May 2015 Rome/Florence Trip Report
Jun 3rd, 2015, 07:56 AM
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May 2015 Rome/Florence Trip Report
My husband, son, and I took a trip to Italy to celebrate our son's college graduation. We spent 10 days with a home base in Rome but side trips to Florence and Pompeii.
Monday/Tuesday
We were flying Air Canada from Los Angeles to Rome with a stop in Toronto. Our flight was early Monday morning so we spent Sunday night at the LAX Concourse Hotel, dropped off our car in the morning at QuikPark and took the shuttle to Terminal 2. Security was quick and painless. I had purchased exit row seats so we had a comfortable flight to Toronto and we grabbed lunch at True Burger in the Toronto International Terminal. Dinner was served on the flight to Rome and it was decent for airline food. As soon as meal service was over I took a Tylenol PM and slept most of the way to Rome. Once in Rome we practically got waved through immigration and after quite a long wait for our luggage, we left baggage claim and found our driver holding a card with my name. We piled into the Mercedes wagon and took off toward Rome. This was our first introduction to Rome drivers and it convinced us that we made the right decision not renting a car. We white knuckled it to the apartment in Prati, north of the Vatican, and had to be dropped off in the middle of the street due to no parking. We had about an hour until we were to meet the gentlemen with the apartment key, so we dragged our bags to the restaurant directly across from the apartment. We were not given menus, just told what was available for the day. My husband and I ordered the Carbonara and our son got the Cacio e Pepe. We were not very impressed as the pasta was quite al dente, but we just assumed that it was the way they did it in Italy. The server talked us into a dessert of hard cookies dipped in a sweet wine which was interesting, but not something I would do again. Three pastas, two bottles of water, and one dessert came to €37,00.
We met the gentlemen with the key to the apartment and took a little time to unpack and took turns showering off the trip. I think we all wanted to nap but knew better, so we grabbed the cameras and headed out to check out St Peter’s Square. It was a 15 minute walk and it gave us a feel for the neighborhood. St Peter’s was fairly empty and we took a bunch of pictures and checked out where the security entrances were, saving that information for another day. We walked back to the apartment and checked out a bunch of the stores on the way. My son (23) saw a store that specialized in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Assassins Creed, Game of Thrones, and other such merchandise making it nerd heaven. We had to spend some time checking out this place. We made it back to the apartment and browsed Yelp for a place for dinner. There was a highly rated restaurant, Bella Napoli, listed as less than .1 miles from the apartment, so we had our dinner location. We walked the 20 steps to the end of the block, looked north, and found the restaurant less than half a block away. We asked the server for a table and he indicated that they were not yet serving but we could have a seat and wait. He brought us a bottle of water and a basket of bread and breadsticks while we looked at the menus. Once they were ready we ordered a liter of house wine and placed our order. Our son started with bruschetta and we ordered a plate of salami and prosciutto. I ordered grilled prawns and calamari, my husband gets beef rolls with mozzarella and prosciutto, and our son got risotto with scampi. For dessert, one got panna cotta and the other got gelato with strawberries, I had an espresso. With two bottles of water the entire meal came to €80,00 and the food was great. We ended up having three more dinners at this restaurant and each one was better than the last. We decided to do a lap around the block to get to know the neighborhood a little bit. We found a gelato place on the same block as the apartment where a small cone was €1. We each had a small scoop thinking this would be our regular gelato spot, but we never made it back there for the remainder of the trip. Finally, we dragged ourselves to the apartment and it seemed like only minutes later that we were all asleep.
Wednesday
We couldn’t sleep but decided to take advantage of it and we got an early start. We stopped at a bakery on the way to metro station, and this ended up being our breakfast stop for almost every day of the trip. Three cornetti and three cappuccinos was €3,30. We took metro line A just a few stops past Termini and decided that rather than take Line B, we could just walk to the Coliseum. We arrived at the Coliseum before the ticket booths open so we got in line to wait. This was the only ticket I had not bought in advance and I wanted to make sure we went in good weather. Once the booth opened, we only had about a 15 minute wait, and then we were inside experiencing history. It’s an amazing structure, but is hard to separate the building from the horrible events that took place there. I had read ‘Those About to Die’ before the trip and I could not get the images of Coliseum events out of my head.
Once we finished exploring, we headed across the way to The Roman Forums. I had purchased the book, Rome Then and Now, and it really bought the forums to life. The book has photographs of the current forum and overlays showing how the buildings looked in their prime. People saw what we were looking at and came over to check it out with us. I could have sold that book right then and there as we were leaving, but I promised it to someone heading to Rome in the fall. While we took our time with the forums, our son took the camera and went to explore Palatine Hill.
From the forums, we decided to make the walk to the Victor Emmanuel Monument. I read such horrible things about this building, but I did not think it was bad. We climbed the steps and checked out beautiful work inside. We were on our way to the elevator to the top when our son checked out the church next door and pulled us over to see it. It was stunning and we spent some time checking it out. Back to Victor Emmanuel where we paid for the elevator to the roof and it was worth the €7 as the views were stunning. From there, we realized that we were not far from the Pantheon, so that was to be our next stop. But first, we needed to find some lunch. We knew not to go anywhere directly next to a tourist attraction so we walked a few blocks before looking for someplace to eat. We found a restaurant on a small back street, the one place where I did not write down the name, and decided to stop there. We ordered some cheese and tomatoes for a shared appetizer. My husband had fettucine with tomatoes and mushrooms, my son had spaghetti, and had Cacio e Pepe. We shared a liter of house wine and had a bottle of water. The entire meal was under €50,00 and it was delicious. We tried finding this restaurant later in the vacation, but we were unsuccessful.
Back to walking and we made our way to the Pantheon where we had our first encounter with overly aggressive selfie stick sellers. We spent the next hour exploring the Pantheon and then made our way to Piazza Navona, where the sellers were even pushier. My son finally bought one for €5 thinking it would keep the sellers away if they saw one in his hand, but it was no good, they continued to get in our faces.
Finally, we started getting tired so we made our way back toward Vatican City and toward our apartment. But wait, Castel St Angelo was right in front of us. We had to stop! Who cared that we had done half of our Saturday list today. There was a small line for tickets, but once inside we were so happy that we stopped. There were not that many people inside and it made it great for exploring. This is a very interesting building as it has had so many uses over the years. We split up as our son had a lot more energy left than we did, and made plans to meet at the patio/bar. After taking all our pictures, we settled down and my husband ordered a cocktail and I got a glass of wine and we enjoyed the views of St Peter’s square. Our son met us and also ordered some wine and we toasted our first full day in Rome. While sitting there, a light rain began to fall, and people cleared out so quickly that we were the only people left. The rain was very light and only lasted a few minutes, but it gave us a very special experience having this beautiful place to ourselves. Finally, we had to admit that we were done and made the walk back to the apartment. By this point, the pedometer showed that we had walked over 10 miles for the day. We rested for a short while and then took off to find dinner.
Prior to the trip I had read about a local restaurant, Dino and Tony’s, so we made the 3 block walk over there. This was the only bad meal of the trip. The reviews on line were really good, so I was shocked with how bad the food was and how badly we were treated. As soon as we sat down the aggressive service began. The owner/waiter tells us he is going to bring us antipasti. We said no, we wanted to look at the menu. No, you want antipasti. I said no, I’m allergic to some foods and want to choose. What are you allergic too? I tell him all zucchini and eggplant. No, he is going to bring us some salami and prosciutto and some pizza. Okay, tired of arguing we agree. Then we go to order and I got the special, pasta amatricana. My son tries to order something else but the owner tells him no, he wants the special, its better. No he doesn’t, but he gets talked into it. My husband ordered a pizza. The server brings out four plates; one with the meats, a cheese pizza, a white pizza with zucchini and a plate of terrible fried things. We ate the meats and the first pizza. We tried the fried things and my son tried one bite of the zucchini pizza. The owner came by and asked with why we weren’t eating. I told him that I had mentioned that I was allergic to zucchini and his response was to eat around it. He told us to eat the fried things and we said they weren’t to our liking and he actually argued with us that they were good and was very rude when he removed them. Once the mains were served, my husband liked his pizza, and I thought the pasta was okay, but my son hated it. I knew that would happen as he was greatly offended by the service and just wanted to leave. Finally, we got the bill and we were shocked to see that the bad appetizers, that we never wanted, cost €9 per person. They weren’t worth that total. With half a liter of house wine and one bottle of water the meal ended up costing about €85,00. When checking Yelp reviews after we got home I realized I should have read the one star reviews because all of those reflect the same experience we had with things being pushed on us that we didn’t want. We got a little lost getting back to the apartment and once back our son announced that he was hungry and heading out for food. We went to bed but he headed to Bella Napoli for a second dinner.
Coming up - St Peter's Basilica and Testaccio
Monday/Tuesday
We were flying Air Canada from Los Angeles to Rome with a stop in Toronto. Our flight was early Monday morning so we spent Sunday night at the LAX Concourse Hotel, dropped off our car in the morning at QuikPark and took the shuttle to Terminal 2. Security was quick and painless. I had purchased exit row seats so we had a comfortable flight to Toronto and we grabbed lunch at True Burger in the Toronto International Terminal. Dinner was served on the flight to Rome and it was decent for airline food. As soon as meal service was over I took a Tylenol PM and slept most of the way to Rome. Once in Rome we practically got waved through immigration and after quite a long wait for our luggage, we left baggage claim and found our driver holding a card with my name. We piled into the Mercedes wagon and took off toward Rome. This was our first introduction to Rome drivers and it convinced us that we made the right decision not renting a car. We white knuckled it to the apartment in Prati, north of the Vatican, and had to be dropped off in the middle of the street due to no parking. We had about an hour until we were to meet the gentlemen with the apartment key, so we dragged our bags to the restaurant directly across from the apartment. We were not given menus, just told what was available for the day. My husband and I ordered the Carbonara and our son got the Cacio e Pepe. We were not very impressed as the pasta was quite al dente, but we just assumed that it was the way they did it in Italy. The server talked us into a dessert of hard cookies dipped in a sweet wine which was interesting, but not something I would do again. Three pastas, two bottles of water, and one dessert came to €37,00.
We met the gentlemen with the key to the apartment and took a little time to unpack and took turns showering off the trip. I think we all wanted to nap but knew better, so we grabbed the cameras and headed out to check out St Peter’s Square. It was a 15 minute walk and it gave us a feel for the neighborhood. St Peter’s was fairly empty and we took a bunch of pictures and checked out where the security entrances were, saving that information for another day. We walked back to the apartment and checked out a bunch of the stores on the way. My son (23) saw a store that specialized in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Assassins Creed, Game of Thrones, and other such merchandise making it nerd heaven. We had to spend some time checking out this place. We made it back to the apartment and browsed Yelp for a place for dinner. There was a highly rated restaurant, Bella Napoli, listed as less than .1 miles from the apartment, so we had our dinner location. We walked the 20 steps to the end of the block, looked north, and found the restaurant less than half a block away. We asked the server for a table and he indicated that they were not yet serving but we could have a seat and wait. He brought us a bottle of water and a basket of bread and breadsticks while we looked at the menus. Once they were ready we ordered a liter of house wine and placed our order. Our son started with bruschetta and we ordered a plate of salami and prosciutto. I ordered grilled prawns and calamari, my husband gets beef rolls with mozzarella and prosciutto, and our son got risotto with scampi. For dessert, one got panna cotta and the other got gelato with strawberries, I had an espresso. With two bottles of water the entire meal came to €80,00 and the food was great. We ended up having three more dinners at this restaurant and each one was better than the last. We decided to do a lap around the block to get to know the neighborhood a little bit. We found a gelato place on the same block as the apartment where a small cone was €1. We each had a small scoop thinking this would be our regular gelato spot, but we never made it back there for the remainder of the trip. Finally, we dragged ourselves to the apartment and it seemed like only minutes later that we were all asleep.
Wednesday
We couldn’t sleep but decided to take advantage of it and we got an early start. We stopped at a bakery on the way to metro station, and this ended up being our breakfast stop for almost every day of the trip. Three cornetti and three cappuccinos was €3,30. We took metro line A just a few stops past Termini and decided that rather than take Line B, we could just walk to the Coliseum. We arrived at the Coliseum before the ticket booths open so we got in line to wait. This was the only ticket I had not bought in advance and I wanted to make sure we went in good weather. Once the booth opened, we only had about a 15 minute wait, and then we were inside experiencing history. It’s an amazing structure, but is hard to separate the building from the horrible events that took place there. I had read ‘Those About to Die’ before the trip and I could not get the images of Coliseum events out of my head.
Once we finished exploring, we headed across the way to The Roman Forums. I had purchased the book, Rome Then and Now, and it really bought the forums to life. The book has photographs of the current forum and overlays showing how the buildings looked in their prime. People saw what we were looking at and came over to check it out with us. I could have sold that book right then and there as we were leaving, but I promised it to someone heading to Rome in the fall. While we took our time with the forums, our son took the camera and went to explore Palatine Hill.
From the forums, we decided to make the walk to the Victor Emmanuel Monument. I read such horrible things about this building, but I did not think it was bad. We climbed the steps and checked out beautiful work inside. We were on our way to the elevator to the top when our son checked out the church next door and pulled us over to see it. It was stunning and we spent some time checking it out. Back to Victor Emmanuel where we paid for the elevator to the roof and it was worth the €7 as the views were stunning. From there, we realized that we were not far from the Pantheon, so that was to be our next stop. But first, we needed to find some lunch. We knew not to go anywhere directly next to a tourist attraction so we walked a few blocks before looking for someplace to eat. We found a restaurant on a small back street, the one place where I did not write down the name, and decided to stop there. We ordered some cheese and tomatoes for a shared appetizer. My husband had fettucine with tomatoes and mushrooms, my son had spaghetti, and had Cacio e Pepe. We shared a liter of house wine and had a bottle of water. The entire meal was under €50,00 and it was delicious. We tried finding this restaurant later in the vacation, but we were unsuccessful.
Back to walking and we made our way to the Pantheon where we had our first encounter with overly aggressive selfie stick sellers. We spent the next hour exploring the Pantheon and then made our way to Piazza Navona, where the sellers were even pushier. My son finally bought one for €5 thinking it would keep the sellers away if they saw one in his hand, but it was no good, they continued to get in our faces.
Finally, we started getting tired so we made our way back toward Vatican City and toward our apartment. But wait, Castel St Angelo was right in front of us. We had to stop! Who cared that we had done half of our Saturday list today. There was a small line for tickets, but once inside we were so happy that we stopped. There were not that many people inside and it made it great for exploring. This is a very interesting building as it has had so many uses over the years. We split up as our son had a lot more energy left than we did, and made plans to meet at the patio/bar. After taking all our pictures, we settled down and my husband ordered a cocktail and I got a glass of wine and we enjoyed the views of St Peter’s square. Our son met us and also ordered some wine and we toasted our first full day in Rome. While sitting there, a light rain began to fall, and people cleared out so quickly that we were the only people left. The rain was very light and only lasted a few minutes, but it gave us a very special experience having this beautiful place to ourselves. Finally, we had to admit that we were done and made the walk back to the apartment. By this point, the pedometer showed that we had walked over 10 miles for the day. We rested for a short while and then took off to find dinner.
Prior to the trip I had read about a local restaurant, Dino and Tony’s, so we made the 3 block walk over there. This was the only bad meal of the trip. The reviews on line were really good, so I was shocked with how bad the food was and how badly we were treated. As soon as we sat down the aggressive service began. The owner/waiter tells us he is going to bring us antipasti. We said no, we wanted to look at the menu. No, you want antipasti. I said no, I’m allergic to some foods and want to choose. What are you allergic too? I tell him all zucchini and eggplant. No, he is going to bring us some salami and prosciutto and some pizza. Okay, tired of arguing we agree. Then we go to order and I got the special, pasta amatricana. My son tries to order something else but the owner tells him no, he wants the special, its better. No he doesn’t, but he gets talked into it. My husband ordered a pizza. The server brings out four plates; one with the meats, a cheese pizza, a white pizza with zucchini and a plate of terrible fried things. We ate the meats and the first pizza. We tried the fried things and my son tried one bite of the zucchini pizza. The owner came by and asked with why we weren’t eating. I told him that I had mentioned that I was allergic to zucchini and his response was to eat around it. He told us to eat the fried things and we said they weren’t to our liking and he actually argued with us that they were good and was very rude when he removed them. Once the mains were served, my husband liked his pizza, and I thought the pasta was okay, but my son hated it. I knew that would happen as he was greatly offended by the service and just wanted to leave. Finally, we got the bill and we were shocked to see that the bad appetizers, that we never wanted, cost €9 per person. They weren’t worth that total. With half a liter of house wine and one bottle of water the meal ended up costing about €85,00. When checking Yelp reviews after we got home I realized I should have read the one star reviews because all of those reflect the same experience we had with things being pushed on us that we didn’t want. We got a little lost getting back to the apartment and once back our son announced that he was hungry and heading out for food. We went to bed but he headed to Bella Napoli for a second dinner.
Coming up - St Peter's Basilica and Testaccio
Jun 4th, 2015, 02:26 AM
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I have also seen Dino & Tony's touted in other places, and a few other reports like yours that the food is terrible. Some of the apparent love for Dino & Tony's is that many people get huge portions, and some people I guess like the aggressive, bossy waiters -- it fulfills some myth that this is a "real" Roman experience, but it's not. Most service in Rome is quite considerate if you go to a reputable restaurant. It is especially unusual for a restaurant to ignore a stated allergy.
So thanks for posting this warning for others.
So thanks for posting this warning for others.
Jun 4th, 2015, 05:33 AM
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Thursday
We had breakfast at the bakery – three chocolate cornetti and 3 cappuccinos. We made the walk to St Peter’s square and found fewer than 20 people in the security line. One thing we learned in Italy is that published opening times are only suggestions as we were early for climbing the dome, but we were let right in. We bought two tickets for the elevator and one ticket for the walk, and said goodbye to our son as he took off for the climb. We took the elevator to the roof and only climbed about one flight to get a closer look at the paintings, and then headed back down and out on to the roof. We enjoyed the views from up there and then took the elevator directly down to the Basilica.
We spent the next hour exploring the church while waiting for our son to meet up with us. By the time he found us he had not only finished his climb but had explored the Basilica. It is so big and so majestic that you can get overwhelmed by the beauty of the artwork. The only crowds at all were to see the Pieta (smaller than expected) and they were completely manageable.
We made the walk out of St Peter’s stopping at the post office to send a post card home (2 weeks ago – still not here). From here we walked to the road by the river and took the 280 bus to Testaccio. We had a two block walk to the Testaccio Market. We spent the next hour just wandering through the booths. We bought some salami, and three of the best cannoli I have ever tasted at Dess’ Art. As soon as my husband was done, he went back for another. We sat outside and had cappuccinos and tried arancini (one yes vote, one very strong no vote). We found the statue of a god punching a bull on top of the old slaughter house, and then went back to shopping.
From the market we walked back to the main street to shop at Volpetti, a gourmet shop. The minute you walk in you are overwhelmed by the aromas. We were given samples of salami, cheese, olive oil, cookies, etc. We purchased some candies and cookies to bring back as gifts and swore we would make it back before the end of the trip.
Next stop was the Pyramid of Cestius. It strange to se
e an Egyptian pyramid built in 12 B.C. in the middle of the city and we took time to explore and to visit the protestant cemetery to see the graves of Keats and Shelly.
We hopped on the metro at the Piramide station and took it up to Termini. We wanted to check out the station to find out where to pick up our TrenItalia train in the morning. We walked out of the station into the city and we were suddenly in an area of the city with lots of restaurants and shops where the people were outside trying to entice you into the restaurants. We stopped at a sports store as my husband wanted to buy a soccer jersey and found exactly what he had been looking for. We asked for a restaurant recommendation and we were told to leave and not eat anywhere around there. We took the advice and got back on the Metro and headed to the Spanish Steps.
We walked past the steps (I don't get the attraction), stopping to check out the fancy McDonalds, and found lots of restaurants but they were all very crowded. We wandered down the small streets and found Matricianella which had an empty table. We were seated right away and we had an amazing meal of bruschetta, Jewish style artichoke, two Cacio e Pepe, and one Tagliatelli with truffle sauce. We shared a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a bottle of water. Wonderful meal! We were now all fat and happy and we took the metro back to Ottaviano station and we walked to the apartment and napped. Well, two of us napped and one went shopping down by the Vatican.
We woke up and had just enough energy to go back to Bella Napoli for dinner. We started with another Jewish style artichoke and bruschetta. I went with a pizza which was wonderful but way too big, my husband had a steak and fries, and once again our son got Cacio e Pepe. We returned to the apartment and uploaded pictures and then had a quiet night in.
We had breakfast at the bakery – three chocolate cornetti and 3 cappuccinos. We made the walk to St Peter’s square and found fewer than 20 people in the security line. One thing we learned in Italy is that published opening times are only suggestions as we were early for climbing the dome, but we were let right in. We bought two tickets for the elevator and one ticket for the walk, and said goodbye to our son as he took off for the climb. We took the elevator to the roof and only climbed about one flight to get a closer look at the paintings, and then headed back down and out on to the roof. We enjoyed the views from up there and then took the elevator directly down to the Basilica.
We spent the next hour exploring the church while waiting for our son to meet up with us. By the time he found us he had not only finished his climb but had explored the Basilica. It is so big and so majestic that you can get overwhelmed by the beauty of the artwork. The only crowds at all were to see the Pieta (smaller than expected) and they were completely manageable.
We made the walk out of St Peter’s stopping at the post office to send a post card home (2 weeks ago – still not here). From here we walked to the road by the river and took the 280 bus to Testaccio. We had a two block walk to the Testaccio Market. We spent the next hour just wandering through the booths. We bought some salami, and three of the best cannoli I have ever tasted at Dess’ Art. As soon as my husband was done, he went back for another. We sat outside and had cappuccinos and tried arancini (one yes vote, one very strong no vote). We found the statue of a god punching a bull on top of the old slaughter house, and then went back to shopping.
From the market we walked back to the main street to shop at Volpetti, a gourmet shop. The minute you walk in you are overwhelmed by the aromas. We were given samples of salami, cheese, olive oil, cookies, etc. We purchased some candies and cookies to bring back as gifts and swore we would make it back before the end of the trip.
Next stop was the Pyramid of Cestius. It strange to se
e an Egyptian pyramid built in 12 B.C. in the middle of the city and we took time to explore and to visit the protestant cemetery to see the graves of Keats and Shelly.
We hopped on the metro at the Piramide station and took it up to Termini. We wanted to check out the station to find out where to pick up our TrenItalia train in the morning. We walked out of the station into the city and we were suddenly in an area of the city with lots of restaurants and shops where the people were outside trying to entice you into the restaurants. We stopped at a sports store as my husband wanted to buy a soccer jersey and found exactly what he had been looking for. We asked for a restaurant recommendation and we were told to leave and not eat anywhere around there. We took the advice and got back on the Metro and headed to the Spanish Steps.
We walked past the steps (I don't get the attraction), stopping to check out the fancy McDonalds, and found lots of restaurants but they were all very crowded. We wandered down the small streets and found Matricianella which had an empty table. We were seated right away and we had an amazing meal of bruschetta, Jewish style artichoke, two Cacio e Pepe, and one Tagliatelli with truffle sauce. We shared a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a bottle of water. Wonderful meal! We were now all fat and happy and we took the metro back to Ottaviano station and we walked to the apartment and napped. Well, two of us napped and one went shopping down by the Vatican.
We woke up and had just enough energy to go back to Bella Napoli for dinner. We started with another Jewish style artichoke and bruschetta. I went with a pizza which was wonderful but way too big, my husband had a steak and fries, and once again our son got Cacio e Pepe. We returned to the apartment and uploaded pictures and then had a quiet night in.
Jun 4th, 2015, 05:38 AM
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Friday
Every trip has to have one major screw up. Mine was today. I had set the alarm for 5 a.m. to get up and shower before waking up the guys. I woke up my husband at 6 and my son at 6:30. My son looked at his phone and asked why I was waking him up at 3:30? Yep, I used my Kindle, that was still on California time and it thought it was 6:30 Thursday night. Both guys went back to sleep and I drank coffee and read my book for the next three hours.
We grabbed breakfast at the bakery and took the metro to Termini and then TrenItalia to Naples. We then had to buy tickets for the Circumvensuvian train to Pompeii Scavi. The train pulled in to the station right as we got downstairs and we crowded in. Just when you think no one else can fit on the train, about 20 more people jump in. It was at this point that I wished all people had the same commitment to showering and deodorant. It was bad. Really, bad. It was so crowded that it was hard to breathe until someone opened a window. Once people started getting off the train at different stops I was able to adjust my position. At one stop, two men got on with an accordion and a saxophone, and they played until the next stop where they passed the hat for tips.
We got to Pompeii and within a few minutes of getting inside, we got separated. My husband wanted to go look for our son, but I did not want to take time out of touring and knew our son was an adult who could take care of himself. I made plans to meet my husband at the exit in a few hours. I had the next three hours to explore at my own pace and it was fantastic, but exhausting. I ran into my son on the way to the exit and he had not seen his father the entire day. When my husband finally showed up, he admitted that he had not seen anything. He sat in the middle waiting for our son to show up. What a waste of an opportunity.
We took the local train back to Naples and then went looking for lunch. The part of Naples near the train station is not nice, but we were just too tired and on too tight a schedule to go to the nicer areas. We had a late lunch and then headed back to the station
The train ride back was restful and we enjoyed the scenery. We walked back to the apartment in a light drizzle and realizing we were too tired to go out to dinner, we stopped at Tom and Jerry’s pizza, next door to our building, and picked up some panini’s and some pizza and brought it upstairs. By this point, my feet were so sore and swollen that I spent the rest of the evening with ice packs.
Every trip has to have one major screw up. Mine was today. I had set the alarm for 5 a.m. to get up and shower before waking up the guys. I woke up my husband at 6 and my son at 6:30. My son looked at his phone and asked why I was waking him up at 3:30? Yep, I used my Kindle, that was still on California time and it thought it was 6:30 Thursday night. Both guys went back to sleep and I drank coffee and read my book for the next three hours.
We grabbed breakfast at the bakery and took the metro to Termini and then TrenItalia to Naples. We then had to buy tickets for the Circumvensuvian train to Pompeii Scavi. The train pulled in to the station right as we got downstairs and we crowded in. Just when you think no one else can fit on the train, about 20 more people jump in. It was at this point that I wished all people had the same commitment to showering and deodorant. It was bad. Really, bad. It was so crowded that it was hard to breathe until someone opened a window. Once people started getting off the train at different stops I was able to adjust my position. At one stop, two men got on with an accordion and a saxophone, and they played until the next stop where they passed the hat for tips.
We got to Pompeii and within a few minutes of getting inside, we got separated. My husband wanted to go look for our son, but I did not want to take time out of touring and knew our son was an adult who could take care of himself. I made plans to meet my husband at the exit in a few hours. I had the next three hours to explore at my own pace and it was fantastic, but exhausting. I ran into my son on the way to the exit and he had not seen his father the entire day. When my husband finally showed up, he admitted that he had not seen anything. He sat in the middle waiting for our son to show up. What a waste of an opportunity.
We took the local train back to Naples and then went looking for lunch. The part of Naples near the train station is not nice, but we were just too tired and on too tight a schedule to go to the nicer areas. We had a late lunch and then headed back to the station
The train ride back was restful and we enjoyed the scenery. We walked back to the apartment in a light drizzle and realizing we were too tired to go out to dinner, we stopped at Tom and Jerry’s pizza, next door to our building, and picked up some panini’s and some pizza and brought it upstairs. By this point, my feet were so sore and swollen that I spent the rest of the evening with ice packs.
Jun 4th, 2015, 09:02 AM
#8
By this point, my feet were so sore and swollen that I spent the rest of the evening with ice packs.>>
yet another traveller in Italy succumbs to what came to call "Roman foot". Though I am not surprised given your schedule. I know that your DH missed out on seeing Pompeii but I bet his feet were in better shape than yours!
yet another traveller in Italy succumbs to what came to call "Roman foot". Though I am not surprised given your schedule. I know that your DH missed out on seeing Pompeii but I bet his feet were in better shape than yours!
Jun 4th, 2015, 10:14 AM
#9
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He invested in a pair of Merrill trail shoes before the trip and now swears by them. I am currently looking for a good pair of walking shoes for our next trip, although I think the walking in New England but will a lot easier than Rome.
Jun 5th, 2015, 11:04 AM
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Thank you for taking the time to read my report and for the feedback. I know there is a lot of detail and I hope it is not too much.
Saturday
We had another breakfast at the bakery and then caught the train to Barberini and walked up the hill to the Borghese Gallery. I had purchased the tickets well in advance knowing that they usually sell out and today was no different. There were signs saying that there were no tickets available until the following Tuesday.
I was very happy to see that rules for photography and different than stated on the web page. You can take photos as long as you don’t use a flash. You are given a two hour window to see the gallery, which is plenty of time. We all agreed to meet in the gift shop at the end of the two hours and we took off to explore. My husband is more interested in the paintings and I love the sculptures. This is a beautiful collection and I was happy we took the time to see it. We took a little time to see the grounds and then walked back down the hill.
Our next stop was the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini on the Via Veneto. We went in to see the museum of the Capuchin Monks and more specifically, the Capuchin Crypts. The museum was better than anticipated and the crypts were fascinating. There are five crypts each decorated with the bones of the monks and the artwork from bones is pretty amazing. Here they enforce the no photography rule so we bought some postcards in the gift shop so I can scrapbook what we saw.
We were officially done with the planned events for the day, so it was now time to wander.
We stopped at the Neptune fountain in Piazza Barberini and my son spotted a tie shop and he was off. How many 23 year olds love ties? I know of one. While he shopped for ties (buying three) we went to the wine store next door and tried samples of mushroom truffle spread and crackers. We did not want to carry things today but vowed to return before the end of the trip.
We next walked to the Spanish Steps but due the incorrect reading of the map, we ended up at the top. We carefully made our way down the steps and then made our way back to Matricianella where we had the great lunch two days before. This time both my son and I ordered the Jewish Style Artichoke and my husband started with a mozzarella and proscuitto plate. For our mains I had the fettucine with mushroom and chickory, our son had the Gnocchi in cream sauce, and my husband had roasted lamb and potatoes. We shared a great bottle of red wine and a bottle of water. The meal came to €94,00 and it was the best meal in Rome (but not the best meal of the trip).
We took the metro back to the apartment and it was time for another two hour nap for the parents and another shopping trip for the kid.
It was too early for dinner so we checked out a part of the neighborhood north of the Vatican that we had not yet seen. There were lots of very touristy restaurants the closer you got to the Vatican wall.
We wanted to try something different for dinner and I had remembered reading about a place on Yelp, so when we saw Knick Knack Yoda, we had to go in. It’s a funky little place with techno music, posters, and painting on the wall. They basically serve burgers on focaccia and sodas. It ended up being one of the best burgers I had ever tasted. My husband ordered the Classic burger which was meat, lettuce, tomato, and a spicy mustard. My son got the Scan 7 which had taziki and potatoes. I had the Lolita and while I don’t remember what was on it, I loved it.
We walked back toward St Peter’s square and down one of the side pedestrian zones and ended up getting Gelato at a corner place. Our final stop for the day was St Peter’s square to get pictures at night. It was very empty and we got some great shots.
Finally we head back to the apartment, pack our daypacks for tomorrow, and pass out.
Tomorrow - Florence
Saturday
We had another breakfast at the bakery and then caught the train to Barberini and walked up the hill to the Borghese Gallery. I had purchased the tickets well in advance knowing that they usually sell out and today was no different. There were signs saying that there were no tickets available until the following Tuesday.
I was very happy to see that rules for photography and different than stated on the web page. You can take photos as long as you don’t use a flash. You are given a two hour window to see the gallery, which is plenty of time. We all agreed to meet in the gift shop at the end of the two hours and we took off to explore. My husband is more interested in the paintings and I love the sculptures. This is a beautiful collection and I was happy we took the time to see it. We took a little time to see the grounds and then walked back down the hill.
Our next stop was the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini on the Via Veneto. We went in to see the museum of the Capuchin Monks and more specifically, the Capuchin Crypts. The museum was better than anticipated and the crypts were fascinating. There are five crypts each decorated with the bones of the monks and the artwork from bones is pretty amazing. Here they enforce the no photography rule so we bought some postcards in the gift shop so I can scrapbook what we saw.
We were officially done with the planned events for the day, so it was now time to wander.
We stopped at the Neptune fountain in Piazza Barberini and my son spotted a tie shop and he was off. How many 23 year olds love ties? I know of one. While he shopped for ties (buying three) we went to the wine store next door and tried samples of mushroom truffle spread and crackers. We did not want to carry things today but vowed to return before the end of the trip.
We next walked to the Spanish Steps but due the incorrect reading of the map, we ended up at the top. We carefully made our way down the steps and then made our way back to Matricianella where we had the great lunch two days before. This time both my son and I ordered the Jewish Style Artichoke and my husband started with a mozzarella and proscuitto plate. For our mains I had the fettucine with mushroom and chickory, our son had the Gnocchi in cream sauce, and my husband had roasted lamb and potatoes. We shared a great bottle of red wine and a bottle of water. The meal came to €94,00 and it was the best meal in Rome (but not the best meal of the trip).
We took the metro back to the apartment and it was time for another two hour nap for the parents and another shopping trip for the kid.
It was too early for dinner so we checked out a part of the neighborhood north of the Vatican that we had not yet seen. There were lots of very touristy restaurants the closer you got to the Vatican wall.
We wanted to try something different for dinner and I had remembered reading about a place on Yelp, so when we saw Knick Knack Yoda, we had to go in. It’s a funky little place with techno music, posters, and painting on the wall. They basically serve burgers on focaccia and sodas. It ended up being one of the best burgers I had ever tasted. My husband ordered the Classic burger which was meat, lettuce, tomato, and a spicy mustard. My son got the Scan 7 which had taziki and potatoes. I had the Lolita and while I don’t remember what was on it, I loved it.
We walked back toward St Peter’s square and down one of the side pedestrian zones and ended up getting Gelato at a corner place. Our final stop for the day was St Peter’s square to get pictures at night. It was very empty and we got some great shots.
Finally we head back to the apartment, pack our daypacks for tomorrow, and pass out.
Tomorrow - Florence
Jun 5th, 2015, 06:09 PM
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Sunday
We took the metro to Termini and grabbed breakfast at McDonalds. When offered syrup for the pancakes you could choose pancake syrup or chocolate syrup. We had a pleasant train ride to Florence and since I had upgraded to premium economy (for just a few euros) we had leather seats and were offered coffee, juice, and cookies on the way.
Once off the train we had a short walk to Hotel Mia Cara where we dropped off our bags and then headed out to see the town. First stop was the Duomo which stopped us in our tracks as soon as we saw it. It is gorgeous! We walked around and took it in from every angle. Next stop was Piazza del Signora to take in the sculptures.
Finally, we headed over to All’antico Vinaio sandwich shop. I had read about this place on line and had been told about by a coworker so we had to go there. It was only about 11 and yet there were about 20 people in line. We joined the queue and waited our turn. They have a second shop directly across the street and when they opened that there were enough people to have a long line at both shops. For €5 you get a massive, delicious, sandwich. We all got the Porchetta but we got one with artichoke spread, one with mushroom spread, and one other. All were great and my son made us promise that we would come back the next day. We were able to snag a couple of the stools outside and ate and people watched. We met a young man from California who had been living in Florence for six months and claimed he ate here at least once a day.
We spent some time shopping in the leather shops on the street with the sandwich shop and then continued our walking tour. We saw the outside of Santa Croce but knew we were coming back tomorrow. We walked past the synagogue and some of the city buildings until we found the Academy of Fine Arts. There was a huge line but we were able to just go into the office on the side and trade in our vouchers for tickets. We were too early for our time slot so we went into the bookstore next door. There is a little café at the back where we got some wine and a cocktail for my husband.
We finally went to line up but the guard told us to go in. We mentioned that it wasn’t our time but he waved us in anyhow. I was thrilled to see the sign that says photography is allowed, just no flash photography. As a scrapbooker, this is important. I loved this museum. I heard there was not much to see besides the David, but I found a lot to love. But then you turn the corner and there he is in front of you and he is so much more than any photo can capture. David, in all his glory. Bigger than I expected; more beautiful than I imagined. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me.
We finished the museum and headed back to the hotel to check in. We spent exactly enough time to complete the paperwork, move our packs to the room, use the bathroom, and head out the door.
We walked back to the train station and bought bus tickets and then spent half an hour trying to find the correct bus stop. We jumped on the #13 train to Piazza Michelangelo. It was a long ride but we got to see a lot of parts of the city. We got to the Piazza and took in all the views of Florence. It is really beautiful up there. We were able to snag some seats at the café down below and we ordered cocktails and some olives and chips and enjoyed the view. We wanted to stay for sunset, but that was hours away and we had things to see, so we were back on our feet and on our way.
My boss had told me about a restaurant in Florence, describing it as one of his favorite restaurants in the world. I had been unsuccessful in getting a reservation but we decided to be there when they opened at 7:30 and see if we could get in. We started the very long walk from the Piazza to Entoca Le Barrique. Once they opened we were promptly seated and offered a complimentary prosecco. After we ordered we were presented with an amuse bouche which I remember being delicious, but I can not remember what we ate. We ordered two bottles of water and a bottle of Adeo Borgheri wine. I had the pate starter and a perfectly medium rare steak with tomato, olives, and thinly sliced Parmigiano. My son had the risotto primi and the honey truffle duck breast. My husband started with the Pici pasta with cacio, pepe, and speck and for his main he had curry chicken with grilled apples. Everything was wonderful but if I had to pick a best dish it would be the duck breast. We did not save room for dessert. Dinner came to €147,00 and it was so worth it. This was the single best meal of the trip.
We made the walk back across the river and detoured to see the Duomo at night. After another few dozen photos of this amazing building, we finally made it back to the hotel and quickly fell asleep.
Monday
We had breakfast in the hotel where they offered a selection of pastries, toast, yogurt, fresh fruit, eggs, sausage, meats, cheeses, little sandwiches, hot and cold cereal, juices, milk, espresso, cappuccino, and café Americano. It was a nice selection with something for everyone. We checked out of the hotel and stored our bags with the front desk.
Our first stop was the central market but we were so early that not all the vendors were open. We wandered a bit instead and then started shopping for leather outside. My son found a belt vendor and the man custom punched the holes for him. He paid €20 and said it was the best belt he ever owned.
Our next stop was the Da Vinci museum but we were too early so we wandered up the street and got cappuccino from Robiglio, the best cappuccino of the trip.
By the time we finished our drinks the museum was open. I had not heard good things about it, but my son is such a fan of Da Vinci that we had to check it out. We really enjoyed this museum. It contains creations that were made by people using Da Vinci’s sketches as blueprints.
Our next stop was Santa Croce and with our ‘use anytime’ vouchers that I bought in advance, we were able to bypass the long line and walk right in. This is a beautiful church and we stood in front of the tombs of Galileo, Marconi, Michelangelo, Dante, and more. Do not skip this church!
We headed over Ponte Vecchio and went to see the Pitti Palace even though we knew it was closed on Monday. Our main destination was Entoca Pitti Galo e cantina. A gentleman on a travel board recommended this place for a wine experience in Florence. We were too early so we left my husband sitting in front, prepared to grab a table when they opened. I went down the street and ended up in a jewelry store and bought myself a beautiful necklace as a souvenir.
We got our table and my son and I both ordered the prix fix lunch for €35. The meal was three courses and four pours. My husband ordered a la carte. Our meal started with a spumante. For the first course we both ordered the cheese stuffed fried artichoke, and it was wonderful. It was served with a pinot grigio, unlike anything we can buy here. For the second course I got the pasta with the lamb ragu and fava beans (Yum!) and he had the wild boar and fennel ravioli. This was served with a 2010 Vino Nobile Montepulciano. The final course was a choice of tiramisu or a cheese plate. He got the dessert, I got the cheese, and it was served with a 2006 Brunello di Monalcino. My husband had a beef and potato meatball starter with a barolloa and the boar ravioli with the brunello, and the tiramisu dessert. Overall, an excellent lunch.
We headed back over the bridge and went back to the leather shop near the sandwich store. My son had tried on about 20 leather jackets and this was his favorite, so we bought it for him. While they got in line at the sandwich shop, I went to another leather shop to purchase a bag to replace my carry-on that had been damaged on the flight over. I then stopped at a wine shop and picked up a Borgheri to take back to Rome. We made one stop in the central market to pick up a second belt, and then we took our leather, wine, and sandwiches and made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags, and then walked to the train station.
Once on the train we opened the wine. I had great acrylic travel wine glasses that I got through REI (the stem fits in the glass for portability) and we poured our wine, ate our sandwiches, and played ‘Pass the Pigs’ as we traveled back to Rome. We absolutely loved Florence and we are already talking about going back in the future, spending a few days there, and heading into the Tuscan countryside.
We took the metro to Termini and grabbed breakfast at McDonalds. When offered syrup for the pancakes you could choose pancake syrup or chocolate syrup. We had a pleasant train ride to Florence and since I had upgraded to premium economy (for just a few euros) we had leather seats and were offered coffee, juice, and cookies on the way.
Once off the train we had a short walk to Hotel Mia Cara where we dropped off our bags and then headed out to see the town. First stop was the Duomo which stopped us in our tracks as soon as we saw it. It is gorgeous! We walked around and took it in from every angle. Next stop was Piazza del Signora to take in the sculptures.
Finally, we headed over to All’antico Vinaio sandwich shop. I had read about this place on line and had been told about by a coworker so we had to go there. It was only about 11 and yet there were about 20 people in line. We joined the queue and waited our turn. They have a second shop directly across the street and when they opened that there were enough people to have a long line at both shops. For €5 you get a massive, delicious, sandwich. We all got the Porchetta but we got one with artichoke spread, one with mushroom spread, and one other. All were great and my son made us promise that we would come back the next day. We were able to snag a couple of the stools outside and ate and people watched. We met a young man from California who had been living in Florence for six months and claimed he ate here at least once a day.
We spent some time shopping in the leather shops on the street with the sandwich shop and then continued our walking tour. We saw the outside of Santa Croce but knew we were coming back tomorrow. We walked past the synagogue and some of the city buildings until we found the Academy of Fine Arts. There was a huge line but we were able to just go into the office on the side and trade in our vouchers for tickets. We were too early for our time slot so we went into the bookstore next door. There is a little café at the back where we got some wine and a cocktail for my husband.
We finally went to line up but the guard told us to go in. We mentioned that it wasn’t our time but he waved us in anyhow. I was thrilled to see the sign that says photography is allowed, just no flash photography. As a scrapbooker, this is important. I loved this museum. I heard there was not much to see besides the David, but I found a lot to love. But then you turn the corner and there he is in front of you and he is so much more than any photo can capture. David, in all his glory. Bigger than I expected; more beautiful than I imagined. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me.
We finished the museum and headed back to the hotel to check in. We spent exactly enough time to complete the paperwork, move our packs to the room, use the bathroom, and head out the door.
We walked back to the train station and bought bus tickets and then spent half an hour trying to find the correct bus stop. We jumped on the #13 train to Piazza Michelangelo. It was a long ride but we got to see a lot of parts of the city. We got to the Piazza and took in all the views of Florence. It is really beautiful up there. We were able to snag some seats at the café down below and we ordered cocktails and some olives and chips and enjoyed the view. We wanted to stay for sunset, but that was hours away and we had things to see, so we were back on our feet and on our way.
My boss had told me about a restaurant in Florence, describing it as one of his favorite restaurants in the world. I had been unsuccessful in getting a reservation but we decided to be there when they opened at 7:30 and see if we could get in. We started the very long walk from the Piazza to Entoca Le Barrique. Once they opened we were promptly seated and offered a complimentary prosecco. After we ordered we were presented with an amuse bouche which I remember being delicious, but I can not remember what we ate. We ordered two bottles of water and a bottle of Adeo Borgheri wine. I had the pate starter and a perfectly medium rare steak with tomato, olives, and thinly sliced Parmigiano. My son had the risotto primi and the honey truffle duck breast. My husband started with the Pici pasta with cacio, pepe, and speck and for his main he had curry chicken with grilled apples. Everything was wonderful but if I had to pick a best dish it would be the duck breast. We did not save room for dessert. Dinner came to €147,00 and it was so worth it. This was the single best meal of the trip.
We made the walk back across the river and detoured to see the Duomo at night. After another few dozen photos of this amazing building, we finally made it back to the hotel and quickly fell asleep.
Monday
We had breakfast in the hotel where they offered a selection of pastries, toast, yogurt, fresh fruit, eggs, sausage, meats, cheeses, little sandwiches, hot and cold cereal, juices, milk, espresso, cappuccino, and café Americano. It was a nice selection with something for everyone. We checked out of the hotel and stored our bags with the front desk.
Our first stop was the central market but we were so early that not all the vendors were open. We wandered a bit instead and then started shopping for leather outside. My son found a belt vendor and the man custom punched the holes for him. He paid €20 and said it was the best belt he ever owned.
Our next stop was the Da Vinci museum but we were too early so we wandered up the street and got cappuccino from Robiglio, the best cappuccino of the trip.
By the time we finished our drinks the museum was open. I had not heard good things about it, but my son is such a fan of Da Vinci that we had to check it out. We really enjoyed this museum. It contains creations that were made by people using Da Vinci’s sketches as blueprints.
Our next stop was Santa Croce and with our ‘use anytime’ vouchers that I bought in advance, we were able to bypass the long line and walk right in. This is a beautiful church and we stood in front of the tombs of Galileo, Marconi, Michelangelo, Dante, and more. Do not skip this church!
We headed over Ponte Vecchio and went to see the Pitti Palace even though we knew it was closed on Monday. Our main destination was Entoca Pitti Galo e cantina. A gentleman on a travel board recommended this place for a wine experience in Florence. We were too early so we left my husband sitting in front, prepared to grab a table when they opened. I went down the street and ended up in a jewelry store and bought myself a beautiful necklace as a souvenir.
We got our table and my son and I both ordered the prix fix lunch for €35. The meal was three courses and four pours. My husband ordered a la carte. Our meal started with a spumante. For the first course we both ordered the cheese stuffed fried artichoke, and it was wonderful. It was served with a pinot grigio, unlike anything we can buy here. For the second course I got the pasta with the lamb ragu and fava beans (Yum!) and he had the wild boar and fennel ravioli. This was served with a 2010 Vino Nobile Montepulciano. The final course was a choice of tiramisu or a cheese plate. He got the dessert, I got the cheese, and it was served with a 2006 Brunello di Monalcino. My husband had a beef and potato meatball starter with a barolloa and the boar ravioli with the brunello, and the tiramisu dessert. Overall, an excellent lunch.
We headed back over the bridge and went back to the leather shop near the sandwich store. My son had tried on about 20 leather jackets and this was his favorite, so we bought it for him. While they got in line at the sandwich shop, I went to another leather shop to purchase a bag to replace my carry-on that had been damaged on the flight over. I then stopped at a wine shop and picked up a Borgheri to take back to Rome. We made one stop in the central market to pick up a second belt, and then we took our leather, wine, and sandwiches and made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags, and then walked to the train station.
Once on the train we opened the wine. I had great acrylic travel wine glasses that I got through REI (the stem fits in the glass for portability) and we poured our wine, ate our sandwiches, and played ‘Pass the Pigs’ as we traveled back to Rome. We absolutely loved Florence and we are already talking about going back in the future, spending a few days there, and heading into the Tuscan countryside.
Jun 5th, 2015, 10:47 PM
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Such a great travel report. Thank you for posting. I too was SO impressed by David that I literally sat there for THREE HOURS once and just stared. I have been to Firenze at least five times now and never tire of it. Glad you loved it so much. You have great tips on the restaurants and sandwich shops you visited (for a future trip for me!!). May I ask where you got your recommendations?
Jun 6th, 2015, 06:46 AM
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I am really enjoying your wonderful report! I really liked the Capuchin Crypt but realize that it probably doesn't appeal to everyone. My daughter, who spent a semester in Rome, said it was one of her favorite churches/museum.
Jun 6th, 2015, 09:42 PM
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What a marvelous report! We will have 8 days in Rome next month and plan to do a very similar itinerary, also staying in the Prati area. greatly appreciate your taking the time ti share such a detailed account of you trip!
For Pompeii, did you take the fast train or the local to Naples? Once there did you have a specific guidebook, use the audio tour, hire a guide, or...?
Would you think that Florence as a day trip would be too much?
Again, many, many thanks for your generosity of spirit in sharing!
For Pompeii, did you take the fast train or the local to Naples? Once there did you have a specific guidebook, use the audio tour, hire a guide, or...?
Would you think that Florence as a day trip would be too much?
Again, many, many thanks for your generosity of spirit in sharing!
