Disneylovin24 and Gracie1,
Perhaps it's time to re-title this thread? I was going to post a few things about Italy, but now Gracie1 is clearly steering this in the other direction, from Paris to London.
Oh, well. I'll throw in my two bits' worth no matter where the thread is going.
Disneylovin24, you were asking about dos and donts for Italy, as well as money.
First off, however, 3 days in Venice, 3 days in Florence and a day in Cinque Terre sounds lovely. Venice can be overrun by tourists, but since you will be staying three days, youll find that once the day-trippers leave back for mainland Italy around 5 pm or so, things get much more relaxed. Since youre going in April, youll miss Carnival (thatll be in mid-February next year), but youll still see the beautiful Carnival masks in small shops all over Venice.
A rehash of and embellishment on the dos and donts:
- yes, definitely sip a glass of wine at a café. Avoid St Marks square in Venice, since that is prime tourist destination, and the café prices show that. If you sit down at a café (and you should, if you want to watch the world go by), it will be somewhat more expensive then standing next to the bar, but thats up to you.
- as for that cappuccino, Italians for some reason never drink it except at breakfast. (Go figure.) However, Italians are used to tourists, and will of course serve you a cappuccino even later in the day if youre paying for it. (BTW, no one, I repeat no one, drinks cappuccionos with their meal; its for after the meal.)
- yes, try the gelato. Delicious.
- you mentioned that avoiding getting pickpocketed is a matter of not being stupid. Thats true, but only up to a point. Some of these pickpockets are professionals, and you cannot be alert at all times. For instance, a colleague tried to keep her bag tight against her body at all times, but once when she got off a crowded bus in Rome, she found that someone had simply slit the bottom of the bag open with a knife and grabbed a few things. (Your idea of a cross-the-body bag is a good one.)
- dont plan on an early dinner. Italians usually dont go out to eat until eight pm or so. Restaurants that are open earlier tend to be oriented towards the tourist market, and that may unfortunately show in the quality of the kitchen.
- how much will it cost? Since youre going on a tour, you presumably will have already paid for your travel and hotels. That basically leaves meals, the odd glass of wine and shopping. The price of meals can vary, just like anywhere else: a slice of pizza or a sandwich plus a drink can be had for five or six dollars or so. A plate of pasta and a glass of wine? Say about ten dollars. A bang-up two/three course dinner with a reasonable bottle of wine? Anywhere from thirty dollars up.
- The price of your hotel in Italy will generally include at least a continental breakfast (a few rolls plus coffee), but if youre lucky, it will be a modest buffet (rolls, some cold cuts and cheese, yoghurt, perhaps some fruit). That should keep you going until a light lunch. Throw in a cup of coffee during an afternoon break, the entrance fee to a museum or two, some postcards and stamps, plus the evening meal, and you should be able to get by easily on forty to fifty dollars a day. Use your credit card for the shopping: those beautiful Murano glasses, some fashionable leather gloves, perhaps a blouse or two
The prices of these are broadly comparable to the price of similar things in the U.S., but the quality is often superior.
- no one so far has mentioned tipping. Italian waiters would love for you to throw in an extra 15%, but Italians simply round up the sum by a euro or two (or three). (The bill already includes the coperto, and often also the servizio.) For good service, you might tip 10%, but you dont need to. Cab drivers usually dont get tipped, but a few euros for extra help with the baggage will be appreciated.
As for Gracie1,
First question, a week in Paris, or a split week with London or Rome thrown in. It's easy enough to find things to do for a week in Paris, but Paris is doable in three days. The Paris thread already listed the main spots. One day of commando-style touring can get you to many of the places, leaving time for shopping and time for just relaxing, watching the world go by. (I understand you aren't a museum person, so you presumably wouldn't be spending your time gawking at the Mona Lisa with the hordes of tourists.)
The same is true of Rome: if I was going for the first time, I would definitely prefer a week or more, but you can manage to see enough in two days to whet your appetite for a new trip. As a matter of fact, once when I attended a meeting there and found out that a colleague had never been to Rome, I took him on a grand walking tour that included the Vatican, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, the Forum Romanum, a couple of the main churches - plus lunch, all in five hours. (Now,
that is commando!
)
But both Paris and Rome in one week? Don't. What with the (at least) half-day necessary for going from one to the other, you would be trying to cram too much into too little time, and would lose the best part of two of the most beautiful, culturally richest cities in the world: just enjoying the atmosphere over a morning (!) cup of cappuccino.
Paris and London in one week? Well, Id almost say the same thing as for Paris and Rome. The difference is that the Eurostar train connection is fast (two and a half hours), and basically you can have breakfast in Paris, take the train from Gare du Nord and check in at your London hotel in plenty of time for lunch. The train only costs about 40 euros / 55 dollars, and drops you off at St Pancras station in the middle of London. With that small difference in mind, yes, you can do both in a week.
The downside? Id say there are three main worries to London: overdoing it, the crowds, and the price of London. Also London has more than enough to see in just a few days, and as Laurie31 said, the crowds in 2012 for the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee are going to be horrendous. You definitely have to book your hotels in advance, and you are going to be fighting the crowds coming and going. As for the prices, my experience is that the price even of a simple meal in London is considerably higher than in Paris and Rome and, sorry to have to say this, the quality isnt anywhere near the same!
Im assuming thats correct which is insane!
but it wasn't much to get there and it was less touristy.
