Some experience in Italy to share...

[Ken3]

gd & detailed explanation for ur trip... never go & look for watches?

in Europe, there aren't any recommended 2nd hand watch shops? any cheaper compare to sg?

[roguehog]

yeah i did. but prices not that great. was offered a SGD13200+ for a DSSD by an AD in Florence but decided not to get as it's only a few hundred buck cheaper than in SG. And If i get friend to claim back GST, even cheaper. overal, the prices there for PAM and Rolex not that attractive. Almost bagged a Zenith anual calendar for SGD9900. but decided against it. aain only a few hunderd cheaper than in SG. but bought a piece that's very rare in SG instead but no one here really interested in it cos it's not a huge brand. haha.

[tyongchi]

I was recently in Italy for 2 weeks. Touched down in Rome, took a train to Florence and then drove to tuscan wine country.

Good review. We're flying into Milan next week and will be lazing in Dolomites, Tuscany and Umbria area for 3 weeks. Hope the weather is good.

Did u get to try their truffles? In season now.

Do the winery provide shipping service? Thinking of getting a carton on two back.

[Otar]

thanks for the great write up. my trip is less than 2 weeks away and i have yet to plan my itinerary. this will be useful. do pm me the makan place in florence! cheers.

I was recently in Italy for 2 weeks. Touched down in Rome, took a train to Florence and then drove to tuscan wine country.

here're some of my experience.


Car Rental - Most cars available for rentals are manual, unlike in north america. I have driven left hand drive in the states and canada before but those were autos. When in Italy, most autos are available for higher categories like Merc 'E' class of equivalent. I ended up with an Audi A5. I wasn't cofident that I could handle shifting with my right hand. It's not advisable to drive in Rome and even Florence. There are certain restrictions on cars into Florence. And the streets are very narrow in Florence. In rome, it's just plain messy. Advisable to purchase additional insurance coverage. When I was picking up my car in Florence, everyone returning their car had some damage or another. As I was driving in wine country, Some of the roads leading into wineries are unpaved. I scuffed and damaged the undercarriage cover. but I don't think the car rental noticed.

When driving in Tuscan wine country, be careful as the roads are very narrow about 1 1/2 car length and these are 2-way main roads. a lot of tractors towing grapes during harvest time so be cautious. but they are all very courteous on the roads there.

get a GPS. And be prepared for unlit roads in the tuscan wine region. The roads can be twisty. And windy. I had quite an experience as I was staying in a place on top of a hill and one of the evenings, wife wanted to try the restaurants on the other side which was accessible by a twisty mountain roads with sharp hairpins and very narrow as well. and unlit and to top it off, it was raining very heavily.

he A5 I drove was a diesel but diesel there is more than double the cost of diesel in SG. EUR1.70/ litre.

Enjoy the food in the tuscan wine country. If you like home style, this is the place.

I have a whole list of recommendations for makan in Florence and Tuscany so do pm me if you need recommendation.

Do plan a full day if you wanna check out the designer factory outlets. There's a huge prada outlet called "space" about an hour from florence. I didn't go to that one though. but went to the other one called the mall. There's prada, lanvin, bottega venetta, gucci, tods, and quite a few others. also about 50 min from florence by bus.

florence is a much smaller city than rome and easy to walk around. I stayed at the NH porta Rossa which is right smack in the city centre. stone's throw to most of the major attractions like the duomo, pointe vecchio (old bridge) and the uffizi. And the service is great. btw, if you're travelling with kids, most hotels and restaurants are family and children friendly. our hotels in rome and florence were upgraded for free cos we were traveling with our monkey. the nh porta rossa is literally within 1 minute walk to the flagship ferragamo store and museum.

and some of the must try food there are - steak florentine, crostini and tripes.
steak florentine is a local fave. a huge t-bone cooked rare! at least 1-1.2kg is the smallest cut. corstini is basically liver pate.

tripes are good too.

I'll post some pics once i get down to downloading and editing my pics.

[roguehog]

Good review. We're flying into Milan next week and will be lazing in Dolomites, Tuscany and Umbria area for 3 weeks. Hope the weather is good.

Did u get to try their truffles? In season now.

Do the winery provide shipping service? Thinking of getting a carton on two back.

I was there in the first 2 weeks of October. It wasn't truffle season then. It was porcini season.

Some, if not most wineries provide shipping. I did. I did not venture very far from my home base so mainly hung around the greve area.

I usually get wines that I can't find back in sg. So I tend to get from many different cellar doors. I shipped back a case through a friend who works in one of the wineries there. However, most of the wine shops in greve provide shipping service. Not sure if u need to purchase everything from the same shop though I doubt it.

[roguehog]

thanks for the great write up. my trip is less than 2 weeks away and i have yet to plan my itinerary. this will be useful. do pm me the makan place in florence! cheers.

Where shouts will you be traveling to?

[eXis10z]

but bought a piece that's very rare in SG instead but no one here really interested in it cos it's not a huge brand. haha.

what watch is it? I'm sure there are some here who can appreciate all kinds and brands of watches.

[roguehog]

Kinda cult brand. No one here interested. Not ap, pp, Rolex, etc. small brand.

It's the last pic. In this link. The pvd one. The mario paci.

http://www.sg-roc.com/threads/114965...d-Pieces/page6

Or this:

http://roguehogticktock.blogspot.sg/...i-smz-pvd.html

[roguehog]

thanks for the great write up. my trip is less than 2 weeks away and i have yet to plan my itinerary. this will be useful. do pm me the makan place in florence! cheers.

For Florence, our preferred dinning spots were trattoria marione, sostanza and 13 gobi. Call to make reservations. Especially sostanza.

[Spike123]

How about good makan places in Milan?

[roguehog]

I didn't go to milan

[Ico]

I studied in Milan for 6 months. It's a love-hate relationship with the city.

Don't bother about good Italian culture in Milan. It's merely a business city.

Travel to nearby places like Bologna, Verona, Torino or even Rome (magical place..) to experience Italian food and culture.

[tyongchi]

Kinda cult brand. No one here interested. Not ap, pp, Rolex, etc. small brand.
It's the last pic. In this link. The pvd one. The mario paci.

Nice. Damage?

[roguehog]

yeah my wallet is badly damage after that purchase haha

[jackjack]

Hi need some help. My wife and I will be traveling to Italy then to paris and flying back from Switzerland. Since Switzerland is not a EU country I cannot get my custom stamps for my purchases made in Italy and Paris. I'm taking a train from Paris to zurich and is told there are no customs office at the train station in Paris. So where should I go to get my stamps in Paris? Can someone please advise. Thanks because I heard without the stamps Switzerland will not allow me to claim.