This week’s topic on Traveler’s Night In, a “tweet-up” for travelers, was Viva Italia. Ten questions were asked, tagged #TNI, and I think Ian from @MalloryOnTravel said it best with “Everything about Italy is chic & cool but it is the passion, they way they speak just oozes passion & friendliness of the people”!
Here are the questions:
Q1. One place in Italy that you’d love to revisit? Why?
- @MagellanPR Rome – need more time to explore historic sites
- @italylogue Really want to get back to Parma & Bologna; one visit each isn’t enough for the amazing foodstuffs to be had.
- @WomensJourneys Revisit? You mean all those places I’ve visited in my dreams? Oh, in that case… Amalfi Coast
- @MiddleSeatView Florence, hands down. Such a beautiful city & the people are so great. Actually, I’d like to just move there :
- @NG_Rome Lecce (Puglia) for its fairy tale sand castles
Q2. Italy is all about food…favorite dish? Best city/restaurant to dine in?
- @travelerkate Stick to regional favorites: Amalfi lemoncello, Cinque Terre pesto, Naples pizza, Florence pasta. Can’t go wrong!
- @innalameda Risotto anywhere! Creamy and delicious…Talk about making rice interesting!
- @WriterChick47 Is there a bad dish in Italy?
- @MiraCristine gelato in Rome & pizza in Naples
- @Travaddicts A Florentine Steak in Florence of course!
- @mina_travelive Best meal ever – Mirabelle @ Splendide Rome
Q3. Best Italian piece of art? Best museum?
- @rtwdave Masaccio’s “Trinity” in Santa Maria Novella, Florence. Loved setting of Guggenheim in Venice.
- @MyIslandArtJeff Easy, Michelangelo’s David situated in the Accademia Galleria in Florence I could look at it all day.
- @NatGeoKrista Galleria Borghese in Rome. Bernini’s marble sculptures look so real you think they’ll come alive!
- @katyabroad The Italians produce some good art don’t they?! I think the ceiling of the sistene chapel says it all, really
- @airtreks Best Italian piece of art? Every citizen in the entire country. Like fine sculpture, they are
- @MalloryOnTravel In a way much of Italy is a museum, a testament to old Rome & the empire, the Colosseum, Pantheon, awesome
Q4. Favorite Italian phrase?
- @gr8ful4dmb: Prego still say it all the time as it covers so many things
- @TravelPurpose: dolce far niente, sweetness of doing nothing (Yankee paraphrase)
- @LauraAllenTvl: Who doesn’t wanna hear CIAO BELLA!!!
- @Travaddicts Pronto!! I love how Italians always answer the phone this way
- @hotelPRguy: La Dolce Vita!
Q5. So much history in Italy…Best historic attraction?
- @cruisebuzz I loved the ruins of Pompeii.
- @nicoleploehn the sistine chapel without a doubt!
- @ZipSetRachel The Vatican – St. Peters, the Basilica, the Museum, Sistine Chapel – gives me chills everytime & Im not Catholic!
- @tomtravel2 The entire country. Hello, Roman Empire slept here?
- @mygo2it I’m still in awe of the Colosseum
- @triptrotting hands down the Forum! Can’t beat the foundation of the FIRST REPUBLIC, first democracy, first written laws, first senate
Q6. Best kept secret in Italy?
- @lindsey_epperly The walled city of Lucca is a hidden gem!
- @HartmannLuggage that there wasn’t officially a unified Italy until 1861
- @beforeiam35: the italian Alps. Overlooked, but OH so nice, and great skiing.
- @VineyardTravel Best kept secret in Italy…the wine region of Irpinia in Campania. You want untouched by tourists? That’s it for sure.
- @thetripchicks: Anywhere off the beaten path becomes my next secret discovery. (ex. in southern Italy, Matera, Basilicata)
- @khegre: Best kept secret in Italy? A6. The restaurant on the top floor of the Biblioteca Oblata in Florence. Risotto to die 4
- @Diane_Letulle Le Cantine in Greve in Chianti – you can try more than 100 wines
Q7. Attraction in Italy that wasn’t worth your time?
- @alexisartichoke Honestly (& sadly) any site w too many ppl loses some magic.
- @WorkMomTravels Florence. Yep, that’s right. I said it: Florence
- @allaboutmexico Do not take the gondola in Venice at night. It is cheaper but you don’t see anything!
- @eurapart: Juliet’s balcony. ;o)
- @USelaine Trying to see whole artworks in the jam-packed Uffizi in summertime.
- @BuzzInRome Milan. Swimming in the waters of the Rimini area
- @RickGriffin: The souvenir shop that sells bobble-head popes
Q8. Italian “tourist traps” that ARE worth a visit?
- @Chimeratravel: Depends how you define Tourist Trap. if it’s popular spots, almost all of the ones in Rome. Popular but incredible history
- @Diane_Letulle The Blue Grotto of Capri. It was so touristy, but I’ll never forget the luminescence of the cave or the singing of the boatmen
- @nearafar: In Rome: Collesium (skip the general tour), St. Pete’s, Sistene Chapel
- @llgable San Gimignano – go early or late to avoid the large tour buses.
- @sillyamerica The Trevi Fountain was one of my favorite sites…even if my wish never came true.
Q9. Best viewpoint for photo-ops in Italy? Pic?
- @nickiposi Just by the cemetary in #Positano. Incredible views, and also from the Patheway of the Gods. http://flic.kr/p/7sbt83
- @travelgirlmag Across the river, hilltop in Florence
- @vagablonde515 Photos~ venice at sunset Amalfi coast~ Lemon as big as my head amalfi coast.~ Tuscan hills~Boats at portofino to name a few
- @LifeinSicily On top of Vulcano taking pix of the rest of the Aeolian Islands, Sicily
- @beloved_green From the hills of Tuscany overlooking the cities
Q10 Favorite Italian Export?
- @allaboutmexico: SHOES.!
- @LifeinSicily Puccini, Roberto Benigni, D&G, pasta, pizza but most of all prosecco
- @GinoCosme Ferragamo
- @jbranigan I’ll revise mine to: Andrea Bocelli!! AND a bottle of Banfi Riserva Chianti Classico
- @CelticTours where would we be without parmesan and mozzarella – and don’t forget the wine!
- @TinyTravelLady Wine, San Marzano Tomatoes, limoncello, cheese.. so much great food & drink !
Miss #TNI this week? Join in with your answers to the questions in the comments below and make sure to join us next Thursday from 3:30 pm EST- 5:00 pm EST for all the fun!
Want to see more awesome photos of Italy? Check out @AlexBerger’s Virtual Wayfarer and @Eurapart Flickr accounts! And, thanks to @YUShouldTravel, @Eurapart, @AlexBerger, @KerrBerr, @notgoth007 for the great photos!
Thanks to the ZipSetGo girls for organizing a conversation with travelers from all over the world and to YOU for participating in this great group!
*If you have any corrections or issues with the post, especially if it involves your tweet, please e-mail us (go@vagabond3.com) to have it addressed in the fastest way possible.
