f13.net

Going to Italy.

Rome - Dec 1st - 7th or so.
Florence - Dec 7th - 12th.

Haven't been since 1998 when one dollar made me a millionaire.

Tell me what I can't miss.

Go.

Literally just got back. Spent the week in a farmhouse outside of Pisa. If you can make it outside of Florence, some of the best pizza I've ever had was in a little joint outside of the San Romano train station.

Rome is better in winter at least. Do the tourist things like the Coliseum, it's pretty awesome.

Florence... eh. Are you staying somewhere nice? The gardens are ok IIRC.

Edit: Also that is pretty much two weeks.

I meant to put 2 weeks. Anyway, yeah, we're staying somewhere nice.

Rome: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=70

Florence: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=43

If you're in Florence take a day trip to Siena and schedule to see some of the Palio museums. That's a cool town.

Actually, now that I'm less drunk and jet lagged, a few other places to visit if you've got the time.

There's a small hill town about an hour's drive from Florence called Certaldo Alto. In addition to just being a great example of medieval/renaissance Italian architecture; it was the home of Bocaccio, the man who inspired Dante Alighieri to write the Divine Comedy. Also in the old prison/town hall there's a fresco there that may have been done by Michelangelo, but is still waiting the rigamarole of Italian art bureaucracy to determine if it's real or not.

There's a cool Modigliani exhibit going on in Pisa until January. About three blocks from the museum where that's being held is a really good restaurant that served up some truly amazing food for really reasonable prices.

There's probably other shit I'm forgetting, but I'll add it here as I got through my photos and remember stuff.

This sounds like the time to light the Falconeer signal.

Since you're going to be in Rome, you really should meet up with Drew.  I have a feeling he knows all the good places to go for lunch.  I'd suggest visiting the pope, too, but I'm sure he's still pissed off at you for going Jewish.  Also, according to a friend, the restaurant "Aroma" is awesome.  It's on a rooftop and overlooks the Colosseum.  Go at night when they turn the lights on.  Best make a reservation now!  I regret not going to Italy the last time I was in Europe.  Half my family lives there.  Maybe next time....

Make sure to spend some time in the Uffizi gallery in Florence. Probably one of finest renaissance art collections I've ever seen.

Ostia Antica. It is a huge archeological site just outside Rome. An entire harbour town of Roman ruins. It is so large they can't be bothered to rope off millennia old baths and mosaics out at the far end of the site.

Find a tourist info office and buy a Roma Pass (it might not be called that). It acts as a ticket to the major tourist stuff but most importantly let's you skip the queues.

Bologna. Fuck Florence. The food is better in Bologna. Well don't fuck Florence, but do visit Bologna anyway.

Maybe San Gimignano as well?

Yes!

I found San Gimignano to be too artificially touristy and almost Disneylandish compared to the other towns I visited but YMMV.

There's some cool restaurants in Colle Di Val D'Elsa, plus it's a neat looking town. It's just south of Florence. Just see Tuscany. Tons of cools towns and places to eat and walk.

This is true of all the famous buildings. A night tour of the city is awesome.  The Vatican Museum is great. Wander the streets, get your wallet stolen at the forum, pay too much for a coliseum tour, eat some gelato.

Having been to Italy, I can assure you I will not be carrying my wallet.

I had no problem keeping my wallet in my front pocket.

I still don't understand how anybody can stand having their wallet in their back pocket.  Would drive me insane.  I've been using the front pocket since I started carrying one. 

Incidently, never had anything stolen from me, even though I've spent a lot of time being a tourist in places way sketchier than Rome.   :awesome_for_real:

As for the topic, can't really add more than has already been said.  I was in Rome about two months ago for a long weekend trip, so I just rushed around and saw all the major stuff.  Make sure you get ahold of Falc, he is in fact a cool dude.  Had a nice meet up with him for drinks, though I only told him last minute I was in Rome, so time was limited.

Yeah front pocket is very safe. They only time I've had anything stolen was when I left my eurail pass in my coat pocket and then left that coat on a chair in Brussels while I got quite drunk drinking about 35 different brands of beer.

I'd be wary if you have a camera though. But at least you're not going to Naples.

I'm gonna hog as much of Falconeer's time as possible. There's NOTHING like having a local to take you anywhere in any city.

I'm unusual in that Florence didn't grab me that much. I felt that everywhere I went I was listening to lawnmower-style motorcyles screaming around, and I found the smog annoying. The centre is nice to walk around. Paelos is right about the Uffizi museum. (But that place is the equivalent of the Eiffel Tower in Florence. Everybody goes there. Go early or you'll be in line for hours.) The evenings are nice - the whole town turns out and just walks around socializing. I'm guessing that's more a summer thing. Most of the artists there are named after Ninja Turtles. It was cool to see Michelangelo's David.

But I'm mainly with Paelos' other suggestion of getting into the countryside and visiting Tuscany. Absolutely beautiful. Siena is a good idea.

Florence to me is like Vegas in that I can only spend 72 hours there before it starts to drive me nuts. That's why whenever I go I stay in the smaller towns.

Italy is a bit too... Italy. Spend a few days in the cities but the real gems are in the country (anywhere north of Rome).

You're crazy far but try to grab a day or so near the Italian Alps, especially Lake Como, it's depressingly gorgeous.

The Vatican is the only thing really worth seeing in Rome, the rest is replica obelisks and scaffolds.

I had a rude waiter get annoyed at me in Florence because my partner and I wanted to sit down with drinks I just brought from him and had not discovered the joy of "cover charges" yet.

Funny, I just noticed this thread today. Proof that I only use 20% of f13's power.

Going to meet with the Schild tomorrow and I am gonna make sure he's properly fed. (Not so) Funny how we had the warmest November in Roma since 1782 (for real, apparently) and it started raining non stop the day he landed.

By the way, fuck this country. I wonder who between me and Schild will be hating it more by tomorrow night.

Try to have fun, you guys, despite Rome's best effort to thwart you!  Take pics! 

Lucas had an amazing idea for a picture to take. Too bad he won't make it to Roma. That would have been fun, even thought I don't think it would have been possible to take that shot without knocking Schild out first.

Be sure to share all the titty pics when you get back.

LOL  :drill: :grin:

Trip was awesome. Chilling with Falconeer was great. I'll miss black truffle pasta in Florence.

I really had a great time. Schild and his lovely wife are so cool. Needless to say, we all forgot to take pictures. Well, here's the secret subtly Lovecraftian place where we had the most amazing bruschette ever and almost bought a painting of a haunted child, although I am sure the Innsmouth people wouldn't have been happy with that. That's when they tried to poison Schild with motor oil coffee.




(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3584773/Calcata.jpg)

The coffee would put hair on your actual eyeballs.

Also, forget the creepy child. It's all about the fucking cat in an astronaut costume. was so pissed I didn't buy it.

No photos?!

 :heartbreak:

Yeah, I'm really kind of upset about that.  I really wanted to see pics of Schild in the Pope's back yard.  I bet there were papal ninjas stalking him the entire time.

Damnit, where the hell was that picture taken Falc?  Was that something close to Rome that I missed!?   Also, I LOVE bruschette.  :cry:

45 minutes from Rome. Falconeer drove us there and we didn't die. It was great.

Also, wife and I replicated the bruschetta here. It was trivial and fucking amazing - again.

Shame on us for the pictures, really. There was just too much talking and eating to be had. I was drunk with food and videogame talk that I've completely forgotten about you all. Sorry.

And yes Teleku, that place is very close to Roma and one of the best kept secrets around. Come back anytime, I'll drive you there too. And anyone else who doesn't mind hanging out with a bloody SJW.

And bruschette are without a doubt the easiest, healthiest and most divine food in existence.

Regarding the "divine" part (and only that, I fear :P), Tigelle and Gnocco Fritto are not bad either  :grin:

http://www.mangiandobene.com/2010/06/tigelle.html
http://www.italyum.com/specials/193-fried-dough-parcels-gnocco-fritto.html#.VJBt2iuG98E

That reminds me... this Sunday is pizzelle day!  Every year my sister and I set aside a day for my cousins, nephews and their family/girlfriend/whatever, my bi polar friend Christine and anyone else who wants to come and we make about 6 -8 batches of pizzelles, depending on how early everyone comes.  The region of Italy where my mom was born would do the same thing.  All the women and girls in the neighborhood would get together with their irons and the whole town would smell like cookies.  Now, they come here.  It's fun until some of them get drunk.  Believe me, no one should get drunk on anisette.  You will gain a ton of blubber and wake up in the morning crying.  Srsly.  Don't do it.

Starting tomorrow I start baking the rest of the stuff.  I make a bunch.  I do it because that's what I give my friends and family for xmas.  I feel lazy if I just give them junk I bought from a shop.

Even though I didn't get pics, I'm really thrilled that some of my favourite people on f13 had a blast together.  I'm pretty sure I'm leaving a letter to my sister to be opened on the event of my death inviting you all to my funeral.  Don't bring anisette. 

I had to look up what pizzelles were, and why they required irons. Apparently it's a waffle cookie. TIL.

I don't know why the liqueur is involved.

Italians only cook in the presence of alcohol?

I would say no. But anyway, keep in mind that Italy has been around for thousands of years but it hasn't been a unified country until 150 years ago (the USA are older than Italy®, as a sanctioned country). When it comes to traditions, it only takes you to travel 40 miles in any direction to leave a certain culture and step into another one with a completely different lore, dialect, habits and customs.

So while now Italians are just a globalized messy blob of shallow stupidity and sneaky roguery, when it comes to things of the past it doesn't make much sense to say "Italian", you gotta mention instead the specific cultural area or region. Signe tradition is "abruzzese" if I am not mistaken, and it's a big deal :)

Fun Fact:  The USA is actually one of the oldest countries in the world (with a few random countries/princiaplities up for debate based on interpretation).

As to missing out on the other place:
(http://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2013/12/3680655443_2a2fe42d2c_o/1c96f3844.png)



I am planning on doing a glutony tour of Northern Italy someday.  Roaming around and just eating what ever awesome thing each region makes.  Maybe I'll use one of my R&R's out of Freetown for that.

Yes, Teramo.  She was lucky.  She got to have a holiday by the sea and a holiday in the mountains every year.  Because, you know, Mussolini.  :)  What a nice man!