re: Credit Card Rewards and Points Discussion

I know it's hard for an American to understand but really, you DO NOT need to tip at all. Italians are paid a fair wage for what they do and nothing changes if they don't get a tip. They do not get offended if there's no tip.

If you are Catholic, or want something a bit different than the usual Vatican experience book a tour of the Necropolis underneath. It contains old Roman tombs/mausoleums/St Peter's tomb and is pretty neat. You don't get to pick your day, but the tour is worth it (only about 12 or so allowed at a time, and they group you by language).

We went over Christmas and had a great time in Florence and Rome.

Recommendations:
Florence:
-Madova gloves, right across the ponte vecchio
-Bus ride to Fiesole for the view, lunch at La Reggia Degli Etruschi (reserve ahead of time and ask for a window table, great views of Florence)
-Palazzo Pitti was free for us on Sunday, I've read different reviews saying it wasn't but it might be worth looking into (less crowds)
-I'd avoid the leather market, just my .02
-Eat lunch at the Mercato Centrale

Rome:
-Besides previously mentioned Scavi tour check out St. Paul beyond the walls. The apostle's tomb and the portraits of all of the popes along the walls are worth seeing

-Restaurant La Tavernaccia, great dinner or lunch spot, across the dinner from testaccio. Traditional food. Get reservations.

-Restaurant Rosicolo, located near campo de' fiori. There is a bakery/to go pizza place operated by them 50m away which is also very good. Get reservations ahead of time. More trendy, but excellent food.

-Restaurant Sorpasso, great food and great atmosphere. Location is just north of Vatican. Get reservations as well, especially if you are looking to eat at the Italian dinner time of 8:30-9:00 PM.

-Coffee at Tazza d'oro, I've only been in the off season for tourism (Nov and January), and I've heard it is overrun with people in the summer. Great spot for cornetto and cappuccino in the morning.

Depending on what cards you have concierge service can be a real help. The AMEX concierge was invaluable booking things for me since many restaurants in Italy will only take reservations over the phone, and around holiday periods their hours can be spotty at best.

May rent a car for the entire trip. Trains would price out to be ~$150 per person. Since we're 5, would be around $750-$800. Car would give us flexibility. Thoughts?

We would mainly use the car to drive in between cities. In bigger cities like Rome/Florence etc, we'd probably use public transport/taxis

Rome has Uber now as well, which comes in handy when you don't have cash or aren't to sure you can give directions in Italian.

A warning about taxis, most hate credit cards and some will drive without running the meter and make up a price they feel is right.

quote:

---

The easiest way to see David is to do a walking tour that includes the Accademia Gallery. I'd also suggest a tour of the Uffizi Gallery if you have any interest in art. Those are the big two. The tours will allow you to skip the lines.

---

Checking directly on Academia and Uffizi sites and they are booked for their guided tours on the days we're looking at being there. I did find another site called Viator and it's $165 for 2 tix to both places. $195 if we want lunch included or we could just go on our own. Anyway, I should probably book this soon as even this site has the dates almost booked up. Do you recall the name of the one you used?

I'd book it sooner rather than later.

quote:

---

Seems like everybody is doing Italy lately. I'm doing Venice, Rome, Florence, Sorrento, Capri, and then Naples in May.

---

My Facebook is blown up with people going to Peru

I was not that big of a fan of Peru. Maccu Pichu was bad arse but the rest of the trip wasn't all that great.

By the end of the trip I thought I was going to murder one of the pan flute people. The South Park episode hit the nail on the head.

I would go back to Argentina 1000x before I ever set foot back in Peru.