"Contributions" Needed!

11:10:00 PM Unknown 3 Comments

Harlow!

I'm planning for a Taiwan (Taipei & nearby) plus a Italy + Switzerland F&E trip next year. All recommendations (places of interest, food, accommodation, transport) are most welcome (& needed)!

Comment/email me okie? Thanks a great deal! ^_^

3 comments:

JT said...

Haven't been to Taiwan, but Switzerland and Italy, I can share my trips -

Switzerland -
Buy the good morning ticket (~CHF 140 pp) from Interlaken Station to go to Jungfraujoch. Good Morning Ticket includes a reduction for the Kleine Scheidegg - Jungfraujoch section. You pay the normal fares to Kleine Scheidegg.

Buy the tickets jungfraujoch from the train station at Interlaken. (Will get a cheaper rate if u have the swiss pass but swiss pass doesn’t include tickets to jungfraujoch). Things up at the cafe on Jungfrau are quite exp so pack a sandwich and water before you go up. Even maggi mee is exp up there. Eurail Pass covers most train journeys but not all. For the Jungfraujoch journey it covers the Interlaken to Wengen leg only and from Wengen to Jungfraujoch you get a 25% discount on the train ticket.

At Interlaken, I stayed at Hotel Rugenpark B&B Interlaken, which was simple and comfortable, owners were nice, and provided free winter wear up Jungfrau.

If you were to leave Interlaken earlyish, you would still have plenty of time for a full visit to the j.f.joch. Dont leave it too late to go up as it is not unheard of for the clouds to come in in the early afternoon. You won’t have any trouble finding something to eat in grindelwald. All in all it sounds like a good plan for a day trip.

I also visited Zurich for a day. In Zurich, don't miss the fashionable boutiques in Bahnofstrasse - it starts from the main station and ends at the lake- and the bylanes for some nice little shops and cafes.

JT said...

Italy -
I covered Venice, Rome, Pisa and Florence. There wasn't much in Milan.

Venice -
I had lunch at the Ristorante/Trattoria La Zucca
(just in from the St. Stae water bus stop; ask directions). Also, visited Basilica di San Marco, and Rialto Bridge was nice in the evening / night.

From Venice, I took the train to Florence (Station: Santa Maria Novella) and then made way to the Duomo. Visted the Piazza Della Signoria.
- See the copy of David outside The Palazzo Vecchio,
- and Ammannatis Neptune Fountain.
- Lunch/tea at Rivoire (www.rivoire.it) - coffee/gelato (famous chocs)
- Lunch at Cellini: Mercato Centrale Area Pizza (near San Lorenzo area)
• Address: Piazza del Mercato Centrale 17R
• Phone: 055 291541
• Website: http://www.ristorantecellini.com/indexeng.html
Visited the Gli Uffizi Museum - Palazzo degli Uffici
(all famous Renaissance arts)
the church, San Mineato al Monte, above piazza Michelangelo
Dinner at La Ghiotta - roast beef and assorted sides; huge calzone's
and fabulous home made style lasagne. 1 litre of house wine 4 euros!
• Price: US$11-20
• Comparison: less expensive than average
• Address: Via Pietapiana 7/R
• Phone: 055 241237
• Directions: 10 mins walk from the Duomo, not far from post office
Gelato at Address: Via del Corso 75r
Phone: 055 294 386
Directions: Off Via dei Calzaiuoli, close to Piazza della Repubblica
Or Vivoli Gelato (Via Isola delle Stinche 7r)
• Phone: (055) 292-334
• Directions: Just near the junction of Via Isola delle Stinche and Via Ghibellina
Trattoria Za Za – another excellent and reasonably priced restaurant in Florence in Piazza del Mercato Centrale.

From Florence, headed off to Pisa.
Buy a Florence to Pisa Ticket. Buy a Pisa to Lucca Ticket. And buy a Lucca to Florence ticket. ...ALL at the Florence Bus Station. If you ask the driver, you will be informed of the stop close to the Piazza dei Miracoli - Leaning Tower Complex. Enjoy the Tower, Duomo, Baptistery, Campo Santo (you can get a combination ticket for all this, but it doesn't include climbing the Tower. http://www.opapisa.it/boxoffice/first.jsp) and the adjacent tourist-trap-but-great-fun market.

Enoteca Baldovino
• Address: Via San giuseppe 18R
• Phone: 0552347220
• Website: www.baldovino.com

JT said...

From Pisa, made way to Rome.
Lunch at L'Archetto di Fontana di Trevi [Via dell'Archetto 26]
Visit the Trevi Fountain (Fontana de Trevi) [It is said that the soldiers of Agrippa, looking for water in the via Collatina in the country, met a maiden who showed them the source of this pure water, which was hence called Virgin Water. The bas-relief on the right represents this even; that on the left shows Agrippa explaining to Augustus the plan to bring this water to Rome. ]
Walk to Piazza Di Spagna - the Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Spagna) and the church La Santi Vicenzo e Anastasio.
Shopping – Discount store near Spanish Steps (Via di Gesù e Maria 16A Phone: 06-361-3796 Directions: Near Spanish Steps; south of Piazza del Populo between Via del Corso and Via del Babuino. METRO: Flamino)
Make way to the Arch of Constantine (315 AD), Palantine Hill and the Colosseum (72 AD) for sunset in evening.
Walk to Palantine Hill and The Roman Forums (Forum Romanum) (from the Colosseum by the via Sacre past the Arch of Titus) [Entrances at Largo Romolo e Remo 5-6, Piazza S. Maria Nova (Arch of Titus), and Via del Monte Tarpeo (Capitoline Hill).Metro Line B: Colosseo, or bus 87, or a 5-minute walk from Piazza Venezia]
Dinner
Piazza del Popolo - Egyptian obelisk, nice fountains and few nice Churches like the Church Santa Maria del Popolo where you can see two great paintings of Carravagio. There are also two twin churches called Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Monte Santo which close the street Via del Corso.

Early morning make way to Vatican City to avoid crowds.
Climb up steps to top of St. Peters Basilica.
Sistine Chapel (opening hours) – Ceiling paintings & the famous sculpture The Pieta by Michaelangelo
Raphael rooms, Vatican Museum, Vatican gardens
Lunch
See the Castel Sant Angelo [open daily from 9am to 7pm]
- From St. Peter's it is a straight shot down Via delle Conciliazione.
Go to Capitoline Hill – Bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius [open 9am to 8pm] Take the metro to Colosseo or even easier any bus that will take you to Piazza Venezia. From there walk up the stairs on the right side of Il Vittoriano or behind the left side of the building.
Visit the Pantheon (23 BC) [In the centre of Rome, not far from Piazza Navona (Fountain of the Four Rivers) can take electric bus 116 very small bus or short walk from Piazza Venezia - Altare della Patria] – free entry
– Opening Times Monday - Saturday: 8.30am - 7.30pm Sunday: 9am - 6pm
Nice dinner for last night in Rome and walk around Piazza Navona and Trevi Fountain by night to see lights.

That's all =)
And naturally, for shopping, the factory outlets near Florence were amazing (and you already know!)..
Hope this comes in useful!
Enjoy!