The Insiders' Guide to St. Barths: First Time

I can't help you with Venice because I truly hated it...but loads of people love Venice, so dont go by me....Murano glass is the big item to purchase there...but if you are up that way, Lake Como??..now you're talking about tremendous beauty .I would stay there over Venice in a heartbeat.....but Florence is a place I could easily live the rest of my life in..and Rome??..well...Rome is a typical city not unlike New York.....as far as meals go, I speak some Italian and so does everyone I was with so we kept it off the beaten path and ate magnificent meals in places I couldnt remember their names for love or money...suffice to say...if you go off the beaten path you wont be disappointed.....the food is great everywhere much like St Barts or France...so be adventurous and if a place looks good to you and is not mainstream...it probably is..go for it... you wil find if you do that, that most food we call Italian in America is "American Italian" and there is a difference for sure between the two ..

sights??..oh my God there is no lack of that....in Florence seeing David and the works of Michelangelo is beyond any descriptive words in its power and magnitude...you wanna feel like you are a worthless underacheiving speciment??...go see David...that will do it for you...LOL

Florence...go see da Vinci's "The Last Supper"....its unbelieveable..

Perruzzi leather in Florence is the place to go for handbags and wallets and the like...my Peruzzi wallet is 10 years old and doesnt even look like it is close to being worn out...I bought a handbag for Wendi that cost me 125 bucks..that would have been twice that here...and she still uses it and it still looks great....going on ten years now

Rome??....if you ve never been there just do the usuals..Collisium, Fountain of Trevi, The Forum, the Catacombs...look at all the Aquaducts around the city and marvel at the engineering which existed in those times...The Sistine Chapel is magnificent and the Last Judgement is one of the most powerful works of art I have ever seen....dont miss that...look around at all the opplulence in Vatican City and then ask yourself what ever happened to the ol Vow of Poverty they all took?? ...probably went the same way as the Vow of Chastity...LOL

that should get you started

but I cant stress this enough....eat in places off the beaten path if you want to truly eperience REAL Italian food

one more thing..if you are renting a car and find yourself on the super highways..there are gas stations with restaurants on the highway called AutoGrilles...forget everything you know about highway stop food places..the food in these joints is INCREDIBLE.....you will love it...its buffett style and amazing in freshness and quality

Edited by Mike R (04/19/05 01:17 PM)