Anyone who has tried to cross a street in Italy knows that, sometimes, that means a serious risk to life or health. You’re not taking your life in your own hands, you’re putting your life in the hands of motorists who really don’t seem to care about you at all. How are you supposed to cope?
As this video demonstrates, your best bet is to just walk confidently across - at a cross walk - and have faith that the motorists will stop (or at least slow down) to let you by. In this case, as many others, it really is …
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If you’re looking for things to do in Rome, don’t miss the Roman Forum - you’ll find some history, visitor’s tips and how to make sense of the rubble right here.
Visiting the Roman Forum
The Roman Forum (Foro Romano in Italian) is a great sight to see in conjunction with the Roman Colosseum. This is true for two reasons - first, it helps give you a better overview of life in ancient Rome; and second, they’re right next door to one another. It is free to get in and wander around (Sadly, they introduced a whopping €11 entry fee in March 2008), but the jumble of rocks and half-columns might be confusing if you don’t have some sort of guide. A guide in this case isn’t necessarily a person - there are several options you can choose from to make sense of the ruins.
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Let this be a lesson to you - if you’re in Italy and you see a small group of people holding up giant signs that say “REGALO ABBRACCI” on one side and “FREE HUGS” on the other, take them up on the offer. For one thing, you could end up in a video and be (semi)famous. For another, who doesn’t love a hug?
They look like pretty good huggers to me.
You can check out the Regalo Abbracci project online and learn when “Free Hugs” day is, too.
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Lest you thought that crop circles were a uniquely American phenomenon, let this video be a lesson to you - it’s a look at some crop circles which turned up in an Ancona field recently. Unfortunately, the narrator stands too far away from the camera’s microphone for much of the video, meaning I can’t for the life of me figure out what he’s saying. And then for the parts where he’s near the microphone, I just haven’t taken the time to translate it. But I thought you’d want to know that the aliens are coming for the Italians, too….
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Not everyone who visits Italy is a foodie, but many of the people I talk to who are planning trips to Italy are hoping to eat well while there. They might not go as far as Naples to sample pizza or as far as Bologna to eat tortellini, but they’re still hoping to experience some of that world famous Italian cuisine.
Some of the people I’ve talked to have gone so far as to marvel aloud at how lucky people are to live, shop and eat in Italy. In fact, I’m one of those people. But it’s easy for those of us who only visit once in awhile (our wallets fat with holiday spending money) to wax poetic about the rustic outdoor markets we walk past and photograph, especially since we don’t have to worry about what things really cost.
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Americans are generally quite familiar with the idea of Happy Hour. It’s usually a great thing - you get huge portions of good food for pennies on the dollar, as long as you buy a drink. Which, after many an American workday, is a much needed thing anyway. Happy Hour is a fantastic way to stretch your dining dollar, but until recently it’s been completely unknown in Italy.
Nowadays you can find the odd bar, cafe or restaurant in Italy which has a Happy Hour menu, though they’re still comparatively rare. Elizabeth writes about one place in Rome that’s doing Happy Hour here, and notes that they’re not just doing what we might call “bar food,” but honest-to-goodness real food. She says that after 6:30 you can pay €10 and get a drink with a plate of food. It’s buffet style, and you can choose from pasta, rice salads, sandwiches, shrimp, etc. Elizabeth adds that there’s an important cultural difference between Italy and the United States which is honored in this Happy Hour menu - it’s not called “supper” for a reason:
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Anyone traveling to Naples right now should be warned - the streets are full of garbage.
While strikes are common in Italy, the garbage collectors have stopped taking away the garbage not because of a labor issue but because “they have nowhere to take it.” The Campania region has been dealing with a garbage crisis for years now, and clearly there’s no solution in sight. Residents of Naples have taken to burning the gigantic piles of garbage, which have been there since mid-May. So in addition to the awful stench throughout the city, …
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It’s the “What’s your favorite Italian museum” poll!
Italy is full of museums, and most people who have visited the country have a favorite - even if they’re not museum people generally. There’s just something about having fulfilled that lifelong dream of seeing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or the Birth of Venus in person that gives you all kinds of warm fuzzies inside. So what’s your favorite Italian museum? I’ve listed the biggest three here, but there are plenty more - so if your favorite isn’t listed here, please check the “Other” box and tell me which one it …
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If you’re looking for things to do in Rome, don’t miss the Roman Colosseum - you’ll find some history, visitor’s tips and how to avoid the long ticket lines right here.
Getting Into the Roman Colosseum & Getting Around the Long Lines
As I’m writing this, the entry fee for the Colosseum in Rome is €9 (there’s a discount if you’re under 18 or over 65, so don’t forget your ID), and during the busy summer tourist season the line to get inside can be agonizingly long. You have a few choices
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The weather in Italy has been pretty crazy lately - springtime weather in Winter, and summertime weather already in Spring. Anyone with travel plans to Italy this year has got to be thinking, “Good lord, what does that mean for the summer?” Well, I’d be concerned if I were you.
There is the very real possibility of droughts this summer in parts of Italy. There is an effort underway now to shore up the water supply, but it might be a case of too little too late - or just not enough water to save any in the first place. A public awareness campaign will help draw Italians’ attention to the need to conserve water, but most tourists won’t see (or won’t understand) those warnings. My hope is that hotels and hostels will make their guests aware that there is a water crisis in the country and they need to do their part.
If you’ve got summer travel plans to Italy, here are some things to keep in mind:
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