Sep 19th, 2009 at 12:30PM: Naples may have a team of ex-cons out on the streets helping lost tourists, but Rome will soon have a fleet of angels - "tourist angels". According to the online Italy Magazine, Rome is currently recruiting a fleet of 60 guides who will zoom around the city on "electric chariots" (souped-up Segways, perhaps?) looking for confused visitors to help out with information and directions.
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Rome posts
Lost in Rome? Look for a "tourist angel"
Sep 19th, 2009 at 12:30PM: Naples may have a team of ex-cons out on the streets helping lost tourists, but Rome will soon have a fleet of angels - "tourist angels". According to the online Italy Magazine, Rome is currently recruiting a fleet of 60 guides who will zoom around the city on "electric chariots" (souped-up Segways, perhaps?) looking for confused visitors to help out with information and directions.
Rome's ...To Italy and back for under $800
Sep 9th, 2009 at 5:00PM: Every once in awhile I catch wind of a deal so good, I think I might just take advantage of it myself -- this is one of those deals. It seems like it costs $800 just to breathe lately, but you can actually get to Italy and back for well under that! The deal is from TourCrafters, and for just $696, you can get airfare from New York on Alitalia -- including fuel surcharges -- and four nights in a ...The World's ten happiest cities
Sep 5th, 2009 at 11:30AM: Disney World has been labeled "the Happiest Place on Earth", but one look at the tired parents, screaming kids, and extremely long lines will tell you that is just marketing spin. Ever wonder where the actual happiest place on Earth is? Then wonder no more, because Forbes, in conjunction with market researcher GfK Custom Research North America, has put together a list of the ten happiest cities on ...It pays to be young in Rome this August
Aug 10th, 2009 at 12:00PM: To combat the travel lull Rome typically experiences in August, the city is offering some fantastic deals to lure travelers. The catch? You must be under 30 years old to get the special prices.
Head to any tourist office in Rome, show proof that you're between 18 and 29 years old, pick up your free promo card and use it to get discounts all over the city. 32 restaurants are offering special ...Sexy Italian minister in damage control mode after rip-off reports
Jul 25th, 2009 at 5:30PM: When a huge portion of your economy depends on tourism money, the last thing you want is a lot of bad press about how your country is ripping off tourists. So, it must really suck to be Italy this week. After two Japanese tourists contacted local Rome police about an insane dinner bill, the government has finally announced plans to combat these scams. The Japanese couple hadn't even ordered ...Talking Travel: David Farley, Author of An Irreverent Curiosity
Jul 13th, 2009 at 11:00AM: Striking a balance between being informative and being entertaining is one of the most difficult aspects of non-fiction writing. And when it comes to travel writing, it becomes even more challenging. The author needs to educate readers about people and places while also keeping them engaged in his own personal story. Thankfully, travel writer David Farley has done just that and managed to go the ...American tourists return stolen Colloseum rock after 25 years
May 29th, 2009 at 4:00PM: In an event bound to give American tourists a bad/worse name abroad, 2 Californian tourists have mailed back a chunk of the Colosseum they stole 25 years ago. They had the small rock in their souvenir collection, but claim they kept feeling guilty every time they saw it (which begs the question why they didn't mail it back sooner). Of course, once chipped off the landmark, you can't exactly glue ...Travel Bookshelf: free guidebook to "Angels and Demons" Rome
May 19th, 2009 at 2:00PM: Small press guidebook publisher Roaring Forties Press has released a free guidebook in downloadable PDF format titled Rome's Angels and Demons: The Insider's Guide to the Locations Featured in the Book and Movie. Author Angela K. Nickerson covers all the sites mentioned in the bestselling book, and then delves into the historical background of the real characters mentioned in the plot, such as ...The Westin does Angels & Demons in Rome
May 13th, 2009 at 5:30PM: Come out of hiding, closet Dan Brown fans. Come out of hiding and get thee to The Westin Excelsior in Rome! In conjunction with the release of the new movie of Angels & Demons, The Westin Excelsior Rome (above) has partnered with Sony Pictures to create a lavish Angels & Demons Experience package that will run until early 2010. The Angels & Demons Experience includes:
Luxury ...Gadling + BootsnAll - Picks of the Week (4.24.09)
Apr 24th, 2009 at 2:00PM: Welcome to Friday and another installment of our weekly content picks from travel partners BootsnAll. We reach into our "Gadling hat" and pick out 5 of the week's best travel stories at BootsnAll, covering topics ranging from religious monuments to food to old travel standbys like Paris. Got it? Good. Let's see what we pulled up this week:
Twitter x Travel - all you Twitterers out there ...Gadling + BootsnAll - Picks of the Week (3.20.09)
Mar 20th, 2009 at 2:30PM: Another week of March is just about in the books, which means it's time for Gadling's Friday roundup of travel content from our friends at BootsnAll. What had us taking a second look this week? Read on below to check it out...
Long-term Volunteering - there are plenty of opportunities to donate your time while traveling. In fact spending a trip abroad donating your time is an increasingly ...Heathrow annoying, Americans rude according to some social network
Feb 22nd, 2009 at 5:00PM: The members of social network Where Are you Now? have spoken! Heathrow is the worst airport in the world, according to voters, thanks to passport control lines and baggage problems. The Brits don't get all the glory, though. JFK in New York and Los Angeles picked up spots #2 and #3, respectively. The good news, for Heathrow and JFK, at least, is that both were at the top of the list for security. ...Galley Gossip: A question about packing (it's all about the shoes!)
Feb 17th, 2009 at 9:30AM:
Dear Heather,
Love your blog and your web site! I laugh all the time. I usually only fly once a year for a cruise, but when I do I always see people doing what you write about and I laugh. I also try to remember to do and not do what you write about. I've never had a bad experience with flight staff or any flight for that matter. I'm about to go on vacation and I do have a question about luggage. ...When in Rome...Keep an Eye on Your Purse
Sep 23rd, 2008 at 10:30AM: If someone mentions Rome, a lot of things come to mind. You might think of museums, fountains, narrow streets, the pope, the history....the petty thieves. A recent post by Elizabeth Rosenthal on IHT's Globespotters blog relates how Rome, while a great city and popular tourist destination, is not the idyllic spot some might expect. Pickpockets and bag snatching artists are out in full force in even ...Alitalia may start canceling flights -- can't afford fuel
Sep 15th, 2008 at 7:30AM: Alitalia has been going through a bit of a rough patch of late. Even before the fuel crisis this past summer, Italy's national airline was already struggling with poor service, unhappy unions and terrible management. Now, with costs going through the roof the airline is in some serious financial trouble. Through the course of the summer, Alitalia has been looking for ways out of it's tangle. For a ...Galley Gossip: Packing Light - Rome, Italy
Sep 10th, 2008 at 11:00AM:
"Okay," said the husband, shoving his cell phone into the back pocket of his blue jeans. People, all of them very fashionably dressed, whizzed by us while we stood on the cobblestone street outside a large glass window displaying freshly baked pizza. We had just exited the train station in Rome and were looking for our hotel, The Gregoriana. "The guy said to walk up the Spanish Steps, turn ...Galley Gossip: Ask a flight attendant - Positano, Italy
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Aug 15th, 2008 at 3:30PM:
While on a flight to Stansted, England, on our way to Venice, the New York based international flight attendant working on my side of the cabin eyed the book, Frommer's Italy 2008, in my hands as she poured a little cream into my coffee. "Are you going to Italy?"
"We are," I said, nodding my head at the husband who was asleep beside me. When she placed the cup of coffee on my tray table, I ...Rome, Italy outlaws eating snacks at tourist sites this summer
Jul 17th, 2008 at 8:00AM: You can still marvel at the Pantheon in Rome this summer. Just don't be eating any gelato while doing it. Rome has passed a measure outlawing the eating of snacks at many of its most famous tourist attractions, in an effort, say officials, to preserve the city's treasured monuments. The snack ban went in effect this past weekend, and will last through October. For travelers, this came as a shock, ...Photo of the Day (06.29.08)
Jun 29th, 2008 at 1:00PM: Check out this great night shot of the Roman Forum by stevenduke. The Forum is one of the more surreal places you'll visit if you go to Rome, and I think stevenduke's photo really captures that feeling. The Forum is known as the historic heart of this Italian city - a collection of aging marble monuments that once represented the political center of the world's greatest empire. These same columns ...Europe on a budget: Take public transportation
May 28th, 2008 at 5:00PM: It really shouldn't come as a surprise, but when you are trying to save those euros this summer, you are going to want to spend your time discovering cities by way of public transportation. Buses, street cars and metros are what the European continent is known for, and this article in the New York Times highlights how many good deals you can find aboard different forms of transportation. The ...
