Perche

Yes, it's a very walkable town.

KLouis

And for a quick lunch in Orvieto, try L'altro Vissani; a bar/restaurant belonging to one of the big Italian cooks (please, no discussions on Vissani! ). The place is about 100 m before the Duomo on your right hand side.

boybi

According to google, it's permanently closed.

boybi

I'll be taking the train from Rome to Florence. Which part of Termini should we be dropped off by the taxi?

Perche

Front entrance. Unless you plan to go to Mercato Centrale to eat first. The reason is that there are almost 30 tracks. With few exceptions, like the train to the airport, you don't know which track your train will be leaving from. You have to watch the board, like at the airport. About 20-30 minutes before departure, they announce the track for the train to Florence. If you are on the side, say around track 25, and they announce departure from track 6, you'll have to walk to the front and walk around to the other side. It's best not gobbe on either side, just in the front, until you know which track.

KLouis

Well, they do try to have trains to given destinations "always" leave from the same platform. For example, the train to Foligno "always" left from platform 2. In most train stations (is it still true for Termini?) the train schedule is printed on big posters that you can find throughout, white for ARRIVI and yellow for PARTENZE, and the track (BINARIO) is also indicated. Although in most cases correct , as Perche noted, you really never know whether this will be so on a particular day. This is usually due to delayed trains blocking a platform or other operational reasons. Thus, the main entrance is indeed the safest, and then do check the electronic board.

boybi

By the way, what's a typical Roman breakfast?

ckendall

Cappucinio e cornetto

boybi

Googled it, it seems Italians do a quick breakfast, around 10min or less. Would it be rude to stay/occupy the table longer?

Perche

Italians eat dinner late the night before, and tend not to wake up very hungry. In essence, there is no breakfast. They just snack on a cornetto, which means croissant, and have a cup of coffee. It doesn't involve a table, and is usually eaten standing up. People just stop at a bar for a coffee and a croissant, eat and drink it in 2-3 minutes, and head off.

The time Americans spend cooking breakfast, they'd rather be sleeping. Breakfast is just a snack to get you to the "pausa" which usually is 15-20 minute thing that happens at around 11, where you eat a sandwich or something. That holds you over to lunch, anywhere between 1-2:30 PM.

Of course, if you want to sit at a table and eat your croissant and drink your coffee, you can. They charge double for that, but you can stay as long as you like. In the USA, they want to turn over the table so that another person can come and leave a tip. The more times the turn over the table, the more the tips. Since people don't leave a tip in Italy, they really don't care how long you stay. Just as a general point, if I seem to be holding up a line of people waiting for a table, then it's courteous to not hog the seat. Otherwise, you can sit there for 5 hours, for all anyone would care.

In hotels serving American/German/British breakfast, that's different. That's ham, eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, waffles, bagels, etc. That's not italian breakfast, it's called Anglo-Saxon breakfast.

I saw something funny and cute the other day. I was at one of the bars that sell the best coffee. A man and a woman walked in who were clearly from the US from their accent, and asked for two cups of coffee. The barman asked, "What kind of coffee do you want, American coffee?" They seemed confused, and didn't seem to know what that meant, so he explained, "We make coffee the natural way, then put it in a large cup and fill it up with water."

rickg523

One of the reasons I tend to residential rentals rather than hotels in Italy is because I strongly prefer a protein breakfast to a carbohydrate one. And I can make my own in an apartment, which is not only far less expensive, but ime full breakfast isn't really that well done in Italy.
I must add this is the only meal I would consider better made by me than at a restaurant in Italy. Heck, I'm still trying to figure out how to cook orrechiette so they don't stick together

PWMTrav

The reason being that since in many parts of Italy lunch is usually around 1 or 2, and that dinner is at 8 or later, Italians simply aren't that hungry in the morning and opt for a snack. That's not to say you're wrong and shouldn't want breakfast, but I'm a little surprised that you do if you're eating on that schedule!

And to be sure that I'm not judging, I will volunteer that we bring our own peanut butter to Italy My daughter will usually have that as her breakfast, actually.

rickg523

Well, that's true if I ate a full Italian dinner, but I'm usually sharing an antipasto, having a primi (or, more rarely, a secondi, never both), and no more than a spoonful of dessert. Also, I'm not eating breakfast at the crack of dawn, before heading to work. That would have me enjoying the Italian breakfast for it's quick lightness. I'm eating more like 9 or 10, then heading out for fun.

boybi

Um, how do I order food from the menu if I don't speak and read Italian?

PWMTrav

Learn a few Italian phrases, enough to be able to ask if they can help you in English. Many Italians are competent, and usually understate how good their English really is (there's a self-consciousness about accents, I've found).

Many places have English menus and will offer them, others will just walk you through the Italian menu and explain it in English. I was at dinner the other night and watched a waiter go line by line with a Chinese couple with English as the common language, and what I appreciated in the exchange was that he wasn't steering anyone toward any particular (expensive) menu items, he literally explained every line on it and answered questions. Not everywhere will be that level of patient, but for the most part, service industry Italians in the cities are pretty welcoming. Or, you do what other tourists do, and listen for some other tourist who you hear speaking both English and Italian and ask them for help - I can't speak for everyone, but I certainly never mind when people ask me.

I am guessing, though, that you will be approached in English by default if you're in the historic center of major Italian cities. With Florence in particular, just about every local can spot a non-Italian. You generally shouldn't have a problem until you go too far South, or out into the countryside.