Abbreviated trip report - Italy in April
May 12th, 2008, 09:46 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 308
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Abbreviated trip report - Italy in April
We spent two weeks in Rome and Umbria, and it was, of course, fabulous. Rather than a day-by-day report, I'll post some details first, then reviews of the three places we stayed. If you want to see the whole trip report with a few photos, it's at http://we2inItaly2008/blogspot.com.
Details and miscellaneous:
We flew on Air Canada out of Dulles, connecting in Toronto to FCO. The fare was much better than anything else I found. From Toronto to FCO, we were in two seats on the left side, and they felt much more cramped than the two seats in the middle section of three that we were in on the flight back. Food on Air Canada was plentiful, and according to Charlie, pretty good. Noise-canceling headphones and an eye mask are godsends! A note: on both flights, there were problems with the seat-back entertainment system, and the flight attendants seemed to double as technical troubleshooters. Thankfully, ours never went on the blink for very long.
The Toronto airport on the flight over was very confusing, and each person we asked about where to go next gave us a different answer. Coming back, it was much smoother with the in-transit connections process.
I choose our apartments after lots of internet research, and a very detailed spreadsheet with the items that mattered to us (non-smoking, location, shower facilities, etc.), and columns for summarizing reviews found on the various message boards (Fodors, SlowTrav and TripAdvisor).
We rented our car through Kemwel, and the agency was EuropCar. We had a nice Mercedes, and once we got out of Rome, found driving in Italy to be a piece of cake. We had a Michelin roadmap, but wound up only using it to look at distances between places; there was no need for it for actual navigation. Italian roads are very well marked, even in the middle of nowhere, though you would be advised to know the names of other towns along and beyond your route. One really enjoyable thing about driving in Italy is that trucks don't drive like maniacs!
Using ATMs was no problem, and each one we used gave us an option of English.
We never felt unsafe, even riding public transit in Rome, though we of course did take precautions, for example, wearing our backpack in front on the bus rather than on our backs. I was surprised that there were far fewer aggressive vendors/beggars than on my visit five years ago.
After the discussion on boards about whether an international drivers permit was needed, I was definitely glad I had gotten one where we were pulled over in a random traffic stop outside Orvieto and asked for all our documents.
I used pocketmod.com to create little booklets about various things and found it to be quite useful - much better for me than carrying around full-size printouts. I had one with our schedule; one with information such as addresses, opening hours, phone #s, contacts, etc; and then destination-specific booklets, like for St. Peter's, Assisi, etc. This info I mainly just cut and pasted from online sites, rather than retyping from guide books.
Finally, a word about bringing wine back: we bought two bottles of wine and a bottle of grappa that we packed in one of our checked bags. I went to a Mailboxes Etc. in Orvieto and asked for some bubble wrap, which the guy gave me free. I only wrapped one layer around each bottle, and put them in a (framed, soft-sided) wheeled suitcase, and used some additional clothing as padding. All the bottles made it to the US without problem.
At the aiport in Rome, I bought another bottle of wine at duty-free, and didn't see the signs in Toronto that duty-free liquids couldn't be carried on (an idea I don't quite understand, since we never left a secure area). We had already sent our checked bags on the conveyor belt when we realized the problem, so we then had to put it in a bag we were planning on carrying on, and checking it instead. The only padding for the (expensive Brunello!) was our two winderbreakers that we had with us, and the bag was a leather duffle. Amazing, it too made it to the US intact!
Details and miscellaneous:
We flew on Air Canada out of Dulles, connecting in Toronto to FCO. The fare was much better than anything else I found. From Toronto to FCO, we were in two seats on the left side, and they felt much more cramped than the two seats in the middle section of three that we were in on the flight back. Food on Air Canada was plentiful, and according to Charlie, pretty good. Noise-canceling headphones and an eye mask are godsends! A note: on both flights, there were problems with the seat-back entertainment system, and the flight attendants seemed to double as technical troubleshooters. Thankfully, ours never went on the blink for very long.
The Toronto airport on the flight over was very confusing, and each person we asked about where to go next gave us a different answer. Coming back, it was much smoother with the in-transit connections process.
I choose our apartments after lots of internet research, and a very detailed spreadsheet with the items that mattered to us (non-smoking, location, shower facilities, etc.), and columns for summarizing reviews found on the various message boards (Fodors, SlowTrav and TripAdvisor).
We rented our car through Kemwel, and the agency was EuropCar. We had a nice Mercedes, and once we got out of Rome, found driving in Italy to be a piece of cake. We had a Michelin roadmap, but wound up only using it to look at distances between places; there was no need for it for actual navigation. Italian roads are very well marked, even in the middle of nowhere, though you would be advised to know the names of other towns along and beyond your route. One really enjoyable thing about driving in Italy is that trucks don't drive like maniacs!
Using ATMs was no problem, and each one we used gave us an option of English.
We never felt unsafe, even riding public transit in Rome, though we of course did take precautions, for example, wearing our backpack in front on the bus rather than on our backs. I was surprised that there were far fewer aggressive vendors/beggars than on my visit five years ago.
After the discussion on boards about whether an international drivers permit was needed, I was definitely glad I had gotten one where we were pulled over in a random traffic stop outside Orvieto and asked for all our documents.
I used pocketmod.com to create little booklets about various things and found it to be quite useful - much better for me than carrying around full-size printouts. I had one with our schedule; one with information such as addresses, opening hours, phone #s, contacts, etc; and then destination-specific booklets, like for St. Peter's, Assisi, etc. This info I mainly just cut and pasted from online sites, rather than retyping from guide books.
Finally, a word about bringing wine back: we bought two bottles of wine and a bottle of grappa that we packed in one of our checked bags. I went to a Mailboxes Etc. in Orvieto and asked for some bubble wrap, which the guy gave me free. I only wrapped one layer around each bottle, and put them in a (framed, soft-sided) wheeled suitcase, and used some additional clothing as padding. All the bottles made it to the US without problem.
At the aiport in Rome, I bought another bottle of wine at duty-free, and didn't see the signs in Toronto that duty-free liquids couldn't be carried on (an idea I don't quite understand, since we never left a secure area). We had already sent our checked bags on the conveyor belt when we realized the problem, so we then had to put it in a bag we were planning on carrying on, and checking it instead. The only padding for the (expensive Brunello!) was our two winderbreakers that we had with us, and the bag was a leather duffle. Amazing, it too made it to the US intact!
May 12th, 2008, 09:48 AM
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 308
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Apartment review, Rome - Palazzo Olivia, Fiorella apartment
This was an ideal location, off Via Vittorio Emmanuele and just a few blocks from both Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori. It's a one bedroom, with a sleeper sofa in the living room. There's a kitchen nook with stovetop, microwave and refrigerator, none of which we actually used, and a dining table. The bedroom wasn't spacious, but was sufficient for the bed, bedside tables and a wardrobe. The bathroom had a separate stall shower and bidet, along with a non-working washing machine.
We felt very secure in the apartment, with a locking outer door to the building, a locking door to the two apartments on our floor, and the door to the apartment. We were on the 2nd (3rd American) floor, and after the endless walking around Rome, we mainly used the small elevator rather than climb the stairs.
Pros: Carla was very nice to work with and responded promptly to emails. As mentioned, the location was great, and the apartment was mostly quiet. There was some noise in the living room, which might be a problem for someone sleeping on the sleeper sofa, but maybe not. The bedroom was very quiet. There was a tv with one English-language station, CNN.
Cons: The entire apartment was dark. Compact fluorescents didn't give off much light, and we wound up taking off all the lampshades to give us more light. Granted, we're kind of nuts about wanting lots of light, so it may not matter to others, but it was a definite negative for us. There wasn't anywhere to put your feet up in the living room, as the coffee table was too high.
Lastly, the lock on the apartment door was tricky; within the same lock, there were two locks, and if we fully locked the door, it was a bear to get unlocked. Hard to describe, but there were a couple of times when we came home after a full day needing to go to the bathroom, and couldn't get in for five or more minutes as we took turns trying to unlock the door.
Overall recommendation: we would recommend this apartment, though if we went back, we would find higher wattage light bulbs.
This was an ideal location, off Via Vittorio Emmanuele and just a few blocks from both Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori. It's a one bedroom, with a sleeper sofa in the living room. There's a kitchen nook with stovetop, microwave and refrigerator, none of which we actually used, and a dining table. The bedroom wasn't spacious, but was sufficient for the bed, bedside tables and a wardrobe. The bathroom had a separate stall shower and bidet, along with a non-working washing machine.
We felt very secure in the apartment, with a locking outer door to the building, a locking door to the two apartments on our floor, and the door to the apartment. We were on the 2nd (3rd American) floor, and after the endless walking around Rome, we mainly used the small elevator rather than climb the stairs.
Pros: Carla was very nice to work with and responded promptly to emails. As mentioned, the location was great, and the apartment was mostly quiet. There was some noise in the living room, which might be a problem for someone sleeping on the sleeper sofa, but maybe not. The bedroom was very quiet. There was a tv with one English-language station, CNN.
Cons: The entire apartment was dark. Compact fluorescents didn't give off much light, and we wound up taking off all the lampshades to give us more light. Granted, we're kind of nuts about wanting lots of light, so it may not matter to others, but it was a definite negative for us. There wasn't anywhere to put your feet up in the living room, as the coffee table was too high.
Lastly, the lock on the apartment door was tricky; within the same lock, there were two locks, and if we fully locked the door, it was a bear to get unlocked. Hard to describe, but there were a couple of times when we came home after a full day needing to go to the bathroom, and couldn't get in for five or more minutes as we took turns trying to unlock the door.
Overall recommendation: we would recommend this apartment, though if we went back, we would find higher wattage light bulbs.
May 12th, 2008, 09:49 AM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 308
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Apartment review, Spoleto - Umbria Holiday Rentals, Terrazzo Verde apartment
This apartment is located in the lower part of the town, on Corso Garibaldi, near Piazza Garibaldi. The location was okay; it was quite a steep climb to the historic part of town. The apartment was on the 1st (2nd American) floor from Corso Garibaldi, and up two flights from the rear of the property, which was the entry from where we parked.
Private parking was provided for an extra cost, but we parked in a free area a few blocks away, along the old city wall. We were always able to find a spot, but be aware that the road there is typically narrow - we had to let out the passenger and then pull in literally mere inches away from the wall itself and fold in the mirrors. Midway through our stay, the emblem on the hood of our rental car was ripped off.
The apartment was wonderfully spacious. There's a large bedroom; a small galley kitchen with stove, oven, refrigerator, microwave, and toaster; a small second bedroom; a bath with a stall shower and washing machine; living room with dining table and two comfy sofas; and a terrace with patio table and chairs. We used the kitchen almost daily, and found it more than sufficiently outfitted for our needs.
Pros: Norma and Laurie were very pleasant to work with. The size of the apartment was great, as was the lighting for the most part, both natural light and lamp lighting. The satellite TV had a great selection of channels, including several English-language channels. A welcoming touch was some food and a bottle of wine for the first meal. There were plenty of towels and extra pillows,
Cons: The biggest con was the noise in the main bedroom. The apartments are over retail stores with a separate open alley-like entrance off Corso Garibaldi. The bedroom is closest to this open area and has french doors and a window (both shuttered), and noise just reverberates off the stones - even just two people talking in the open area below is terribly loud in the bedroom. The heavy door downstairs that secures the stairwell to the apartments also makes a lot of noise when it closes.
The location is also less than ideal, though okay. The worst part of the location was that it seems like the lower part of the town is the hang-out for teenagers, so whenever we went out to Corso Garibaldi towards Piazza Garibaldi, it was overrun with teens. Kind of like being at the mall food court on a Friday night. Even though we stayed there for a week, we never felt like we were experiencing an Italian town, primarily because of the teenage party atmosphere on the streets and in most of the shops in that part of town.
Minor cons were that the bathroom and kitchen were dimly lit, and there was no drying rack or line for drying laundry.
Overall recommendation: The apartment had a lot of great things going for it, but I have to give a neutral recommendation because of the noise in the bedroom. We almost moved to the second bedroom because of it, but didn't want to sleep in twin beds. If the windows in the main bedroom were soundproofed better, then we would definitely recommend it. The location, while not ideal, is a good trade-off for the lower cost compared to other places I looked at.
This apartment is located in the lower part of the town, on Corso Garibaldi, near Piazza Garibaldi. The location was okay; it was quite a steep climb to the historic part of town. The apartment was on the 1st (2nd American) floor from Corso Garibaldi, and up two flights from the rear of the property, which was the entry from where we parked.
Private parking was provided for an extra cost, but we parked in a free area a few blocks away, along the old city wall. We were always able to find a spot, but be aware that the road there is typically narrow - we had to let out the passenger and then pull in literally mere inches away from the wall itself and fold in the mirrors. Midway through our stay, the emblem on the hood of our rental car was ripped off.
The apartment was wonderfully spacious. There's a large bedroom; a small galley kitchen with stove, oven, refrigerator, microwave, and toaster; a small second bedroom; a bath with a stall shower and washing machine; living room with dining table and two comfy sofas; and a terrace with patio table and chairs. We used the kitchen almost daily, and found it more than sufficiently outfitted for our needs.
Pros: Norma and Laurie were very pleasant to work with. The size of the apartment was great, as was the lighting for the most part, both natural light and lamp lighting. The satellite TV had a great selection of channels, including several English-language channels. A welcoming touch was some food and a bottle of wine for the first meal. There were plenty of towels and extra pillows,
Cons: The biggest con was the noise in the main bedroom. The apartments are over retail stores with a separate open alley-like entrance off Corso Garibaldi. The bedroom is closest to this open area and has french doors and a window (both shuttered), and noise just reverberates off the stones - even just two people talking in the open area below is terribly loud in the bedroom. The heavy door downstairs that secures the stairwell to the apartments also makes a lot of noise when it closes.
The location is also less than ideal, though okay. The worst part of the location was that it seems like the lower part of the town is the hang-out for teenagers, so whenever we went out to Corso Garibaldi towards Piazza Garibaldi, it was overrun with teens. Kind of like being at the mall food court on a Friday night. Even though we stayed there for a week, we never felt like we were experiencing an Italian town, primarily because of the teenage party atmosphere on the streets and in most of the shops in that part of town.
Minor cons were that the bathroom and kitchen were dimly lit, and there was no drying rack or line for drying laundry.
Overall recommendation: The apartment had a lot of great things going for it, but I have to give a neutral recommendation because of the noise in the bedroom. We almost moved to the second bedroom because of it, but didn't want to sleep in twin beds. If the windows in the main bedroom were soundproofed better, then we would definitely recommend it. The location, while not ideal, is a good trade-off for the lower cost compared to other places I looked at.
May 12th, 2008, 09:50 AM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 308
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
B&B review, Orvieto -Bed and Breakfast Valentina
Since we were only in Orvieto for two nights, we decided to stay at this b&b (not to be confused with Hotel Valentino). Our room was quite nice; there was a private bath with shower stall stall and bidet, a couch, dining table, and kitchenette. It was on the 1st (2nd American) floor, which made hauling luggage up a bit of a chore.
It's possible to drive to the b&b without going into any ZTL, which was nice. We dropped the luggage off, and then parked in the free parking down near the top of the funicular and the tourist information stop.
Valentina was nice to work with and speaks English. She lives in the building, and must have a dog, for barking was heard several times, though thankfully not in the middle of the night. Overall, the room was very quiet.
We were again cursed by very dim lighting. By the time I got home, I was longing for 100 watt lightbulbs!
Pros: The location was ideal, just a couple of blocks from Via Cavour. The parking lot was more distant, maybe a 5 or 10 minute walk, but Orvieto is such a walkable place that it wasn't a hassle. The price was certainly right: 70 euros per night without breakfast.
Cons: Minor things: Not to sound like a broken record, but the lighting! Also, we were a little perplexed by the towels - they were sized like regular towels, but the texture was like tea towels. Very strange - it felt like we were drying off wuth a tablecloth.
Overall recommendation: Would definitely recommend, but for us, only for a few days, given the lack of separate spaces and good reading light.
Since we were only in Orvieto for two nights, we decided to stay at this b&b (not to be confused with Hotel Valentino). Our room was quite nice; there was a private bath with shower stall stall and bidet, a couch, dining table, and kitchenette. It was on the 1st (2nd American) floor, which made hauling luggage up a bit of a chore.
It's possible to drive to the b&b without going into any ZTL, which was nice. We dropped the luggage off, and then parked in the free parking down near the top of the funicular and the tourist information stop.
Valentina was nice to work with and speaks English. She lives in the building, and must have a dog, for barking was heard several times, though thankfully not in the middle of the night. Overall, the room was very quiet.
We were again cursed by very dim lighting. By the time I got home, I was longing for 100 watt lightbulbs!
Pros: The location was ideal, just a couple of blocks from Via Cavour. The parking lot was more distant, maybe a 5 or 10 minute walk, but Orvieto is such a walkable place that it wasn't a hassle. The price was certainly right: 70 euros per night without breakfast.
Cons: Minor things: Not to sound like a broken record, but the lighting! Also, we were a little perplexed by the towels - they were sized like regular towels, but the texture was like tea towels. Very strange - it felt like we were drying off wuth a tablecloth.
Overall recommendation: Would definitely recommend, but for us, only for a few days, given the lack of separate spaces and good reading light.
May 13th, 2008, 05:57 AM
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 308
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I forgot the websites for the apartments!
Rome: http://www.palazzo-olivia.it/en/apartments-rome
Spoleto:
http://www.umbriaholidayrentals.com/index.php
Orvieto:
http://www.argoweb.it/bedandbreakfas...entina.uk.html
Rome: http://www.palazzo-olivia.it/en/apartments-rome
Spoleto:
http://www.umbriaholidayrentals.com/index.php
Orvieto:
http://www.argoweb.it/bedandbreakfas...entina.uk.html
May 14th, 2008, 05:56 AM
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 308
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A couple more details:
In Rome, we did tours of the Vatican Museums and Vatican Gardens, both arranged through the museum. There wasn't much of a difference between the Vatican-led tour and a private guide I had used on a previous visit. Frankly, it seems as though you're herded through on most tours, anyway, so unless you have specific interests and can find a suitable tour company, I'd just go with the Vatican-led tour.
Vatican Gardens tour: this wasn't the most exciting tour, but I'm glad we did it. I enjoyed seeing "behind-the-scenes," and walking where popes had walked and prayed. (What can I say, I'm a cradle Catholic geek!) It's not a garden tour as much as a property tour, i.e., we didn't hear about horticulture, but about monuments and statues, etc. (which is what we wanted, so that was a plus for us).
We also booked a tour of the Forum through Icon Tours, and enjoyed it very much. Sarah was our guide, and there were only two (or maybe three?) other couples on the tour. Because of the small size, it seemed maybe more customized as we went along, rather than a canned commentary.
In Rome, we did tours of the Vatican Museums and Vatican Gardens, both arranged through the museum. There wasn't much of a difference between the Vatican-led tour and a private guide I had used on a previous visit. Frankly, it seems as though you're herded through on most tours, anyway, so unless you have specific interests and can find a suitable tour company, I'd just go with the Vatican-led tour.
Vatican Gardens tour: this wasn't the most exciting tour, but I'm glad we did it. I enjoyed seeing "behind-the-scenes," and walking where popes had walked and prayed. (What can I say, I'm a cradle Catholic geek!) It's not a garden tour as much as a property tour, i.e., we didn't hear about horticulture, but about monuments and statues, etc. (which is what we wanted, so that was a plus for us).
We also booked a tour of the Forum through Icon Tours, and enjoyed it very much. Sarah was our guide, and there were only two (or maybe three?) other couples on the tour. Because of the small size, it seemed maybe more customized as we went along, rather than a canned commentary.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
travelfan1
Europe
9
Nov 19th, 2008 12:48 PM
sandi_travelnut
Europe
7
Nov 26th, 2006 05:39 AM
