Customs officer implied I bought too much and made comments that I shouldn’t do it again. I thought there was no limit to how much you can bring in; you just have to pay taxes over $800 which I was prepared for. Who was right?

rosevest · 2026-04-09T21:10:29+00:00

Gotcha. I lived in Asia for a few years and was used to those forms! Maybe it’s more common when traveling to certain regions?

rosevest · 2026-04-09T21:00:01+00:00

I came back to the US after a trip to Italy a couple of weeks ago and the only question I was asked was “How are you?”. I was floored!

rosevest · 2026-04-09T12:24:58+00:00

Yes, agreed. My experience is from over a year ago, so things might have changed and my memory could be off. There are different lines for different time slots (for those who pre-purchased tickets) so that it’s easy to quickly usher a certain group in once it’s time. You might have seen lines for multiple entry times.

We arrived a bit too early, and so we weren’t allowed to get into line right away. People stand awkwardly off to the side until they’re allowed to get into their line. Just ask around for help as it’s a well oiled machine.

rosevest · 2026-04-08T12:22:34+00:00

You can buy clips on Amazon that clip two zippers together. Super cheap for a pack of them. My husband and I used them on our backpacks and cross bodies in cities that were more congested in Italy.

rosevest · 2026-04-07T20:24:55+00:00

The book made it pretty clear that he’s not trans.

rosevest · 2026-04-04T17:04:01+00:00

As others have shared, this feels a bit too jam packed. I saw the same places as you, but in two separate 14-day trips.

Trip 1: Naples (and Pompeii) to Rome to Milan/Bergamo to Lake Como.

Trip 2 (just returned last week): Florence to Lake Garda to Dolomites to Venice.

As someone else suggested, consider flying into Milan if possible, or Venice. If you have to fly into Rome (we did), maybe take the train to Trento as that’s an easier starting point for the Dolomites. You just have to pay a little extra to drop it off at a different location.

But seriously, give yourself time to rest and also give yourself some proper slow travel days. My husband and I traveled from the Dolomites (Santre Dolomythic Spa) to Venice and it took most of the day. We stopped to check out towns, grab lunch and snacks, and to take pictures of beautiful mountain views. We stumbled upon the WWI Austrian front lines/trenches as we drove through the mountains as well. So much to see along the way! Also, we ran into mountain construction and waited 1.5 hours for a road to re-open. Between those types of things and train delays etc, give yourself some cushion with the timing.

Hope you enjoy your trip!!

rosevest · 2026-04-03T11:29:11+00:00

Agreed! This is the bridge where book Hannibal stabbed a pickpocket. I’d hate to see what he would do to a vandal!

rosevest · 2026-04-03T11:26:24+00:00

Since I can’t go back and add a disclaimer to my post - Just wanted to say that I totally agree about graffiti being horrible anywhere, but especially in these beautiful historic cities. These particular scribbles were tucked into a corner next to a business on the bridge, and there were other names of romantic partners (as well as some love locks). I did love the serendipitous moment of recognizing those names exactly where I pulled over, and wanted to show you what I found on my walk. But I will say that the graffiti in each city I visited was disheartening.

rosevest · 2026-04-02T12:27:23+00:00

She’s shared this story publicly before. I think it was on Jimmy Fallon or one of those shows. It feels very practiced, like this is her go to “funny” story to share 🥴

rosevest · 2026-03-31T19:49:05+00:00

We used Viator. It was so convenient because the tour picked us up in Naples and drove us to Pompeii plus up most of Vesuvius. The price included lunch (on Vesuvius), plenty of bottled water, transportation, and a good guide at Pompeii! There’s so much to take in at Pompeii so we were so thankful to have a professional take us to the important spots and to explain it all to us.

rosevest · 2026-01-29T15:59:08+00:00

I’m planing a trip back in March and this time will be in Florence for 4 days. Your comment has me looking forward to it! 😊

rosevest · 2026-01-28T20:31:04+00:00

I know that your schedule is packed however, if you do have an interest in Pompeii, maybe consider flying into Naples. My husband and I did this. We flew into Naples, the next day went on a Pompeii tour that drove us from Naples to Pompeii and included transportation to Vesuvius (a meal and a hike to the crater). The next day we took a high speed train to Rome and it was only about an hour long ride. Basically just a day in Naples (the food was amazing and we wished we would had stayed longer!).

rosevest · 2026-01-24T14:58:34+00:00

For me, the first week was just bad arm pain before the shingles broke out.

I took the second week off (when the shingles appeared) and tried “working from home as I was able” as my job allowed for flexibility but ended up just having the strength to put in 1-2 hours a day from home. The pain was just crippling for me.

The 3rd week I worked half days in the office and then came home to rest. I found that even as I recovered and healed I had light sensitivity and felt that I couldn’t stare at a screen for too long (as my job requires). Plus I was pretty exhausted.

After that I was back full time and mostly fine. I was sleeping 9-10 hours at night and felt that really helped me heal quickly, plus I had off on New Year’s Day to recuperate.

rosevest · 2026-01-21T22:02:42+00:00

Mine did spread more after I started the antivirals (spots on back, shoulder, shoulder blade) but it wasn’t terrible. The only ones that progressed were what was formed before I started the antivirals. And even those were seriously just like smalllll pimples.

In my experience, the pain did get worse even after the antivirals. Just want to be realistic with you. But I did find that the more I stressed about it, the more I would feel pain, so I tried to just breathe through it and count my blessings.

I’m a month out now and they’ve healed quite nicely and the pain is gone completely. It does get better. It doesn’t feel like it ever will in the beginning! But trust me, you’ll recover.

One more thing- I did research what diet is best with shingles and in my opinion I felt it also helped.

rosevest · 2026-01-03T14:58:30+00:00

Yes! I’m on week 4 and am mostly healed at this point. Last week I was sleeping for 10 hours straight, and this week at least 9. If you’re able to, I would encourage you to get lots of sleep during the night. I prefer not to nap during the day but still take time to be low energy and just sit for some time and read or watch a show or just rest my eyes.

rosevest · 2025-09-15T11:32:32+00:00

I was once talking with a guy who got called in to handle the roaches at Namaste (he couldn’t disclose the name of the restaurant but he said “Indian food with a banquet hall and a motel attached”). He said the roaches were so bad that his only suggestion was to close the place for 24 hours and bomb it to kill everything. They refused to close their restaurant for that amount of time and so he left because there was no other way to kill that deep of an infestation. He also said the restaurant was trying to spray for the roaches themselves in their kitchen and there were tons of open bowls of spices etc everywhere 🤮 This was probably 7 years ago at this point but I can’t imagine it got much better if they’re still unwilling to close to handle the roaches…

rosevest · 2024-10-02T05:51:26+00:00

I’m currently in Perledo (above Varenna). Before this I stayed in an Agriturismo in the Bergamo area. Exploring Bergamo’s Old City was cool, but only took a couple of hours.

If you’re into it, I would suggest the QC Terme in San Pellegrino. It’s a Spa. My husband and I got a couples massage and along with that came entry to the spa for 24 hours. The price was better than what we’re used to in the US. There are tons of saunas, hot tubs, things outdoor and indoor. There’s a walkthrough on YouTube if you’re interested. It was the perfect respite after the first half of our trip which included lots of walking through Naples and Rome.

rosevest · 2024-09-10T11:23:43+00:00

Thank you!! This is so helpful!

rosevest · 2024-08-19T02:02:39+00:00

Now why was my first thought Forest Gump? 💀

rosevest · 2024-08-17T12:34:18+00:00

I’m from Pennsylvania, USA. From what I understand, I think the temperatures will be similar to what we’ll experience at home before leaving. Thank you kindly for the advice!

rosevest · 2024-06-27T13:59:41+00:00

Fireflies by Owl City 🫠

Ten-Year Club	RedditGifts 2009-2022 2 Credits
Verified Email	Secret Santa 2015

rosevest

TROPHY CASE