Northern Italy - Contributors

[geogphotos]

Just seen this headline:

 

Coronavirus: Northern Italy quarantines 16 million people

 

Is that right - nobody can leave, nobody can arrive?

 

Includes Milan, Venice all the major tourist places too?

Edited March 8, 2020 by geogphotos

[spacecadet]

They're only applying it to residents. So they haven't killed their tourist business completely. Those places are going to be a bit quite though with no museums and no restaurants after 1800.

[geogphotos]

14 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

They're only applying it to residents. So they haven't killed their tourist business completely. Those places are going to be a bit quite though with no museums and no restaurants after 1800.

 

On Booking.com I've just found a double room for £30 in centre of Venice next week. Never been there, that can't be normal can it?

 

[spacecadet]

27 minutes ago, geogphotos said:

 

On Booking.com I've just found a double room for £30 in centre of Venice next week. Never been there, that can't be normal can it?

 

Crikey.

Grab it and see what happens. Although we usually only pay about €60 this time of year anyway. Worth a punt but I'd be seeing what was open first. You can live without the museums, but missing the likes of the Accademia or the Frari first visit would be a shame.

Depends how adventurous you are. But whatever you do, if you fly to Venice rather than Treviso, get the waterbus from the airport and arrive at San Marco like a Doge. They say it's the most beautiful city on earth because it's true.

Edit: not looked closely but on the face of it, nothing wrong with any of those. Astounding. Plenty of actual hotels there for a bit more. How bad can they be for a few nights? IMO not bad at all- but then we've been going to the same place for a while.

Edited March 8, 2020 by spacecadet

[geogphotos]

1 minute ago, spacecadet said:

Crikey.

Grab it and see what happens. Although we usually only pay about €60 this time of year anyway. Worth a punt but I'd be seeing what was open first. You can live without the museums, but missing the likes of the Accademia or the Frari first visit would be a shame.

Depends how adventurous you are. But whatever you do, if you fly to Venice rather than Treviso, get the waterbus from the airport and arrive at San Marco like a Doge. They say it's the most beautiful city on earth because it's true.

 

 

Is that because Ipswich is a town?

[spacecadet]

Edit again - that place I said we'd been to a few times- only £45. Bernardi Semenzato. Only shared bathroom left though next week, but if it's in the annexe like ours was last time, you actually share it with no-one. It's just a door away. Always reliable.

[geogphotos]

14 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

Edit again - that place I said we'd been to a few times- only £45. Bernardi Semenzato. Only shared bathroom left though next week, but if it's in the annexe like ours was last time, you actually share it with no-one. It's just a door away. Always reliable.

 

Not actually planning to go just out of interest.

 

Thanks for your insights.

[spacecadet]

24 minutes ago, geogphotos said:

 

Not actually planning to go just out of interest.

 

Thanks for your insights.

Too bad.

[Betty LaRue]

Book a room and buy a hazmat suit...😅

[Michael Ventura]

Talked to my cousin today, who lives in Milan.  She was saying that life is pretty tough there.  They are locked down with very little to do.  Many businesses are closed, schools are closed.  She can still get groceries but there is a heavy pall over the city.  Of course, I am sure life is still much better then the WWII days of bombs raining down on many of the European cities.

[Cecile Marion]

The last Italian city I visited this past fall was Milan - a placed I liked very much - and I’ve been trying to imagine what life is like there right now. I cannot imagine! Are residents allowed out? Has public transportation come to a halt? 

[Allan Bell]

18 hours ago, geogphotos said:

 

Not actually planning to go just out of interest.

 

Thanks for your insights.

 

Pity you are not going. If you were I would say to visit Murano to se the glass being manufactured. Then on to Burano which is a beautiful island noted for its lace manufacturing. The lace is still produced the old fashioned way and you can see the lace makers sat outside of their houses making the lace. The houses are very colourful too.

 

Allan

 

[spacecadet]

20 hours ago, geogphotos said:

 

Not actually planning to go just out of interest.

 

Thanks for your insights.

Probably a good choice as of today- FO advice is now against non-essential travel, and self-isolate on return.

Edited March 9, 2020 by spacecadet

[Robert M Estall]

I certainly wouldn't go to Venice just because there are bargains to be had at some hotels. The eateries are still going to charge the same and you would still have to take care not to get the Tourist swindles. Ryanair flies to Treviso which is a horrid drive into Venice. If you ever go, fly to Marco Polo airport and grab either a watertaxi or a Vaporetto which is the waterbus system you are going to have to get used to soon.. Comparing Venice to Ipswich is quite a stretch! True, the town has pulled itself up quite a bit over the past couple of decades, especially the docks area, but the sprawling estates are still pretty grim. One John Lewis shop makes doesn't quite do the trick.

Edited March 10, 2020 by Robert M Estall

[spacecadet]

16 minutes ago, Robert M Estall said:

I certainly wouldn't go to Venice just because there are bargains to be had at some hotels. The eateries are still going to charge the same and you would still have to take care not to get the Tourist swindles. Ryanair flies to Treviso which is a horrid drive into Venice. If you ever go, fly to Marco Polo airport and grab either a watertaxi or a Vaporetto which is the waterbus system you are going to have to get used to soon.. Comparing Venice to Ipswich is quite a stretch!

Nothing resembling a "swindle" has ever happened to us in 25 years. But true, a cheap hotel only means maybe €30 a night less, and if you want cheap, go to Split, not Venice. But then, it's not Venice.

Sure Venice can be expensive but you're paying for theatre in San Marco, and everything has to come in by water. It's still possible to get reasonable sustenance, out in Cannaregio, for example, or along Via Garibaldi. But drinks at Florian's is a must occasionally, even if it's €14 for a spritz Aperol and extra for the string quartet.

In fact Ryanair does now fly Marco Polo - Stansted at least- they changed our flight late in the day last year from Treviso!- and it's OK on the bus, but for anyone going for the first time it's got to be the waterbus just for the drama.

Anyway it's a bit academic as of today- the FO advising against non-essential travel and self-isolation on return. Too bad. Maybe next year.

Edited March 10, 2020 by spacecadet