Supermarket in Rome city Centre

It was not so easy to find big supermarket in city centre of Rome. There are many small mini markets run by Indians. They open every day including public holidays and at odd hours, while the Italians are taking time off. 

After a few days of walking in the city of Rome , we stumbled across this supermarket called Despar in Via Nationale street. And then another one closed to Spanish steps. This is by far the biggest supermarket in Rome, which we have come across.

When compare the price of goods in Supermarket, I felt that Rome's supermakets are most expensive when compared to Venice and Florence.  For instance, for a litre packet of 100% orange juice, I paid Eur2.40 plus in Rome, while in Venice, I can get it for Eur 1.20.  We went to a smaller town called Cortina d'Ampesso too, which is known as a posh resort for winter sports in the Dolomites. Despite that, the goods in supermarket there is cheaper than Venice.  I paid Eur 0.90 for a litre packet of 100% orange juice.   

Best Area to Stay in Rome

To find a place to stay in Rome, try :

http://www.housetrip.com

I think this site have better deals than others.  You can get self-contained apartment in this site, and they provide quite a wide variety of choices in various part of Rome with reasonable price. 

For best area to stay, find a place near the Colosseum, which is central to all the tourist attractions, except Vatican City.  You can walk to almost all the location within 5 to 30 minutes, and the walking routes in this area is very scenic, during day and night.

Colloseum

For vatican city, you can easily take the underground train there - it doesn't cost much. Area around vatican city is very expensive. The restaurants and accommodation charge higher price than the area around Colosseum.  

Best Place to Stay in Florence, Italy

Florence, a picturesque town in Italy.

Florence

We stayed in this pretty little studio apartment in Florence, it is located right behind the Uffizi museum.

http://www.oh-florence.com/en/florence-apartments/ref_15581/

The location is really excellent. All the main attractions are within walking distance including the main railway station. The only set back is: it is located on the 3rd floor. We are not used to climbing so much staircase. But it wasn't so bad. They don't have oven in the kitchen too, so I gotta think of how to cook with gas stove only. There is a big grocery store just after the famous bridge Ponte Vecchio, which is only a few minutes walk away. We loved the location of the apartment. Florence is so picturesque !

http://www.oh-florence.com website also provide many other apartment options. I find their choices quite good, and the price is reasonable. 

Tour Guide, Snorkeling and Fishing Guide, and Driver in Amed

When I was in Amed, I engaged Ketut Pasek as our tour guide and driver. Speaking reasonably good English, he is able to tell you the village life in Amed. He has a good air-conditioned car to bring you around places of interest in Amed and other places nearby. Growng up in Amed, he knows every single corner of this remote area of Bali. Not only he is professional, he is also a very caring guide, who ensures customers safety and well-being during their stay in Amed. 

He can be contacted at mobile number : +62 81 236 402 264, +62 828 970 01833.

He can also be reached via email: pasekketut@yahoo.com. 

At the end of the Amed tour, he also provided the transportation to bring us to Nusa Dua.

Ski Instructor in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy

Zannoni Mauro

Zannoni Mauro was our personal ski instructor during our last ski trip to Cortina D'Ampezzo.  A careful person, who thinks, safety should come first, he didn't want to take too many students at one go.  So, on the first day, my son and I took our first ski lesson with him. Though falling is normally expected during ski lessons, under his instruction, none of us fall during the entire ski lesson. He is superb, and a very professional ski instructor. 

Then, on the second day, my husband took his turn.  Initially, my husband was not so sure whether he should attempt it since he has not fully recovered from arm injury.  When we asked Mauro whether my husband should try.  He said, "He should be fine, I will take care that he doesn't fall."  And really, my husband didn't fall and had the first memorable ski lesson of his life.

Having said that, Mauro ensures that we continue to improve and go for higher stage.  My son went from beginner slope, to higher slope, as days went by. He sees how the student progresses; if he thinks that they can go for more difficult slope, he will challenge them. Since Mauro took great care of my son, I felt alright to let him bring my 10 year old son to take the ski lift to the higher slope. My son was having the best time of his life.  Whenever my son came down from the slope, I asked him whether he had a good time.  He said, the higher the slope, the more fun it brought. 



Personal Ski Lesson

Ski lesson in Cortina d'Ampezzo

Though a native Italian, Mauro can speak a few languages such as English and French.  He worked in North America, France and a few other countries in Europe before settling down in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Mauro is also the mountain guide if you like to hike in the midst of these beautiful dolomite.   He is familiar with many routes of the mountain roads in Cortina d'Ampezzo. He is also an experience guide for mountain climbers.  He is willing to go to any mountain area in Italy, not restricting himself to Cortina d'Ampezzo. So, please feel free to contact him. His fee is very reasonable. 

To contact Zannoni Mauro, you can either call or email him at :

Mobile : +39 3381034833

email :  zannonimauro73@libero.it 

You can also reach him through this ski school :

uola sci e snowboard Be Free Cortina
Gianpaolo Tel. +39.345.6146949
Alessia Tel.+39.347.2781939
Tobia Tel. +39.347.1149329
Ufficio Tel. – Fax. +39.0436.4524
email : befreecortina@libero.it
Sede operativa: Largo delle poste 59, 32043 Cortina d’Ampezzo (BL)
P.iva 01135120259

or this website :

http://www.scuolascibefreecortina.it/

Don't worry, though the website is in Italian, they speak very good English.  I had no problem communicating with them. You can talk and write to them in English.

HAVE A GREAT SKI TRIP !