[alfa] Re: Back from a Wonderful Vacation in Italy

[C2slayman@xxxxxxx]

Hi Joe,
    Yes.  Fred is definitely missed.  And never to be replaced.  But always 
remembered.  Sounds like you have the right idea for a vacation next summer.  
Here are a few things I learned that might be helpful:

1) Try to travel out of peak season.  It's easier to find reservations and 
prices can drop quite a bit.  Right now the Euro/dollar exchange rate is not in 
our (US) favor... roughly $1.30 per Euro.  With kids, that might be difficult 
due to school season.  But do your best to avoid July and August if you can.

2)  We found the train system and walking the best form of transportation in 
the cities (Milano, Firenze and Venezia).  Having a car there would be a real 
headache - both for parking and driving.  Navagating in city traffic is not 
for the faint of heart (traffic as well as signage).  But walking is easy and 
the historic areas of interest are generally only a mile or two across.  

3) But in the Tuscan countryside, driving was wonderful.  The roads were good 
and you really need one to get from town to town.  So think about arranging 
your trip so you can do one half by train and then the other half by car.  Some 
friends we know actually rented a house in the Tuscan countryside and then 
would drive to the various cities.  This is possible since distances aren't like 
they are in the US.  But I found it best to stay in the city and not have a 
car.  If we did the trip over again, I would rent a car from Milano and drive 
through the countryside for the first part.  That would make visiting Arese and 
Maranello pretty simple.  Then I would turn the car in at Verona and take the 
train to Venezia, Firenze and finish in Cinque Terre.  That would be a 
fantastic way to unwind.  Then a train back to Milano for the return home.

4)  We decided to concentrate in Northern Italy and skip Rome.  That way we 
could spend a little more time in each spot.  You have to stay in each of the 
cities at least three nights to really settle in and get a "lay of the land."  
So we will have to go back and see Rome on another trip.

5)  If you want to see the museums, book them in advance in the US.  There is 
a small service fee charged, but you get in right away!  There were long 
lines in Firenze all over the place.  It's a waste of your vacation money to stand 
in line for an hour or two doing nothing for each museum you go to.

6)  Spend your time casually eating, walking, sightseeing.  Don't rush 
things.  It is not the Italian style.  There was only one restaurant that brought us 
the check before we asked for it.  At all other restaurants and cafes, it was 
expected that we would take our time and relax after eating the meal.  It 
would be considered rude to bring us the check before we asked for it.  I found 
that wonderful and completely opposite US dining culture.

7)  Practice a little Italian speaking.  The Italians are pretty proficient 
with English, but they are so much more helpful and friendly if you make the 
effort to communicate with them. 

Good Luck!
Charlie

In a message dated 8/10/2004 8:14:51 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
owner-alfa-digest@domain.elided writes:
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 06:19:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joe Garcia <lacorsanostra@domain.elided>
Subject: Re: [alfa] Back from a Wonderful Vacation in Italy


It would be great if someone picked up where the late,
great Fred took off in this regard (it'd take the
whole executive board, a bunch of the service
directory listees and half the chapter presidents to
pick up everything Fred left).

We have been jonesing for such a vacation forever and
it is very possible we'll go next summer when our
youngest will be 6 and very likely the summer after
THAT when he'll be 7. I'd like to do more than the
Venezia-Roma-Firenze triangle. Say, maybe rerun bits
of the Mille Miglia, stop in Arese, stop in San
Gimignano (and visit Aldo Bigazzi's shop*) and maybe
Maranello/Modena.

Any thoughts?

- -Joe in SoFla

* If anyone would like to visit his shop--home of
Scuderia Bigazzi, where the assorted works Alfa 156s
are prepared--contact me offlist to arrange a letter
of introduction.
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided