Seeking Advice

[ladysprite]

So I promised myself someday I would go to Italy. Except that, when I put things in abstract terms like that, I never actually get around to doing them - I come up with excuses to postpone, and not to waste money on frivolities, and reasons it's not practical, until it's too late. So I promised myself last year that in 2012 I would go to Italy, because when I set concrete dates like that, it's harder to back out.

And now, with umbran anticipating gainful employment, it looks like this is actually going to be feasible. Which is both awesome and scary.

Here's the deal - I've never traveled outside the country before, with the exception of one (awesome) week in England when I was 22. I've never been somewhere that I don't speak the language, I've never had to navigate foreign cities, and I have precious little idea of what to expect.

So I'm taking this opportunity to pick the brains of my friends - any advice for traveling the world, and Italy in particular? We're looking at going sometime in October, both for our anniversary and because I've been told that's a decent time of year to head there, and I'd like to go to Venice, if only because that's where a huge chunk of my SCA efforts have been focused. Rome would be awesome too, if it's feasible to hit both. A coworker has recommended this tour company, which *seems* pretty cool, but I'm not sure whether that would fall into the category of 'making things incredibly easier' versus 'spending a lot of money to make the experience pre-processed and cheesy.'

Any hints, advice, or experiences in general would be welcome!

Comments

[surakofb5.livejournal.com]

A few other items no one has mentioned yet:

In some places, you have to pay to use public toilets, so keep some change handy.

Learn a few basic phrases of Italian, but I was always surprised when I asked a question in German (where I traveled) and got answered in English.

A small phrase book can be handy. My mom made her own phrase sheet when she went to Hungary because she was in non-tourist regions. Reading menus was the one place I really wished for a dictionary. Restaurants don't always have an English version, and I got surprised a few times. But big cities are used to foreign tourists.

I did an escorted tour with Globus for the first part of my trip to Germany, then went off on my own to visit some places that are not on the tours. It gave me a chance to see a lot without having to deal with making all the arrangements for the various cities. We did have some free days in big cities on the tours, so I researched in advance how to get to the museums I wanted to see.

Europe mostly uses chip&pin credit cards, so you may run into places that have trouble with your card, but tourist areas should be okay.

Oh, Capital One is the only credit card I know if that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee.