Italy Travel Guide

[bagaholic_chewy]

^^ For me, YES NA YES! Hahaha! Only spent about 3 hours there pero nakabili na ako 4 bags (1 Tods, 1 Prada, 2 Gucci) and 1 pair of Tods loafers. Hehe.. Super-sulit for me, since ok lang naman sa akin kahit styles from previous seasons. basta nagustuhan ko, game, kahit ilang seasons ago pa.

And convenient puntahan kasi me SITA shuttle bus from Florence diretso sa The Mall. We went there ng morning, sakto pabukas pa lang mga stores when we got there. And di pa super crowded. Tapos na kami mamili by noon. Nung paalis na kami, mas dagsa na ang mga parating.

^ sis, if mainly shopping, Florence ka na lang if kelangan talaga pumili.

[little_princess]

^ how was the pricepoint when you were there?

super torn, syempre when we go to Florence may sightseeing na din. pero super torn because I love Venice and I want to take hubby there kasi it's very romantic hahaha or kaya ba day tour lang Florence or Venice?

[bagaholic_chewy]

Re: The Mall: Got the Gucci bags for less than €300 each yata.. Yung Tods, less than €600, merong less than €500.. Prada, less than €400 yung binili ko, ok din yung mga shoes though di ako bumili kasi yung gusto ko e walang size. Siguro, generally mga 40%-70% off..

Well, kaya naman i think 1 day ang Florence. We stayed there for 4 days before kasi ginawa namin sya jumpoff point for Pisa and Siena daytrips.

Oo nga sis, romantic ang Venice. Most people say ok lang daytrip ang Venice. But kami, 4 days kami ni hubby dun, chillax lang. And gusto ko pa din bumalik, hehe..

[little_princess]

^ those are good pricepoints! ang sarap mag shopping if ever

i thhink if kakayanin ng schedule, we'd do Venice ng day trip kasi we're in Europe 15 weeks out of the year so madali to go back. We just want to go around and see the sights.

We might skip Pisa, I went there before na and yung tower lang talaga yung pinunta namin and that was it. From Florence, what are the nice jump off places to go to?

What we might do is -

Oct 8 - Fly to Venice in the afternoon
Oct 9 - Venice, Late train ride to Florence
Oct 10 - Florence
Oct 11 - Florence, late train ride to Rome
Oct 12 - Rome
Oct 13 - Rome
Oct 14 - Fly back to Manila

[bagaholic_chewy]

From Florence, you can go to Siena or San Gimigniano (spelling?). Yeah, leaning tower lang din sinadya namin sa Pisa.

I liked walking around Venice at night, kasi less crowd (wala na yung daytrippers).

[littlemissbiatch]

Anybody been to The Mall in Florence? Worth it ba to spare a day doon?

I think half a day would be sufficient, since konti lang ang stores. When I went there may mga kasama ako na Japanese and Korean and Chinese girls sa labas, nung pagdating na pagdating namin dun, nagtakbuhan sila palabas. No kidding. Nagpanic ako akala ko sasabog yung bus or something, yun pala nag-uunahan sila sa Prada. 

Better siguro to go there sa morning para madami stocks. Prada bags you can get really nice ones (yung hindi mukhang ka-sale-sale) for 500-700eur, and i found some Tod's D-styling bags for less than 500eur (they retail for more than 1k in paris, if i'm not mistaken). Super worth it to visit if you like high-end brands talaga. 

Make sure pala to bring your passport if you plan to use your Credit card, kasi sa Prada they check kung same name yung CC and passport. May mga nauna kasi sakin sa pila na iniwan passport sa hotel, and hindi sila pinayagan mag-purchase.

[bagaholic_chewy]

Addl re: The Mall -- you can also claim tax refund for purchases sa The Mall. Me tax refund office na dun. Claim na lang yung refund sa airport.

[marssie]

Sissies, pa-assist, i know masyadong bitin pero paano kaya ayusin ang itinerary namin for two days lang, arive kami Monday 11am sa rome then fly back na kami ng Wednesday ng 6am.. so bale two days ang two nights lang kami:

Day 1 -
9:00Am- Rome

[Jetset100]

hi girls, regarding the mall in florence, I'm going early july and based on my research this is also the start of the summer sale. would they be offering further reductions on their prices in the outlet kaya? would anyone know? thanks in advance

[vanity fair]

^Even without further reductions, ang mura na sa The Mall.  I was there last March.  Ang sabi naman sa akin January / Feb sila nagse-sale... But the out let prices are cheap na. Tods ballet flats are 100 - 160 Euros.  My husband bought Prada sneakers for 75 Euros.  In Balenciaga naman i was able to buy a laptop bag for 180 Euros. 

[Jetset100]

^ thanks for the reply. Gosh! Just thinking about it makes me giddy with excitement. I want to buy Tods D-Styling bag and finding out that I will be there right smack at the start of their summer sale I was so happy and scared (for my wallet haha!) at the same time 

[vain_kixie]

Joining! Finally we have dates na. From Vienna we will be taking the night train to Venice then overnight
in Venice then Florence tapos 3 days in Rome.

What's the best area to stay at in Rome for first timers? I want near the tourist spots and with many restaurants
nearby.

[bluestar_65]

^ The thing with Rome, sis, is that tourist spots are not concentrated in one place. The Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica, for example, are not in the same area as the Colosseo, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. They're not even on the same subway line (Colosseo on Line B, while Vatican (via the Ottaviano stop) is on Line A). The Pantheon, Torre Argentina (where Julius Caesar was killed) and the Trevi are near each other - maybe 10-15 mins walking?

So if I were to recommend, I'd say, it depends on what tourist spots you deem are priorities. I know, cop-out response.  I would prefer to stay in the Pantheon area, but that's me. 

There are also hotels surrounding the Termini Station (where Lines A and B of the subway intersect), and which will probably be your jump off point in Rome if you're coming from other Italian cities, but personally I find the area a bit sketchy. If you end up staying here, just be more aware of your surroundings.

Please try out Frigidarium too -- it's a gelato place near Piazza Navona. Super yummy!! 

[Cookiemonster11]

^Hi sis,you might want to check out matisse bnb, its very near colosseo and piazza venezia and around 15-20 minute walk to trevi, Spanish steps, pantheon,popolo. We even walked from here to Vatican during our first day, pero mejo malayo. Paguwi namin nagbus na kami. hehe.  But I think you'll enjoy walking naman.

Mejo masungit nga lang bantay jan. Lagi kaming sinsaway kasi maingay kami. But overall its okay.

[lomcj]

hello sa inyo newbie here...kakaapprove lang ng leave.. patulong naman ako mga sis im planning for a 9 days europe travel yung first 4 days plan ko sana sa italy.. question

okay na ba tong IT ko:

Day 1 morning - Day 2 afternoon = Venice (side trip to Pisa and Florence (themall)?
Day 2 evening - Day 4 = Rome

or kaya na sya ng 3 days lang?

ang mga gusto ko lang naman makita is gondola, pisa, the mall, colosseum, vatican.

appreciate your comments mga sis. salamat

[TuscanSun]

This is late na for sure but u need more than 2 days to do Venice ,Pisa and Florence. Venice is 1 full day already

[jenger109]

i'll be here definitely april next year! rome and venice for sure! haiz, cant wait.. i want to attend mass by pope francis, buy rosaries for my mom and sister and aunt.. ang dami kong gustong gawin! im super excited!!!

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sis, matataon ka ba ng holy week nasa Rome? We attended last year's Palm Sunday mass officiated by Pope Benedict sa St. Peter's Square. Ansaya ng feeling. Tapos nag-ikot pa sya sa square on his pope mobile after the mass kaya kita talaga ng malapitan. we requested for tickets via the Vatican website, pero we saw some naman doon na nakapasok sa area with seats kahit walang ticket.

[jenger109]

^ sis, matataon ka ba ng holy week nasa Rome? We attended last year's Palm Sunday mass officiated by Pope Benedict sa St. Peter's Square. Ansaya ng feeling. Tapos nag-ikot pa sya sa square on his pope mobile after the mass kaya kita talaga ng malapitan. we requested for tickets via the Vatican website, pero we saw some naman doon na nakapasok sa area with seats kahit walang ticket.

super thanks sa idea sis, havent decided pa the date pero dahil na mention mo holy week, holy week na lang.. haiz, excited na ako.. by feb naman nasa paris kami, valentine's day.. super excited, kung pwede lang tom na!

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ we were in Florence naman for Easter Sunday so we got so see their Easter traditions - the parade (saw their good-looking Mayor, hehe),  flag-throwing exhibition and the "scoppio del carro" at the duomo.