Italy - 2017 Trip Part 2 - Useful things (written 7/26/17)

Even though we have been to Italy a few times before, we did things differently this time and the following things might be useful to others:

Time
We knew this before, but between 3/4pm and 7pm don't expect to find an open place to eat. We had a problem with this because of jetlag, trying to get to our accommodations in time.

Coffee
Figure out what you want, order and pay at the cashier, bring the receipt to the place where they make the coffee. Also, cappucino/espresso and a croissant are very reasonable in Italy!

Train
Rome airport - put your ticket in the big slot and on the left side to punch your ticket.

Some stations we went to did not have the punch your ticket machine, but you need to look for them. One place had non-working machines so train personnel came around to look at your ticket.

Bus
Florence - many tobacco shops have tickets. If you are directed to the bus ticket window and there are people with forms in front of you, go to the tobacco shop, outside and across the street.  Also, we didn't know at the time, but I think you can buy a ticket from the driver (it might cost more). The place to punch your bus ticket is about 2 seats behind the driver.

Food
At the deli like area near the salads in a Carrefour grocery store in Rome, there was a vegetable that looks like cooked spinach.  I looked up the name while we were there and it came back with chicory. I am not sure what kind, but looking at this now, I think it might have been cooked dandelion leaves. We had this a couple of times and really liked it!

Had we not been late to the Florence apartment, we would not have been curious about the wonderful looking sandwich our owner had to go get while waiting for us. It looked so good that we walked around the neighborhood and got one. Delicious!  We sought out a couple more places after finding this.

The only dish I was not crazy about the veal tonnato. I would not order it again. Oh, and we weren't crazy about the "grilled" meats. They seem to like that burnt charred taste. We did like that the meat was rare though.

We really liked ribolita (Tuscan soup) and panna cotta.

Sightseeing
Rome - Book the Vatican online if you are there during a busy season. We were there a couple of weeks before Easter and there were a lot of people. If you are using the Metro, take the Cipro station to avoid the endless number of people trying to sell you tours, maps, etc. Also, get there early and go to St. Peters Cathedral first. The Pieta brought tears to my eyes the first time I saw it. Don't miss it.

Florence - Uffizi - we were able to go buy a ticket for a different day while we were in the area. This was convenient for us.