Travelling to Italy ? {Part II}

Italy has so many beautiful places, but in our maiden trip, we decided to go with the most popular ones – Rome, Florence and Venice! This part II takes you through our first pit stop of this amazing holiday – Rome!

Rome is a museum .. no no .. seriously .. and that too on the roads.. the moment we landed on the ‘Roman Soil’ I had a very happy feeling. Every place I turned to was like a post card .. ready to be clicked and framed !

The first things first – we were handed with our very own ‘Map of Rome’ , so if you don’t have one, ask your host! Trust me , this is the Holy Grail while you are at Rome. Coz you can ACTUALLY cover whole of the city (well whatever is worth a visit) on foot ! So go grab the map, and be your own guide.. get lost.. get into a random church and be in awe of it.. look at the tiny street lamp.. read all the ‘VIA’s and make your own routes… this really is the best part about the whole city !

Trip Highlights

·      GELATO ! Have.As.Much.As.Possible !

·      And Berries , when you are at it ;)

·      Trevi Trevi Trevi ! You can’t get enough of it :) Please go see it in the day and the night. Yes, it looks different and its worth it ! Best thing - reach there by 5ish.. spend some leisure time, sit down , take a stroll, have a gelato..  and then come back again at 8 ! If you cant figure what else to do , go to Spanish steps and take in the happy air !

·      Rome by Night – if you are up for it , spend a night strolling around the main sights. Capitoline Hill , Roman Forum , Trevi , Pantheon all look wonderful in the night.. Highly recommend it !

·      Alio Olio – the times you don’t know what to eat, just go for this option :) 

·      Castle Gondolfo – what a find ! It was my husband’s birthday and we chose this place for lunch.. less than an hour train ride from Termini station will land you to this beautiful sleepy place (which is also Pope’s summer residence btw!) and a quaint little station ! One of the best meals with the most spectacular views I have had in the Italian trip was here :)

We spent four nights at Rome.. well actually you can cover it all in 3 nights as well !

Suggested Itinerary:

• Day 0.5 – If you land late in the day, just take in the city. If you have time, say hello to Trevi!

Traveling to Italy ? {Part I}

DISCLAIMER : This is not a bragging post about the best planning I ever did in my life :)

Well, ever since we came back from the Italy trip (which was OUT of the WORLD but more of it later !) , I have been bombarded with :

- OH i / my sister / my father / my neighbor's dog are planning this trip.. Please HELP !
- how was it ??? isnt it so pretty !?
- kitna time laga ??
- 'research' kahaan se kiya ?

so in order to save my time,  here I go ...  a three series blog to help with all your Italian travel needs !

< Yes, you can get me some nice magnets when you come ! :) > 

 Step I : Welcome

Congratulations ! You have chosen Italy for your next trip. I promise you, thou shan't be disappointed !
So first things first - Open up your passport , check if you would need a VISA and how to go about it. Start getting your paperwork ready.

**tips** 

1. Apply from the city you are staying at.
2. Try applying on your own if you have the time. Its a great thrill (just ensure you have all the papers ready before you reach)
3. Take health insurance only from the companies mentioned on the site.
4. Apply for a VISA at-least 15 days before the travel and not more than 90 days in advance.

Step II : With 3 Months to Go !!

• Plan your Itinerary and you Budgets !

Figure out what cities you would want to visit and number of days you plan to stay. My recommendation of MUST visit cities and minimum duration :


Rome (3 nights, including Vatican)
Florence (2 nights)
Venice (1 night)
Naples (1 night)
Now depending on your plan, you may extend it up north to cover Milan or down south to cover Sicily.

• Book your airtickets

We did this 3 months in advance after deciding the month of travel. Then chose the cheapest flights in that month and planned chhutis accordingly ! You may choose whichever way, but buy tickets in advance to say the precious monies :)

**tips**

1. The gulf flights are better suited for us as they leave India in the night.
2. With a Schengen visa under your belt, fly using Swiss Air and spend a night in Switzerland ;)
3. You can always enter from one city (say Milan) and exit from another (say Rome). 

•  Book the Lodging

Tripadvisor and AirBnB are good starting points. Depending on the budget you have in mind, you can check out hotels or B&B. There are good booking sites like booking.com, agoda and many more ! My maximum planning time was spent looking for and booking the perfect abode for the trip.. and trust me it was all worth it :)

  **tips**

1. B&Bs are not just value for money , they also give you a glimpse to the local flavor of the city. I would highly recommend them over hotels !
2. Choose a place close to the city center or a popular mode of transport. We chose one close to the metro in Rome and in the city center close to a bus stop in Florence. The last thing you want to do is spend all money in Taxis or luge around your tired bodies/heavy luggage over Italy !
3. Do a ref check at tripadvisor before you make the precious booking. Reviews always help !

kaanda and batata !

Never noticed this was lying as a draft in my folder ! But now that I did see it , time to post it anyhow.. and guess what, its still true as it was 3 years back :) 


now that I am in Mumbai and have just getting used to the new things in life , i felt like blogging again..

so much for the speed of the city , i like where I stay... it is quite .. no hustle bustle and away from the city madness..

and then , there are many firsts..

like .. walking down the road next to the house , i thought i will buy some vegetables for home.. and suddenly , aalo is batata and onion is kaanda.. no body knows what a kulcha is , its only paav for you !

the most favorite conversation is movies.. almost everyone seems to be linked to some shooting or the other.. even on a regular phone booth , u would hear 'main us shooting main tha na ..'

i say 'mereko .. jaaneka .. ' so much for nice shuddh hindi !

just three weeks into the city going to be my home... and i love it..

though i still miss the delhi winter chill..

nd the garam garam samose..

tail maalish by mumma..
and so much more.. 

P.S. : 

three years down the line , my love for the city only grows.. the madness, the rush, the autos, yes the kandas and the batatas ;) 

to all my friends who have moved from Delhi to Mumbai, give this place some time, wait for the rains.. then sit near your window with a chai cup in your hand :) 

or

come home, I will take you to this spot near the Juhu Beach.. just dip your feet in the water.. yes for that teeny meeny second, you will be in Love with Bombay !