new thread
Hi all,
This is rather off-topic, but some of you guys here are probably much more well-travelled than I. I am planning/making a trip to Italy next month for a week. I've read up a good bit on this and that, but was just wondering if any of you might know some things to avoid or have some tips to make the trip more fun. I am flying into Rome and planning to drive up into Umbria where I will join an archaeological group already there. I will be staying in a monastery converted into a lodging establishment in a small village near Terni. I will also have some time in Rome and know what I want to visit there, but...
I am wondering:
Do many Italians know some/a little English? Do I need to try and learn some Italian beforehand to make things a little easier? At least enough of the language to show I'm trying and not the arrogant American?
Any particular foods to be sure and try?
On this I cannot get a good answer: Will an American cell phone work in Italy/Europe?
What's better: traveler's checks, credit cards, or good ol' greenbacks exchanged for Euros?
Are there any big differences in driving in Italy versus the U.S. once one knows the road signs and such? Are the autostrata relatively safe to drive on? (I had thought about taking trains or buses, but having a car will enable us to go around to various ancient sites that most tourists probably don't care too much about.) Yes, I know the gas (benzina) will be expensive!
Are there places to avoid that are dangerous, i.e. -- pickpockets, highwaymen, etc.? I guess I assume since there are lots of places NOT to be caught in around where I live, they occur in other places too...
What am I forgetting? Converters for electrical devices...
Thanks to anyone replies!
MB
I was in Italy for two weeks in 2006. I know no Italian other than names for food, like "spaghetti". What I found was that, in a pinch, I could speak Spanish and that would be understood just enough that communications could be made.
None of those. Just hit ATMs up for euros once you get there.
I had pickpockets try to steal my wallet on the subway in Rome. My wallet was in my front pocket so they tried to cut it out of my pants with a boxcutter or something similar. I immediately felt the air blow in through the hole, and the attempt also moved around the hairs on my leg, so I pulled away. It ruined a new pair of jeans though. They got the wallet of a guy who was with us who lives in Rome, so I fared better than one of the natives. What might have spared me is I do have hairy legs, and I do not wear underwear. A change in either situation might have caused me to not have felt the attempt.
Bill
That's reassuring to know. I thought about brushing up on French or Portuguese as a last resort, but then Italian is just really Modern Latin, so I figured it might be easier just to do a crash lesson in some essential Italian.
I'll be sure to get my bank to order me a new ATM card so it'll be sure to work there.
I normally prefer to wear underwear, so I guess I'll have to figure out something to use besides a wallet ;-).
It looks like you were having a good time, and thanks for the information!
MB
One of my cousins is a nun, she went to Rome for a global conference for her order. Several of the sisters, in full habits, had cameras, purses, even rosaries cut off them while walking down the street in a group. If nuns aren't safe just outside the Vatican, no one is safe anywhere.
Hints I've picked up from people traveling anywhere: Don't carry more cash/stuff than you can afford to lose that day. If you're a smoker, leave your It's better to just carry a few bucks/euros, and stop at an ATM as needed. There are socks and shoes with zipper pockets, you can put the hotel key, one credit card and some cash in there (Google +sock, +pocket). Another suggestion is to spread out where you carry your cash, cards, id, etc. -- a few small bills and the coins in your front pocket, but the bigger amounts better hidden and in different places.
Unless you're a fancy photographer, get the cheap, one use cameras, and each day start with a new camera. If it's stolen, left in a taxi, dropped in a puddle, you won't lose the previous days' pictures. If you want to use your fancy camera that uses cards/sticks (or even film), change the stick/film or download the pics at least at the end of the day. Again, so you only lose one day's pics if there's a misadventure.
I know it's a downer to think of bad events, but being prepared makes the trip more pleasant, the bad things become bumps, not major obstacles.
Have fun!
Well that is almost too much! Those bandits are gonna bust Hell wide open!
I think all these tips are good ideas and will keep them in mind. I'm certainly no photographer. I might just buy postcards instead or picture books. The idea of distributing cash and cards about one's person is astute as well. I just have this vision in my head from The Count of Monte Cristo when Albert Mondego gets kidnapped in Rome, but maybe it won't be as bad as all that.
Thanks!
Good tips from Bill. I'll add: find out if your bank here has a European branch. If you use those, you won't pay ATM charges. Bill is right, though, forget traveller's checks. Nobody wants to deal with them, including you. Get some Euros from your own bank on this side to have in your pocket when you hit Italy. I always have 100 euros on hand, and then, watch for your bank's Italian branch and ATM's.
Pick pockets are much worse in the south, Naples and surrounds, but as Bill notes, can happen anywhere. Trains and public transit in Italy is wonderful. Try to use it as much as possible, but that's also where to watch your wallet. A wallet connected to a chain that is connected to your belt is good.
Water. You will be there when it's HOT (yes, hotter than GA). Carry a bottle with you in Rome. You can fill up and safely drink from the public fountains anywhere you find them. Best, cold water you will ever drink. Don't do that south of Rome. Water not necessarily safe for public drinking. Sometimes you will be warned with a sign "agua non potibile".
Lots of Italians speak some English. Learn some Italian, though, and try to use it. They love to help you with your Italian and are delighted that you have tried. Pimsleur audio method is quick and useful. Get the basic intro for 30.00.
Have a great time. Take a digital camera if you can with a big memory chip. Take lots of pictures. Find gellato. Gellato is marvelous. Eat lots of gellato.
Bob
This is a good idea about using ATMs. I'm pretty sure First Redneck-Backwoods Bank and Trust of South West GA doesn't have branches in Italy though :-)
I won't be down in Campania/Napoli, so maybe there will be less theivery. I am debating still between train travel or car rental. I figure if I can drive in Atlanta, I can drive anywhere. But train travel might be cheaper and more fun. The places I need to get to are the major sites in Rome, in Umbria, the Trasimene Lake, Assisi, Perugia, maybe even go over into Etruria to a few of the Etruscan sites, Chiusi, etc. I would love to go to the Etruscan museum in Firenze, but that is too far away.
Do you really expect me to beleive that Italy is hotter than Georgia? HAHAHA! ;-) Perhaps it is, but I bet the humidity isn't as high! I guess that tufa rock gives the water a good flavor.
So you think I ought to try the gelato??? Thanks for all the tips!
MB
Hi Matt,
If you are going to try for Etruscan sites, there's one not far from Rome--Cerveteri (Italian name for the Etruscan city of Caere). It's the Etruscan Necropolis you want to see there. Simply outstanding, and you can walk in and around the tomba--finely carved tombs set into the ground with grassy roofs on top. Here's Frommer's blurb on it:
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/rome/0064020291.html
We got to Cerveteri by public transit--a bus and short train ride. There's also a museum in the town next to the Necropolis.
And, do check on your bank. You won't find your bank's name, but it may have an official relationship with a bank you'd never guess by name. Bank of America, for instance, is the Dutch Bank in Italy. Lots of those in Rome and northward.
Bob
I forgot to mention the cellphone thing. It's not necessarily a matter of the particular make and model working, but the carrier. It's like if your carrier is Sprint, if you are too far from a Sprint tower, you can't make a call even though you're standing under an AT&T tower.
I don't have personal experience, but a friend from Sweden told me his company had an agreement with a Spanish company, so he was able to send and recieve calls in Spain but the roaming charges were steep, not for idle chitchat. You may want to talk to your carrier, see if they have a reciprocal agreement with any carriers in Italy.
On the other hand, a friend visiting the US from Australia found it more to the point to get a prepaid TracFone to use during his stay here. Check to see if there's a similar company over there.
Thanks for the ideas. The Tracphone is probably the best shot.
It's a good idea to get a prepaid phone in Europe if you're going to be here for any length of time. Another option would be a prepaid SIM card and to use your own phone, which may or may not work, depending on how it's set up. Some phones will only work with SIMs from the service provider, so that would be worth looking into in advance.
A lot of it depends on where you'll be making calls to. If they're within Italy, you should just pay a local rate for your call. If people are calling you, you'll be charged for the diverted call from the States (as will they).
Prepaid phones can be expensive, so it's a question of economics. Will you pay more for the phone than you'd save on call charges? I'd say a prepaid SIM would be the best option if your phone will allow it.
Cellphones - the short version is no, US cellphones won't work in Europe. The waveband is different, which is a showstopper, as you won't be on the right frequency.
You can get dual-band phones that work in both places, but there's a further complication. All European cellphones work on the GSM system, so dual-band phones also use GSM, but there's only about a one in four chance that your US carrier uses GSM (Verizon is the major phone company that does, and some smaller resellers), whereas the rest use either PCS or CDMA, which aren't used in Europe, and AFAIK nobody makes a phone that does more than one modulation system.
Regardless, even if they did, the phone you already have won't work in Europe because it isn't dual band. If it was you would already know all about it, trust me. Your best bet is to buy a pay-as-you-go cellphone in a store when you get there. I know you can get these in the UK, although I'm not sure about Italy.
Electrical converters - power is 230 volt, 50 cycle in Europe, and 120 volt, 60 cycle in the US (these numbers are correct and up to date, and have changed slightly, although not really enough to matter, but just don't bother telling me that the voltages are 115 and 220, because they aren't anymore).
Some things even handle anything in the range 100-250 volts without an adapter, like my laptop does, but most US 120v stuff will go up in smoke when you apply 230v, and that's not the figure of speech you were hoping it was, so unless you want to burn down the hotel you need a voltage adapter. Radio shack have them, and I think the plug adapter is included.
Plugs and sockets (receptacles in US English) vary all over Europe. There is theoretically a European standard for plugs, but it's hardly used anywhere. The plug adapters that you get in the US are usually of the kind that can morph to work in a gazillion different countries, though.
Others have already covered the crime risk. Pickpockets are pretty common, but Italy specialises in bag theft perpetrated from moving motorcycles, so the threat is greatest if you carry a purse! You may not, but your SO might, and she should keep one hand on her purse all the time. For the same reasons, if you have a camera around your neck, you want it hanging on your chest, not your hip, or keep one hand on it all the time.
Wow, Alun, you know your stuff.
Thanks first of all about the cell phone information. It's not like I have to have one there, but you know how we've gotten so attached to them over the past few years. Never leave home without it.
Thanks the electrical information too. I am electrically illiterate anyway, so I will take your word on any of this! The only thing I would need to plug in anyway would be my computer if even take it at all. I would really hate to see it go up in smoke. I crosswired the cables on a car battery once and fried the ignition system, so I am especially wary of anything electrical to begin with.
Thanks for this information too. I imagine that a crook can make a good living preying on tourists.
I do tend to ramble on a bit, though, don't I?
I think the issue with cell phones is that as more people get them the pay phones gradually disappear. I recently took a trip home to the UK from the US, and I found that, just like here, there aren't so many pay phones as there used to be. I almost bought a cheap phone in WH Smith's (a major chain bookstore) because payphones are getting relatively scarce. Of course, you can always phone from the hotel, but I never did that in the past because they always overcharged.
Have a look at the charger for your laptop. IBM/Lenovo have chargers that run on both voltages without even switching anything over, and I think that is quite usual for laptops specifically (but do make sure, as it's better to be safe than sorry). Then you only need a plug adapter.