Journeys Viaggio

Florence’s Piazza del Duomo is getting a thorough cleaning in preparation for the November 2015 National Conference of the Italian Church being held in Florence. The event will bring 3500 Cardinals and Bishops and possibly warrant a visit by Pope Francis. All of the marble facades of the buildings and monuments occupying the square will be cleaned and restored, which is over 40,000 square meters of surface. Currently the project is focused on the Duomo, inside and out, followed by the restoration of the Baptisty and the Palazzi dei Canonici.

The Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, the non-profit organization that protects and promotes Florence’s cathedral, has undertaken this significant project.

In a effort to make families feel more welcome to visit the museum in Piazza Duomo and the monumnets, a new combined ticket, costing 10 Euro, has been introduced and admission is free for children under the age of 15. This may reduce the queues a bit as well.

The majority of my clients are heading to Italy this summer and and fall, however quite a few have Paris on their travel agendas. They are going to experience a warmer welcome from the Parisians due to a new city sponsored project called “Do You Speak Touriste?”
As the saying goes, Paris would be great, if it weren’t for the French. Now, in an effort to improve tourism in a down economy, the city is distributing pamphlets to local businesses teaching them how to not be so famously rude to visitors.
Aimed at improving relations between the 80,000 visitors a day and front line workers like taxi drivers, servers, hoteliers, museum staffers, and merchants, “Do You Speak Touriste?” provides colorful cheat sheets aimed at helping Parisians shed their snooty image. The city’s tourism board is passing out the six-page guide directly to service personnel, and also has an accompanying website. “I think they know it’s desperate,” Elaine Sciolino, a New York Times writer in Paris told TODAY, “I mean the economy is really hurting, and unemployment is at ten percent. Foreign investment is way down, so you’ve got to keep tourism up.”
For instance, to understand Americans, the guide says, locals should know they demand WiFi, enjoy high-end hotels, and prefer to have dinner at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, Germans want to converse in German. Spanish like amusement parks. Feeling uncertain about navigating an unknown city, the Japanese need to be reassured. And the guide describes the Chinese as “fervent shoppers,” gently reminding readers that “a simple smile and hello in their language will fully satisfy them.”

The pamphlet provides tips for 11 different nationalities in total. But not everyone feels they need the new handbook. Chef Francois Pasteau of L’Epi Dupin has insisted his staff speak English, among other languages, for the last 18 years. “Why you have to be rude with customers??” Pasteau told TODAY. “No! You have to be nice, with everybody!” With tourists lining up to dine at his bistro, the attitude seems to be working.

For a video newscast to hear more, click here to watch.

Once again, Italy is the top destination that my clients are traveling to this spring, summer and fall. And most of them are traveling by train at least once during their trip. So I thought this was perfect timing for a refresher on Italy’s train system.

Italy largest public rail system consists primarily of three types of train – the regional or local slower trains, the intercity faster trains with fewer stops, and the Eurostar and Frecce fast trains. Seat reservations on Eurostar Italia and Le Frecce trains are mandatory. Eurostar Italia trains have now mainly been replaced by the Frecce series that serve major cities and you’ll see them designated on the Trenitalia web site as Frecciarossa, Freeiargento, and Frecciabianca, however on the departure board at the station they may still be designated by ES (Eurostar). Reservations are generally offered on Intercity trains and sometimes are mandatory and not needed or offered on the regional routes.

First and second class service is available, though some regional have only second class. If you wish to guarantee yourself a seat on a regional train, buy first class if offered. First class coaches offer slightly better seats and are generally less crowded. If you find that your train is crowded and you can’t find a seat in second class, you may try to find a conductor and ask if your ticket can be upgraded to first class.

Italo, a private train company, which began service in June of 2012, runs fast trains on 8 routes currently. Italo offers three classes of service. I posted my postive experience on Italo a few months ago.

Now for some vocabulary. In Italian, the tracks are called binari (track numbers are listed under bin on the departure board). In smaller stations where the trains go through the station you’ll have to go underground using the sottopassagio or underpassage to get to a track that isn’t Binario uno or track number one. Larger stations like Milano Centrale, where the trains pull into the station rather than passing through, you’ll see the trains head-on, with signs on each track indicating the next expected train and its departure time.
If you have a regional train ticket (or any ticket without a specific date, time, and seat assignment), just before you board your train, find the green and white box (or in some cases the old-style yellow machines) and insert the end of your ticket. This prints the time and date of the first use of your ticket, and makes it valid for the journey. There are stiff fines for not validating a ticket. Validation applies mainly to regional train tickets and any ticket that does not have a specific date, time, and seat number on it.

Once you find your train, just board it. You will probably have to show your biglietto or ticket to a conductor once during your journey–so keep it where you can get to it. Usually there are racks above the seats for luggage. Sometimes there are dedicated shelves near the ends of each coach for your larger baggage. Note that you will not find porters in the station or waiting by the track to help you with your luggage, you will need to get your luggage onto the train yourself.

A simple buon giorno will do nicely to greet your seat mate. If you want to know if a seat (posto) is vacant, simply say Occupato? or E libero?.

One last tip, since there may be multiple stations in your destination city, be sure you get off at the right one. Buon Viaggio !

Lisbon to Barcelona by a tall masted sailing ship offered six Spanish ports of call during an eight night cruise. Coastal ports visited were Cadiz with access to Seville, Malaga with time for a visit to Ronda and Marbella, Almeria and enough time to visit Granada, followed by Cartagena, and Valencia, before arriving in Barcelona.
Windstar ships are small enough to dock (rather than moor) conveniently close to the historic centers. A time saver and certainly more pleasant for guests to come and go from ship at their leisure. Full days in port offer sufficient time for guests to get a good taste of each destination. Without exception every city visited was pedestrian friendly, culturally and historically interesting, and welcoming.
All three of Windstars ships have been recently refurbished and the crew, from Captain to Cabin stewards are professional and personable, all clearly eager to make the guests experience enjoyable.
When prevailing winds allow, the Windsurf, the largest of the fleet, can sail up to 13 knots per hour without engaging the engines.