Welcome to the World Wide Wed, the home page of the virtual as well as practical marriage of Rebecca and Giorgio. Here you will find useful information about the celebration, Milan, and Italy, tips, contact phone number and email addresses, maps, pictures, music, and OF COURSE the FAQs (requently sked uestion). So, let's start the tour!
If you have a sound card, and
computer speakers (or maybe a walkman headset), then click
here to get into the right mood (oh, ssssoooo romantic!).
Feel free to E-mail Rebecca (goldin@mit.edu)
or
Giorgio (ascoli@gmu.edu), or to
visit Giorgio's web page.
And here's if you need to contact Carol
(goldin@instlres.rutgers.edu). 
When you are in Milan, you can call Giorgio at 70102845. To call Rebecca
and Giorgio in DC, dial (202) 462-3543.
Most of you will stay at either one of these hotels:
Hotel Fiorella: Via Marghera, 14. Ph. 011-39-02-4692302
or 011-39-02-4815938.
Hotel Tiziano: Via Tiziano, 6. Ph. 011-02-4699035.
Fax 011-024812153 
At the Hotel Fiorella they speak very little English and do NOT accept credit cards. It's a clean, cozy Pensione. The Tiziano is more of a business place, with major credit card accepted and English spoken fluently (?). They are within walking distance from each other, on the Red Line of the Subway (Wagner stop for Fiorella, Buonarrotti stop for Tiziano). A very detailed map of the location of both hotels, with subway and bus lines, is downloadable here (Hotels are marked with F and T respectively)..
The cerimony will be at 3pm at the synagogue in Via Guastalla (not far from Piazza del Duomo). You can arrive there with bus lines 12, 20, 23, 27, 37, 50, 54, 60, 61, 65, 73, or 84 (quite a choice! Most of these buses arrive approximately 5-7 blocks from the synagogue) . The reception will be at 7pm at the Hotel Brun (quite far from Piazza del Duomo!). You can arrive there with bus lines 64 or 72, both connected to the subway Red line (it takes approximately 1 hr from the synagogue to the hotel Brun, so you'll have some time to walk in the center after the cerimony if you want to).
You will be flying in one Milan
Airports (Linate or more likely Malpensa). Don't take a taxi
as they are *very* expensive (some 150$ from Malpensa to Milan!). Linate
is connected by bus, Malpensa has a shuttle service. You can find all the
information about Milan Public Transportation
here.
Milan is very well connected to other cities in Italy by train. The public service (Ferrovie dello Stato) is cheap and convenient, and you can count on 20% delay time relative to whatever they say.
For complete maps of Milan, click here (cool uh?). Remember, unlike many American cities, Milan is NOT organized like a grid of roads, but like many concentric circles with radial main streets. Other important tip (or else you'll be lost forever): street names usually change at intersections!
There are two very good online guidebooks for Milan:
We strongly suggest you to take a look at them. They contain restaurant guides, shopping suggestions, maps, history, lists of museums... and much more. If you want to know what to visit in other cities (Florence and Venice are 3hrs away by train, Rome is 5 or 6), you can find well-organized info in this Guida Traveleuropa. If you have just a few days for toursim, you may want to stay in Lombardia (the region around Milan).
Since we imagine you also want to know our PERSONAL opinion on Milan,
here it is...
The "must-see" starting point is the Duomo
(Cathedral), which is at the very center of the city. The Duomo is
built in marble. When you see how big it is, you might wonder how they
made it. Well, it was some 1000 years ago, and they decided to create an
artificial river (right, Milan does not have a natural river...) to carry
all the marble from Tuscany. By the way, this long channel is still visible
in one part of Milan, called "Navigli", where there are also many good
restaurants. Anyway, the operation to build the Duomo took more than 5
centuries. As a result, the plant is in Romanic style, while the top is
Gothic! You can go all the way up to the top of the Duomo, and enjoy a
breath-taking view of Milan from there. On top of the Duomo stands the
"Madonnina" (Little Virgin), which is 20+ft tall, and is 100% gold! No
wonder that during WWII, Milan citizens covered the Duomo entirely with
bags of sand. Despite heavy bombing, the Duomo suffered little damage.
You should also visit the Duomo inside. The most peculiar part, however,
will be the huge Christmas Tree in the middle of the square.
From the Duomo, you want to walk to Piazza della Scala. There you'll find one of the most famous theaters in the World, La Scala. At the Scala, opera composers such as Verdi, Rossini, Puccini and Donizetti used to premiere their masterpieces. You can visit the Scala inside, and if you're lucky you can even find tickets for some concert (tix are relatively cheap -- they start at 20$). Reservations can be made online, at the above link.
From the Duomo to the Scala you will have passed under the Galleria ("Tunnel"), one of the most upscale dining parts of Milan. Amazingly enough, next to the famous (and *very* expensive) restaurants Biffi and Savini, McDonald's managed to decorate the scene.
If you're out for shopping, and want to put your entire IRA in it, you
should definitely walk to the "Fashion Traingle", i.e.
Via
della Spiga / Via Montenapoleone / Via Sant'Andrea. There are all the
boutiques of Armani, Valentino, Gucci, Trussardi, etc. Milan has good bargains
for shoes (but NOT in the Fashion Triangle!).
If you're into medioeval buildings, the Castello Sforzesco is a nice walk from the Duomo, while the beautiful romanic Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio is only 3 subway stops away (red line). If you prefer art museums, the most famous piece in Milan is Leonardo's Last Supper (Cenacolo) which is pretty close to Sant'Ambrogio, in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. One of the most beautiful museums is the Pinacoteca di Brera, which is also very close to the Duomo. The quarter of Brera is very pretty for a dinner or an after dinner walk as well.
You can probably visit all of the above in 2-3 days, and... remember
to bring your coat!
Useful links:
Exchange Rate Calculator
Italian Literature
on the Web
Maps to browse, download and print
(Worldwide)
Maestro di Casa (the caterer
for our party!)
To book a flight, car or to find cheap
fares
1. Q. Do Italians speak English? Will I be in trouble if I
don't know a word of Italian?
A. Italian are among the worst English-speakers in Europe. However,
they wave their hands a lot, they are friendly and willing to help foreigners
(well, especially unaccompanied american women). Also, Milan is the most
international of Italian cities, so you will NOT have much problems.
2. Q. Can we pay with credit card?
A. Unlike in the US, credit cards are NOT accepted everywhere.
You can exchange dollars (and traveler's cheques as well) at any bank.
Current rate is ~1700 ITL/US$ (1 lira is about 0.59 cents).
3. Q. Can I drive in Italy with a US licence? Is it difficult
to handle traffic in Milan? Is it easy to rent cars?
A. Yes. Yes. Yes.
4. Q. How do I call the US from Italy? How do I call Italy
from the US?
A. From Italy, you dial 001-(areacode)-phonenumber. Most public
phones work with magnetic cards that you can buy at tobacco shops. However,
it is MUCH cheaper if you buy a pre-paid card from the US. The translation
of "toll-free number" is "numero verde" (=green number). From the States
to Italy, dial 011-39-0-citycode-phonenumber.
5. Q. Will American electric appliances work in Italy?
A. Most of them won't (AC frequency is different!). Specifically,
your coffee maker, laptop, and alarm clock (unless it has a battery) won't
work, unless they have a transformer. Only exception, electric shavers
by Norelco usualy can handle European standards (because they are manufactured
by Phillips). Check the instructions though.
6. Q. Espresso is too strong for me and I miss American Coffe,
what can I do?
A. Go to a bar, and order a "caffe'" (=espresso) and a "te'"
(=tea). They will serve the tea as a cup of hot water and a teabag. Throw
away the teabag (or put it in your pocket) and pour the coffee in the hot
water. Voila' your American coffee.
7. Q. A few one-line translations?
A. Excuse me, where is the Duomo? Scusi, dov'e'
il Duomo?
How much is this? Quanto
costa?
Thanks a lot! Grazie mille!
Come ti chiami? What's your name?
Di dove sei? Where are you from?
Ma vaffanculo! (non lit.) You
are driving badly, get out of my way.
8. Q. My internet browser doesn't display animated gifs, Java
scripts, music and color pictures. What can I do?
A. See you in Milan, and good luck!
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