Kdubsisters: Italian Travel Tips and Tricks

(Take any of this advice with a grain(s) of salt. What do we know?!)

 

Luggage: 

We each pack one carry-on sized suitcase. For those who've backpacked, this seems too much; for those who are used to taking multiple bags, this seems too little for 10 days. For us, it's just right. You can wheel it around cobblestones, still lift it up the inevitable stairs at train stations and hotels, and, if you wear each pair of pants twice*, have otherwise fresh clothes to wear every day and room for a teeeeeny bit of shopping. 

Wear comfortable walking shoes. Hopefully this does not involve your neon clunky American running shoes but you know what, #youdoyou. Being able to walk 5, 10, even 15 miles a day is exhausting and comfort should rule over fashion. (I brought Nike "lifestyle" shoes and Alexis wore converse). 

Now, if you want to look more like an Italian (I will not say blend in like one because trust me, they know you're American) they seem to wear retro New Balances or really thin, sleek sneakers. The men all wear beautiful Italian leather shoes and skinny pants and would never be caught dead in a t-shirt. AND THEY ALL HAVE LONG HAIR. Not ponytail hair, but real Richard Gere-style locks. But I digress. 

*wear pants two days in a row in order to achieve the full (and often necessary) benefit of that stretched out fabric. 

 

Planned/Unplanned Activities:

We love a good walking tour. Sometimes we know in advance there's a tour we want to schedule and we've been lucky in several countries using viator.com. We also like to show up in a city and just hit-up the sites on our own time. 

If you're going to be in a city a few days, it's usually good to pre-schedule one activity, and preferably in the beginning. That way you can get a feel for the city, talk to the tour guide or other travelers and figure out what else you might want to explore there. Between us, we've taken food walking tours in several cities (Istanbul, Bogota, Florence) and always enjoyed seeing cities this way. You usually get a local tour guide who's happy to answer all kinds of city-related questions.

I also like to google the city we're in. First two things that usually come up are: the Wikipedia page and Trip Advisor's "Top 10 Things to do in X". Both are extremely helpful. Also, I search the city's name as a hashtag on Instagram and you can see where all the cool kids are checking-in. Granted, you do get a lot of Kim Kardashian lookalikes selfie-ing in front of a Duomo, but still. 

We visited none of the "major" museums in Italy. For some, this may seem crazy but for us, big museums are overwhelming, expensive, and crowded, all to catch a glimpse of the "David" statue. Plus, there's a really good replica just outside. We really enjoyed smaller museums, often attached to churches. Even those can be overwhelming because there's. just. so. much. important. stuff. Take in what you can and appreciate that everything is really really old and was/is really really important to a lot of people. 

 

Dining:

Pick a square/piazza in the city you're in, walk 3-4 blocks in any direction and you'll usually find good cheap(er) food. Bonus if menu is handwritten. Bonus bonus if it's only in Italian. 

We found the this most helpful in Rome where the city is massive. In smaller places, still try and stay a just a little away from the main tourist attraction. 

We also spent some time searching Yelp for good places...but we also got lost trying to find many of those places. 

All this being said, sometimes you're tired and hungry and someone's about to have a meltdown (no, I'm not writing a parenting blog) and you just want to find a place to sit the f down. That's ok too. 

Wine is usually cheap. You can order a glass but it's more economical (and more fun) to order a half liter. If you don't want to mess with the wine list, you can just order red or white and they will bring you the table (house) wine. In our experience, it was always quite good. 

"Apertivos" are a real thing here. People go out with their friends around happy hour time, order a drink, and linger over the many snacks that are brought to the table. Some snacks are small like nuts and chips but sometimes you get lucky and there are plates and plates of finger foods. 

There is no tap water in restaurants. You will always be asked if you want flat ('naturale') or sparkling ('frizzante'). You will pay for it. 

Get dessert. You won't regret it. 

 

Tipping: 

You do not tip in restaurants, or anywhere else for that matter. They don't expect it and you don't need to. Though, for restaraunts in tourist/high trafficked areas, you will pay a cover fee, sometimes called a bread fee. This is supposed to be posted but isn't always. It seems to range from €2-€5. This is annoying but you can't fight it (we tried, for you).  

  

Lodging:

European hotels are going to be way smaller than American ones. Even the fancy nice ones. The showers will be tiny, the shower heads will be detached and will spray all over the place, and you'll probably want to bring your own toiletries (does no one in Italy use conditioner?) But if your trip is good, you're probably not spending much time in the hotel. 

Some places we stayed had breakfast included, others did not. The breakfasts will usually be a buffet of meats and cheeses, cereals, yogurt, fruit in syrup, some sort of assorted pastries, and a one-touch espresso machine. It's an added benefit if it's included but we would never factor that into where we're staying. It's also really nice to find a cafe near your hotel and have croissants and coffees and people-watch. 

Staying connected:

We've never sprung for an international calling plan. In the old days it was calling-cards to Mom but today, we use wifi wherever we can get it. 

You can download the Skype app and for mere pennies, you can call anyone, anytime, in any country over wifi. 

Very easy instructions: land in Italy. Go to iPhone settings. Turn off cellular. Turn on wifi. Search for networks that are unlocked. Connect. 

All of our hotels had free wifi. Most restaraunts and cafes do, too. Those are usually password protected but as long as you're buying somethings they'll give it to you. (Ask them to write it down. My Italian alphabet wasn't up to speed and I couldn't understand when they would verbally spell it out.)

 

Transportation:

We lucked out and got a non-stop flight to Rome. As someone who hates to layover anywhere, I know this is not always possible. 

Before you show up to a new city, google map how far it is from the train station to your hotel. Sometimes it's walking distance (lucky!) and sometimes you need to take a cab. People don't seem to hail taxis, at least in the cities we were in, but there will be taxi stands outside major transportation hubs and hotels will always call one for you. Pay in cash. 

If you're taking a train, the departure board probably won't tell you which platform you're on until 5-10 minutes before departure. Get a feel for where the numbered platforms are so that when yours appears, you can hustle over there quickly. 

If there's a funicular, always take it. It's probably going somewhere you want to go. 

If you can climb to the top of something, do it. 

If you can walk somewhere, do it. 

Notes on Italian culture:

The bro culture is real strong here. Large groups of male friends, teenagers to older men, seem to go out to dinner together. I'm talking eight or ten men sitting at a long table drinking wine ordering multiple courses and having a rip-roaring time. 

So many Italian women have curly hair. Big, wild, rockin' it curls. I haven't seen this much curly hair since I was in Israel. Or maybe since I looked at the selfie album on my iPhone. I don't know if the Italian style/feminist media focuses on this issue like ours do, but it was refreshing. 

Most Italians speak some level of English. Chiusi was the only city we visited where we encountered non-English speakers, and that is a very small town. It's shockingly easy to get around and express what you want through limited shared words and a lot of hand gestures/improv. We found everyone to be SO NICE and very helpful. 

Italian Trains: misadventures, mishaps, and spontaneity

We rose early in order to catch our direct train to Rome. We planned to get from Siena to Rome by noon and spend the whole day wandering around (fine, eating). 

We made it to the Siena train station only to find out that our supposed 8:47 am train did not exist. Turns out we were looking at train times yesterday for Saturday, a totally different schedule than the limited Sunday train times. 

Pro-tip: don't travel in Italy on a Sunday. 

There are zero direct trains to Rome. We find one that leaves in about 90 minutes with an hour layover in Chuisi. Fine. 

Turns out Chuisi is a cute little town so we extend the layover and hang out for a bit. 

 

 

 

We took a tour of the cathedral museum as real church was happening, it being Sunday and all. We also took a tour of the Ettuscan caves under the church. 

 

€5 got us both into the museum and cave tour, which we were the only ones on. A really sweet old Italian man in a three piece suit was so excited to give us the tour but since we didn't speak Italian, a younger man offered to give it to us. Old man was sad. Young man also didn't speak English, but handed us photocopied sheets in plastic protectors printed in English of what we were seeing along the way. 

Just as we came out of the cave into the sunshine, church was getting out and our tour guide's friends all tried to talk to him/give him sh*t for leading cave tours on a Sunday, but he was very professional and just kept on walking with us. I admired that. 

 

 

Much of the town was closed up on a Sunday and the streets were very quiet. We found a little cafe open for lunch. 

 

 

 

We made to the train station for our 3pm train to Rome. We waited patiently, followed the signage, and got on the right train. 

 

[Boredom breeds #kdubsister photo shoot. Turns out when you're traveling with someone this long you start to pose the same]

Or so we thought.

A few stops in, a ticket collector comes by and looks quizzically at our tickets. "No no no. You're on the wrong train."

Turns out we were headed back the way we had come from, opposite direction of Rome. 

Not only did we have to wait two more stops to get off, we had to wait another hour for the right train and also pay the difference of the distance we had inadvertently traveled. 

What we thought was going to be a four hour journey this morning turned into a 12-hour all day adventure. 

 

But we had great weather. 

 

And we ate a lot of candy from train terminal stores. 

And we read books and napped and listened to loud Italians talk on their cell phones and clenched teeth through riders playing video games with the volume turned on...

(Anyone who knows me knows I truly despise uncontientous activities. You're playing a video game. As an adult. On a quiet train car. Why would you think everyone else wants to listen to that?! If you think I sat quietly in my seat because I'm in someone else's country and I should learn to keep my mouth shut, you are incorrect.)

Finally got into Rome where we encountered a crazy taxi line. No worries. Nothing could phase us now!

 

Ate one last decadent dinner before the diet starts tomorrow. Can you see the heart shaped pizza??!

EKW

San Gimignano- Perfecto

 We took day trip to San Gimignano, another amazing small town about an hour and 15 minutes by bus from Siena.  

 

 

 

We had lunch at a picturesque outdoor cafe, filled with potted flowers, lemon trees, big white umbrellas, and bottles of crisp, white Tuscan wine. At €8/bottle, why get just a glass?

 

Parmesan flan with pear jelly. 

 

Pasta carbonara with asparagus. 

 

Stopped for some "world famous gelato" (self proclaimed by the shop) but they have apparently won several gelato competitions...

 

Another day that was supposed to rain and another day where we had perfectly lovely sunny weather!

 

(Too cute not to share: this little girl was playing hide and seek with her siblings outside our lunch spot). 

Off to Rome tomorrow before we head home on Monday. 

-EKW

Siena-Pants Splitting Fun

Not naming names (it wasn't me) but our pasta habits are getting a little out of control....

 We arrived by train to Siena, a town in central Tuscany that is one of the most visited places in all of Italy. The main square, Piazza del Campo, is a Unesco World Heritage Site. 

 

Siena is made up of 17 contrade, or wards, each with a distinct mascot or animal to represent them. These were setup in the Middle Ages to send troops to the military efforts designed to defend Siena's independence form Florence. Each contrada is still civically active today, with residents giving money to their local community center and sponsoring a horse in the annual horse race in the square. 

 

We climbed to the top of a very high clock tower in the square, Torre del Mangia, built exactly as tall as the Duomo in order to demonstrate the state had the same power as the church. 

 

The 360 degree views from the top were just breathtaking, these pictures don't do them justice. 

 

 

 

Another day, another Duomo. 

Duomo actually means dome. Several Italian cities have these mega-churches, referred colloquially as "il duomo". The formal Italian term for a cathedral is "cattedrale"; a duomo may be either a present or formal cathedral (the latter always in a town that no longer has a bishop, nor therefor a cathedral). THANKS WIKIPEDIA. 

If you get to Siena, this duomo is pretty cool. 

 

We bought an "OPA Si Pass" which grants you entrance to the Duomo, the Crypt, Baptistery of San Giovani, the Baptismal Font, and the Museo dell' Opera. 

 

In an ideal world, one would study the important Italian art, architecture, and history before coming on the trip. You would buy a travel guide, pay your way onto English walking tours, buy every English audio guide with the dorky headphones and 1980's looking cell phone attachments. 

 

In our reality, we don't don't want to stress too much. There's so much going on when you're traveling in a foreign country (WHERE's THE BATHROOM? I'M HANGRY. ARE WE LOST?!) that you can only plan so much. So we show up to the sites, buy entrance occasionally, read any signage that happens to be translated into English, people watch, and take-in the extraordinary religious paintings, inconography, sculptures, and frescoes. 

Pro-tip: Sometimes we try and listen in on other English-led private tours. 

 

 

And sometimes we break for gelato. 

 

 

View from our hotel window. Go Team Siena!

 

For dinner we tried to go to a restaurant our friend Marilyn recommended (hi Marilyn!) but it was all booked. So we found Guidos, an unassuming storefront that was actually big and wine cellar like once you stepped inside. 

 

 

Pasta with Parmesan and pepper for Alexis, a Tuscan-style soup for me. My soup was very interesting and very delicious. It had little bits of al dente pasta with loads of vegetables, puréed chickpeas, and a hefty glug of olive oil and cracked pepper. 

 

Dessert was chocolate soufflé and tiramisu. 

Tomorrow we're off to San Gimignano. 

xoxo, EKW

p.s. From Alexis: "if you're putting in there I split my pants, tell them about your bird poop incident."

(S)He who controls the pen...

Chianti Country

We had a real nice lazy morning--woke up with the sun and had breakfast on our terrace. 

 

  

 

Our wine tour wasn't until later so we wandered around and came upon the Basilica of Santa Croce. It was completed in 1385 and is the principal Franciscan basilica in Florence. Galileo is buried here, as well as Michaelangelo. 

This is great example of a place to visit in a big city that's amazing but not the main tourist attraction. Everyone goes to the Duomo (including us) but it's so jam packed with long lines and you feel so rushed and annoyed. This place was busy but now crowded, far more interesting that the Duomo, had good sinage in English, and felt much more accessible. 

 

Next up: wine tour in the Chianti region. We boarded a bus with about 70 like-minded Americans (and two Canadians who I have learned DO NOT like to be called Americans) and drove about 30 minutes outside the city to our first vineyard, Tenuta del Palagio. 

(Note--In Orvieto when I heard two Canadians accidentally accused of being American by a Filipino tourist, one responded "We're Canadian. We are not responsible for Trump.")

 

They've been making wine here continuously for more than 200 years. 

 

We sampled several wines, in addition to olive oils and balsamic vinegars. We really want to bring home some of this amazing 20-year aged vinegar but all the bottles seem to be more than 3 ounces and #kdubsistersdontcheckluggage. 

 

Next up, we stopped at a small town called Greve where we grabbed a quick snack of little prosciutto sandwiches and gelato. 

 

Why yes, that is a vintage Fiat coming down the lane behind me. 

Next up, winery #2. Wish I could recall the name of it because it was really amazing, but I was kind of in a car-sickness death spiral after bumping along those windy Chianti hills in the back of a charter bus. It took me a while to recover and I had to hang outside for a bit as everyone started the wine tour. 

 

 

 

 

Next stop, the charming town of Castellina. No cars are allowed so we parked the bus and walked in. 

 

It was supposed to rain today (actually the whole time we were set to be in Florence) but we really have had the most amazing luck with weather. 

 

(You can't make this stuff up. It really looks just this adorable.)

(Not pictured: when I stopped into a "farmacia" to ask for ibuprofen for my headache, the pharmacist asked if I'd like some water to take it with. Assuming she was asking if I would like to purchase a bottle of water, I said "yes! How much?" And she just looked at me funny and poured me a cup of water. People are SO NICE here.)

We had about an hour bus ride back to Florence and arrived at 8pm. It was still light out and we headed back to the hotel and then ventured out to Ghibellina steet for a late night dinner (side note for DC friends: this is where the DC Ghibellina restaraunt gets its name.)

 

If you come to Florence, every restaraunt on Ghibellina street is pretty amazing. You can google and Yelp and research restaraunts to death but save yourself the trouble, find your way here, and just wander down the street until you find a place that's in your price range, doesn't have bright lighting, and most of the people are speaking Italian. 

 

Tonight we went to Il Teatre Restaurante Pizzeria. Started with a dish which translated to "big crouton with beans and black cabbage" but turned out to be amazing. My rule of thumb here is the odder is sounds, the better it probably is. It was a bean and braised kale crostini and definitely something I'll attemp to recreate at home.

Alexis skipped the appetizer all together and went for the pizza. She declared this the best pizza yet. And that's saying a lot. 

 I also enjoyed pasta e fagioli soup, which, humble looking by this iPhone photo was the best soup I have ever had. I have no hope of recreating this one but I hope to one day come back for it.

Oh, and those roses? Purchased from a flower vendor--the kind that usually accosts you while you're dining but since Alexis and I are two women together they assume we don't want to buy flowers for each other--by a large table of Italian men in their 40's and sent over to our table. EVERYONE IS SO NICE HERE. 

Tomorrow we're off to Siena. Please send tips as we literally have done zero research and I don't have an advance team. Or we'll just stumble our way through by the compass of our stomachs which has worked pretty well so far. 

Buonanotti, EKW