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My husband and I just returned from amazing 3 weeks in Italy: Oct 15 to November 6
Stayed in the Cinque Terre, Firenze, Siena, Montepulciano (apartment for a week)
Positano,Rome.
I will attempt a full trip report later ...busy holiday week...,but wanted to post brief mention of amazing accomodations, in case anyone needs to book soon...
I say "lucky" for many reasons which I will discuss in TR.
Weather was unusual...no rain where we were,ever! we just missed it at each place it seemed.
Manarola in Cinque Terre: La Torretta on top of the tiny town was gorgeous,but tiny.
request larger room than standard. but lovely appointments,great hosts and fantastic breakfast brought to private terrace.even sunset wine and appetizers on terrace overlooking the sea
sadly..... towns are so destroyed due to mudslides....even people killed.
we were there only a week before the devastation....beginning of our luck
Firenze: can't begin to sing the praises of Francesca ,owner of Palazzo Alfani !!
deluxe suite apartment
location across street from Accademia, huge apartment in quiet back of Palazzo, such a helpful hostess for reservations,recommendations. Can't wait to return one day!
Siena: Palazzo Ravizza, standard room, with higher floor with view of countryside from windows. Gorgeous room of adequate size for 2 nights there. Amazing huge breakfast buffet. Gorgeous garden with overlook of countryside to watch sunset/sunrise
very helpful concierges
Montepulciano: fantastic apartment for a week from owner who lived below and SO helpful! Politian Apartments
Giacomo was a great host
fully equipped , large, comfortable bed, washer,etc.
Linens not that great, but adequate
loved location for exploring Tuscany which we did 5 of 7 days there
loved loved Montepulciano for a town to return to pre-sunset: great restaurants and also fun to buy local produce and cook a few nights
Positano: 4 nights and hated to leave!
Alcione Residence: almost don't want to recommend as it is a gem and we hope to return and find it available
had largest room with huge private terrace overlooking sea
since weather was sunny and sea calm boats still ran!
so we were able to go along the AC to Amalfi; see Ravello and return by boat
also took terrific boat with Salvatore's company (highly recommend) to Capri for the day and around the island
used boats to see the coast rather than the SITA
highly highly recommend La Tagliata for lunch or dinner: reservations essential
make sure you go during daylight hours to see the view: we took the SITA up to Montepertuso as it was the day, but they will pick you up for dinner from wherever you are staying. We had amazing meal, prix fixe, and then walked downhill about an hour back to Positano.... one of best days!
Sorrentocars (Ugo owner) for car service from Sorrento to Positano and then for ride to Naples to catch train, stopping along the way at Pompeii for 2 hours while Tony , our driver, waited for us. He was the nicest man and even was like a tour guide!!! helped us change train tickets in Naples!!! only 20E per hour to wait for us
80E for trip from Sorrento to Positano
120E for trip from Positano to Naples termini
Rome:
NEVER USE ROMERENTS to rent apartment!!!
only horrible, and I mean horrible, experience ever had with any accomodations, hotels or apartments in my life
photos misleading
only truth was location, which was good, but not worth the bad experience dealing with the screaming rental agent/owner of company who tried to add money to the CONTRACT she had us sign the day before we arrived!
she yelled at the Italian friend who even tried to calm her down!
apartment in Campo de fiori was terrible, but I would not have been upset had we not had the bad experience of her temper tantrums
also, no internet as promised!!! finally got us a connection halfway through our stay
AVOID this company!!!
had an overnight in London and stayed at incredible hotel (in case anyone needs one) : in Covent Gardens, the Waldorf Hilton: gorgeous room, wonderful people, and terrific breakfast! wish had more time there. walked everywhere!!!
that's the quick broad brush stroke for now
will come back to the Forum post Thanksgiving and add TR in appreciation of all the wonderful ones and help we received from great people on this Forum...
many thanks! appropriate for the season...
3 weeks of Italian bliss...and extraordinary luck
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So far, so good, anxiously waiting for more details!!!!
bmk
Looks like a vey good report coming up!!
Thanks for encouragement!
The problem is with a TR, that we write a personal journal as we go ,but the inside jokes then need to be edited.
Have WAY too much info that I will try my best to condense into humorous (if possible) anecdotes that may help fellow travelers.
Sense visited Italy in 2008, but wanted more time to explore Tuscany,hence the apartment.
Also, neither of us had been to the AC,so this was a first.
Because we visited Firenze severalties before,we did more street -time than museums/churches.
Ditto for Rome.
We had only briefly...and I mean briefly, visited Montepulciano, Montalcino, Pienza, Orvieto, Siena, San Gimignano. My friend who lives in Tuscany still can't believe we did all these in a whirlwind 2 days of driving last time,overnighting in SG ,having started in Rome .
Crazy , I agree...
So,this trip was to leisurely, for us, explore hill towns in Tuscany and maybe a few visits to close by towns in Umbria ( Assisi, Orvieto, Spello).
We anchored by overnights and left the days open to what the weather brought us as well as how we felt.
Now, you need to know something about me....
I love to research our trips and start a year in advance, once we think about where we want to go.
I read tons of books,fiction and nonfiction and travel, and love to read Fodors almost daily when in planning mode. This is fun for me, on breaks from work.
Sooooo....by the time I am ready for the trip, I have tons of info that I have organized into documents for my iPad that I created for each place. This way, I have possibilities so I can be relaxed,but prepared.
It works for me and I then have the ability to spontaneously enjoy each day. My husband loves my "tour guide" info, and we then can wake up and decide daily.
As they sang in the Sound of Music..."let's start at the very beginning..."
Manarola: I night
Firenze: 2 nights
Siena: 2
Montepulciano:7
Positano: 4
Roma: 4
London stopover: 1
Deciding to stay the first night in Manarola was heavily debated since it could be raining heavily...asit did last trip and we didnt go as a result.
But, we decided to land in Pisa, so we decided to take a chance and see it, no matter the weather.
Being fogged in at Heathrow for 2 hours wasn't fun.....
But,when we landed in Pisa, we just went directly the train for the ride to La Spezia on route to Manarola.
We only had 15 minutes to catch the train Orwell would have arrived late in Manarola....past 5.
Great luck....the beginning of the LuckyTrip!
No cliches, please,as we are not Irish ....
We arrived in Manarola around 3:30 and sun was shining, calm sea , low 70s ...great!
I knew LaTorretta was at top of the town, but what a drag ( literally) , getting our carryon luggage with totes attached up that steep hill.
The view was worth it and it actually felt good to hike up as we had been sitting so long on planes.
We had started in San Diego on the 15th,through NY, to London , I need to mention now.
A concert was starting at the church next to our hotel,with locals gathered. So much fun! The La Torretta hosts were so thoughtful, and handed us Prosecco and a Brushetta upon our sweaty arrival.
Tiny room,but great private balcony. Okay for a night, but even for only2 people, too cramped for longer stay. Highly recommend the place , as mentioned in first post,but choose larger room.
We then decided to relax in the town and wandered along the vineyard path , high above the town.
This is the local place to relax late in the day, watching the sun over the sea. We passed elderly Signoras chatting on a bench, as we walked past the makeshift altars by the tiny cemetery. The path wound down into the lovely, picturesque pastels of the town . We felt so relaxed and the serenade of the band really was great!
We had dinner reservations at Trattoria da Billy for 7:30 that night, but watched sunset on the terrace with other guests... Sisters from Ireland... And drank wine and ate small appetizers...lovely!
This reservation was the only slightly. ( ha ha) obsessive thing I had done in advance of our trip.
I had read this place was so popular and hard to get into...and we on Thad 1 night.
Sooooo.... I had emails them months before, I admit somewhat sheepishly.
But, it was worth it ( and the mocking of the few friends with whom I shared this), as we were greeted by Billy himself,who saved the best private table outside since he wanted to meet the person who did this.
I had been told he was cranky and not welcoming by the Irish sisters who had dined theretheprevious night. But, he was totally friendly and told us all about the huge tuna caught that day ( legally course...nod nod,wink wink) that he recommended. We also started with the hors d'oeuvres of the day specialty which had 12 or so small tastes including 3 types of anchovies...which is now making me salivate thinking about....
This was the BEST tuna steak ever !!! We both agreed we had never had any fish this terrific and simply prepared. He brought complimentary Limoncino and Grappa and some other liqueur afterward.
Stuffed, we happily walked the brief walk downhill to our hotel ...
Then decided to walk all the way down to sea level as it was our only night there. Streets were empty, and this was a Sunday night at 9:30. Found a gelato in one of the few restaurant/bars open and wandered home. Not great gelato, but fun anyway.
Finally on " local time " , so we crashed for a well deserved sleep as we had been up about 30 hours by now ( I can't sleep on planes, even with Ambien).
More later...
bookmarking
Cant wait for more!
>I love to research our trips and start a year in advance . . .
It is nice to know that I am not the only one . . . we are 1.5 years out from our next big trip & I am already busy.
Keep it coming, please.
Ian
izzofan, we were at the Palazzo Ravizza one of your nights, also in an upper-floor room overlooking the garden! We were in Montepulciano a few days earlier than you and also enjoyed our time there. May I ask where the Politian Apartments are located in the town?
I'm really enjoying the parts of this that I can understand. Perhaps you could proofread your entries before you submit them, as the post is really coming through choppy. For instance, what does "o...and we on Thad 1 night." mean?
sssh be quiet nukesafe, we're enjoying this and don't want to scare OP off when we're enjoying the adventure....
thank you, nukesafe, for saying what I was thinking.
I know that i may annoy people with my failure to use capital letters but the odd paragraph is nice and makes it so much easier to read, as does inserting the odd blank line.
also observation of the convention of choppingwordsup!
still wanting more though!
Ooh, just found this TR again. Please, izzofan, I hope you will continue...
Finish please!