Go Italiano in a day

Language barriers could ruin a trip.When you're in a foreign land and people don't speak much English (or perhaps you don't speak their language that well), things could go crazy. For example, you're asking for directions. You speak in English. They pretend they understand. And they will answer you in ways you wouldn't know was not right. Or probably you speak Italian, but didn't get it right. Then they interpret it another way. So they answer you wrongly.

The point is, when you travel, you should try to learn at least the basic of the language especially in basic manners and basic questions you need to ask when traveling. May it be asking for directions, time, cost - anything. So here, we made a little list of the basic Italian words you should know when you get to Rome.

ENGLISH	ITALIAN	EXAMPLE
Hello	Ciao
Goodbye	Arrivederci
Thank you	Grazie
You’re Welcome	Prego
Yes	sì
No	no
Excuse me/Sorry	Scusi / Scusa
Please	per favore
“Where is…?”	Dove si trova ...?	Where is the train station? Dove si trova la stazione ferroviaria?
How much does that cost?	Quanto costa?
Do you speak English?	Parli inglese?
I don't speak Italian	Io non parlo italiano
Waiter	cameriere
Do you have...?	Avete ...?	Do you have red wine? Avete vino rosso?
I'll have...	Dovrò ...	I'll have a lobster, please. Avrò un astice, per favore.
What's your name?	Come ti chiami?
How much does that cost?	Quanto costa?
Can you help me, please?	Potete aiutarmi, per favore?
I can't find…	Non riesco a trovare ...	I can't find our Rome accommodation. Non riesco a trovare il nostro alloggio a Roma.
Can you tell me where...?	Mi puoi dire dove ...?	Can you tell me where is the nearest apartment in Rome in Termini, please? Mi puoi dire dove è il più vicino appartamento a Roma a Termini, per favore?
I’d like to cancel/change my reservation…	Vorrei annullare / cambiare la mia prenotazione ...	I'd like to cancel/change my reservation for my Rome rentals in Termini. Vorrei annullare / cambiare la mia prenotazione per i miei affitti a Roma Termini.
Where can I park the car?	Dove posso parcheggiare l'auto?
Is there a lift/elevator?	C'è un ascensore / ascensore?
Can I leave my luggage until...?	Posso lasciare i bagagli fino a ...?	Can I leave my luggage until 8:00 AM tomorrow? Posso lasciare i bagagli fino a 8:00 di domani?
We're leaving at 7 tomorrow morning	Partiamo alle 7 di domani mattina

Traveling Rome and Their Stories

Every travel or tour experience have their stories. Every story started from something that sparked that very decision to travel. May it be around the globe or just a mere visit down the neighborhood. When you go and travel, there is that WANT or NEED to be at that certain place. Reasons may be different, but all the same, there are reasons - good or bad. And whatever that reason may be, it leads to a story.

We gathered a few different stories on their travel in Rome. Each experience tells us a story on how and why they got to that situation and how it affected them in the end. We share to you direct quotes from traveler's own account and let's see if any of these experiences would somehow relate to you.

Here's a romantic story about two people who met in a hostel in Rome:

"But then, one evening, after a long day of sightseeing, my friends and I happened upon John and his friend eating in the communal kitchen. They seemed nice enough, so we sat down to join them. We talked for a long time, and I remember thinking that it was terribly unfortunate to meet such a wonderful guy all the way in Rome. ...

 ...I moved across the country for a man I’d met completely by chance in a horribly sketchy hostel in Rome. Now, five years later, we are happily married and enjoy reminiscing about our happenstance meeting."

Complete story here.

 Here's another story. This time, it's a hilarious one!

"We climbed the few steps that would allow us passage through to the inner area of the square and then it was as if an alarm went off. As soon as our feet stepped into the open area of St. Peter's Square, a torrential downpour, the likes of which I believe may be compared to a Category 5 Hurricane opened up and sent the visitors to Vatican City running for cover. ... 

...Kevin and I looked at each other and gave a nervous laugh. I don’t know if we will ever give the old joke about our less than spectacular attendance at church again, you know the old, "We are worried if we walk in, the walls will tumble down on us." Because when you think about it, they just might."

Complete story here.

 And this one is quite an unfortunate one. May this not happen to you.

"From impossible transfers to breaking the language barriers, backpacking in Europe can build stress and heartache.  While I backpacked for a month, the journey was exciting, whimsical, and amazing.  But, only one problem haunts me today and I swore after it occurred, I would inform future backpackers about the so called "Italian Transportation System" that failed, disappointed, and pissed me off."

Complete story here.

So whatever your story may be, share it with us! We might publish it here on our blog.

On the other hand, if you're visiting Rome, you can try some of our accommodations in Rome. There are great vacation rentals in Rome in Piazza Navona. And you know where to log on the net when you're looking for apartment in Rome. :) See you online and we hope you'll share your travel stories with us.

Rome for Cheap

BUDGET. It's one of the biggest things to consider when you go on travel. With a budget so tight, you think your travel will be so limited you might as well not go there because you might just not have fun. Well, worry-wart, the keyword there was THINK, MIGHT, and YOU. In short, it's just your state of mind.

In reality, there could be a way that you will have a great time in a travel - however limited your budget is. It's just a matter of looking for cheap accommodations, great fare or flight deals, tasty but affordable restaurants, and taking a whole new perspective of what a tourist spot is.

Accommodations in Rome are not that scarce. Actually, there's a lot of them. But there are only a few, like some Rome vacation rentals in Trastevere, which are cheap but gives you a nice comfortable feeling when you sleep. Just make sure that when you choose the perfect Rome vacation rental, see to it that it's near most of the other places you need access to. For example, restaurants, bus stations, tourist spots, market, grocery, etc. The nearer it is to everything, the bigger savings you would get since you don't need to ride anymore.

Speaking of ride, one thing that eats up the biggest part of your budget are your plane tickets. They cost a fortune, don't they? The biggest secret to having cheap flights are looking for promos and booking them ahead. Nobody ever went wrong with saving money in booking ahead. With other means of transportation, take the public transit. If not, walk. Walking would make you appreciate the place more. And that's our next savings tip.

Walk around. The best scenes of the place are not really on fancy places with exorbitant entrance fees. Walk around and you will see the beauty of the place. Go to museums with cheap entrance fees or even those which are for free. Go to plazas, or famous landmarks without spending too much.

And speaking of spending too much, FOOD is often one thing that we spend too much on. But you can always look for restaurants which doesn't cost that much but would still give you the taste of Rome. Trattorias are one of them. Great food without paying great, huge price.

So with all these in mind, do you think you're ready for some a budget-tight vacation? Well, you better be. Just make sure that the best thing to do to get the best out of your vacation is simply to enjoy and have fun.

Grazie a voi, lettori di!

An Italian proverb says "La gratitudine è la memoria del cuore." (Gratitude is the memory of the heart.)

This is how we exactly feel on our 12th post on this blog. It's like no one among our readers would ever know how thankful we are to have reached 3 months of posting some posts on Rome and traveling. Thankful because, however unclear to us if we have a lot of readers or not, we know that people read it. We are thankful because we are given this chance to impart to people what we know and what we could offer.

So we thank everybody who's been reading our blogs (both this and our Paris blog) - we all do hope you get a lot of information from everything we post here. We always try our best to give you more information about everything in Rome just to make sure you are well-equipped with information in your pockets when you visit the place.

Most of all, we thank you for trusting us as you accommodation in Rome. Most of are Steps, Termini, and Trastevere apartments in Rome were doing great and your support contributed to it a lot. This is not only it. The rest of our Rome vacation rentals in all other key places in the city have been getting much of your support too. So there's nothing more that we could say but thank you.

More and more posts would be coming from us... as always. Until the next one!

Sidenote: We're doing the same THANK YOU thing in our Paris blog. Just a little touch of difference but all of the gratitude is still there. :)


Another P.S.: Just a little serving for you guys... this message translated to Italian? Possible. See below:

The NOTs in Rome

Since in our Paris blog we talked about "what not to do", we think it is just and fair to talk about the same thing in our Rome blog. After all, these two cities are not that far from each other when it comes to enjoyment and to beauty in travel and tours.

So what are the things that one traveler should avoid while in Rome? Just like our Paris blog, we gathered every information we could get on this matter and collated everything and chose 5 among the many. So are you ready? Here we go.

First, DON'T GO TO THE COLOSSEUM WITHOUT SUNBLOCK.Apply a generous amount of sun protection on your skin and bring wide-brimmed hats or anything that would protect you from the sun. The place is not known for having lots of shades and the weather gets pretty hot. Just a little sunburn precaution.

DON'T GIVE MONEY TO GYPSIES. This is a general rule, not only in Rome, but also in other places where there are people begging for money. Don't ever give a single penny. We understand... maybe you just really feel sympathy and would love to help even just for a little. But you should also know that when you give money to one, the rest of the flock would follow.

Another thing to take note - DON'T DINE NEAR THE TRAIN STATION. Never. The food are mostly overpriced and you would wonder why because they don't taste and look exemplary. It's like spending a lot for nothing. Go and look for a good diner or restaurant. At least if it is a bit costly, it would be worth it.

DON'T BE OFFENDED BY CATCALLS FROM MEN. If you're not too accustomed with this, don't react violently. These are taken as compliments in Italy. When men catcalls you, it means they admired something in you. If you ignore them, they will stop eventually.

Lastly, DON'T KEEP ON BUYING BOTTLED WATER. You can buy one but you can just reuse the bottle and refill it with drinking fountains. You might be concerned about the cleanliness of the water but trust us when we say it is safe. Everybody in Rome drinks from their fountains. So instead of wasting your money on bottled waters, save with the drinking fountains instead.

Now we're done telling you what NOT to do in Rome. It's time to tell you WHAT TO DO. Go and book an accommodation in Rome now to experience the adventure in this lovely city. Rome apartments in Colosseum are easy to find and are situated near tourist spots. Most Rome apartment rentals in Colosseum are also affordable and are great finds.

So go ahead... DO and DO NOT do these stuff to enjoy one great vacation in Rome.