Hi Doug - I spent a month in Italy last year, starting in Milan and then went to Verona, Venice, Ravenna (Hi Dario!), Bologna, Lucca, Florence and Rome. We travelled by car between Venice and Rome, and the only aspect I would advise you about is ensure you have a GPS navigator in the car you hire. Signage in the cities is clear, but generally very close to the turn you need to make, so it's easy to miss. Bipin has covered just about everything else. We had a diesel Audi A4 wagon, as there were four of us, and it was very economical. Fuel is not cheap, but if you stay on the major roads the economy can be good. I found driving in Italy not terribly stressful (I have driven a couple of times in France as well, so the LHD scenario was not new), apart from ensuring you are aware of everything and everyone around you - shouldn't be a problem for a NutDriver! Italy is a great country, we found the people friendly and helpful. The scenery in the northern part (Venice to Lucca) is spectacular, helped by we had exceptionally good weather most of the trip. Photography-wise, agree with Bipin a very wide angle lens is essential; for over 80% of my photographs I used my 16-45. Cranking up the ISO will enable you to capture good interiors, as flash cannot be used in many places - but you can in the Vatican, surprisingly enough. Tip - hang around the Vatican tourist office (left-hand side of the square as you look at St. Peter's) at 2:30 every day for an English-language guided tour, conducted by one of the priests posted there - our guide was a Canadian. Great value for money - it's free! In Venice, go for the Doge's Palace secret tour,: you have to book online, but again it's cheap and you get to go to parts of the palace not open to tourists on their own. HTH - don't hesitate to ask if I can help with any particular query.
John Coyle Brisbane, Australia -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bipin Gupta Sent: Friday, 25 May 2012 3:39 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Being a Tourist in Italy Hi Dough, we were in Italy for a week - usual tourist route - Naples, Rome, Pisa, Florence, Genoa, Turin, Venice and back to Rome via San Marino. We rented a motor scooter between Pisa and Florence for the fun of it. Here are some things to remember:- Italy is pretty small. For that matter entire Europe too compared to the US. So doing 250 Km per day is no big deal. You can do it in easily in (3 to 4) hours with a tea and restroom break. So your driving limit between 1100 to 1300 hrs may not suffice. Note: most tea/coffee stop places serve luke warm tea or coffee. So smile and say you want it piping hot. Italy has stricter drink driving laws, allowing 0.5 milligrams of alcohol per millilitre of blood. Seat belts front and rear are obligatory everywhere, unless you are using a motor scooter where a helmet and a visible jacket is a must. Be careful of merry young Italian drivers. Here is why: tiny cars in very narrow roads can literally mean an inch away; they keep cutting you off; they will almost run over you; they ignore stop signs and traffic lights, etc. Be on the lookout brother and drive safe. To some RHD folks (Britain, Japan, India), LHD can be very confusing. When approaching a roundabout give way to traffic already on the roundabout, on your left. Speeding and other traffic offences are subject to extremely heavy on-the-spot fines. Speed limits: on motorway 130 Km - Radar traps are frequent. Dual Carriageway 110 Km. Towns 50 Km. In the rains these limits drop. Two warning triangle should be carried at all times. The winding and slow country roads will drive you crazy eventually. Take breaks. Dont get confused between KMPH and MPH. I paid heavy fines. Lock your car and dont keep valuables, passports or cash in the car. Thieves are everywhere in Italy. Beware brother. As for travel and street photography Italy is wonderfully enchanting. Please carry a 10-20 mm lens, or you will miss the monuments and churches in its splendid beauty. Tripods not allowed inside most monuments, museums and churches. Very narrow streets and spaces around most tourist hot spots. Regards. Bipin - from a far away enchanting land. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
