I'm back from Italy, ask me anything

[NewJeffCT]

Good trip, great weather.

And, no pictures yet. My wife brought her laptop on the trip and we downloaded the pictures to there during the trip... and her laptop is going to her work today.

[Symarip]

1. Did you buy a Vespa?

[NewJeffCT]

2. no, I have no desire for any sort of motorized 2 wheel transport

I'd likely drive into a tree or telephone pole or something if I got distracted.

[Haole Girl]

3. Some questions:

Did you attend Easter services anywhere? (Hey, you WERE in Rome)

Did you get a chance to go to Pompei?

Did either of you get pick-pocketed?

What was your favorite food?

[NewJeffCT]

7. some answers

Did you attend Easter services anywhere? (Hey, you WERE in Rome)
No, neither of us are religious.

Did you get a chance to go to Pompei?
No, we did not get there - we went to Rome & northern Italy, plus, France & Monaco. No chance for Pompei, Naples or Sicily, which are southern Italy.

Did either of you get pick-pocketed?
No, thankfully.

What was your favorite food?
I had an excellent salmon dish in Nice, France that was probably my favorite meal. In Italy, the meals were all pretty good, but nothing stood out as exceptional.

[TZ]

4. What was your favorite city you visited?

I hear that Venice is overrated but that Florence is gorgeous.

[NewJeffCT]

8. Florence might have been our favorite

I liked Venice, but it was pretty small overall and overpriced - you could get internet access in Rome for 1/2 to 1 Euro for 15 minutes. In Venice, it was 3-6 Euros for 15 minutes. I think the population in Venice itself is only like 60,000...

I think Milan was probably my least favorite, but that was because we did not do as much sightseeing there (not as much to see, as it's more of a modern city...)

[Jamastiene]

5. I heard there was a whole lotta shakin' going on over there.

Did you experience any of that?

Did you see the The Colosseum? The Pantheon?

Will you post pictures later? If so, I 'cited. Wanna see. :D
:bounce:

[NewJeffCT]

9. yes, the earthquake happened on our first night in Rome

I woke up around 3:30 AM and the bed was vibrating (nothing serious, though). I remember saying to my wife, "I wonder if it's an earthquake?" and then falling back to sleep... I was so exhausted from first driving down from CT, then flying over from NY and then spending that first day in Rome that I was too tired to do anything else. I wasn't sure it was an earthquake because we don't get them in Connecticut.

Yes, we went to the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, the Trevi Fountain, the Vatican & St Peter's Basilica, etc. The public transportation in Italy is very good and very easy to use, even for two dummies who don't speak Italian. You could spend a couple of Euros and ride around Rome all day.

Yes, I will post pictures later.

[kentauros]

6. I'm going to New Zealand in 4 days.

What was the airport security like for getting the laptop through? I have a little AlphaSmart Dana word processor, so I'm not sure if most security people have seen such a thing and know it's not a computer (or a bomb.) It'll be in my carry-on satchel.

[NewJeffCT]

10. My wife had no problems with her laptop - however, the airport in Italy

was visibly heavily policed by a LOT of men with machine guns. Just the terminal we went to had several men outside carrying machine guns, both at ground level, and at higher positions (rooftops). And, there was a heavy police presence inside, too.

[kentauros]

11. Well, I don't expect to see military with machine guns in Auckland

;) but I have read that Australian security is rather particular about computers.

That's got to be a surreal feeling seeing military at the airport like that...

[NewJeffCT]

12. well, I'm sure every country is different

we found internet access in the hotel rooms (wireless or not) was spotty, at best, so ended up going to various "internet points" in some of the cities and checking email that way (plus, using my wife's blackberry as well)

[kentauros]

13. That's good you had access like that.

My phone is Virgin Mobile and will be useless the moment I leave the US. Doesn't really matter since I'm going in order to meet my online gf (Immigration here requires at least one meeting.) She'll be my guide for the whole week. Granted, we'll be spending the majority of that time on Waiheke Island

Did y'all go anywhere out of the way of the usual tourist attractions? I'd love to see Santorini Island, myself, though that's in Greece.

[NewJeffCT]

14. Yes, we saw all the major sites in Rome

The Vatican, Vatican Museum, St Peter's Basilica, The Colosseum, the Forum (or what's left of it), the Trevi Fountain, etc.

Then, we saw the original David in Florence, and saw the massive church there (the Duomo something or other...)

went up & down the canals in Venice, plus spent a good amount of time in St. Mark's Square...

There was another impressive church right next to the high-end shopping area in Milan as well - so, you could go to church, then go to Gucci, Prada or Armani right next store (mixed in with a McDonald's)

Also, went to Monte Carlo and saw tons of expensive cars - Ferraris, Lamborghini's, Bentley's, Rolls Royces, etc... saw the Prince's palace in Monaco as well. Also, went to some medieval hilltop village in France outside of Nice (St Paul de Vence, I think?)that I liked a lot.

[kentauros]

16. St. Paul de Vence looks like a really nice and relaxing place

so I can see why you liked it so much (here's their website: http://www.saint-pauldevence.com/tourism_uk.html)

Here's a site for where I'll be in (technically) 5 days: http://www.waihekenz.com
(I lose a day getting there and gain it back coming home.)

I hope you can make a nice little slide show for us all here when you get the laptop back. I'd love to be able to spend a month in Europe :)

[Blue_Tires]

15. Did you go to the Camorra meeting place and tell them they ain't SHIT?

[NewJeffCT]

17. yes, and I insulted their mothers for good measure

buncha mamma's boys

[Rambis]

18. Tell me about the coffee?

:9

[NewJeffCT]

19. It sucked, big time

I hated it. I drank a cup each morning to help with my caffeine fix, but then drank coke or red bull after to get more.

[dugaresa]

20. did your order Cafe American?

[NewJeffCT]

21. yes

and, it still sucked. And, also coffee with milk.

[Blue_Tires]

23. i thought their espressos were supposed to be like steroid-strong??

[NewJeffCT]

24. I'm sure it's an acquired taste

but, I didn't have a year to try acquiring it.

One of the first things I did this morning was to go to Dunkin Donuts.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

30. I love the espresso and cappucinos in Italy

First thing I did when I got in Italy was buy an espresso. The second thing I did was get yelled at by my professor for walking 10' away from the group.

[MajorChode]

31. That's not exactly true

One standard shot of espresso (if there is such a thing) actually has less caffeine than a 6oz cup of American coffee. However, various extraction methods and beans used can up the caffeine content significantly.

Espresso done correctly should have a much stronger flavor than American coffee, but the reasons are a bit complicated. There are literally hundreds of distinct taste compounds contained in a roasted coffee bean. The espresso extraction method attempts to extract only the best and most desirable compounds while leaving the bitter and less desirable ones behind. The problem is there's a lot of knowledge and skill involved with getting it right consistently. Even in Italy there are bad espresso bars (although even those are head and shoulders above most American espresso shops), and it is a bit of an acquired taste even if you're used to drinking American coffee. So for someone who is not used to drinking espresso, it would be very hard to tell a good espresso bar from a bad one at least at first. There's also a pretty wide variety of styles. Different beans and roasts are used and the flavors can vary considerably.

[Rambis]

27. thanks

sorry you didn't like it-

[bikebloke]

22. Did you kick Berlusconi's ass?

I heard Audrey Hepburn buzzes around on a scooter. You did see her, didn't you. She nearly ran me down, when I was there.;)

[NewJeffCT]

25. well, his comment about the people of L'Aquila

having a campout was not not well received, but I couldn't tell for sure, since I don't speak Italian.

[Initech]

26. I might be going to Florence later this year.

I went to Europe a couple weeks ago - toured Amsterdam, Belgium and Germany. Had a blast doing so.

[NewJeffCT]

28. It's not a big city

I'd say it's comparable to Boston in size - most of the locations are centrally located, though there is the Michelangelo Plaza outside of town on a hilltop that offers some spectacular views.

[Initech]

34. I'd hit Milan and Rome while I'm there as well.

[mnhtnbb]

29. We were in Florence from March 10-16. Would definitely recommend a couple of

restaurants. PM me if you're interested.

Also, there was a new exhibit at the Strozzi, "Galileo", which was amazing. Just amazing.
If you have any interest in cosmology, astronomy, history of theories of the solar system, go see it.
I think it's there until end of August.

[Eurobabe]

32. And you didn't call??

LOL. I am 2.5 hours from the Italian border.

[NewJeffCT]

33. sorry, I didn't know that

are you in France, Switzerland or somewhere else?

We went into France (Nice) and Monaco one day.

[Eurobabe]

35. southern Deutschland

2.5 hours from the Passo di Brennero (Brenner Pass). :hi: