JB

Hello, <BR> <BR>Since so many people from this list are going to Italy in the next few weeks, I thought I would post a brief travel report from our honeymoon (May 18-28). <BR> <BR>We stayed at 3 hotels: the Celio (Rome), Villa Cimbrone (Ravello), and the Hassler (Rome) - I'd be happy to answer any specific questions about these three, but perhaps I'll wait until someone asks. <BR> <BR>For restaurants, I have a number of suggestions. First of all, the exchange rate is great, so splurging becomes an option! We had a fabulous meal at Buca di Ripetta (via di Ripetta 36, near Piazza del Popolo). Everything was delicious, but the truly spectacular part of the meal was my "carpaccio caldo" - it came to the table with its own bottle of white truffle oil, which I poured over everything. Afterwards, we had gelato at San Crispino (via della Panetteria, near the Trevi Fountain) - my husband ordered the house flavor, which looked like vanilla but turned out to be some kind of wildflower honey - totally delicious! <BR> <BR>We also had another favorite gelato place called Alberto Pica (via della Seggiola 12) - they make some very interesting flavors with rice pudding bases. I had the chocolate rice, and it was fantastic. <BR> <BR>Also, great meals at La Gensola (Sicilian restaurant with delicious alici marinate - fresh anchovies - Piazza della Gensola 15 in Trastevere), and the best granita di caffe at Camilloni di Sant'Eustachio (next to the more famous Bar Sant'Eustachio in the piazza of the same name). It was expensive, although would have been much less so if we'd had it at the bar instead of a table - but so worth it on a hot day in Rome! <BR> <BR>One last restaurant - we had a wonderful meal at San Teodoro (via dei Fienili, 49/51), which is a great place to eat if you've been sightseeing at the Forum. Delicious truffled pasta, and very reasonable prices - a beautiful place to sit outside, since it isn't trafficky. <BR> <BR>Our favorite sights in Rome, besides the obvious (Colosseum, Pantheon, etc.), were San Clemente (especially the Mithraic temple below), Trajan's Markets (somehow much more easily enlivened for me than the Forum), the synagogue and Jewish Ghetto (delicious pastry at Forno al Ghetto - Portico d'Ottavia 6 - try the ricotta and damson plum pastry), the Capitoline Museums (newly re-opened), wandering around Trastevere, and the "bone art" at the Capuchin monks' cemetary (Santa Maria della Concezione, via Veneto 27) - one of the more bizarre aspects of the trip! <BR> <BR>Rome is wonderful, but exhausting - and we were glad to arrive in the peaceful town of Ravello (after some harrowing driving!). Ravello is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, and a very charming town. We bought lots of limoncello (people there drink it chilled after meals - we have found it delicious in cocktails as well!), and wandered around the cobbled streets and gardens - very relaxing. Also, great walnut gelato at Il Panino in the central piazza - or just ask what they made in-house. The Ravello Concert Society has their schedule available online (I think it's rcs.amalfinet.it, but I'm not sure), and they have a lot of interesting concerts this summer. Be prepared to hear lots of Wagner while you are walking around! <BR> <BR>We also drove to Positano for the day - the drive between Ravello and Positano was particularly bad, and that may have colored my immpressions of the town. I'm sure Positano is wonderful if you're staying there (the hotels all looked beautiful, and I gather a lot of them have private beaches), but I didn't have a great time there for the day - the town is packed! <BR> <BR>All in all, the best trip I have ever had! Let me know if I can answer any other questions about costs, hotels, etc. And I hope everyone else has a terrific vacation! <BR> <BR>JB

kk

Congratulatios, JB, on your marriage and wonderful honeymoon. Thanks for the trip report. Very beguiling. It certainly has added Ravello to my possibles list for my coming trip to Italy.

Don

Of all the places to stay on Amalfi coast, would you rec. Ravello as a base or is there a better one???

Elsa

I don't know how JB feels about Ravello as a base, but I say "NO." It is a nice little place, but I would suggest just a day trip there, unless you want TOTAL peace and quite - until the day trippers arrive. Every time you want to go to another town you must make a connection in/out of Amalfi. I think that would be a pain. We stayed in Positano, but a lot of people seem to use Sorrento as a base. It actually depends on what you want to do and the time of year you plan to visit. The Amalfi coast gets VERY congested with cars, local buses, and tour buses during the summer months.

Daniel

Thanks for the excellent report, JB. I am also booked at the Celio in Rome. What was your overall impression?

alta

JB - <BR> <BR>How was the Hassler? We are deciding between the Hassler and the Scaliata di Spagna for our honeymoon. <BR> <BR>Thanks for your input.

alta

Oops - Make that the Scalinata di Spagna.

JB

Thanks for the responses - in terms of Ravello vs. other parts of the Amalfi Coast, I would agree with Elsa that Ravello is an extremely quiet and small town - Positano is much busier. So it depends what you're looking for. We really didn't want to do much but walk around and admire the scenery after all the Rome sightseeing, but if you want lots of activity, Ravello is not the place for you. On the other hand, I did find the concert series to be very appealing, so it's not like you're totally without options. We stayed 3 nights, and I think we might have been bored if we stayed longer. But I have never been to Sorrento or Amalfi, or stayed in Positano, so perhaps others can comment on these towns. <BR> <BR>In terms of the Rome hotels, I have a number of thoughts. The Celio was a very charming small hotel, located on the southeast side of the Colosseum. Our room was very pretty, although quite small - our nicest surprise was that our bathtub had a Jacuzzi, which seemed like a lot of luxury for the price! Our room was 380.000/night, and I think they had both cheaper and more expensive rooms available - they're supposed to have a beautiful suite. Overall, I would say that it's a very nice hotel - maybe a bit far afield from the center for a first-time visitor to Rome. I liked it because it was in a very quiet, residential neighborhood, and it encouraged us to explore areas of Rome we might not otherwise have seen (namely, the Aventine and the Celian Hill). You are two minutes from San Clemente, but the other sightseeing stops are a bit of a hike. We did walk everywhere (and took a taxi back to the hotel in the evening if we were out very late), and it was fine. Overall, I think you get more value for your money staying outside the center - but if you really want to have immediate access to the center, I would suggest the Piazza Navona or Campo di' Fiori areas. I would guess it took us about 25 minutes to walk into the center from our hotel, and it was a pretty nice walk past the Colosseum and down the Fori Imperiali. <BR> <BR>In terms of the Hassler, I feel a little churlish saying anything negative about it because the service was excellent and they bumped us up to a suite when we got there. But there was just something about the hotel I didn't like - it was very formal, and I didn't care for the decor in our room (lots of pink paint, white leather headboard, and light wood panelling with painted rural scenes on it). The concierge was very helpful, and it was kind of fun to be at the Piazza di Spagna on our last night in Rome. But I wouldn't stay there again. It seemed overpriced (and would have seemed more so if we'd had one of the regular-sized rooms) - I think that you are mostly paying for the service and the name, and those are not my top priorities. <BR> <BR>Let me know if I can answer any other questions! <BR> <BR>Best, <BR>JB

JB

Forgot to mention one very fun thing to do if you stay at the Celio (or elsewhere!) - the Benedictine monks invite the public to vespers at Sant'Anselmo, which is up on the Aventine hill. We went on a Sunday, but I believe they are open to the public every night now that it's the Jubilee year. There was also a free organ concert, and there's a shop next to the monastery that sells all kinds of jams, liquors, etc. made by Benedictine monks around Italy - great presents! <BR> <BR>Also, right next door is the garden with the optical illusion of St. Peter's (sorry I can't remember the name - something about the Knights of Malta?) - but you'll see people lining up to peer through the garden door keyhole after the service. <BR> <BR>Enjoy!

alta

<BR>Thanks for your comments, and congratulations.