Alright trv, you've never given me a bum steer. So I come to you for sage advice once again.
My sister and I will be traveling to Italy at the end of August. First time traveling overseas, we're landing in Venice, probably going to book a hotel there, and we'll be staying for eight days. She has no specifics she wants to see or do, but she wants to travel to Florence, Milan, and San Marino. I really want to explore as much as possible, so I want to know what traveling to Italy is like. How bad is the language barrier? If we're traveling to those four cities, will public trans cover it or should we rent a car? Must-try foods, and must-avoids, if any? Thanks for your help, as always!
>>1125603
>sage advice
"Sage goes in all fields"
You got it
Trains are fine for city hopping, get frecciarossa if money is not a problem little, rent a car if you wanna explore little old towns, tuscany is the best area to do that.
Milan is not thar great for a tourist and will be super hot in august.
Food: of course pizza and traditional pasta is a must, its generally very good just avoid restaurant near main attractions that blatantly cater to tourists, go where the locals go.
You can get by without knowing the language in cities and touristy places, but expect awkward english and lots of gestures, it.can be fun tho.
Never order cappuccino after 11am and never ask for ketchup with steak.
Haha this board
>>1125603
I was just in Italy this past December is I can help.
>how bad is the language barrier?
Brush up on some basic Italian. But you'll have no issues with English. Especially the places you are going. They are high tourist areas so English will be fine. But it helps to be able to sag some basic words in Italian too.
>public trans
the train from Venezia (Venice) San Lucia runs to all of those places. train is the cheapest and most convenient way to get around. Don't rent a car in Italy, I did that and it sucked. Italians drive like maniacs. Here is the link to the train. You don't need to book in advance, since you can get your ticket at the stazione. but you can look at this anyways http://www.trenitalia.com
Also some tips for Venezia. don't use the water taxis, they are expensive. Use the WaterBUS. When you land at Marco Polo International Airport they have some ticket booths where you can buy a public transportation pass. I did a 3 day one. So you can use the Waterbus (big yellow and white piers, you can't miss them) as much as you want in the 3 days. Venezia is pretty easy to navigate once you figure out the layout.
also, I'm not sure on hotel prices in Venezia. But I stayed at Generator Hostel which was great. https://generatorhostels.com/en/destinations/venice/
Pic is typical Italian breakfast. They don't eat eggs there.
Pro-tip:
Incest is acceptable and actually encouraged in Italy. I suggest buying top-tier Italian olive oil such as Fratelli Colletti, drizzling it all over your sister in the middle of the night, and letting your repressed sexual fantasies come to fruition like a true Italian. If your sister isn't feeling it, you can placate her anger by treating her with some of the best gelato in Milan at La Bottega del Gelato.
Divertiti!
>>1125918
I'm italian and i'm very offended by this outrageous lie.
Fratelli Colletti is not a top brand, i would only use top quality olive oil with mia sorella.
>>1125688
>never ask for ketchup with steak
Who the fuck eats a steak with ketchup? That's like some Depression era shit out of Steinbeck novel; either use steak sauce, cook it in a proper marinade, or nothing added.
>>1126033
In italy its a meme that foreign tourists do that a lot driving the waiters mad.
