Safety First

Mantova is easily one of the safest places I have been to in my entire life. As far as I can tell, everyone there is incredibly friendly, warm-hearted, and bears you no ill will whatsoever. Even at night, I have never felt more safe walking around by myself than I did in Mantova. That being said, the only place where I feel like one could potentially run into problems is on one of the trains headed to or from another city. One of our classmates on the dialogue said he felt very unsafe riding a train home from Milan on his own, and that he felt as though the man on the train who was begging him for change was a threat to him. With that in mind, I’d say the biggest tip I can give someone going on this trip is this: don’t ride the trains alone. Not only for safety, but because riding the trains can get confusing, and if you get lost, it’s better to be with a friend than alone.

As for travel secrets, I’d say there are a few:

• Trains are the fastest way to travel
• You can take a train anywhere in Italy, but make sure you have time for it
• Taxis are great if you’re going local places, but make sure you know the route there yourself so they don’t end up overcharging you
• The phone number for a taxi in Mantova is +39 037 636 8844
• Taxis will take your cards
• BNL offers little to no fees when withdrawing from a Bank of America account
• Sleep on the trains
• Make sure you have enough euro in your pockets, a lot of places won’t accept cards
• Try to get as lost as possible, and find your way back. Using GPS is cheating
• Buy a book in Italian and try to read it. It’s the best way to learn. I bought Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofica.
• Don’t stay inside ever
• Have as much fun as physically possible!