<p>Rome is an utterly astonishing city, filled with fascinating archaeological structures and several excellent museums. The central part of the city is quite walkable. Aside from the obvious (Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon, St. Peter’s basilica, some of the ancient baths, and the Palatine Hill), I highly recommend the Ara Pacis, the Mausoleum of Augustus (essentially a grassy hill–interesting for the contrast with St. Peter’s), and the Capitoline museum–statue of Hercules, bronze of the wolf nursing Romulus and Remus, Marcus Aurelius (I believe) on horseback. I have not seen the Domus Aureus on the Palatine Hill yet, but hope to do that in the future. </p>
<p>I would like to be in Rome when the Antico Caffe Greco is open (i.e., not August). Reportedly Goethe, Keats, Shelley, and Byron all frequented it. The Caffe Sant’Eustachio is also famous. Babington’s Tea Room adjacent to the Spanish Steps holds fond memories for me, because I first visited it immediately after a downpour–it is excellent, but a bit pricey and more English than Italian–still . . . very friendly staff who will quickly start to recognize you. There is also a small gelato and sandwich shop near the Teatro di Marcello, on the street that leads up to the Monument of Victor Emmanuel. You might pass this up as excessively touristy, and it is full of tourists, but the people who run it are exceptionally nice, and the gelato and sandwiches are excellent.</p>
<p>I thought that it was well worth the climb of the dome of St. Peter’s, for the views, both inside and out. You can take an elevator part way up, and then continue on foot. The crypt is also worth seeing–I am inclined to believe that the tomb of St. Peter is in fact there. If this is of interest to you, the Marmorean Prison, near the Forum, is also worth visiting, as is St. Paul’s outside the Walls. I have not been interested in seeing the catacombs any time recently, but there is bus service to that part of the Via Appia (south of the city, as I recall), where you could also visit the church of “Domine, Quo Vadis?” if interested.</p>
<p>I found the Viator half-day or full-day tour deals worthwhile in several cases–particularly at L’Accademia in Florence, in order to see David. This had the advantage of an entertaining and knowledgeable guide, as well as avoiding long lines for entry. The corresponding tour of the Vatican museum might well be worthwhile, too–we experienced a fairly long line, waiting for it. I would not recommend the afternoon Viator tour of the Uffizi museum in Florence as highly, because the time is too short for the number of really interesting paintings in the museum. If you go to the Pitti Palace, I recommend getting <em>all</em> of the tickets before you enter–there are separate admission tickets for different sections of the palace, and I found it annoying to have to go back down quite a few flights of steps to the ticketing area near the entrance, when I didn’t have the complete set.</p>
<p>If you are interested in Roman archaeology, you can take a day trip to Ostia Antica, the old port which is now some miles inland. The ruins there are quite interesting, with tile mosaics, and the overall structure of the port city still quite evident.</p>
<p>To reply to the question, “What not to do in Italy?” My main suggestion is: avoid being pick-pocketed at Termini Station in Rome, if you are there. I was very nearly pick-pocketed by what appeared to be a two-person team, consisting of a man who was very insistent on helping us with our luggage, and a woman who came up from behind, as the man was ahead of us with the luggage. Despite the “help,” I was trailing one suitcase, and pushing one ahead of me, because we had too much luggage for the man to handle by himself. This turned out to be a great advantage, actually. I was bumped from behind by the woman attempting to get through. I turned to indicate that I would move the suitcase in front, so that she could pass, and at that moment, I noticed that the flap of my purse had been lifted, it had been unzipped, and my wallet had been lifted about 40% of the way out of my purse. I would not have believed that this could happen without my noticing it. I looked down at my purse in astonishment, and the woman moved quickly on. Since the attempt didn’t succeed, I am still marveling at the skill with which it was (almost) executed.</p>
I do have some Starwood/AmEx points so I will check it out. I had heard about Florence properties being spectacular.</p>