Italy

As mentioned in the post about places to see, Italy is one you should definitely not miss. I spent my Toussaint break there seeing quite a lot. Here are some notes about the places i traveled:

• Milan - There is not much to see in Milan, with one huge exception: The Duomo. I feel a trip to Milan would be worth it, if only to see the Duomo.
• Lake Como - This is a beautiful lake north of Milan that's actually in the Alps. We took a boat ferry up the lake to the beautiful little town of Bellagio. Lake Como is definitely worth a visit, if you have the time.
• Florence - This was my favorite city in Italy. The Duomo is incredible, the Leather Market is really fun to look through, the museums are great... it's just a great city! Pay the 11€ and see the David, you won't regret it. It's huge. While in Florence, we took a winery tour that also had olive oil and wine tasting which was great. We also took a cooking class out in the Tuscan countryside which was a lot of fun. There are a lot of opportunities like this available in Florence, just take a look online. If you want a good hostel, stay at Danyhouse. It's a bit north of the city center, but it is a great time. It's a very small intimate hostel.
  
• Rome - Can't see Italy without going to Rome! Rome can be overwhelming though, it is a huge city. It is also rather expensive. My recommendation would be to stay in Rome for only a couple days (2 or 3) and see the main sights, then get out. That way you don't spend too much money. In my opinion the must see sights are the Vatican Museum (includes the Sistine Chapel - I recommend getting a guided tour), the Colosseum, the Pantheon (free!), and the Borghese Gallery.
• Naples - The city of Naples itself doesn't have much to see, and is not the best place for women traveling alone to visit. However, it did make a great base point for 2 amazing visits - Pompeii, and Capri. Take a tour of Pompeii, it is incredible. It is much bigger than I had originally imagined, and so much is still intact! Capri (pronounced CA-pri, I got corrected a lot for saying it like the short pants) is probably the most beautiful place I've been to in my entire life. The water is very... blue, and clear. You MUST see the Blue Grotto. It costs about 21€ and you only get about 5 minutes inside it, but it is extremely worth the price. It's basically a huge cavern, and the majority of the entrance to the cavern is underwater, so the water is lit, but not the air, giving it the blue effect that gave it its name. We also took a hike around the back side of the island and had some of the most beautiful views of cliffs, rock formations, and the ocean I've ever seen! We didn't make it down to the Amalfi coast, but we have also been told that it is a worthwhile trip as well. Even though Naples did not have much to see itself, the pizza and pastries were cheap and delicious!
  

My favorite parts of the trip were Capri, Pompeii, and Florence. I didn't make it to Venice, but my parents have been there before and loved it.


Here is some practical information about Italy:

Trains
There are a couple different train options available in Italy. The first is the Eurostar (not linked to the one that connects Paris and London) trains. These are the fast, nice, comfortable, and expensive trains in Italy. Fares between Naples and Florence, Florence and Rome, Rome and Naples all run around 40€ a piece. The second is the Intercity or Intercity Plus trains which also run between the main cities in Italy, but are less comfortable, less nice, and also less expensive. Instead of 40€ each way, it's only 20€. They have a few more stops between each city, whereas the Eurostar trains go non-stop between major cities. The train rides aren't very long, around 2 hours between each of the main cities on the Intercity and only about 1h30m on the Eurostar. Reservations are necessary, but you can book your reservations shortly before the train leaves and have a seat no problem.

Public Transportation
There are metros in Rome, Milan, and Naples, but they aren't very extensive. There are a lot of bus services in the cities, but they can be very confusing. Usually ask someone working at the hostel which buses to take, they tend to know the bus routes pretty well.

Restaurants
Like in France, the tip is usually included in restaurants. You can't get free water, you have to pay for bottled water. There are strange rules about when you get bread and when you don't. We think you may need to get a pasta dish, but we never quite figured it out. Overall the service is very good in restaurants.