Rome Bed And Breakfasts, Because Accommodation In Rome Will not Only Mean Hotels

Filed under Italy Travel by on April 16, 2012 at 09:32 {no comments}

Europe has many splendid cities to go to. Wherever you go, for sure it has the advantage over the others. In terms of beautiful view, they have their own unique attractions that the tourist will love to go to. When it comes to popularity in Western cities, one of these cities will be Rome. This city has numerous tourist attractions that are very intimate in nature. From the views to be able to dining, you will experience just how great being in Rome, where one of the greatest empires in the history originated. As the history created its magnificence, the modern Ancient rome has now the attractions to dominate other cities.

Actually complimenting the beauty of Rome are the accommodations that give cheaper rates when you compare to other European towns. Cheap Rome hotels are usually what the city is flagging. You can’t avail the cheapest rate within Europe; otherwise, you are in Ancient rome. As you go all over Rome, you can find cheap hotels that you can get to recharge and have the vitality need in the next round regarding going around the city. These inexpensive hotels are very relaxing in pocket because of the cheaper rates compared to other cities have. Along the way in this city, do not carry away by the hotels which flagging quality services but will snatch your pocket with their rates fees.

Hotel like here are rome accommodation is the best photograph of what having a getaway is. Relaxing vacation is the thing that you will get as long as you are in The capital. There is no city in The european union that offer lower rates than what Rome hotels are offering. Do not hesitate to have vacation to this metropolis if the budget is your problem. This is the best place to stay and like the wonderful benefits of life. Value for money is what Rome hotels are usually teaching you. So if you do acknowledge, better start planning your way to Rome. Enjoy the magnificent wonders of the city with one of these hotels.

Many hotels all over the place are giving major discount rates. However, if you are in Rome, you will forget those discount rates, as it is much lower here in the city. Discount Rome hotels are very much cheaper if you compare that to other known cities within Europe. Probably, the best reason why you should go to Rome may be the beautiful views and low-cost accommodation. You should not waste your time and energy thinking where to go. Think of Ancient rome and enjoy its wonders added by many discount hotels.

In the event that youll ever have the chance to lodge in one of accommodation rome you will effortlessly understand why the first ones who lodged there liked it so much: because those rooms had actually been someones bedrooms, bathroom and dining room till yesterday, they had been resided for real, they had been a genuine house for entire years: from children to grandparents; in short, they had been alive.

Plenty of travellers seem to like this atmosphere much more than the aseptic one of a very refined hotel. But theres more. If youve currently booked a room in some your bed & breakfast or some guest house for your holidays in Ancient rome, you will be positively impressed by the people who usually run these locations.

Most of them still live there and they are not in a rush because some hotels receptionists: usually they may be very friendly people who take pleasure in to have a little chat with an individual while theyre arranging the breakfast in the morning

Want to find out more about rome accommodations, then visit Lionel Lafera’s site on how to choose the best rome apartment rental for your needs.

The Ancient City of Herculaneum: A Guided Tour

Filed under Italy Travel by on March 23, 2012 at 17:44 {no comments}

The city of Herculanum was founded about the 6th century B.C. and legend has it that Hercules established it. More likely, Herculanum was populated by Greeks until the Romans conquered the area by 89 B.C. Thereafter, the city was a resort town for the super-rich of the Roman world. Mt. Vesuvius, however, erupted in 79 A.D. and the city was covered in ash. The inhabitants tried to escape, but only reached their boats, where plaster casts still lie today.

In 1709 an Austrian General, Prince d’Elboeuf, hearing of treasures being unearthed near his estate at Portici, bought the land and engaged workers to begin to dig. They discovered part of Herculaneum’s theater and in 1738 the Villa of the Papyri – an area still not open to the public – was found with a library consisting of about 2,000 papyrus scrolls. Today, the scrolls are housed in the Naples National Library and the artifacts found in the villa are located downtown at the National Archeological Museum.

The streets and buildings of Herculaneum have been well preserved. After you buy a ticket, walk down the long bridge that curves into the ruins and you’ll already get a bird’s eye view of the entire town. Many think that Herculaneum is a better choice of places to visit over Pompeii if you don’t have that much time. That’s because the structures are better preserved, including original wood materials and metal pipes.

Pick up a map and the small brochure at the ticket office and you’ll be able to follow a simple tour on your own:

From the bridge, you enter a cobblestone street. Walking all the way down here, former homes on either side, take a right when the street ends. Along here, you’ll find the Welder’s Shop. Inside, there’s a terra-cotta vat and a smelting crucible. The welder cooled forged pieces of metal here. Along this street, you’ll also find a lead pipe. This is evidence that Herculaneum had a well developed plumbing system.

Take a right down another street and you immediately come to the House of Nero’s Living Room. This villa shows the opulence and grandeur of villas through its large atrium and faded frescoes.

The House of Neptune and Amphitrite is located along this road also. Go inside and all the way to the back where you’ll find a well-preserved mosaic. This is probably the finest and most important artifact of the entire site.

The Trellis House is further along this road still. This was a boarding house for lower class families. Impressively, the house still has its original wood and reed laths.

Walk to the end of this street and make two left turns. You’ll find the House of the Stags where you can see marble tables as well as marble sculptures of dogs and stags. Remember, Herculaneum once overlooked the sea, so this house would have had a stellar view.

At the exit of the villa, turn left and you’ll come to the palestra (gymnasium). This place was for sporting activities. A tunnel leads to a hydra replica and beyond it a vast indoor pool once existed.

Go back from where you came and then take the stairs down to the Ancient Beach. Archeologists found skeletons of three hundred people who tried to escape in boats, but didn’t make it. This used to be a boathouse and workers found a nine-meter ship along here also.

The Suburban Baths nearby impressively have still intact marble decorations from around 40 A.D. When the lava rushed into this area, the tub was torn from its stand and the impression still remains in the solidified ash.

From the Ancient Beach, a bridge goes from the former port into a tunnel. Stairs inside the tunnel then take you back to the entrance. Along the way, see if the exhibition space is open that displays a life-size re-creation of a Roman ship.

Transportation: The present day town of Ercolano takes its name from Herculaneum. If you use a GPS or Mapquest, it’s very easy to get there. The address is Traversa Via Alveo, Ercolano. A circumvesuviana train also runs to “Ercolano Scavi” station and it’s a ten minute walk to the ruins.

Other Sights To See: After your visit, consider walking to the Portici Villas (where d’Elboeuf lived) and then go to the Resina Via Pugliano market where you can find great deals.

Looking to find out more about Naples Napoli, then visit www.naplesnapoliguide.com where you’ll find self-guided tours of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Ponte Chiodo: A Venice Guesthouse You Will Love

Filed under Italy Travel by on March 21, 2012 at 22:27 {no comments}

Ponte Chiodo is an exquisite guesthouse in Venice that is an excellent alternative to the standard hotels. I’ve stayed a couple of times there and absolutely enjoyed it. Indeed, my husband and I are excited to go back to Venice and stay there again.

If you’ve made the decision to stay at Ponte Chiodo, you’ll have to make a choice between getting a garden-facing room or a canal-facing room. I can give you some advice about staying at Ponte Chiodo basing on my own experiences staying in both rooms.

The garden view room we stayed in was on what we would call the third floor (Italians call it the second floor because they don’t count the ground floor). I really liked the room because for 30 euros a night less than the canal facing room you still got a room that is bright, nicely decorated, high ceilings, nice view, and the nicest ensuite bathroom of all the rooms at Ponte Chiodo (the bathroom was bigger than others, and also had a nice big window. The bathrooms in the canal facing rooms are interior to the building, so do not have natural light).

Having said that, be aware that it is a very narrow room. I would estimate that it is 7 feet wide by 12 feet long (not including the ensuite bathroom). Once you put your luggage on the floor you have very little space to walk around.

Even though the garden-facing rooms at Ponte Chiodo cost less than the canal-facing rooms, I would suggest getting a canal-facing room if this is your first visit to Venice. I recommend this because part of the ultimate Venice experience is opening your shutters in the morning to look down at the canal and all the local life happening around it.

Barbra Sundquist is an Italy travel writer who travels there every year to research Italy accommodation.

The Problem of Trash in Naples, Italy

Filed under Italy Travel by on March 19, 2012 at 15:18 {no comments}

Trash in Naples has been an on-going discussion within the national, European, and international press for decades. The trash topic is also of great embarrassment to Neapolitans. Trash, after all, holds connotations of people being dirty and environments being unsanitary, if not toxic. So when outsiders discuss trash in Naples, a cultural sensitivity gets hit upon. And perhaps rightly so. What city or country doesn’t have its problems that are an embarrassment to its inhabitants?

Since the 1970′s, there’s been a saying: “You go to Rome to see Italy, you go to Naples to smell it.” The facts regarding Naples trash don’t seem to exist — the problem beyond the grasp of most inhabitants. However, here is an attempt at some observations:

1) For mysterious reasons, trash is not collected during local and national elections. This doesn’t only apply to Naples, but also for cities throughout Italy, such as Parma in the North.

Second, when a trash crisis occurs (unrelated to elections), the city of Caserta thirty-five kilometers north of Naples and the city of Salerno fifty-four kilometers south of Naples continue to have trash collection and the streets are clean. This baffles everyone.

If there’s a crisis, reliably enough trash always gets cleared away just before the humid summer hits. Nobody quite knows who clears this away and why, but usually the newspapers say that the European Union has threatened to fine the Italian government if the Naples situation isn’t solved, or the Italian government itself commands the army to come into the city with trucks and clear the streets.

Strikes by sanitation workers are also a frequent problem. They tend to shut down not only the sanitation businesses, but the entire city, and perhaps for good reason. They complain that not only are their salaries low, but often they don’t get paid at all.

5) A notable aside is that trash lies around New York City all the time too, even during the humid summer. Folklore maintains that Neapolitans immigrated to New York City en masse and they set up shop within the sanitation industry, which they still own today. So might there be a cultural tradition here? It’s believed that the Camorra (mafia) has existed in Naples since the 1700′s and the Camorra’s involvement in both trash collection and local politics is strong in these parts.

Maybe — and only maybe — trash collection is indeed bound up with the culture. Research has shown that Italians at large feel the biggest problem facing Italy is a lack of civic consciousness. Italians hold family bonds very dear. Children often never leave their hometowns so that they can remain close to their extended families. While these admirable family ties are the envy of many other cultures, it also can mean that strangers are treated with disdain or simply ignored.

But all this is just generalization and observation from talking to people and watching the crises come and go over a three year period. In the end, it’s a local problem that Neapolitans continue to deal with — and don’t think that they ignore it. Protests over trash are regular and local politicians usually run on their promises to clear away the trash. Grass roots like Cleanap also try to bring people together to clear the trash away themselves. Foreigners are, of course, welcome to join in.

Want to find out more about Naples, Italy Travel, then visit Barbara Zaragoza’s site to get travel tips and more information about the Naples Trash Crisis.

Parthenope: Naples, Italy and The Sirens

Filed under Italy Travel by on March 14, 2012 at 15:38 {no comments}

Parthenope was born on the hilltop of Pizzofalcone and, according to myth, Naples, Italy is founded by her. Parthenope is one of many sirens who were shown on Greek vases as birds with human faces. A story told by Ovid explains that the sirens were companions of Persephone. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, the sirens went into a frenzy trying to find their friend. They begged Demeter to have wings and the god granted their wish. He gave them sticks for legs as well as wings, but allowed them to keep their human voices and faces. Today, the Italian word ‘siren’ doesn’t mean bird, but ‘mermaid’ or the mythical women of the sea.

Was Parthenope a real person? According to the Greek historian and geographer, Strabo (63 A.D. – 24 A.D.), the tomb of Parthenope actually existed near Neapolis (the ancient word for Naples). In fact, after her death, the city held torch races in her honor.

The first settlers in this region, the Greeks, established themselves on the hilltop of Cuma. But they were, by nature, travelers who expanded their cities. To that end, they moved down to the Bay of Naples where they settled in a city they called ‘Parthenope’. Once that city became too big, many of those Greeks moved to an adjacent city they named ‘Neapolis’ or the New City. Could the ancient Greek foundations of Naples today include the tomb of Parthenope?

Today, a sliver of the ancient Greek foundations can be visited in Piazza Bellini. Perhaps Parthenope lies close by or perhaps she lies along the street Neapolitans named after her – the Via Partenope. Another possible location is the Castel dell’Ovo and so her ghost would know the location of Virgil’s Egg. While the castle we see today was built by the Normans, the Greeks from Cuma first settled this small island.

From the island of Megaride, consider that Homer’s character Odysseus sailed through much of the Italian coastline and maybe even sailed passed Parthenope here.

If you gaze out at the Bay of Naples, you can wonder if Parthenope, mythically, turned from a bird into mermaid and today she swims through the underwater villas hidden beneath the lapping waters.

Sights to Visit:

Go to Pizzofalcone, which you can find along Via Egiziaca.

Via Partenope and the Castel dell’Ovo.

Finally, drive to the island of Nisida.

Want to find out more about Naples, Italy Travel, then visit Barbara’s Espresso Break’s site for the best travel tips Naples Napoli for your needs.

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