Italy Lovers

Just found this great 11-Part series that clearly explains a lot about the practicalities of driving a car in Italy for foreigners. I found it really helpful - have not seen anything better really.

Part 1 - Overview

Part 2 - You and the Autostrada

Part 3 - Understanding the Signage on the Autostrada

Part 4 - Autostrada Rest Areas

Part 5 - Paying Tolls on the Autostrada

Part 6 - Buying Gas for Your Car

Part 7 - What to do about Paying Driving Fines

Part 8 - How to Avoid Getting Fined

Part 9 - Understanding Italian Road Signs - Part 1

Part 10 - Understanding Italian Road Signs - Part 2

Part 11 - Parking

One of my most precious souvenirs of Italy is the itinerary from my first trip. I decided to see if I could reconstruct the itinerary on the internet with links (where available) to the places we went.

We landed in Milan Malpensa the 16th of September (many years ago) at about 9:30 in the morning. We had our own bus and driver for the whole trip.

Our reservation for that night was in the town of Garda on Lake Garda. On the way there we traveled around Lake Como and stopped for lunch at ALBERGO RISTORANTE BELVEDERE in the town of Torno on Lake Como. What a beautiful introduction to Italy. We dined outdoors on a terrace right on the lake under the trees. I remember the food was divine.

From there we continued on our way and arrived at our Hotel "Le Terrazze" in the town of Garda. It was a sweet, modest hotel that we enjoyed. In looking for it online, it looks like they have remodeled it but I think this is the same hotel - now called Hotel Excelsior Le Terrazze. That is where we stayed for 2 nights. It was within very easy walking distance of the lake shore.

Addresses:

ALBERGO RISTORANTE BELVEDERE
P.ZA CASARTELLI 3
22020 TORNO CO
Tel: 031 419100
no website, little English spoken

Hotel Excelsior Le Terrazze
Via Marconi 6
37016 Garda
Tel: 045 7256774
Hotel Excelsior Le Terrazze

We can't think of a trip to Italy without thinking about eating well.  And a good guidebook is really going to come in handy.  The following food guide comes very highly recommended. I will definitely be buying for my next trip.

Having just returned from 3 weeks in Italy, I cannot say enough about how great this book was in directing us to terrific food where we ate with Italians, not other tourists.

Well, it's a sign of the times we live in. You used to be able to just to to a foreign country and use your credit card but these days it is better to call your credit card company ahead of time. Better add that to your checklist of trip preparations.

Here is a link to an excellent article about getting your credit cards ready to travel.