturated blue crosses most geographic boundaries as a favorite, says Stephen Palmer, a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley’s graduate school. He says he thinks the near-universal bond to all things blue is that “almost all of the things associated with saturated blue tend to be things people like: a clear sky, clean water, sapphires, lapis lazuli, forget-me-nots.”
Orange
Photograph by Tuul and Bruno Morandi, Alamy
Image Credit
Marigold-garland vendors ply their sunshine-hued wares—used as offerings to Hindu gods and to bring blessings on wedding celebrations—at the Mallik Ghat flower market in the shadow of Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, India. The bridge itself springs to life in a colorful parade beginning about 3 a.m. as up to 2,000 vendors carry the bright strings of yellowy-orange buds across to market.
India’s strand upon strand of orangey marigolds represent the sun and are used to worship Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi. An abundance of the flower at weddings heaps both brightness and prosperity upon the couple. The pumpkin hue also makes for a mesmerizing landscape of sand undulating endlessly across the Sahara in Morocco.
Rainbow
Photograph by Jaap Hart, Getty Images
Image Credit
Every April and May, Holland’s plains put on a coat of many colors—in this case, millions of blossoming tulips. Make your way to the Bollenstreek Route (also known as the Bloemen Route, or Flower Route) beginning at Haarlem and you can savor the rainbow for a full 25 miles south to Leiden.
Photograph by Jaap Hart, Getty Images
Often fleeting, like their namesake, rainbow colors can connote an outburst of celebration. The utter profusion of popping dust clouds of every imaginable color during India’s Holi festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil and symbolizes the arrival of spring—and the flirtatious ways of Krishna. Mimicking a rainbow dropped to the plains of Holland, multicolored rows of tulips herald each new spring.
Our reaction to a color isn’t exactly hardwired, says Palmer; it can change over the course of hours or even days. “The more consistently the color is associated with positive experiences, the more the person will tend to like the color,” he says.
In the end, then, an amazing travel experience can make us love one hue in particular. Which color from your travels do you love?
Colorful Destinations Around the World appeared first on http://www.nationalgeographic.com
Lavender paints a field purple in Provence, France. The apex of the Dome of the Rock shrine glints gold in Jerusalem, Israel. The red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, jut into a boundless blue sky.
Color makes us stop short in our journeys, compelling us to linger, gawk, and—long after we’ve returned home—remember a destination.
Memory, in fact, works better in color. Psychologists in Europe studying the effects of color noted that we humans are significantly better at recalling color images because color tugs at the senses, creating a stronger connection to the parts of the brain that store and trigger memories.
But color doesn’t just affect your memory of a place. It can affect our mood while we’re looking at it. And that mood’s not just personally motivated; how a color makes us feel is connected to our cultural background. Here’s how certain colors can evoke reactions.
Red
Photograph by Ander Gillenea, Bostok/Redux
Image Credit
The world’s largest food fight, dubbed La Tomatina, breaks out at 11 a.m. on the last Wednesday of August every year in Buñol, Spain. Tens of thousands of people and 110 metric tons of overripe tomatoes flood the streets in an every-man-for-himself-style melee for one single, all-out, red-dipped hour.
Crimson can excite. This exuberant color often signifies a festival, such as La Tomatina, which for an hour on the steamy last Wednesday of every August drenches the streets of Buñol, Spain, in 110 tons of vibrant red fruit. Also in Spain every spring, scarlet scarves denote the daring feats of the Pamplona bull runners.
White
Image Credit
Sunset settles over Oia, Santorini, and a crisp white enclave of houses clinging to the hillside. Originally used to lessen the heat of the sun, then to meet official edict beginning in 1974, the whitewash has become a refreshing and welcoming signature style of the Greek island.
In some cultures, white calms. Think of those milky houses of Santorini stretching to the sun-dappled Aegean Sea. They have become such a unifying symbol for the Greek island that it’s been a law to paint houses white since 1974. They fit the Western association of white with cleanness and purity.
On the other hand, the glistening snowy marble of India’s Taj Mahal or Myanmar’s Hsinbyume Pagoda—both tributes to beloved wives—are reminders of the Eastern association of white with mourning.
Blue
Image Credit
Two tones of brilliant blue waters lap gently at the barrier reef that circles Bora Bora and the green jut of Mount Otemanu. The extinct volcano, at 2,400 feet, beckons with hikes and 4x4 tours that offer unparalleled views of the lagoon and the darker surrounding sea.
A very saturated blue crosses most geographic boundaries as a favorite, says Stephen Palmer, a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley’s graduate school. He says he thinks the near-universal bond to all things blue is that “almost all of the things associated with saturated blue tend to be things people like: a clear sky, clean water, sapphires, lapis lazuli, forget-me-nots.”
Orange
Photograph by Tuul and Bruno Morandi, Alamy
Image Credit
Marigold-garland vendors ply their sunshine-hued wares—used as offerings to Hindu gods and to bring blessings on wedding celebrations—at the Mallik Ghat flower market in the shadow of Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, India. The bridge itself springs to life in a colorful parade beginning about 3 a.m. as up to 2,000 vendors carry the bright strings of yellowy-orange buds across to market.
India’s strand upon strand of orangey marigolds represent the sun and are used to worship Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi. An abundance of the flower at weddings heaps both brightness and prosperity upon the couple. The pumpkin hue also makes for a mesmerizing landscape of sand undulating endlessly across the Sahara in Morocco.
Rainbow
Image Credit
Every April and May, Holland’s plains put on a coat of many colors—in this case, millions of blossoming tulips. Make your way to the Bollenstreek Route (also known as the Bloemen Route, or Flower Route) beginning at Haarlem and you can savor the rainbow for a full 25 miles south to Leiden.
Photograph by Jaap Hart, Getty Images
Often fleeting, like their namesake, rainbow colors can connote an outburst of celebration. The utter profusion of popping dust clouds of every imaginable color during India’s Holi festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil and symbolizes the arrival of spring—and the flirtatious ways of Krishna. Mimicking a rainbow dropped to the plains of Holland, multicolored rows of tulips herald each new spring.
Our reaction to a color isn’t exactly hardwired, says Palmer; it can change over the course of hours or even days. “The more consistently the color is associated with positive experiences, the more the person will tend to like the color,” he says.
In the end, then, an amazing travel experience can make us love one hue in particular. Which color from your travels do you love?
Colorful Destinations Around the World appeared first on http://www.nationalgeographic.com
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