Tips and Tricks for Italy + Greece

If you’ve always dreamed of heading to Italy + Greece, you’re not alone! Both are magical destinations that leave your eyes wide and your mouth watering. The people, the landscape and the food in both regions are second to none. It’s no wonder people flock in hoards to the beautiful shores of the Aegean!

You know what they say? When in Rome, do as the Romans do. But how do you go about that exactly? If you’re heading to Italy and Greece and are feeling completely overwhelmed with all of the cultural nuances and ways to prepare, we are here to help!

So without further ado.. Here are my tips and tricks for navigating Italy + Greece like a pro!

SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

Cities like Rome and Athens are rich in history and architecture, but some uncomfortable realities that accompany that are smaller rooms, and no central heating and air, to name a few.  Unlike America, A/C is not a standard in Europe. It will unlikely be in many of the shops you frequent, or in the hotels. Adjust your expectations accordingly. Drink plenty of water and wear sunscreen and heat protection to counteract the effects of the heat. Also, wear layers so that you can add and remove clothing as necessary.

DRESS CODE CONSIDERATIONS

Understand that when visiting many religious sites, you will be expected to cover up. A general guideline to follow would be to keep your shoulders and knee caps covered if planning to visit a church in Italy. Due to the heat, it may not be practical to fully cover up during the day, but have a scarf or coverup handy for your visit to religious sites. Some churches will provide a coverup, but many do not, and you will be denied entry if you don’t meet the dress code requirements. Take care to plan your clothing in advance to avoid missing out on seeing certain sites.

PICKPOCKETS

Unlike America, pickpockets run rampant in most of Europe. Again, you are unlikely to find yourself in any physical harm, but understand, your pockets WILL be picked if you aren’t on high alert. High traffic areas like the bus and the metro are a feeding frenzy for “little fingers.” Also keep your eyes peeled at large tourist sites such as the Colosseum, Vatican, and the Parthenon. Where the tourists flock, so do the pick pockets. A good under-your-shirt money belt will definitely help lower your chances of becoming an easy target. Another interesting note: keep your cell-phone close. Leaving it on the edge of a table while eating or next to you on the metro is inviting theft. I once saw a poor sap get his phone snatched off a table in a restaurant while the waiter was explaining the specials. You can never be too careful. If you care about an item, don’t advertise it. Keep any valuables out of sight and secured if you want to hang on to them.

ELECTRICITY

If you plan to charge your phone, dry your hair, or use small appliances on your trip, you’ll need to be aware that Europe has a few major electrical differences with America. For example, the outlet plug shape varies from our standard two prong outlet. Though there are a variety of outlet types acceptable in both Italy and Greece, they both use the F and C type, with two small round prongs. You can find images and details on this outlet type here.  You can pick up a small pack of outlet converters rather inexpensively at Target or Amazon like these here. Another crucial thing to bear in mind is voltage. In America, we use 120 V of power in our outlets. In Italy, the standard is 220V and in Greece it’s even higher at 230V. Small items like cell phone chargers are okay with just a wall adapter that changes the shape of your outlet plug, but if you plan to use bigger items like blow dryers and straighteners, you’re going to want to equip yourself differently.  Purchasing a wattage converter before you leave will allow you to use your home appliances without overpowering them with European voltage and spares them from a sad burned out death. You can pick one up on Amazon like this one here.  

MONEY

We already mentioned that keeping a money belt below your clothing is a good idea, but that is just one aspect of being money conscious in Italy and Greece. While credit cards are widely accepted in Europe, Greece is more of a cash-based country so plan accordingly by hitting up an ATM or converting Euros before your trip. Italy, on the other hand, is very credit card friendly, but if you are using your normal credit card from home, be aware that there can be fees for every swipe if you aren’t careful that can add up quick. Not only does your bank charge a fee, you will face foreign transaction fees per swipe as well. If you’re dead set on using plastic for the majority of your purchases, it would be a good idea to invest in a card that has zero foreign transaction fees. My go to cards for international travel are the Capital One Venture Card, and the Chase Business Ink. Make sure that you also report international travel dates to your bank before you leave to avoid having your card frozen while abroad. I also suggest changing foreign currency at your home bank a few weeks before you depart. Take anywhere from $60-150 with you in local currency. Once you are in Italy and Greece, you can easily access ATMs for any additional cash you might need. Be aware, both your bank and local ATMs will charge you an exchange fee, so you will want to budget what you need and keep your ATM transactions to a minimum to avoid those unnecessary fees. The worst place to convert money is the airport, so plan on exchanging money before you leave, or at an ATM once while in Europe.

TIPPING

If you have a tour guide during any part of your trip, just know that it is customary to tip 1-2 euros after any guided tours. Similarly, you’ll want to tip any bus drivers (particularly ones who handle your luggage) for their services. We usually suggest $3 per driver per day of service. If you have a helpful waiter, they will certainly appreciate a few euros for good service as well. Some restaurant receipts will include a cover charge (coperto). This is a fee for setting your table. You may also see a service charge (servizio) usually around 10% already included on your ticket. Some restaurants will not have a fee at all and choose rather to include these fees in the menu prices. In the case that service has not been included, 1-2 euros per person is perfectly acceptable. Be aware that waiters aren’t reliant on tips as their sole source of income the way American waiters are. However, a tip for good service is always appreciated and for some services, the tourism industry for example, it’s expected.

PHONE USAGE

If you plan to use your phone abroad, make sure you call your phone carrier prior to leaving. The major ones like Sprint, ATT and Verizon have very reasonable international plans, however, you must add them before you leave to avoid paying exorbitant roaming fees. ATT, for example lets you use your phone as normal for $10 per day. If you don’t plan to stay connected, you can connect to Wi-Fi in the hotels. Just be aware the Wi-Fi can be spotty and often slower than at home, but hey, you’re in Europe. Enjoy the scenery and get your nose out of your phone 😊

FERRIES

If you plan to take a ferry at any point during your journey, there are some things you should know before you go. Ferry services are often behind schedule, so understand that you can be waiting for the ferry to arrive, sometimes much longer than you anticipated. They are affected by wind, waves and all other sorts of uncontrollable factors. The larger the ferry, the slower, but also the most likely not to cancel or delay. Be patient, and understand how it works. You will want to be at the dock at least 30 minutes before your boat leaves. Most locals won’t line up until right before, but getting there early will ensure a better seat and streamline the boarding process. Ferry’s take longer than flying, but they are really relaxing, beautiful experience. On big, slow ferries, you can sit outside and walk along the deck taking in the seascape. Most ferries allow you to stow your luggage on a rack on the boarding level of the boat. You are free to haul it up to the passenger deck and keep an eye on it yourself if you prefer. Most ferries have bathrooms, charging outlets and Wi-Fi, usually for a fee. They also have food and drinks for purchase.

Obviously, there is so much more to traveling in Italy and Greece than can be explored in this blog, but hopefully this will at least give you a leg up and keep you from looking like a total noob while visiting the ancient world. If you are looking for fun things to do while in Italy and Greece, feel free to take a look at our itinerary. These are only just some of the highlights, but it will give you an idea of how much time to allot at each location and how to pace yourself.

Happy travels!

In-depth look at Day 2 of our tour to ROME (with pictures)

Italy has its own special kind of magic. Chances are you’ve fantasized about eating hand-rolled pasta at least once in your life, or of drinking a glass of wine under the Tuscan sun, or of viewing masterpieces of human handiwork like Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, or countless other bucket list items found only in Italy.

When I thought about visiting Europe for the first time, I always imagined it would be to Italy. It wasn’t; and while it was an amazing trip, it did leave me with a feeling that I’d missed out.

I’ve always said, if you can only go to Europe once, make sure you go to Rome. It has a wild mixture of ancient and modern. It’s quite the head trip walking down its cobbled streets and realizing it’s very likely you are walking down the same streets as greats like the Apostle Paul, Julius Caesar and everyone in between. Just experiencing the vibrant city connects you to all those that came before and anyone else who has stood in that spot. It’s something no textbook can teach you. No wild story can prepare you for. It’s an instant conversation starter. I’ve yet to meet someone who has been to Rome and hasn’t felt star struck. It has everything! From the mighty Colosseum, to the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Spanish steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Vatican. The list goes on and on. Take a journey to Rome and you will return a storyteller.

Our tour to Italy and Greece begins in the heart of Rome. You can check out the full itinerary by clicking here, but in the meantime I’d like to breakdown the adventures we will encounter on just the first day on the ground.

We will have technically spent our first day traveling on an overnight flight, which is an adventure in and of itself. I’m not being sarcastic. I LOVE the first flight day and all the anticipation it brings.

We will arrive in Rome at the Fiumicino Airport early in the morning on Day 2. Even the airport name is fun to try to pronounce. Say it with me. Fee-oo-me-chee-no. I encourage you to try wrapping your tongue around as many fun Italian phrases as you can. You will find the Italians pleased to watch you stumble through their E’s and O’s and quick to offer a helping hand and an encouraging word. They really are some of the friendliest people you will come across. Don’t believe me? Just wander into a fun neighborhood like the Piazza Navona during your free time and watch how many locals are ready and willing to help you.

Anyway, back to Day 2. From the airport we will hit the ground running with a morning tour of the might Colosseum. My favorite moment in tour history is our first trip group trip to Rome. The Colosseum was right around the next corner and none of the travelers knew. I turned around and walked backwards just so I could watch the look on their faces as they saw the might Colossus for the first time. It honestly takes your breath away and is one of the most surreal experiences. Whether it’s your first time in Europe, or your 12th time to Rome, this is one place that never disappoints.

We will take a guided tour and learn all about its construction, its bloody, violent and controversial past, how it marked Rome as a powerhouse of strength, and why the Emperor Vespasian gifted it to the Romans.

From here we will walk mere steps through the Arch of Constantine, Rome’s largest triumphal arch, commemorating the victory of Constantine, to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, the center of day-to-day life in Rome and the birthplace of modern government. We will walk amongst the ruins and learn why this area was so historically significant not only to Rome, but the modern world as we know it.

Right next to the forum is the prison where the Apostles Peter and Paul were held during their imprisonment in Rome. Make sure to snap a picture as we go by.

From here we will take a scenic bus tour of the city of Rome, the eternal city. We will take in sights like the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, the Colosseo, Circo Massimo, Piazza Venezia, The Vatican City, Trevi Fountain and so much more.  We will hit several of these sights on foot and in-depth on the following days as well, but the bus tour will give us some orientation to the city and wet your appetite for the days to come.

After this tour by bus, we will check in to our hotel, freshen up a bit and head out to the best part of the day, dinner! Try a hand-tossed pizza, homemade pasta, grandma’s meatballs, or whatever suits your fancy. One thing is for sure, this dinner will ruin you for “Italian” restaurants at home. You will leave your heart in Italy and come away with a new understanding about the phrase “the best way to someone’s heart is through their stomach.”

After this we will head back to the hotel (in a food coma) for some well-deserved R&R before heading out to explore Vatican City on Day 3.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, we invite you to join us on this journey. 

Between The Cracks

Recently I was reading a novel by Ernest Hemingway called “The Sun Also Rises” in which a bunch of American ex-pats wander through Europe from city to city drinking and searching for a happiness they never truly find. It was a rather depressing read, and in the most Hemingway-ish way possible, the story, devoid of much textual details or conversational depth, has a hidden richness buried deep between the lines that would be easy to miss if one wasn’t careful. The basic human need to be loved and to feel adequate is found on each page. The superficial nature of their conversations showing their desire to avoid uncomfortable topics or to pretend that their ‘best’ self is their true self. Unpleasant, uncomfortable things happen, but are rarely ever talked about. I couldn’t help but see the parallels between these fictional characters and our own self-made portrayals of our lives on social media. We see the highlights of each other’s lives, or at least the parts we choose to put out there, but we don’t really interact. There is so much life that happens outside of these brief glimpses that often gets lost between the cracks. We like to lead with the good and pretend the bad doesn’t happen. With this missing human element of raw emotion and interaction, we are starting to lose touch with each other. I feel it most often when I share photos or stories of our tours with people that weren’t there. You can see a picture, or hear an account of a story, but if you weren’t there, there are large gaps that are missing. It’s hard to find the words to relay how it really was. We recently returned from a 12 day journey through the Spanish, French and Italian countryside with some of the best people I’ve had the privilege to know and I desperately want to be able to share the experience with those of you that weren’t there. I’ve shared pictures, I’ve invited you to join us in the future, but I haven’t given you a real taste of what this was like.

It’s hard. How do you describe in words an experience that’s only defined by the emotions it has sparked in you? Like how we struggled for four days to learn the names of everyone on our tour. We came from different parts of the country, we had different interests and we were all fighting jetlag, but we took it upon ourselves to learn everyone by name and have an introduction ceremony over dinner—a large feat for a group of 40 plus travelers. I’ve never laughed so hard as when, in an introduction, it was revealed that one traveler had been sneaking food onto the bus. Watching our animated bus driver Giovanni’s delayed reaction upon hearing this translated into Italian, with all his loud, boisterous hand-waving, was very comical, especially given his previous warnings about what would happen to us should we dare to attempt eating on the bus. In truth, he took it fairly well. He was everything we American’s stereotype the Italians to be. Once we watched him pull the bus onto the side of the road and jump out of the driver’s seat to give another bus driver, who had gotten stuck in a toll lane, a quick driving lesson. He looked him straight in the eye, waving with his arms and hitting himself on the head to make an “are you stupid?” gesture, all while shouting “Mama Mia!” Or the time our bus blew a tire and he was covered to his elbows in grease trying to fix it so we wouldn’t miss a moment more than we had to in his beautiful city. These are the moments you don’t see in the pictures. Sitting speechless on the beach in Nice as we stood in awe of the most beautiful sunset we’ve ever seen. There are no words for that. We couldn’t do anything but sit and look. And, like so many times in life, our silence said so much more than our words ever could. Together we were changed having seen the sun set on the opposite side of the world. We touched exhibits that the Spaniards had made for the blind—laying out the architecture of the city so they can experience with their hands what we were seeing with our eyes. We are now all connected, the blind, the seeing—anyone who has stood in that square or felt the smooth edges of the model city’s display. We’ve shared in something special together. Going to a bullfight in an effort to immerse yourself in the local culture only to bawl your eyes out when you realize the reality of what it entails. It made us fall even more in love with Barcelona when we learned that it is the only Spanish city that forbids bullfighting. I watched as a weary traveler requested to sit out the day of touring because she was tired. A few other travelers encouraged her to push through and while it was a tough day of walking to be sure, during that morning’s tour of Park Guell, she serenaded us with an a cappella version of “How Great Is Our God” that moved me to tears—a moment that would never have happened had she chosen to sit that day out. Sharing a collective laugh as someone drops a pile of birdseed beneath a couple French- kissing on a park bench. It quickly became a scene from an Alfred Hitchcock movie—one I’m sure the couple did not appreciate—but one that made us belly laugh and will be the source of many a “remember that time in Barcelona” story. One evening at dinner, while were still all getting comfortable with one another, the song “We Are Young” came on the radio. Slowly a couple people started mouthing the words until eventually every single one of us was shouting “So let’s set the world on fire!” at the top of our lungs, drawing stares from waiters and guests alike. I doubt I’ll ever be able to hear that song and not remember that night, over our pasta, bonding over a feeling. Playing musical chairs on the bus and basically drawing straws based on who was the most car sick for who got the privilege of the window seat. Passing around the magical French nausea medicine between the few of us who couldn’t handle the winding cliff side streets of Monaco without losing our lunches. Or the other feeling of sickness—realizing your brand new GoPro camera is nowhere to be found, and as much as you’d like to retrace your steps, it is time to leave for another country. Watching as people dared each other to order frog legs and escargot while in Provence and actually finding out that they loved it. Seeing walls come down and understanding start to form, one snail at a time! Eating the best gelato you’ve ever had in your entire life in a small gelateria in Florence, prompting the immediate purchase of one more for the road. Or the panic we collectively felt in the Sistine Chapel when we realized two of our travelers were no longer with us. The Vatican guards were shouting at the crowd and herding us through the exit door like cattle. It was a challenging situation for sure, but one that, once resolved, brought us all closer together as a group. Seeing people that mere days ago were strangers have genuine concern for each other and relief when they are tearfully reunited was a beautiful thing to experience. These are the moments that fall between the cracks of the facebook album. The moments that bond us to one another and tell our stories—one that can’t be told scrolling through a newsfeed—one that requires interaction and shared experience to understand. I hope, in a small way, that you felt like a part of our journey. I genuinely want to make a more concerted effort to live life to the fullest. To share in real-life face-to-face experiences with people and to bridge the gaps between the moments that fall through the cracks. I don’t want to end up like Hemingway’s Brett and Jake, throwing out a false version of myself that, while fun to facebook stalk, isn’t the real me. In “The Sun Also Rises” their story ends in Madrid upstairs in the world’s oldest restaurant, Botin, over a plate of suckling pig—exactly where our journey began, but our experience was something else entirely.