Had to laugh. The one time I’ve been to Italy I went to Rome, Venice, and Florence.
We actually stayed the first few days outside of Venice in a tiny town called Vallà, the closest city is Castelfranco. We were there for the babtism of my husband’s nephew.
We stayed with friends of the family. Our hosts supplied us with delicious bread and coffee in the morning and then afterwards we spent time with family at their house or went into town. We were treated to dinner in someone’s home every evening while in Vallà. A couple of nights the grandparents of the baby and one night a great uncle in his huge barn at a long table for about 30 people.
The day of the babtism all of us in the one house left the house together to walk towards the town church. As we walked down the road more and more people from town joined the processional towards the church. It was out of a storybook.
One day we went to meet a close friend of my BIL’s who was a jeweler, and my now husband and I wound up having him make our wedding bands. That is one of the few pieces of memoribilia from the trip.
Rome, Venice, and Florence were a whirlwind. If I go back to Italy I would love to stay a month, mostly living like a local, with a few short excursions.
Great advice about reading reviews in Italian. The best advice I've heard about taking things slow wherever you go came from Anthony Bourdain. He said at some point, walk into a near empty bar in the middle of the afternoon and order a cold beer. I go a step further. Order two. And watch that world go by. You mentioned a checklist of sites. What's worse is a checklist of countries. My Travelers' Century Club is a place to trumpet your country count. Some clown just bragged about visiting 20 countries in the last 75 days. She's being applauded like she's Ferdinand Magellan. I am sure she never had a cold beer in a near-empty bar.
I’ve made 10 visits to Italy in recent years. Still never been to Cinque Terre, Pisa, Bologna, Assisi, Amalfi or Pompeii. But I’ve spent months living in Rome and weeks with relatives in Reggio. I appreciate those choices of how to spend my relatively limited time in such a rich and wonderful places.
Great article! During our years of living in Russia and Malaysia, our "tours" for family and friends who visited was 80% to non-tourist sites, on the back roads and places where we didn't have the crowds. Especially the restaurants, where the food was fantastic and could be enjoyed. Thank goodness we "got out" and found these "off the beaten path" places early in our assignments!
Wait! The Catcher in the Rye is *my* favorite book. And I’ve been proud to have all four Salinger books in old hardcovers. But 70 translations? That’s incredible!!! Let’s see the Italian cover, por favore!
And that wine collection of yours? It was 600 bottles a decade ago. No doubt a few more by now:)
A splendid column, Eric. A tiny port of pleasure amid another painful, outrageous and destructive day of all that is good day in the US.
Had to laugh. The one time I’ve been to Italy I went to Rome, Venice, and Florence.
We actually stayed the first few days outside of Venice in a tiny town called Vallà, the closest city is Castelfranco. We were there for the babtism of my husband’s nephew.
We stayed with friends of the family. Our hosts supplied us with delicious bread and coffee in the morning and then afterwards we spent time with family at their house or went into town. We were treated to dinner in someone’s home every evening while in Vallà. A couple of nights the grandparents of the baby and one night a great uncle in his huge barn at a long table for about 30 people.
The day of the babtism all of us in the one house left the house together to walk towards the town church. As we walked down the road more and more people from town joined the processional towards the church. It was out of a storybook.
One day we went to meet a close friend of my BIL’s who was a jeweler, and my now husband and I wound up having him make our wedding bands. That is one of the few pieces of memoribilia from the trip.
Rome, Venice, and Florence were a whirlwind. If I go back to Italy I would love to stay a month, mostly living like a local, with a few short excursions.
Great advice about reading reviews in Italian. The best advice I've heard about taking things slow wherever you go came from Anthony Bourdain. He said at some point, walk into a near empty bar in the middle of the afternoon and order a cold beer. I go a step further. Order two. And watch that world go by. You mentioned a checklist of sites. What's worse is a checklist of countries. My Travelers' Century Club is a place to trumpet your country count. Some clown just bragged about visiting 20 countries in the last 75 days. She's being applauded like she's Ferdinand Magellan. I am sure she never had a cold beer in a near-empty bar.
I’ve made 10 visits to Italy in recent years. Still never been to Cinque Terre, Pisa, Bologna, Assisi, Amalfi or Pompeii. But I’ve spent months living in Rome and weeks with relatives in Reggio. I appreciate those choices of how to spend my relatively limited time in such a rich and wonderful places.
Wow, this should be required reading for first-time visitors to almost any country. Very well done.
Yes, yes, the advice everyone needs (especially first timers to Italy)!!
Great article! During our years of living in Russia and Malaysia, our "tours" for family and friends who visited was 80% to non-tourist sites, on the back roads and places where we didn't have the crowds. Especially the restaurants, where the food was fantastic and could be enjoyed. Thank goodness we "got out" and found these "off the beaten path" places early in our assignments!
Another beautifully conceived and written Lyman column.
Wait! The Catcher in the Rye is *my* favorite book. And I’ve been proud to have all four Salinger books in old hardcovers. But 70 translations? That’s incredible!!! Let’s see the Italian cover, por favore!
And that wine collection of yours? It was 600 bottles a decade ago. No doubt a few more by now:)
A splendid column, Eric. A tiny port of pleasure amid another painful, outrageous and destructive day of all that is good day in the US.
Spot on! I could say the same about Madrid… but you said it better!