| Travel tips and advice posted by real travelers and Rome locals. • 78 Photos
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Romans drive like crazy people!
You take you life in your hands when you cross the road in Rome - traffic racing in every direction, squeezing down narrow streets and ignoring pedestrian crossings.
If you are going to drive in Rome you should get the smallest car possible - this make it a lot easier easy to get a park as well!! Leave a Comment
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 OK - that's the way the locals
do it........... by icunme, 3 more photos
Photo 1 - Dad knows how to do this
Photo 2 - We can just play in the water, can't we
Photo 3 - One of the nice looking faucets
Photo 4 - Be sure to do it right by closing off the bottom faucet as that is where these guys drink!
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 A nasone by Ciambella
The faucet of every nasone is built with a small hole on the top. To drink water from this kind of fountain, you need to block the stream by putting a finger over the end of the pipe, thus forcing a jet of water to gush upwards from the small hole. This design makes drinking from a public fountain easy and hygienic, since a person's lips would never touch the faucet and no act of back bending is required. Leave a Comment
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 Drop postcards in red
boxes mounted on
buildings by icunme,
2 more photos
OK - here's another "nono" story - I have to laugh, with a mind's eye view of my nono instructing me as we mailed letters to Verona from America - "open the mailbox door - shout loudly down to the inside 'ITS GOING TO VERONA' or it won't get there." I think I was about 10 before I stopped shouting into mailboxes. Then, because he laughed so much, I continued to do it long after I knew better - it was worth the strange looks people gave me because he got such a kick out of it all.
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 A cuppa of our favourite
brew by Escadora7
UN ESPRESSO - strong, black coffee in small cups
UN DOPPIA - double espresso
UN LUNGO - espresso with a bit more water
UN MACCHIATO - espresso with milk
UN CAFFE CORRETTO - espresso with a shot of Whisky
UN CAPPUCCINO - espresso with foamed milk
UN CAFFE LATTE - espresso with lots of milk, no foam
UN AMERICANO - espresso with lots of hot water
UN CAFFE HAG - coffeinfree
UN CAFFE FREDDO - iced coffee, pre-sweetened. If you want it without sugar, ask for UN AMARO'
UN CAPPUCCINO FREDDO - iced milk-coffee
Cheers caffeine guzzler!! ;)
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 by Ciambella
Roman drivers were born differently. They've never learned to yield to anyone, whether it's another car, motorcycle, bus, or helpless pedestrian. It's easy if you cross the streets at a stop light, but if you need to be on the other side and there isn't a legal crosswalk nearby, you'll find yourself desperately craving a helping hand.
So here is your helping hand.
Check traffic on the left to see if there's enough space to step down from the curb. Once you step down, never, ever, under any circumstance, make eye contact with the drivers, nor change the speed and rhythm of your stride. Walk steadily, do not zigzag, do not run, do not stop to retrieve anything, do not point, do not look around, and do not turn your head to talk to your companions.
At the dividing line, check the traffic on the right from the corner of your eye. Again, do not make eye contact. Looking at the approaching drivers in the eye is a signal that you have seen them, you have recognized their approach, and you will take the responsibility of avoiding being hit.
Your speed and rhythm have to stay the same so the drivers can gauge how much space they would need to swerve around you without slowing down. Their responsibility is not hitting you. Your responsibility is not making their job difficult by changing the rules mid-game. Once you step foot onto the path of the oncoming traffic, you're entering in a contract that involves trust and harmony from both parties. If you do not breach the agreed upon rules, they will not have any reason to falter and hit you.
Now that you know the principle, why not start to practice? Happy crossing! Leave a Comment
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 Termini by jono84
In Rome, they have got it sussed!! You can buy a travel ticket that allows travel on any bus, metro or tram for an allocated time, and away you go! This way saves you money, and saves the hassle of sifting through your euro change everytime you just want to hop on and off crowded buses......
You just need to look after your ticket, and get it stamped in a machine everytime you board.
There are however, big fines for people caught travelling without valid tickets, and you must remember to make a note of the expiry date on the back of your ticket (as a mate of mine found out to his cost!)
You can purchase such 'heavenly' tickets from any normal newsagents / convenience store, by simply asking for a 7day travel pass (or however long you want it for). I think i remember the price to be around £4-5 for a week, which is unbelievable for city travel. Leave a Comment
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Whatever you call it in English - It is there on my Italian phrases page (ITALY) "Dove sono i babinetti? (doh-vay so-no ee bah-be-nay-tee?) Where is the toilette? (signs are written t-o-i-l-e-t-t-e in Rome).
A few ways to approach this: Look for the bathrom - sign will say "Toilette" in your restaurant, hotel, or museum before you leave. If you are out in the streets of Rome - I strongly suggest you look for the largest hotel - walk straight through the lobby to the bar and ask directions (they will speak English). The bathroom in these hotels are elegant and accessible. If you go into a bar, you're expected to make a token purchase if you use the bathroom - I don't recommend it in the ordinary bar - you are apt to find no toilette paper and no toilet seat (you wouldn't want to sit if there were one available) - always carry extra Kleenex with you for such emergencies. Often men and women use the same facility. Avoid McDonald's - always nasty and no paper. Vatican is immaculate and someone is there cleaning constantly. Always carry a nice little supply of paper napkins with you as even nice restaurants seem to neglect this little necessity and can have no toilet paper.
Again - the large hotels are your best bet - dash off the streets to heed Mother nature's call.
If you're really lucky - you be near Piazza Barbarini and can head downstairs to the lovely facilities in the Hotel Bernini. Photos here to guide you along - please don't tell them Carol sent you!:)
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In most establishments where you would order at a counter, such as a gelateria or a snack bar, there will be a cash register that is separate from the counter where the food is displayed. When this is the case, you should go to the register first, tell the clerk there what you want, pay and get a receipt. Then take your receipt to the counter, and hand it to the employee who will fill your order. Many visitors to Italy are confused by this and get exasperated when they wait forever at the counter and are never served. If it's busy there will be no queue; you'll have to just wave your receipt at the employee along with everyone else, and hope you get served eventually.
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I noticed immediately that people stare - expressionless - yet long and hard - until they have taken in all that they want to see. Now, we could note, the subject of their gaze determines whether this has been feast or famine. This excerpt from Henry James' account of his day in Villa Borghese in 1873 fairly references this local custom:
"The great difference between public places in America and Europe is in the number of unoccupied people of every age and condition sitting about early and late on benches and gazing at you, from your hat to your boots, as you pass. Europe is certainly the continent of the practised stare. The ladies on the Pincio have to run the gauntlet; but they seem to do so complacently enough. The European woman is brought up to the sense of having a definite part in the way of manners or manner to play in public. To lie back in a barouche alone, balancing a parasol and seeming to ignore the extremely immediate gaze of two serried ranks of male creatures on each side of her path, save here and there to recognise one of them with an imperceptible nod, is one of her daily duties."
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- Hotel Giubileo
Via Carlo Alberto 13, Rome - All'Opera
Via del Viminale, 66, Rome - Crowne Plaza Rome-St. Peter's Hotel & Spa
Via Aurelia Antica, 415, Rome - Hotel Colors
Via Luzzatti 31, Rome - Abbrome
Via Giorgio Scalia 39, Rome - Grand Hotel Palazzo Della Fonte
Via Dei Villini 7, Rome - 10 e Lode
Via Tripolitania 195, Rome - Villa Delle Rose Hotel
Via Vicenza 5, Rome - Soggiorno Comfort B&B
Via Palermo 37, Rome - ENEA HOTEL APRILIA
Via del Commercio, 1 Aprilia, Rome - Filomena e Francesca Bed and Breakfast
Via della Giuliana 72, Rome - Hiberia Hotel
Via XXIV Maggio 8, Rome - Fiocca
Piazza dei Martiri di Belfiore 4, Rome - Martini
Via Nazionale, 18, Rome - Baltic Hotel Rome
Via 20 Settembre 89, Rome
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