608 Hi yet another new member

[QUOTE=Deb]Hi have just joined the forum group, even though I have read the magazine from the beginning. I am a lone parent who has been visiting Italy since 1996, my daughter is 14 now and fed up with Italy but my interest never lessens. My cousin is married to an Italian they have 3 children and run a rifugio in the mountains north of Turin this was how i started my visits to Italy. I gradually became more confident and started visiting further afield. I drive in this country but choose to travel by train in Italy and so far have never encountered problems. I would like to gain knowledge of towns, and reasonable accommodation that I can easily get to using the train networks. I know the Liguria coast and the Versillia region. I have visited most of the popular places in Tuscany. I have not been to Venice or Lake Garda yet, so would welcome tips on these places. Hope this is not too boring I am excited about talking to others who have a love of things Italian although I fear I will be taking more knowledge than I am able to give.[/QUOTE]

Hi Deb -

Well worth joining this Forum you find out so much information from everyone and, hopefully, give some back! I have not been to Lake Garda but I have been to Venice 2 or 3 times now. I love the place and generally there are many places to stay, the last time I attempted to get a hotel near to one of the main vaporretta stops - thought I had done that only to get totally lost lugging our luggage through the streets and over the little bridges of Venice! Venice is quite pricey - similar to any of the main cities ie Florence etc. but still reasonable compared to here unless you want a drink in one of the main areas.

Don't know that I have many tips really just thought I would say Hello and I agree it is great talking with people who have the same passion for such a fantastic country and it's people.
Zillah

Well both Garda and Venice are easy enough by train - For Garda you get of a Dezenzano del garda {Apologies for any spelling mistakes in both English and Italian} - There plenty of hotels in Ddg {Though I normally stay at the Hotel Villa Erme close to Rivoltella del Garda which is smaller and less touristy} - from Ddg there are boats across the lake - Garda itself is worth a visit , as is Salo , & Barelino { never been much north of limone so cannot comment past that} - but where you visit on the lakes they are very geared up for tourists. If you want to see something out of the tourist areas Castiglione del Scrivere has a pleasent littel old town & Lonato has an antiques market on a sunday {I think it's been a while} the Market in Ddg is very good and is either every tuesday or wednesday cannot remember which

Eating out there if stay at Villa Erme i recomend either Bar centrale or the Taverana del Lago

Hope there is something there that helps - we spent the first five years of visiting italy totally travelling by plane and train so if you want any more info just post on the general forum or pm me

Ciao

N

Hi Deb,

If you want to make journeys further afield this site is useful:

[url]http://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm[/url]

It gives train itineraries to several places in Italy. Something worth thinking about if you have a teenage daughter going through the sulky phase (been there done that) is to pick a location that meets their expectations for a holiday not far from somewhere that meets yours.

If you are going to Rome, our way of going about things with our teenage daughter was to stay in a hotel at Lido di Ostia. This is a seaside town which teenagers seem to like, but it's on a good train route into Rome. You can get the train from Lido di Ostia to the Colloseum (Colloseo) and be straight into the centre of things with the Forum, the Golden Palace, Trevi Fountain and much more all within a reasonable stroll of Colosseo.

Also just a short stop from Lido di Ostia is Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome, which is in a goo state of preservation, rather like Pompeii. It's well worth a visit and the archaeological dig is continuous so every time we visit there is something new to see.

[url]http://www.ostia-antica.org/[/url]
[url]http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/110_Ostia_Antica.html[/url]
[url]http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/italy_except_rome_and_sicily/ostia/section_contents.html[/url]
(caution this link contains a lot of graphics it may be slow to load)
[url]http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/italy_except_rome_and_sicily/ostia/thumbnails_contents.html[/url]

I found this comment on Yahoo!

Beautiful Ostia by Vinnie from Orlando, FL
PROS: Beautiful coast and beaches, great food, warm people
CONS: none

Ostia is a great place to go to get a taste of the local Roman culture without all the tourists and street vendors. It is a beautiful city with character and history, as well as cute shops and wonderful Italian cuisine. The people are friendly and the train ride to Rome is less than half an hour. When you're there, check out Fru-La-La, a little Gelateria with the best Gelato in town!

Wow!!! I can't believe the amount of useful information I have rec just in the last 24 hours, thanks. I was very nervous writing my first piece and I realise I made a few mistakes. I took my daughter then 13 and her best friend (to try to relieve her boredom) to Rome in the summer of 2003 we flew into Rome and stayed for 4nights it was the middle of August and the temperatures were in the late 90's what a mistake, if only i knew then what i know now. I feel inspired now to make a return journey as both girls were scarred by that trip and do not have happy memories apart from the return to the hotel room because of the air conditioning. Prior to that trip i joined the rough guide forums and asked for advice about my trip and I did not get a single reply, I suppose that is why it took me so long to join this forum. I have to tell you though the holiday did improve we travelled up to florence by train then onto Montecatini Terme stayed there for 5 days in a very reasonable hotel near to the station with an indoor swimming pool. The hotel staff were amazing the girls would ask the staff if they could go for a swim at breakfast, or even at 7 or 8 oclock at night and they always said yes they were usually the only ones in the pool. The final 5 nights were booked into a self catering apartment in Pisa which we got to by train and bus I had to drag them away from that hotel. Pisa was great though we climbed the tower and spent alternate days on the train or bus to different beaches and spending a day inbetween exploring for me which included Sienna and Lucca. Anyway hope i haven't rambled too much I look forward to planning future trips with your help. Deb

I've visited Limone sul Garda twice, and from there travelled to Malecesine, Riva del Garda using the ferry and Garda itself on the hydrofoil. Each time, we stayed at the Hotel Berna, which was fine, but we were in the annex on the first visit, with a climb up about 8 flights of stairs with our luggage after arriving at about midnight! The view from our room the following morning made up for that, and by the end of the two weeks, we'd got used to the climb.

I've also visited Venice a few times, but only on day trips. The last couple of occasions we stayed in Lido di Jesolo and used the bus and ferry. The last time we were there, we took a water taxi along the Grand Canal. As this was part of an organised trip, so it was relatively cheap (about 15 Euros) - it can be quite expensive, though, if there are just a couple of you. We saw so much of the city. A cheaper alternative would be to buy a ticket for the Number 1 Vaporetto, which does the same route, but at a much slower pace.

[QUOTE=Forza Brescia]Well both Garda and Venice are easy enough by train - For Garda you get of a Dezenzano del garda {Apologies for any spelling mistakes in both English and Italian} - There plenty of hotels in Ddg {Though I normally stay at the Hotel Villa Erme close to Rivoltella del Garda which is smaller and less touristy} - from Ddg there are boats across the lake - Garda itself is worth a visit , as is Salo , & Barelino { never been much north of limone so cannot comment past that} - but where you visit on the lakes they are very geared up for tourists. If you want to see something out of the tourist areas Castiglione del Scrivere has a pleasent littel old town & Lonato has an antiques market on a sunday {I think it's been a while} the Market in Ddg is very good and is either every tuesday or wednesday cannot remember which

Eating out there if stay at Villa Erme i recomend either Bar centrale or the Taverana del Lago

Hope there is something there that helps - we spent the first five years of visiting italy totally travelling by plane and train so if you want any more info just post on the general forum or pm me

Ciao

N[/QUOTE]

Ciao Forza Brescia... I live in Castiglione Delle Stiviere...have you ever been there?;)

We had a fab weekend in Venice in November 2005, stayed at the Sofitel, courtesy of Airmiles (thankyou Tesco), really handy position on a canal but also close to the square place where you come in on the bus from the airport, and very close to Vaporetto Stop 1. Also close to the Station, where there seemed to be a new bridge under constructon over the Grand Canal??:) We had the three day tickets from the airport wich covered airport bus and all vaporettos, it got a bit cold on the last day but everywhere was uncrowded and it was all very atmospheric. Restaurants etc were open, recommended.