We just returned from a 3 week trip to Italy. We stayed 5 nights in Piedmonte (Acqui Terme), 4 nights on the Ligurian Coast (Lerici), 5 nights in Tuscany (Castellina in Chianti) and 5 nights in Rome. This was our 2nd trip to Italy, our first was 15 months ago when we did Rome, Venice and Florence. This trip was to celebrate our 20th anniversary, although our kids came with us on the trip. Our daughter (DD) turned 14 on the trip and our son (DS) is 10 1/2. We have been to London, Paris, Rome, Venice and Florence but this was our first time to do smaller towns. I wasn’t sure what we would think as we love big cities, but we really loved the smaller towns as well.
We flew in and out of Milan (couldn’t do open jaw with these frequent flier miles). We rented a car in Milan and kept it until our arrival in Rome. This was our first experience driving in Italy (or Europe for that matter). My DH did all the driving – thank goodness, although the role of navigator, map follower is a tough one too. A few notes about driving in Italy. We drove throughout Piedmont, Liguria and Tuscany then Tuscany to Rome. We didn’t find it too difficult although we did get lost a lot, particularly Piedmont, but that may have just been because it was our first location and we got used to the driving after that. A few pointers. Get a good map. We had the Touring Club Italiano map that was very good, but keep in mind even a good map does not show the exact way from one town to another. Basically you have to follow the signs (which are good). However, not every town is always listed, so therefore it is important to know in which general direction you are going, i.e. what the name of some other towns are in the same general direction. Outside of the major cities, there are very few stop signs or stop lights but A LOT of roundabouts. Rule of thumb: if you get to a roundabout and the town name you are looking for is not there, your best chance is to go straight . Also, know the parking rules, white lines are free but there is usually a sign that tells you how long you can park there. You must use the dial on the right hand part of the front window to indicate when you arrived (we learned this the hard way with a parking ticket!!). Blue lines mean you must pay at the parcometer and put the ticket on your dash. Once you get the hang of it, it is great and the diesel engines go forever without having to fill up constantly.
Our past two trips to Europe I have planned by myself (and the helpful fodorites), however I had two big trips within 3 months of each other and I knew it would be difficult to have to do everything myself. So for this trip I found Megan McCaffrey (www.bellavitaitalia.com) on Slow Travel and she was wonderful. We planned the Rome part of the trip ourselves as we had been there but she helped us with the rest of the trip, and we also did a boat trip with her to the Cinque Terre from Lerici and a cooking class with her mother-in-law (to be) Rosella which was a highlight of our trip! More details on those later!
Piedmonte (Acqui Terme) June 10 – 15 (5 nights)
We arrived in Milan and picked up our rental car and drove about 1.5 hours to Acqui Terme and arrived at Baur B&B (www.baurbb.com) about 3pm. It was incredibly beautiful, just as the pictures on the website show. It was up a hill with an incredible view below and a beautiful terrace. Before I continue, a few words about Baur B&B. This is now our favorite place in Europe. It is run by Diana (an American), and Michael (a German) Baur. This is a small B&B with only two rooms (although they plan on adding a 3rd this winter). We rented both rooms as there were four of us so we had the whole B&B to ourselves. The rooms are very large and beautifully decorated with local treasures and some of Diana’s own pottery. The bathrooms are large tiled bathrooms with all the amenities you would need including a real hair dryer (not those things stuck to the walls in many Italian hotels). There is a great pool and beautiful area around the pool with plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas. The terrace in front is where breakfast is served every morning (in the winter it is served inside). As I mentioned earlier the views are spectacular. Diana and Michael are wonderful hosts. They have not missed a beat with incredible breakfasts, wonderful beds (the best we have slept on in Europe) and just a willingness to do anything required to make your stay enjoyable. They provided us with excellent dinner recommendations, as well as recommendations for our daytrips, always making sure we had good directions. Michael always made sure DS knew when the next World Cup game was! The B&B is located about just down the hill from the town of Acqui Terme. While we never did, you could walk into town as we saw many locals doing.
So we met our hosts Diana & Michael Baur and their Labrador Max. Diana had prepared a wonderful lunch of meats, cheeses, bread, fruit, potato salad and delicious grilled zucchini. However, the most exceptional item was a hazelnut cake specially made by a friend of theirs. It was incredibly moist with a wonderful flavor. DS embarrassed us by eating tons of proscuitto and 3 pieces of hazelnut cake. That evening Diana and Michael were invited to a friend’s wine festival, and as their guests we were invited as well. I actually don’t drink wine, but DH thoroughly enjoyed tasting the wines and the kids tried some sweet wine. Everyone else at the festival was Italian.
Later we enjoyed dinner in Acqui Terme at Il Nuovo Ciarlocco (Via Don Bosco, 1 ). Michael had told us to order carne cruda, it is Piedmonte’s style of carpaccio. So we order it and it is actually raw ground veal – looks just like raw hamburger meat, but it is actually very good. After dinner we walk around the town. It is 10:00pm and the town is really hopping. Each piazza has a different type of entertainment going on. A rock band, a little circus, dance music….Everyone is out enjoyng the evening – babies in strollers, young kids, teens, parents and grandparents. We have a gelato at Visconti, then head back to our wonderful beds and sleep like rocks.
Diana will serve breakfast between 8:30am and 10:00am, you just have to let her know what time you would like it the night before. We said 9:00am. It was a bit difficult to wake up as we were tired from the travel day before and didn’t want to get out of our comfy beds, but boy was it worth it. Our breakfast was the best we have had in Europe. A stunning spread of fruit, museli, yogurt, meats, cheeses, tomatoes, fresh baked goods and two of our favorites – grilled peaches with pinenuts and made to order frittatas (omelettes). Michael goes early in the morning to the markets to get fresh pastries, cheese, fruit, etc.
Lingering over our breakfast we got a later start but headed to Torino for the afternoon. We arrived about 2:00pm on a Sunday so was fairly quiet, but we were quickly enamored by it. We parked in an underground parking garage in Piazza San Carlo Felice. We walked to the Mole and went up the elevator to see the beautiful views from the top. Next, we went through the Cinema Museum which was very interesting and stylishly done. Most displays are in Italian, but it is easy to get the gist of things.
We walked to the main square Palazzo Castello to find a bite to eat. We had nice paninis at Costa Verde off of Via Garibaldi. It is after 4pm now and the city is filling up with people going on their passagieta. It is truly amazing how many people are out, yet no stores were open as it was a Sunday. We go looking for Pepino Geletaria and have wonderful gelato there. We find a small food market going on around the corner and get fresh pear and fresh grape juice.
We went back to the car and drove around a bit to some of the Olympic sites and across the Po River. We really enjoyed our time in Torino. We found it very pedestrian friendly, charming and frankly, highly underrated.
We get back to Baur B&B, rest and freshen up. Diana has made us a reservation at Da Fausto, a restaurant just beyond Acqui Terme in the hills in a small town called Cavatore. We had one of our best meals of the trip. Wonderful raviolis, incredible roast beef and duck salad. The desserts were fantastic – semi-freddoes, meringues and an apple tart, and Fausto, the owner, is quite charming with his limited English.
One of the reasons for our trip was also to visit the small towns that DH’s family came from. One set of great-grandfather and -grandmother came from Vignole Barbera. It was less than an hour from Acqui Terme and right next to Serravalle where there is a large outlet mall. So, first we go to the Outlet Mall. The outlets are very nice and there are a lot of designers (D&G, Prada, Versace, etc.) but personally I prefer shopping in the smaller boutiques in the city centers.
We drove to Vignole Barbera, only about 10 minutes from Serravalle. It is not a large town, and much of the construction in the city is post WWII. There is a church in the Centro Storico that DH suspected is where his great grandparents were married. There is a monument in front of the church to people who fought in the wars. Several Figinis (his grandmother’s maiden name) are listed. Unfortunately, the Communale Principio was closed at 1:00pm and didn’t reopen later in the afternoon. We walked around a bit and stopped for gelato.
We got back to Baur B&B in time for DH to watch most of the US vs. Czech World Cup match. The rest of us lounged by the pool. We had another great dinner at Antica Osteria (14040 Castel Rocchero). The food was great but we ordered too much and were stuffed.
The next day was Tues.which is market day in Acqui Terme so we went to explore the town. It is full of stalls – food, clothing, shoes and people come from all the nearby towns. By 12:30 the stalls were closing down and everyone was going home for their afternoon nap. After a quick gelato stop we decided to do like everyone else, so we headed back to Baur B&B and spent a wonderful afternoon relaxing by the pool. That evening, Diana prepared a wonderful dinner and we had a glorious evening relaxing on the terrace and visiting with Diana and Michael.
The next morning we woke up to another incredible breakfast. This morning includes a spectacular apricot tart. Today we head to Alba. Our small city of Medford, Oregon is a “sister city” with Alba, Italy. We have a student foreign exchange program with them as well as other programs. A friend’s daughter who had done the student exchange program about 4 years ago told us there is a book in the Communale Municipale that only visitors of Medford can sign. We decided this was something we should do. We go to the Communale Municipale to ask, but no one seemed to speak English. Someone kindly calls another person who does speak some English. She told us she doesn’t know anything about a book, but they do have a “Twin City” room where they have a display from Medford as well as 2-3 other twins(sister) cities they have throughout the world. Medford has a whole wall dedicated to it with many pictures of local dignitaries and pictures of Medford. Then another woman came in (speaks no English) but explained that yes there is a book you can sign, and pulled it out from a drawer in a credenza. We all signed the Alba – Medford Twin City book and thanked our two helpful patrons.
We walked through the Piazza Duomo and down the main street of Vittorio Emmanuel. It was a very nice street with lots of shopping. We had lunch at LaLiberia (Via Elvio Pertinace, 24), a very modern sleek resetuarnat with good food. Despite the fact that now everything was closed we decided to walk around the city a bit more. Unfortunately, my shoe broke - (bummer!) it was impossible to walk and of course, all the shops are closed. DH broought the car to us and we decided to do the scenic drive back that Diana and Michael recommended. We drove through Barolo, Monteforte d’Alba and many other beautiful parts of Piedmonte.
When we returned, DS stayed with Michael to watch a World Cup game while DH took DD and I to Acqui to do some shopping. Dinner later was at La Curia in Acqui Terme (Via Alla Bollente, 72 ). For appetizers we had asparagus con funghi porcini and millefiore melezane which are both excellent. DS and I shared vitelleto (veal) and DH and DD both had ravioli. We all enjoyed another wonderful dinner.
The next day was our last morning at Baur B&B and the delicious breakfast. Hugs & kisses all around as we said goodbye to our new friends Diana, Michael and Max. Our next stop was Lerici on the Ligurian coast. However, on our way was our second “family heritage” stop. DH’s grandfather was from Favale di Malvaro, up in the mountains just east of Genoa. It is a small village up in the mountains with old terraced gardens. We tried to find a place for lunch but nobody had sandwiches (there are only 2 places) so we settle for some snacks. There is a statue in one of the small squares (okay it’s actually a parking lot) that commerates those who left Favale to emigrate to America. Apparently, they also have a festival honoring this in late June. We walked up a hill to the church and found the cemetery. There were many Boitanos (DH’s mother’s maiden name). Despite the early hour at home (5:45am), DH called his Mom to ask what her grandfather’s first name was and confirm roughly when he died. We found his gravestone – Boitano G. Batiste. This was pretty neat.
Just want to say that we absolutely loved Piedmonte. Of course, our stay at Baur B&B was a big part of that, but in addition, Piedmonte is very quiet and relaxing and not filled with tourists. We saw some German tourists but never saw another American tourist our whole time in Piedmonte (except once at lunch in Alba). Very few Italians there speak English, most menus do not have English translations. We thoroughly enjoyed this authentic Italian experience and can’t wait to return to this beautiful region.
Next up Lerici on the Ligurian Coast.
Trip Report: Family4Travels for 3 weeks to Piedmont , Ligurian Coast, Tuscany and Rome
Recent Activity
View all Europe activity »
- 1 Dining in Rapallo and Camogli
- 2 Parking in Florence, Italy
- 3 Barcelona day trips
- 4 PARIS: apartment for a family of 4. Could use your help.
- 5 Montepulciano faves
- 6 Going to London for the first time at the end of May ALONE
- 7 6.5 hour layover in Lisbon, Portugal
- 8 Three nights in London, two nights somewhere else, help?
- 9 Cuenca or Toledo
- 10 car rental agency near train station in Firenze
- 11 Should We Do Segovia With only 2 1/2 Days in Madrid?
- 12 Cinque Terre or More Tuscan Villages?
- 13
Paris trip report
- 14
Solo in Sicily - April 2013
- 15
Reporting from Paris May 12-25
- 16 When is the best time to buy train tickets/where?
- 17 Trains in Italy
- 18 Solo Female First Time Traveler - Scared to Death
- 19 Scotland. Cawdor Castle , Inverness
- 20 I Need To Vent!
- 21 Ireland from Shannon to Cork
- 22 Planning a honeymoon in Spain - most romantic areas??
- 23 1st time in Europe - Please critique our itinerary
- 24 Where can we go from Genoa for three days
- 25 June Garden Event at Hever Castle.
Looking forward to the next installment. Loved that you took time to find Boitano Batiste.
Enjoying your trip report. Sounds like you all had fun. Look forward to the next installment.
Love your report. I'm looking at the Piedmont area and Lake Como area for a trip next year.
How much was your B&B? Could you get a weekly/5 day rate?
The 2006 rates are 160 euros per night for each room. This includes breakfast and a well stocked refrigerator with water, soft drinks, etc. as well as the house wine. Dinner and lunch were extra - but well worth it.
Yippee, jgg, I have been waiting for this! The first part of your trip sounds awesome. Now, I better stop reading yours and start writing my own report!
Lovely - looking forward to more!
bookmarking for later... can't wait!
We arrived in Lerici about 5pm. Our first reaction was – WOW! It was a bit startling at first as there were a lot of people, particularly on the beaches – quite a change from the more quiet days in Piemonte. However, as we stayed there we really grew to love this charming town. We stayed at Hotel Florida (rms. 33 & 34). The rooms were small and pretty vanilla, but we faced the ocean, which is right across the street, and we had a stunning view of the ocean and the town of Lerici, which is beautiful with it’s many colored buildings and it’s castle. There was a very nice lobby and a nice breakfast room with a typical Italian hotel breakfast of meats, cheeses, cereals, yogurt and fruit. The staff was very helpful and I must say while the rooms were decorated very plainly they were always kept spotless, and the beds were fairly comfortable. It was about a 5-10 min. walk along the beach sidewalk to the main piazza. A very nice walk that we did several times before and after dinner. The hotel gave us a free parking pass to park right near there. We didn’t use the car to go to dinner in Lerici, only when we toured during the day – aside from Cinque Terre and Portovenere.
Our first night we had dinner at Entragia (Salita Canata, 2), enjoyed a nice dinner and watched a World Cup game with the locals.
Our first full day in Lerici we were scheduled to do a boat tour with Megan McCaffrey of Bella Vita Italia. She is an American who is engaged to an Italian and describes herself as “Your Personal Concierge for Italy.” She lives in Lerici but does private tours throughout much of Italy. She met us at the hotel and we walked to the port to catch our boat to Cinque Terre. The boat took us along the coastline of La Spezia and Portovenere before we arrived at the Cinque Terre. We got off first at Riomaggiore. It is a tiny little town with one street going up the middle. It is quite old and unfortunately it is difficult for property owners to do any improvements to their property. However, it was quite charming. A few restaurants have hot dogs and hamburgers on their chalkboard menus – a bad sign for how many tourists can come through. From Riomaggiore we walked over to Manorolo. It was unfortunate that there was so much graffiti on the walkways and tunnels. Manorolo is slightly larger than Riomaggiore and we walked around the town a bit. We walked down to the small port and took the boat to Vernazza. This town is much larger than the other two with a large piazza and a small beach. We had a wonderful lunch at Belforte over looking the beach one way and the ocean the other. Declicious, fresh seafood and we had a wonderful visit with Megan.
From Vernazza we took the boat back to Portovenere. This was an extremely charming town with tall skinny buildings painted in various pastel colors. First we walked to the church and looked out at Byron’s Bay. Then we walked back through the center of town and enjoyed some gelato. We really liked Portovenere, it has a nice beach and was not quite as crowded as the Cinque Terre. We really enjoyed seeing the Cinque Terre by boat and it was awesome having Megan as our guide as she had many interesting things to tell us and knew right how to get from place to place. Sometimes it is just nice not to have to think for a day!! When we returned to our hotel DS and I went across the street to relax on the beach while the others rested inside.
For dinner we ate at Golfe de Poeti right on the main piazza in Lerici. All the restaurants we ate at were recommended by Megan and this one was fantastic. It’s location and size makes one think it is just a tourist trap, but the food was excellent, particularly the fried calamari.There was a strange art show going on in the piazza. We walked around a bit, then headed back to the hotel for bed.
We decided to spend one more day touring before we relaxed on the beach. We drove over to Sarzana, a town just 10 minutes inland from Lerici. It was another very charming town, and turns out to be one of our favorites from the trip. It had a large piazza with several great streets coming out from it.. I found a new pair of shoes to replace the ones that broke (luckily I had brought 3 pairs of shoes!) At 12:30 the shops started closing so we stopped and had lunch at Café Costituzionale, which was right on the Piazza. The waitress just spoke the menu in Italian . We had paninis, insalata caprese and mozzerella di buffalo with bresola. Everything was excellent – some of the best caprese on the trip. Before we left we stopped at a gelateria we noticed on our way into town, Biagi. It is a bright white and modern gelateria. Retrospectively, we all agree that this was the best gelato we had while we were in Italy.
Now we drove to Carrara. I have read Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone twice and have always wanted to visit Carrara. We didn’t really know where we were going when we got to the town, but just kept following the signs to cave di marmo which just kept heading us up the mountain. We stopped to take some pictures then kept heading up. Lucky us, we ended up on a flat area with a small museum, a shop and a working cave that was giving tours that day as it was a Saturday. They took us down into the cave in a mini van. They had a guide in Englilsh and one in Italian. The groups were small, maybe 6-8 people. It was very interesting to go down there and the tour was quite good. We bought a few things made right there from their marble and then headed back to Lerici. We got back just in time to freshen up and change – our shoes were covered in marble dust!!
We met Megan McCaffrey at 5:00pm to go to her house for our private cooking lesson with her mother-in-law (to be), Rosella. Her house was in a borgo above Lerici. She has an incredible view. The apt. was small but had a neat outdoor kitchen, where we had our lesson, and a great outdoor dining area. We learned some of the idiosyncracies of living in a place built in 1691 – no hot water in the kitchen, you must unplug the washing machine in order to turn on a small kitchen appliance….
We also met Luigi, Megan’s fiancée, who is also a very gracious host. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening. We made focaccia, spada, gnocchi, pesto, pesce, pepperonata and yogurt mousse for dessert. Rosella loved the kids and was particularly overjoyed to see DS eat so much and his arrival in Italy (Totti) jersey and hat was a big hit! DS & Luigi went upstairs to watch the Italy vs. US World Cup game. We stayed on the terrace and listened to all the neighbors in the borgo react to the game. It ends up a tie 1-1.
The next day was DD’s 14th birthday as well as Father’s Day. We had decided to relax on the beach and had reserved chairs and umbrellas at Eco de Mare, a private beach between Lerici and Tellaro. It was located in a stunningly beautiful cove, that many sailboats stopped at during the day. It was extremely quiet and serene. There is a restaurant just a few steps off the beach that served lunch. Just a reminder if you choose to go there, they do not take credit cards so bring cash. We had a wonderful and very relaxing day. When we returned to our hotel, we were reminded of why we spent the extra money – the beaches in Lerici were still very crowded and noisy.
For dinner Megan had recommend a fabulous seafood restaurant called Pin Bon (in Pitelli up above Lerici, Via Canarbino, 7). We went there to celebrate DD’s birthday and Father’s Day. We had a spectacular seafood appetizer with anchovies, octopus and all kinds of seafood, then an excellent sepia risotto with calamari then to finish off an extremely large platter of scampi and shrimp. A wonderful place for a special evening.
This was our last evening in Lerici as the next day we were leaving for Tuscany. We really enjoyed our stay in Lerici, it is a lovely seaside village with easy access by boat to Cinque Terre and Portovenere and easy access to the Autostrada if you want to head someplace else such as Carrara. Other daytrips that are possible from there are Portofino and Lunigiana which is filled with Etruscan ruins. Despite the fact that when we first arrived we were taken aback by the difference from Piemonte, we really fell in love with Lerici, and had wished we had an extra day to continue exploring there. We look forward to going back.
Next up Castellina in Chianti and Tuscany.
Great trip report! I was very interested in your trip to Carrara, but I couldn't quite picture being taken into the cave in a minivan! It definitely goes on my list of things to do on my next trip to Italy - along with Lerici.
Thanks for sharing and I look forward to Tuscany.
Linda
We spent 4 nights at the Hotel Florida in Lerici a few years back. We also fell in love with the area and were very happy making it a home base for a few days. We found the staff there to be quite helpful. My parents stayed there last year and were told they still remembered us! I think we almost enjoyed Portovenere more than the Cinque Terre towns, as it was definitely less touristy.
We had also come down from Piedmonte, but stayed in Canelli at a fabulous Agritourisimo - La Luna e Fagnoli (I think that's the spelling -sun and the moon) run by a couple from Turin who had owned a restaurant. We had some of our best meals there. Piedmonte was a great place to explore, also went to Alba, Aqui Terme, etc. and really enjoyed this trip. One of our favorites. Glad to hear all is still well in that part of the world.
Great report, jgg. Can't wait for the next installment as we are going to be in Castellina in Chianti the first week of September. That was a great tip regarding the white and blue lines for parking. Is that standard throughout Italy, do you know?
A lovely trip and a lovely tripreport jgg. I imagine your daughter will remember her 14th birthday forever!
And I chuckled at your comment about taking a day without having to "think". I get feeling that way in Italy also. Best regards.
lm- I don't know if it is standard throughout Italy but it seemed to be the protocol in the 3 areas we were driving around in. Once we figured out the system we didn't get anymore tickets.
Hope to post Castellina in Chianti soon.
Wow what a long report on each stop!
Waiting impatiently for the next installement, however a small suggestion, why not post these reports seperately under diffrent headings?
For owl-woman "La Luna e il Falo" (the moon and the bonfire) is still going strong outside of Canelli, although its off the internet routes. The name comes from a famous book by Cesar Pavese about an a local who goes back home after spending many years in America.
Sounds wonderful and you write so well...it's a pleasure to read.
Thanks
Rosie
Keep 'em together jgg.
Yes jgg, please keep adding to this thread here, it gets confusing when a new thread is made for each location of a trip report, at least IMO. Best regards.
Thanks for the encouragement. I agree, keeping it in one thread is best! Sorry for the dealy in getting the next installment in. I am working on a BIG volunteer project here that runs Sat. - Tues. so hard to find the time. Thanks for everyone's patience.
Wonderful trip, to some of my favorite haunts, and an even better report. Grazie !
More please, when you can...
We left Lerici and had decided to stop in Lucca on the way to Castellina. I’m sure I will get skewered for this on the board, but frankly we don’t know what all the excitement is about. We had a nice visit and a nice lunch but I guess we weren’t really enamored by it. Oh well, to each his own.
We left Lucca to drive on to Fattoria Tregole (http://www.fattoria-tregole.com/index.htm) in Castellina in Chianti. There was very little information on this wonderful Fattoria on the internet. No postings on trip advisor and very little mention on Fodors, however it came highly recommended by Megan and she was right!! It is a wonderful place located just 4km outside of Castellina in Chianti in Tregole. All the buildings are stone, the original wine cellar was built in 1000, and the remainder of the house was built in 1580. It had a nice large pool, and a patio where breakfast was served. It had five rooms and two apts. We rented the Aia apartment and it was wonderful. A very large apartment with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room with a dining room table. There was also a private courtyard just outside one of the bedrooms. We never used the kitchen for cooking but it was nice to have the big refrigerator for drinks, cheese and meats. Edith and her husband run the B&B along with two women who seemed to do everything from cooking, cleaning to doing your laundry. Edith was extremely helpful with information on where to go and what to see. She also usually makes dinner once or twice a week for the guests if you would like. We had two of her dinners and they were both great, and we really enjoyed meeting some of the other guests as well. (Note: I will be posting a review on TripAdvisor along with some photos after I complete this trip report).
When we arrived at Fattoria Tregole we were beat from the driving, so rested. Lucky for us, this was one of the evenings Edith made dinner, so we were able to rest and just walk a few steps to dinner. Our first course was 3 different antipasti, all very good, particularly the pastry with funghi. We then had an excellent pasta with zucchini flowers, and pork for our entrée and tiramisu for dessert. It was a bit windy that evening so she served inside rather than on the patio. We enjoyed our dinner and had a nice evening visiting with some of the other guests.
The next morning we had a nice breakfast on the patio. The weather was overcast, although still warm. Breakfast included, cheese, meats, fruit, cereals and yogurt. We weren’t really sure what our plan was for the day but decided to start in Greve. This is a nice town with great piazza and a lot of interesting stores. Particularly the butcher shop with a lot of meat “hanging around”. Our only complaint was that the town was mostly tourists and the shops were geared that way as well. But we enjoyed our time there. Next we drove to Lamole. Edith had recommended that we drive up here and have lunch at Ristorante Lamole. The turn off the main highway between Castellina and Greve is just a few km south of Greve. It was about a 10 –15 minute drive, but we thought it was the most beautiful drive we had in Tuscany. Beautiful vineyards with old stone homes. The restaurant had spectacular views, the wait staff was friendly and appeared to speak fluent Italian, German and English. We enjoyed our lunch, my sausage with cannelloni beans was particularly good.
Despite the distance and the need to do a bit of backtracking we decided to go to San Gimignano. We got there about 4:00 so were hoping maybe the throngs were gone. Unfortunately, it was still filled with people. It is a beautiful town with stunning architecture, the towers and the buildings are fabulous. However, it just seemed a bit Disneyesque. I would definitely love to return in a less busy time of year. We did stop and have some gelato at the Gelateria di Piazza in the Piazza della cisterna. They are the 2006 World Champions of gelato. It was very good. I promised DS that we would go through the Torture Museum (Museo Della Pena di Morte – Via S. Giovanni, 15/A). It was perfect for a 10-year old boy, and we actually all found it quite interesting. It is amazing what those people came up with in the Middle Ages.
That night we had dinner at Il Tinello (Via IV Novembre, 102 in Castellina). This place got mixed reviews from the 4 of us.
Today was our 20th anniversary and we decided to spend the day in Siena. We had been there on our last trip, taking a bus from Florence and were looking forward to our return visit. We had a great time exploring the city and did some shopping. For lunch we ate at La Torre where we had eaten on our last visit. It is a wonderful little restaurant where the owner just lists off the menu in Italian. Once again we had incredible ravioli and gnocchi and the best osso bucco ever. If you are standing in the piazza looking at the tower, just to the left of the tower is an arch, walk through the arch and it is on the left hand side.
We drove back to Fattoria Tregole and rested by the pool. We had tried to get a reservation at Galapappa a Michelin one-star restaurant for dinner to celebrate our anniversary, but couldn’t get in until the next night, so our second choice was Osteria Le Logge in Siena ( Via del Porrione, 33). On our way to the restaurant DD actually found a vintage clothing store still open after 8:00pm and finds a stylish “Jackie O” style dress. We had a wonderful outdoor table at Le Logge and ordered Bistecca Florentine. The waiter brought out the raw piece of meat for us to okay. We had a wonderful dinner celebrating our 20th anniversary.
As we headed back to our car it is about 11:30pm and the campo in Siena is packed. A lot of young people out for the night. We passed a smaller piazza where they were having a “street ball” (basketball) tournament. DS really enjoyed watching them.
The next morning we were really not sure what our plan for the day was. The weather was still overcast and we even had a bit of rain during breakfast. First, we decided to drive to Panzano, just south of Greve. It is cute town, but there was really not much there, and unless you were planning on eating dinner there, I would skip it. So, next we decided to drive over to Pienza. One of the guests staying at our hotel who had been to Montalcino, Montepulciano and Pienza said Pienza was his favorite. It was a bit of a drive (over an hour from Castellina) but it turns out to be our favorite town in Tuscany. This part of Tuscany was not quite as green as the Chianti region, but had the beautiful yellow fields and tall cypress trees. It is a beautiful drive. Pienza is a delightful town very well laid out (apparently a Pope designed it) with beautiful buildings, most having lovely flower baskets hanging from their windows. A nice piazza with the church and a TON of cheese shops!! It was late and we hadn’t eaten lunch so we stopped at Enoteca Baccus La Vineria (Corso Rossellino, 70). We had a nice lunch and our new food find was aged pecorino dipped in chestnut honey – scrumptious! We immediately headed to a small shop to buy some jars of chestnut honey.
Then we walked around visited the church, definitely one of the brightest churches we have been in, and enjoyed the spectacular view from the ramparts.
DH walked in to a bar to get an espresso, turned out it was the Italy-Czech World Cup match. All the tables were removed and the chairs were all lined up stadium style as as the bar was filled to the brim with spectators. For the 5 min. we were in the bar Italy scored and the crowd went wild!! Along the streets most shopkeepers were opened but sat outside on chairs listening to the game on the radio.
For dinner we ate at Gallopapa in Castellina in Chianti. Apparently, it recently got its first Michelin star rating. We ordered the tastinig menu and had an incredible dinner. A lot of very creative dishes that are excellent. The only thing we think didn’t quite work was the dessert.
The next day we decide that we are tired of driving super long distances so Edith encourages us to explore more of the local Chianti region. This was our first day truly “under the Tuscan sun” as the overcast weather is finally gone and we have clear blue skies. We drove to Radda in Chianti, yet another charming town. DD found a cute top in a local shop. There is a beautiful park there with a lot of shady trees and a great play structure for kids to climb on.
Next we drove up to Badia A Coltibuono, an abbey, for lunch outside of Gaiole in Chianti. This was a recommendation from Megan and we had a fantastic lunch out on the patio with another spectacular view. All the food was excellent but the deer DS had was the highlight. From here we drove to Castel d’Brolio. We walked up to the castle walls and rang the bell from outside of the gates. A caretaker came to open the gates and take our money (5 euros per person). You cannot go in the castle as there are still people living there, but you can go in the chapel and crypt and walk around the castle and the gardens. The crypt was very interesting and the views around the property – well once again, spectacular.
Our last night in Tuscany and Edith once again made dinner at our B&B. We ate out on the terrace and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and visit with our fellow guests from So. California, Florida and Germany.
Next up Rome.
I am loving this report so far...good information on Piedmont, which is on my list of places to visit in the near future. Thanks.
What a beautiful time in Tuscany. It's so fun to read the trip reports from trips at the time of the World Cup - all the celebrating!
Looking forward to Rome . . .
Thanks, jgg for this terrific segment on your stay in Chianti. We already have lunch reservations for the Ristorante Lamole and based on your recommendation and others I have found, I think we will try to get in to
Galapappa for dinner. How far in advance did you make your reservations for there?
We just made the reservations the night before. This was in late June.
Thanks again, jgg.
Thank you for everyone's patience. Here is the final installment.
We left Fattoria Tregole and stopped at Orvieto on our way to Rome.
We had a great lunch at Tipica Trattoria Etrusca, (Via Lorenazo Maitani, 10), just down the street from the Duomo. We had wonderful rabbit, steak and pasta with cingahle. We found a street there where everything was made right in the shop by the artisan. I purchased a beautiful woven scarf. We visited the duomo, which is stunning and completely dominates the piazza, and we stopped for our requiste gelato, but we all agreed this was the worst gelato we had – pretty much without flavor. We really enjoyed our visit to Orvieto, although it was shorter than we would have liked as we got a late start from Tuscany and were anxious to get to Rome. Orvieto is definitely on our list to go back to as we would like to explore more and have an opportunity to see the underground parts of Orvieto.
Before our trip we had debated whether to drop off the car in Orvieto and train to Rome or drive into Rome and drop the car off there. After a few weeks of driving under his belt DH decided that he was up for driving into Rome. The rental car drop off was near the Borghese Gardens. Everything went smoothly on our entrance to the city, and we got to the Borghese Gardens. Our only problem was finding exactly where to drop off the car. After a few missed turns, we discovered that indeed you go down into the underground parking which is where all the rental car returns are. We caught a taxi to our hotel Albergo Cesari.
Now, just a word about Albergo Cesari, as there was a thread on Fodors shortly before we left about them getting ready to remodel and having to cancel several people’s reservations. When I heard this I immediately contacted them. They said they would not be closing until the day after we were scheduled to leave. I was still a bit nervous, but we had stayed there on our last trip and loved the location, and the size of their quad room. I am happy to report that we had no negative impacts from this. The hotel was running as usual, in fact as people were checking out and new people weren’t checking back in, we found the often crowded breakfast room with plenty of space and the service of the delightful waitress mostly to ourselves. I did speak with them about what their remodeling plans are. They are redoing the façade of the building, they will be adding a new breakfast room to the roof that will be much larger than the existing one and also gaining outdoor eating space when the weather is good. They will be upgrading several rooms as well. Most importantly they will be putting in a new heating and air conditioning system that will allow each room to control it’s own air conditioning temperature, rather than the existing system which didn’t allow that. This is a MUCH needed change that we discovered as the temperatures soared to 100 degrees! They closesd on June 30, and plan to reopen on Nov. 1.
Back to the trip report. We settled in to our room then headed to Obika (Piazza di Firenze, Via dei Prefetti) for dinner. One of our favorite places from our last trip. It is a mozzerella bar with, of course, excellent mozzerella di buffalo and meats and salads. A nice meal, after our heavy lunch. San Crispino near the Trevi Fountain for gelato. Then back to sleep.
SUNDAY
Today we had decided to go to Trastevere. We had not been there on our last trip and I wanted to go explore this part of Rome I had heard so much about. It was Sunday which meant the famous Flea Market at Porto Portese in Trastevere was going on so we started over there. It was hot, hot, hot!! About 100 degrees. The flea market was just that, and while my daughter bought a 3 euro purse and my son some sunglasses, most everything else was what you usually see people selling on the street, only now they are all in one location. We headed over to the main piazza and went inside the church of Santa Maria Trastevere. By this time we were hot, tired and hungry and DH really wanted to leave Trastevere and head back to more familiar parts of Rome, so we crossed the bridge and just headed towards Piazza Navona. Much to our happiness we practically ran into Der Pallaro (Largo del Pallaro 15) another favorite place from our last trip. We asked “Poppa” if it was air conditioned intside. He said no, but if we sat in the shade he knew we would be comfortable with the breeze. Well, actually he was right. At Der Pellaro there is no menu “Poppa” just takes care of everything. The last time we were there it was for dinner, I thought perhaps for lunch he served fewer courses, this was not the case but we were very hungry and thoroughly enjoyed our leisurely lunch – the lentils were incredible and the fried rice balls fantastic!
We headed back to the hotel to rest and all took a cool shower. Later in the evening we headed to Piazza Navona. DS really enjoys giving the living statues coins – our favorites were the grim reaper and the businessman caught up in the wind. We ate at Zucca Gialle (Via de Governo Vecchio 86/87) another recommendation of Megan’s. We had an excellent meal with good pizza, carpaccio and pasta. Even with all the food we ordered it was only 39.50 euros for all 4 of us. Definitely our cheapest meal. We go back to Piazza Navona, the kids get their caricatures done, and I find an artist I really like and buy one of his pieces. We had gelato at Le Cremeria (our favorite) near the Pantheon on our way to the hotel.
MONDAY
The next day was set aside for shopping. DD had just graduated from 8th grade and just had her birthday. She had been saving most of her graduation and birthday money for Rome. We enjoyed exploring the shops along the Via Corso and the many streets off of it. The guys went back to the hotel to rest after lunch but DD and I persevered. It is amazing how much shopping there is in Rome!
Before dinner we stayed in the hotel and watched an Italy World Cup game. Italy won on a penalty kick in OT, and as soon as they won the people in the street started cheering, and the cars started honking!! After the game we left to go to dinner, and people in the streets were carrying the Italian flag riding their scooters through the city.
That night we had dinner at Mimi & Coco’s (Via de Governo Vecchio, 72). We had eaten there last time on our visit for lunch and really enjoyed it. We had a good meal, but all agreed it was probably more of a lunch place than a dinner place, however, my porcini risotto was the best I had in Italy. We had gelato at Della Palma because Le Cremeria was closed. We all agreed the gelato at Della Palma is too sweet for us.
TUESDAY
Every morning we would wake up and hope that it would be cooler, but to no avail. The concierge explained it was very unusual for it to be so hot in June and apparently there was some weather coming in from Africa. We had 11:00am reservations for the Borghese Gallery so took a cab ride over there – lucky us the cab was air conditioned. We had not been to the Borghese Gallery on our last trip. We rented the audio guides and I must say they were excellent. The information they gave about the sculptures was absolutely fascinating and I would not have wanted to go through without out a personal guide or an audioguide. The kids even enjoyed the audioguides, however, they didn’t want to have to do the whole second floor, so we agreed to just cruise through there and listened to the audio for about 2 paintings. Definitely on our list to return to.
We had decided we wanted to have lunch at Da Bolognese in the Piazza de Popolo. Despite the heat we decided to walk through the Borghese Gardens to get there. Little did we know how difficult it was to get into Da Bolognese. They were all full for lunch, so we tried to make a dinner reservation – nothing available for 3 more nights – after we were leaving. This is definitely on our list for the next trip.
We walked down the Via Corso and then suddenly realized we were near Gusto! (Piazza Augusto Imperatore 9) Another restaurant we had eaten at on our last trip. Knowing the city a little bit really helped out! We had a nice lunch in nice air conditioning.
The guys go back to the hotel to rest, DD and I do a bit more shopping right around the Pantheon. Dinner was at Il Baccaro (Via dei Spagnoli ). We had a lovely dinner, the pasta dishes there are particularly good.
Gelato at Le Cremeria before we landed at our hotel for the night.
WEDNESDAY
The next morning was our last full day in Rome. We first went to the nearest travel agency to get our train tickets to Milan for the next day. The agency had about 4 people in line and while there were 3 people working there, only one person was helping the people standing in line. I was clearly not the only one who was a bit annoyed by this. When we were done we do a bit more exploring than went to Lozozone (Teatro Pace 32) for lunch. It had gotten rave reviews for it’s paninis. It was good and you get to choose what you want them to put on the pannini or pizza bread, but frankly I have had better.
On our last trip we had been to the San Callisto Catacombs and visiting there was a highlight of our trip, so we wanted to go see some more catacombs. I head read quite a bit about the Catacombs of St. Domitilla. With the heat we thought it would be nice to take the Archeobus to the catacombs and to just see the other archeological sites. The Archeobus website said that the bus stopped at Piazza Emmanuelle starting at 10:00am and then every hour on the hour. Our concierge had said he didn’t think it stopped there every hour but he wasn’t sure. They gave a # to call on the website so I had called it in the morning to confirm, but the person I spoke to didn’t speak English and I was unable to communicate with him. I decided to go with the info. on the website. We got to the Archeobus stop about 1:45, noticing an Archeobus heading out a block or two away. When we looked up at the sign it said it starts at 9:45am and leaves every hour after that. ARRRRGH! We had just missed it, and the info. on the website was wrong. Well, at this point we hailed a taxi and had him take us to the catacombs.
We really enjoyed our visit to the Catacombs of St. Domitilla. It was wonderfully cool down there (too bad the tour wasn’t longer). We had a delightful young guide, and enjoyed the many interesting things he had to tell us. The unique thing about this catacomb is there is an original unrestored frescoe there. Quite amazing to see.
It is not super easy to get a taxi from there, but we just started walking in the right direction, and eventually a taxi came by. We had him take us to the hotel where we changed to be appropriately dressed for St. Peter’s Basilica. We had been to the Vatican Museum, Sistene Chapel and St. Peter’s on our last trip, but really wanted to go back to St. Peter’s this time. After climbing St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and Sacre Couer in Paris DS and I were up for tackling St. Peter’s Dome. Unfortunately, the stifling heat and long line got the better of us – next trip….Last time we were at St. Peter’s there was no line to get down into the crypt, but now with Pope John Paul’s tomb there was a line, but only about a 20 minute wait. We had been in Italy March of 2005, just a week or so before John Paul died. While we were in St. Peter’s Square he, unannounced appeared at his window, and waved to those of us below. It was a memorable experience and turned out to be his last public appearance. Perhaps this was why I was so moved by seeing his tomb. I am not really sure, but it was a moving experience. You just needed to keep walking by, but it you wanted to stop and look or pray, they had a rope you could stand behind. We walked up the stairs to St. Peter’s. They had a large portion of the church cordoned off as they were having some type of ceremony taking place at the farthest point of the church. We had been able to see quite a bit more on our last trip, but did get a chance to linger again in front of the Pieta.
Our last night in Rome. We had dinner at Al Moro (Vicolo delle Bollette,13) near the Trevi Fountain, not too far from our hotel. We had another excellent meal, and our waiter was particularly nice, cracking jokes with DS. The bread was the best bread we had in Italy (unfortunately one thing the Italians don’t do too well at). The best however, was a cioccolata caldo with zabaglione cream that DS ordered – absolutely incredible. Don’t ask me why he ordered hot chocolate on such a hot night, but it was delicious. Our last night, so of course, gelato at Le Cremeria.
We woke up the next morning and started packing. Our train left at 2:30, so we decided to have lunch in Rome before we left. We all agreed we wanted to eat at Obika again. We got there at 11:45am. The sign said they didn’t open until 12:00. Fine, we walked around a bit. No stores were open today, as apparently it was the Feast of the Patron Saint of Rome – so it was a holiday. We got back to Obika at noon and we went through the door, but the guy said they will probably open in about 15 minutes or so. I was getting impatient due to the train we had to catch (okay, I’m one of those people who likes to get to the airport 3 hours early!!). Anyway, we decided to go to another restaurant nearby that someone had recommended. They didn’t open until 12:30pm. Back to Obika, where we waited outside until they opened – finally at 12:50!! Turns out they were having their usual Sunday buffet due to the holiday, so at least we didn’t have to wait for our food. We had a wonderful, though quick lunch, and headed back to the hotel and took a cab to the train station.
We took the first class train from Rome to Milan, about 4.5 hours with stops in Florence and Bologna. From Milan Centrale train station we took the shuttle (5 euros per person) to the airport. It takes about an hour. From there we took the hotel shuttle to our hotel – First Hotel. It is a nice modern hotel. They have a full service restaurant where we had a nice dinner.
Friday
We were up at 4:15am for our 7am flight. Our flights home were uneventful, thank goodness. One thing to note however, I was sitting on the left hand side of the plane out of Milan to Frankfurt and there were the most stunning views of the Swiss Alps from that side of the plane. It lasted at least 15 minutes and was extremely beautiful.
A few ending notes. This was a 3 week trip, longer than we had ever taken before. While the heat was getting to me, I didn’t have a problem with being gone that long, although the kids seemed ready to go home a bit after the 3rd week started. My concern over small towns was completely unwarranted as we all enjoyed them just as much as the cities. I was very thankful that we had already been to Rome as the heat made it really hard to enjoy. Our last trip was in March with much more agreeable weather and we had done all the typical must sees such as the Vatican, Forum, Colesseum, Castel St. Angelo, etc. This allowed us to take our days slower, and not have to be in such heat with all the crowds. Despite the heat I have decided that Rome is my favorite city (of those I’ve been to so far). Returning to Italy and seeing more of Italy, of course only makes us want to see even more. After two trips and a total of 5 weeks we still haven’t made it to the Amalfi Coast, Sicily, the Lakes or Le Marche. I can only say how thankful I am that we have taken the time to see everything at a slower pace. We have never spent less than 4 nights in a single location and I think that allows one to really get to know the city or region you are visiting. Driving in Italy was not as difficult as we anticipated, and is absolutely necessary in regions such as Piedmonte and Tuscany.
We had another wonderful European adventure, thanks in large part to the many helpful Fodorites. Really, I couldn’t have planned it without you and am happy to help answer any questions that others might have to help make their trip perfect as well.
Thank you for an enjoyable report. Just finished your Rome report and it certainly makes me want to return even more! It sounds like you had a wonderful time with your family!
Thanks for the great report. I have bookmarked some of your accomodations and appreciate the links.
Really enjoyed your report - and, yes, the more we see of Italy, the more we want to see! I also love Rome . . .
Thank you so much for a lovely report. I especially appreciate your advise to take it slow. How wonderful to be able to spend so much time in each place - that's true travel!
Thank you so much on your detailed report on Piedmont and Lerici. Now I can't wait for my trip!
Great report - will keep in mind some of your food finds for our trip in October!
I have been inspired by your two trip reports. We are planning a trip to Italy next summer and have been concerned about navigating Italy with two children (ages 12 and 9 - who are also really cool). I am feeling much better about our plans! Do you have a link to: Albergo Cesari? Again, thank you!
KimiG - I am glad you found the trip reports helpful. The website for Albergo Cesari is www.albergocesari.it
While I was a bit concerned before our first trip, we found it very easy to navigate and get around Italy. Our first trip was all by train and this second trip was by car, except for the train from Rome to Milan. When we went last March it was our first trip to Europe so we had a lot of questions and concerns. I found this site so helpful in calming my concerns and giving me some great information. I am happy to help with any additional questions.
Honestly, you are now my inspiration! My husband and I have taken several wonderful trips abroad, but we have never traveled to Europe with our two boys. Once again, next summer they will be 12 and 9 - I think they will be good ages. I am also celebrating my 40th birthday next June and I thought it would be an amazing time to share that milestone with the people I love most on a grand adventure. Honestly, we have already put down a refundable deposit on a 13 day Mediterranean cruise. However, the more I have been investigating our various excursions, the more I was wistful that we would not be emerging ourselves in the culture and hurrying back to a ship each night. With all that said, I am suddenly excited and inspired by your trip reports. Let me ask your opinion ... let's say we have 14 nights. We would probably want to spend four nights in Rome and three nights in Venice - where would you stay in between? Do you think your location in Castelina in Chianti is a good base for touring Florence and parts of Tuscany? I am just beginning this trip schedule, but I realize I better hurry in order to get the hotels I want. Once again, thank you so much!
While I have not been on a cruise before, I would have to agree with your thoughts that seeing Italy from a cruise ship would not really give you the feel of the people and culture. One of the things my kids really enjoyed was getting to know the city well enough to feel like they knew their way around, how to get from our hotel to our favorite gelato place, etc. When we returned to Rome 15 months later they remembered how to get around better than me!
Our kids were 9 and 12 on our first trip, so I would say it was a great age. Old enough to appreciate what they are doing and really enjoy the sites, food, etc. I had them watch a lot of movies filmed in Italy so they would become familiar with it before we left.
On our first trip we had 14 days and did 6 days Rome, 4 days Venice and 4 days Florence. I think it was ideal, but I also think you could definitely stay in Tuscany and visit Florence from there. While we really enjoyed Florence, it was our least favorite of the big 3.
Castellina in Chianti is very centrally located in Tuscany, so a good spot to see a lot. Very close to Siena ( about 20 min.) and I believe about 30 min. to Florence. Close to San Gimignano, and although a bit of a drive we even made it to Pienza, could have also made it to Montepulciano that day if we had gotten an earlier start.
Personally, if you are starting in Rome I would recommend 5 nights Rome, 5 nights Tuscany and 4 nights Venice. (you could do Venice in 3 days, but we just loved it!!) In Tuscany, you will definitely want a place with a pool, so your boys can come back and relax a bit and play in the pool. I suggest you get an open jaw plane ticket flying into Rome and out of Venice. I also HIGHLY recommend you look into Locanda Orseolo for your stay in Venice. This is one of my favorite places anywhere, is highly recommended on this board and tripadvisor (you can check out the many glowing reviews there). If it fits into your budget this is the one place you will want to make reservations immediately as they are very popular and book up fast. I believe they have 15 rooms.
You sound like you are planning our wonderful vacation. As you read in my trip report we celebrated my daughter's 14th birthday and our 20th anniv. in Italy this June. It was wonderful to celebrate both those events together there!!
One more quick tip. I found this thread invaluable. Practically used it as my guide of what we should see in Rome on our first trip. I think your boys might enjoy it - called "Thrills and Chills in the Eternal City" :http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/rome/chills_thrills.htm
Once again, thank you. I am actually going to try to book the three hotels you mentioned (Rome, Tuscany and Venice). I will look into the open jaw ticket and check out the other web site. I do have one more question. We are also considering taking my parents with us (they are in their late 60's, have had some recent health problems, but have never been to Europe). They would not be able to keep the same pace that we keep, but that many days in each location should be able to allow everyone to do what they what to do. Regarding a car - my thoughts are to pick up a car on the way out of Rome and drop it at the Venice airport before going to our hotel in Venice. I must admit a bit of trepidation regarding getting our luggage to the hotel in Venice - any advice? Once again, I am very grateful for your time! Are you planning a new trip?
Great report jgg. We were in Italy a year ago, and your report not only brings back vivid memories of that trip but opened my eyes to some new opportunities of places to go in the future. Thanks.
maitaitom- Thank you! I really enjoy your trip reports, and while I know I can't be as amusing, I do hope to inform and inspire.
KimiG - Well, this past March we spent a week in London and a week in Paris, and took my 60-something parents with us. It was their first trip to Europe, and only my second, but they did allow me to do all of the planning. They are in good health, and had no problem keeping up, but we still had some days where we seperated. I think it is a good idea, as interests may be a bit different, particularly with the kids.
Picking up the car on the way out of Rome is a good idea. We trained from Rome to Venice so I really can't give any adviceabout dropping off the car at the Venice airport. However, my one tip about getting luggage to your hotel in Venice or anywhere else for that matter (i.e. the trunk of your rental car) is to pack light!!!
For all three of our European trips (incl. the 3 week one in June) we each packed in a 22" rollaboard and a carryon. The 22" rollaboard is legal as a carryon and then the carryon acts as our personal bag. Packing light is not just so you can carry on but so you can fit luggage in the back of a rental car, carry it down a train station or walk up and down the steps in Venice.
I must say, carrying our luggage through Venice was definitely the most difficult - but part of the fun!! In all honesty, it may be difficult for your parents to do it, so picking up a water taxi maybe worth it. If you are staying at Locanda Orseolo the water taxi pulls up right in front of the hotel, and you get to climb through a big window!! We actually did take a water taxi from the hotel to the train station when we left Venice.
If you haven't made any plane reservations yet, since you said you would be going in June, I just want to encourage you to go as early as possible in June (i.e. as soon as the kids get out of school). The earllier you are there the less crowded and the less heat!!
Yes, we are planning our next trip for this March - 5 nights in Barcelona, and 8 nights in Morocco (Marakkech, Sahara desert, Fez). A bit more adventurous then we are used to, but we are all very excited!!
bkm
Once again, thank you. I'll keep you posted on what I'm able to schedule.
Hi jgg - Great trip report. I am researching Tuscany/Florence/Rome and found your information really helpful. Also intrigued about Lerici and CT, but don't know if we'll have enough time (and weather issues)-- will have to wait for the next trip I fear. We are neighbors! I grew up in Medford and have lived in SFO, Seattle and now back in Ashland (since '98). Love MFR (not) but we have flights out of MFR to Oslo, visiting Norway relatives for 8 days then Oslo to Florence and Italy only for 8 days! This will be a first trip to Europe for my 14 yr daughter and I - husband has been a few times with his family growing up. We have to travel in late March (Spring Break) because husband's business is too busy for an extended vacation in the summer. As for our Italy itinerary I'm thinking 2 nights in Florence, 3 nights in Tuscany (Pienza?) and 3 nights in Rome. So much to do, so little time. Your trip sounds fabulous and you've obviously made some great choices for all of them. Looking forward to your Morocco trip report. Sharon
Glad to hear my report was helpful. Here is a link to my other report for our first trip to Italy when we did Rome, Venice and Florence in March 2005: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34599242.
Glad to meet someone else here on Fodors who is from Southern Oregon - don't think there are too many of us,
We usually travel in March as well due to Spring Break. Sounds like you are planning a great trip - Pienza was our favorite city in Tuscany. Happy to help with any questions. Have a wonderful trip!!
jgg-
We are planning a very similar trip Sept/Oct. 2008.
Our plan is 3 or 4 nights in Montalcino, 3 nights Lerici and 3 nights at Baur B&B. ( with day trips )
After reading your trip report I am leaning toward a 4th night at Baur B&B to have equal time sightseeing and enjoying the B&B.
Base on your experience would you suggest a 4th night?
Thank you,
Robyn
thanks, bookmarking
Thank you for this fabulous post. We are heading to Italy on September 20th and will be staying in Lerici at Hotel Florida after stays in Sulzano (lago Iseo), Venice and Florence. I hope to connect up with Megan after reading your report. The restaurant recommedations for Lerici and Rome sound wonderful.
Your report on Castellina in Chianti brought back so many memories. We've been there several times and love it. We always try to go to Badia a Coltibuono for a meal. Next time, we'll have to try Galapappa too. Thanks for writing your report!
jgg,
Would you mind mentioning how much it cost you to use the services of Bella Vita Italia? I've seen people mention them before, but I was just curious about the cost.
bookmarking. thx!
Glad so many of you found this helpful for an upcoming trip or bringing you down memory lane.
quinnr - I would definitel do a 4th night at Baur B&B, it is a wonderful place to just relax in, plus there is much to see and do nearby. You are going at a beautiful time of year. Baur B&B has been our favorite place in Europe - you will not be disappointed with an extra day there!!
Anna1013 - I will have to look up the cost for Megan in my books. Will get back to you with that shortly.
we also have been in communication with Megan and plan to use her services to plan the entire trip.
Thank you,
Robyn
jgg, I'm loving your trip report. You give lots of details. We've been to Portofino, and I'd love to stay at the first B&B you stayed at in Piedmonte. I've looked up their website, and maybe someday my husband and I can stay there. It looks great!