Twitter is my favorite traveling companion

In years past, when friends traveled abroad, I armed them with a travel guidebook, complete with my notes and the business cards of everywhere I liked to stay, eat and shop. In return, they added their own notes to the book before giving it back to me.

Fast forward to yesterday. My cousin, Lenny, will be honeymooning in Rome and Florence this spring. He’s never been to Italy. Where should he stay? Eat? Shop? Sightsee?

What to do: Dig through boxes to unearth my communal travel guide? Or post a tweet and get personal recommendations as fast as you can say spaghetti carbonara?

I posted my tweet at about 5PM EST. By this morning, I had a complete list of hotels and restaurants. Plus an offer of personal assistance from Angela Nickerson, author of A Journey into Michelangelo's Rome.

That’s the power of Twitter. And of social media.

Not only has Twitter helped me locate a bar when waiting in an unfamiliar airport, provided me with up to the minute weather updates and travel-related newsflashes, it is now Yelp and Travelocity rolled into one.

Below, I pass along an abridged version of Angela’s Rome hotel and restaurant recommendations for Rome. If you want additional details, please comment and I will share them with you:

In Rome...

Hotels:
Hotel Santa Maria

Relais Clarisse

Restaurants:
· Cantuccia. Corso Rinascimento, 71; Piaza Navona (39-06-88-2962)

· Checchino dal 1887. Via Monte Testaccio (39-06-574-6318)

· Hostaria Costanza. Piazza Paradiso 63/65 (39-06-686-1717)

· LaRosetta. 8/9 Pantheon (39-06-830-8841)

· Romolo nel Giardino della Fornarina: Via di Porta Settimiana 8 (06-581-8284)

Buon viaggio.