Siena Italy

Posted on Thursday, November 10, 2011

"Siena’s Piazza del Campo is a town square shaped like an oval slopping gently down to the Palazzo Pubblico and the Torre del Mangia, it is divided into sections representing the city’s nine rulers in the 1400s, known (bluntly enough) as the Council of Nine. But the Piazza’s striking medieval ambiance is not only due to the surrounding architecture – but for a race. For most of June, July and August, the entire city is devoted to Il Palio, a series of horse races held in the Piazza whose ancient passions makes the Kentucky Derby seem like a fly-by-night event. The festival’s contours have not changed since the 1100s, when members of the city’s 17 contrade, or town districts, began to compete with one another in track events. The two central races are held every July 2 and August 16, but the pageantry and excitement dominate Siena for the entire summer. "

Useful Italian Phrases

Posted on Thursday, September 01, 2011

If your Italy tour vacation is coming up, here are some quick and useful phrases to learn.

Venice: Vaporetto or Water Taxi?

Posted on Thursday, May 05, 2011

If you are staying in historic Venice, on the island, you’ll need to pull your luggage for about 10 minutes to the pier for vaporettos and water taxis. So what are the differences between these two options?

• Vaporettos are like the city busses of Venice. It costs around $20 per person one way and there are many vaporettos stops around the island. You might have to stand as they can be crowded.
• Water taxis are the most luxurious way to enter the city. Since only your party of four or fewer are in the boat, it is private service and takes you directly to your hotel without any stops. The lagoon can be rough, with the water taxi slapping the wakes of other boats. Once you enter the Grand Canal, the ride slows way down and you can marvel at the surroundings. As you pull up to the dock of your hotel, the doorman appreciates that you paid a premium to arrive in style and treats you like the VIP you are. Water taxis cost 95 Euros from the airport, about $135 USD, per boat.

Keep in mind on a tour of Italy, luggage is transported to each hotel for you.

Flying to Rome Just Got Easier from the West Coast

Posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Starting June 5, 2010 Alitalia will restart nonstop service from Los Angeles to Rome Italy. Alitalia will be the only airline to offer a nonstop flight to Italy from the West Coast of the United States.

The new flight to/from Los Angeles will operate with 5 weekly frequencies (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) on a Boeing 777-200 with 291 seats.

Flights depart at 9:25am from Rome, Fiumicino and arrive in Los Angeles at 1:25pm (local time), after 13 hours of flight time. From Los Angeles, the flight will depart at 3:25pm (local time) and land in Rome at 12:15pm the following day, after 11 hours and 50 minutes of travel time.

The flight schedule was studied in order to provide Alitalia passengers originating from other domestic Italian and regional European cities with convenient connections from Rome, Fiumicino to Los Angeles. The afternoon departure from Los Angeles allows for connections from many cities in the Southwest.

Passengers flying to Rome from Los Angeles in Magnifica Class, Alitalia’s long haul business class, will be able to experience the new service offered in partnership with some of Italy’s finest brands: new catering featuring Italian chefs who reinterpret traditional regional recipes; the best Italian wines selected by the Italian Sommelier Association; blankets and pillows by Frette; and flatware and dishes by Richard Ginori.

With the addition of the new Los Angeles - Rome route, Alitalia will serve seven North American gateways: New York JFK, New York Newark, Chicago, Miami, Boston, Toronto and Los Angeles. Alitalia offers service from Atlanta and Detroit through codeshare with its SkyTeam partners Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines.