Now, I'm less than 20 days away and I am still full of questions:
1) Do I take a big wad of Euro with me, or wait and get some over there?
2) Back pack or duffle bag?
3) How many Canadian flag patches do I need for people to realize I'm not an American?
So again, looking for some advice here.
On a different note, I found myself wondering what some of the most relaxing/most awesome places in Italy are and I found a few different places nominated by Italians on the interwebs:
1) Sardinia
2) Sicily
3) anywhere but Rome and Pisa
4) Amalfi coast
Needless to say, I may find myself in some of these places.
Ack, the internet ate my first comment, so to recap:
ReplyDelete- taking your phone is the right idea, it's not just the smallest camera you can buy, it'll also be essential for maps. It's getting harder to find and buy paper maps, so you'll rely on GPS maps on your phone. Try to get it unlocked before you go, so you can buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card when you're over there. I had good luck with Vodafone in Italy, and Europe just eliminated a lot of roaming fees, so that's awesome.
- take enough Euro for the first couple of days, you don't want to land cashless, but by and large, ATMs are your friend. We bank with Scotiabank, and they offered a lot of no-fee withdrawals through partner banks in their network. Check with your bank to see if they have any overseas partners, too. But even if they don't, the fees aren't terrible and just going to a bank machine and getting local currency is really really convenient.
- we took backpacks with hideable straps, but didn't really use them a lot as backpacks. Unless you're planning on a lot of hiking, don't worry about it. Do take a day pack though.
- other Canadians will recognize you if you have any MEC merchandise. Flag patches may tag you as a Canadian to other foreigners, but they'll also tag you as a tourist in general. My preference is to try to blend in more than that.
- What are you looking for in Italy? Beaches? History? Food? Wine? Plenty of all of it, depending on where you go. And it's all pretty awesome!
You're going to have a blast — looking forward to following along!
Thanks Grant! You already introduced me to AirBNB. Your advice has been nothing but golden so far.
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