jmct714

I’ve never done a trip report before, but thought I’d give it a shot since I am so very grateful for all of the info I gleaned from these boards as I made preparations. I also love reading trip reports and wish more people would write them, and don’t want to be a hypocrite! So, here goes and hope it isn’t a total stinker.

We left NY on 11/3 and spent 4 days in Rome followed by 5 days in Bologna, including day trips by train to Orvieto from Rome and Florence and Ravenna from Bologna.

Players: The happy travelers for this trip were my sister (I shall call her K), Mom (M) and me.

K and I travel together about once a year and make excellent travel partners. We both like cities and enjoy exploring them, like art but have a museum cap of about two hours before reaching saturation-point, and love good food, wine and coffee. We had been to Italy two years ago (Rome, Florence and Montepulciano) and couldn’t wait to visit again. I have been taking Italian lessons since our last trip and was looking forward to assaulting the ears of the citizens of Italy with my new language ‘skills’.

This was Mom’s first trip to Italy (we had taken her to Portugal for her first European trip a few years ago). She is a devout Catholic and was especially excited to visit the Vatican museums and St. Peter’s. M is 69 and in excellent physical shape, and I was frankly a little concerned about my ability to keep up with her.

Planning: I love to plan (some may say overplan) trips – I think it makes the vacation last longer and I can’t soak up enough information. I did most of our planning and took TONS of notes from all of you Fodorites. I left with over 35 pages of excel spreadsheets and google maps full of restaurant ideas, addresses/hours for museums and churches, train schedules and anything else I thought would be useful. Honestly, though, I’m not as uptight as you might think if you looked at my carefully mapped out itinerary. Once on the ground, I’m much more go-with-the-flow and more than happy to ditch a scheduled activity if something more inviting comes along.

I booked a few things in advance – the Vatican Scavi tour, the Borghese, the Coliseum underground (hypogeum) tour and a Food Tour in Bologna. I also made a few restaurant reservations in advance, but in hindsight that probably was unnecessary.

We all had assignments. K was in charge of navigation since she excels at map-reading, and Mom was in charge of fitness as she was very concerned (and rightly so, as it turned out) about our food, wine and gelato intake. “Fitness” entailed carrying a pedometer and calling out the number of miles walked throughout the course of the day. I, of course, was the Planner.

Flights: I live outside of Philly, M in Connecticut. and S in NYC, so we decided to all fly together from JFK. The direct flight to FCO on American was fine, though it was my first international flight where we had to pay for cocktails, and check-in was so DIY that I was surprised we weren’t also asked to clean the bathroom or help with the landing, but we didn’t mind b/c we were officially on vacation!

The return flight on Iberia (Bologna-Madrid-JFK) was also fairly uneventful, which I was very grateful for as on our return last year from Prague, we had to make an unexpected stop in Newfoundland due to smoke in the cockpit. The biggest stress this year was dashing thru the Madrid airport to make our connecting flight to NY – terminal 4 is ginormous - but we made it and all was fine. The flight was really very nice AND we even had complimentary wine.

jmct714

Rome: We arrived an hour early, breezed thru passport control (barely even a glance at our passports as we were waived through, and sadly no stamp) and were promptly met by Mario from Rome Cabs for a fun rush-hour ride thru Rome traffic. Mario was a fabulous driver and I would highly recommend him – and really, I say this only because of his amazing skill and not at all because he stroked my fragile ego and ‘marveled’ at my Italian

I was a little nervous b/c this was my first time renting an apartment instead of staying in a hotel. I thought an apartment would be a good choice for us in terms of added space, but also becuase triples seem to be a lot pricier than doubles and we were trying to do this trip on a budget.

We rented a really inexpensive loft apartment thru Rental in Rome on Vicolo del Governo Vecchio right next to Chiesa Nuova. We couldn’t have been happier with the location. The apartment wasn’t fancy at all, but it had a little private outside patio area, and two separate loft ‘bedrooms’ with four separate beds (not pull-out couches), lots of storage, hooks where you needed them and a good shower with plenty of hot water. It worked perfectly.

http://www.rentalinrome.com/vicoloromeo/romeovicolo.htm

The woman that checked us in lived in the building, which was convenient since we arrived early and didn’t have to wait for her after our long flight. She didn’t speak any English, but we were able to check-in and get a tour without any difficulty.

We decided not to nap because we were too excited to sleep. We freshened up and headed out to start our first day, only to be met with our first challenge: our navigator had forgotten to pack her trusty Streetwise Rome maps… or any maps, for that matter. We tried to make due by piecing together the various Google maps I had brought along until we could find a decent street map. One thing about Rome: you really need a good map. All of the little streets and vicolos make getting lost very easy, which can be fun but also frustrating if you are tired or have a reservation.

Our original plan for the day had been to stay outside as much as possible to combat jet-lag, do a lot of walking and visit a few churches. We hoped to visit San Clemente, Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Pressede and maybe Santa Maria della Vittoria. We also hoped to take a walk down the Corso, and maybe get to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.

To make that happen, a map would have been really handy.

Instead, we immediately went the wrong way out of the apartment, and happily ended up at Castel Sant’Angelo. It was a glorious day in Rome with beautiful sunny skies, so this really was a happy accident as the views were stunning. We then strolled down Via Giulia to Largo Argentina, cooed at a few cats, and decided to abort our plans to walk to San Clemente in favor of exploring Trastevere and having some lunch.

In Trastevere, we stopped to buy Roma Passes b/c we knew the little kit they give you includes a map. Unfortunately, however, these maps turned out to be really crummy and even the names of large streets were barely legible. Our quest for a good street map continued.

We really enjoyed walking around Trastevere, but we quickly found ourselves lost again. We had our sites on a restaurant from my list close to Santa Cecilia, but after what seemed like hours (but was probably only about 45 minutes) we decided we needed to rest our weary feet and stopped at a little trattoria for a good (but not special) lunch and our first glass (ok, bottle) of wine of the trip.

From there, we took the tram back to Largo Argentina (more cat coo-ing) and visited Santa Maria Sopra Minerva and the Pantheon before we realized we were in desperate need of a rest as the jet-lag (but certainly not the wine) was really starting to kick in. We headed back to the apartment for a little cat nap before dinner.

For dinner that night, I had been really looking forward to trying Da Alfredo e Ada. Unfortunately it is apparently closed (the sign on the door said they are doing building renovations), so instead we found ourselves at Antica Taverna. This turned out to be a good choice for the first night. Our meals were fine and it didn’t require a lot of thinking. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful evening.

Our final stop of the day was much more mentally taxing – which flavors of gelato to try at Frigidarium, the fabulous gelato stop around the corner from our apartment?? Somehow, we were able to muddle through. I found the small cup of pistachio to be the perfect way to end a wonderful first day in Rome, and we even decided to let K keep her navigation crown.

jmct714

Oops, I meant gelato SHOP... though stop may be more fitting as we rarely walked by without stopping.

bardo1

Looking good, can't wait for more.

One great thing about basing yourself in the Piazza Navona/Campo dei Fiori/Pantheon area is that even if you head in the "wrong" direction, you still end up in someplace great with plenty to see and do.

four_maccas

A great start to your trip report. Looking forward to reading more about your travels.

jmct714

Thanks for the encouragement, Bardo. Appreciate it.

Since Rome is pretty well covered territory here, I’ll try to be brief.

The weather in Rome over the next few days was just as beautiful as our first day -- sunny and warm. We were really lucky.

Friday was very full (Fitness reported we walked 11 miles) as it was Vatican Day. After cappucini and a stroll through Campo de’ Fiori, we went to the supermarket for critical supplies (a corkscrew and toilet paper), and then headed off to the Vatican.

Crowds in the museums were fairly light post-lunch. I had booked in advance to avoid lines, but there were no lines when we got there. The Vatican museums are amazing, but also overwhelming as there is just so much to see. We spent a little more time in the Raphael rooms and of course the Sistine Chapel, but walked fairly quickly through much of it. One day I'd like to go back and take more time, but that would need to be the only activity of the day.

After a long stop at a gift shop (Mom loaded up on mass cards and rosaries for her church friends), we visited St. Peter’s and then headed off to our Scavi Tour.

I had read about the Scavi Tour on Fodor’s, and am so glad we booked it. It made for a tiring day after the museums and St. Peter’s, but alas there was not time to split the visits in two. Mom especially loved the Scavi tour, and called it the highlight of her trip, which made the tiredness worth it.

We finished Friday with a lovely dinner at Osteria del Pegno, walked to Trevi Fountain to toss in some coins, and somehow even managed to squeeze in a gelato at Frigidarium. Another good day.

kfusto

I'm enjoying your report and looking forward to more.

jmct714

Saturday was Orvieto Day. Getting there was really easy and uneventful. We took the bus to Termini and then the train to Orvieto, followed by a trip to the upper town via funicular and finally to the Duomo by bus. Whew!

Our first order of the day was lunch. We set out to find a place K had read about and wanted to try, but it eluded us. It was fun trying to find it, though, as we got to walk down lots of little streets and got a nice tour of the town. Finally, we gave up and stopped into a place called ‘Pizzeria Spaghetteria Paninoteca’ on Corso Cavour, which turned out to be pretty good. We all enjoyed our pastas and the Orvieto wine.

After lunch we shopped our way back to the Duomo. The façade of the Duomo is unbelievably beautiful, and inside just as much so. We were all in awe of the Chapel St. Brizio. Just stunning.

We made our way back to the train station and Rome, where we decided to take the metro to the Spanish Steps (zzzz). The plan was then to walk down the Corso for a bit before heading back to the apartment for a rest before dinner. Of course we went the wrong way and tacked on some extra mileage by walking North on the Corso instead of South, but it was another happy accident as we’d not yet been to Piazza del Popolo, and it was really hopping.

For dinner that night, we decided to join the masses and queued up for pizza at Da Baffetto. Meh. The pizza was good, but not worth waiting for an hour and a half. But it was fun. We had a good laugh at our surly waiter, and we got a nice outside table, which allowed us to enjoy the buzz of Via Governo Vecchio on a Saturday night.

plufmud

Thanks for your great trip report~(I am looking forward to your details about Bologna. I admit I have never written a trip report following our travels. After reading such wonderful reports from "seasoned" travelers I haven't had the courage to contribute in the form of a report just brief replies.

I also read everyone's trip report from Italy and France.

BlueSwimmer

Can't wait for more! Great report!

elnap29

I'm pleased to see I'm not the only one who thinks the Spanish Steps are not a 'must-see.'

jmct714

Thanks all for the kind words. I really do appreciate them.

Sunday was our last full day in Rome. I had reserved the 9:40AM Coliseum Underground (Hypogeum) tour for that morning, and we had a 3PM reservation at the Borghese, with a lunch reservation at Taverna dei Fori Imperiali in between. It was another full day.

We set out early Sunday morning to go to mass at Chiesa Nuova before our 9:40am reservation at the Coliseum. I had printed out Sunday mass times in advance, knowing that it would be a must for Mom, but even though we walked by the church a thousand times I never double checked that the times were accurate. Whoops. They were not. I was saved, though, because there was an evening mass which would fit into our schedule. We decided to walk to the Coliseum since it was such a beautiful morning and save mass for later.

Our walk that morning was wonderful. The city was just waking up, and had a peaceful feeling. The morning light was lovely. I love that time of day. Since we were a bit early, we decided to stop for cornetti and capuccini not far from the Vittorio Emanuelle monument. I knew it would be pricey as we were in prime tourist area and also sat at a table, but 18euro… eek!

After recovering from the shock, we headed over to the Coliseum, where the crowds were just starting to build. The Via dei Fori Imperiali is closed to vehicles on Sunday, so the street was full of pedestrians, joggers and cyclists, in addition to the tourist throng.

We picked up our tickets for the tour (don’t forget your reservation number as I did, unless you want to be the recipient of the wrath of the agent. The look of death she gave me was actually pretty comical. Wish I could have gotten a pic) and met with our group. The tour was fabulous. K and I had visited the Coliseum on our previous trip, but our tour guide, Barbara, brought it to life. You could practically picture the crowds cheering. It was also fun to get to go below into the recently opened gladiator pits, as well as to the upper level. The views were wonderful on yet another clear and sunny day.

After our tour, we made our way to lunch at Taverna dei Fori Imperiali, taking our time to explore the neighborhood since we were a bit early. This was a really good choice. It’s a family business and the ambience was casual and unstuffy. Our meals were fabulous (I had a wonderful eggplant special) and the waiter,who must have been the son since he told us his mother had made the dessert the night before, was dreamy. What more could you ask for?

We rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and to the metro to make our way to the Borghese. K and I had not made it here on our previous trip, and we were very excited about our visit. We weren’t disappointed. What a fabulous space. I could have spent all day here (well, two hours )

We were exhausted. We left the Borghese with the intent of getting a taxi back to the apartment, but couldn’t find the taxi stand, so ended up at the bus stop where we caught the zippy little electric bus 116 back to Chiesa Nuova and mass.

Dinner that night was pizza at Le Montecarlo, which we all preferred to Da Baffetto, especially in terms of atmosphere. It was very lively and seemed to be a nice mix of locals and tourists, with playful waiters and lots of families having Sunday dinner. One more gelato at Frigidarium (seriously, I loved the pistachio so much I would marry it. Heaven.), then off to pack for Bologna!

ekc

Good report - keep it coming!

ellenem

Enjoying your report--waiting for Bologna!

jmct714

We awoke on Monday to pouring rain – the first rain we had in Rome. We all enjoyed our time in Rome very much. It’s such a vibrant, chaotic city but it also has these wonderful piazzas and small pockets of calm. Love it. Since we only had four days here (one of which was spent in Orvieto), we really overcrammed the activities. There’s nothing that I would have left out, especially since my Mom hadn’t been before, but I can’t wait to go again and take things at a slower pace, perhaps visiting some smaller museums and maybe some markets. Hopefully that won’t be too far off.

Now, though, we were really excited to move on to Bologna, where I knew our pace would be a bit slower. Initially we had planned to spend only a day or two here, but the more I read about the city and learned from people that had visited before, the more I realized it would likely be a place we would really like.

We ran thru the rain and were able to get a taxi very easily at Chiesa Nuova, and made it to Termini and then Bologna with no issues. After a 2.5 hour train ride, we arrived in Bologna to clear skies but much chillier temps and made our way to our apartment via taxi at around 3PM.

Our apartment in Bologna was on Via Arienti, about an 8-10 minute walk South of Piazza Maggiore in the center of the city. The apartment was great for us. It had a large bedroom with three beds and two French doors for lots of light, a large dining/living room, NYC-ish sized galley kitchen, and a nice little terrace overlooking a shared courtyard. The shower stall was absolutely teensy so there would be no leg-shaving, but the water was hot and plentiful. The location was fine, too. There were plenty of shops and restuarants nearby, and we never minded the walk to center. The train was a bit far by foot, but there was a bus stop a few blocks away that zipped us to the station for day trips.

We settled into our apartment and set out to do a little exploring. A few blocks from the apartment we found Santo Stefano. Santo Stefano is a complex of a bunch (I read seven, but I didn’t count that many, so not entirely sure) of churches built around the 11th century. We really liked walking through them, and of course there was a gift shop which Mom raided. The piazza in front was lively, and since it was dusk, the colors of the churches and surrounding buildings were just beautiful.

One of the great things about Bologna is the porticoes. Many of the sidewalks are covered, so the sidewalks are nice, wide and presumably dry in rain. They felt luxurious after having to press against walls to let cars pass in Rome. Some of the porticoes are beautifully decorated and illuminated, as well, such as the one on the fancy shopping street, Via Farina.

We did some portico-marvelling as we made our way towards the Due Torri, Bologna’s remaining towers. One, naturally, is leaning. One can be climbed, but we did not do that on this trip. The area from here to Piazza Maggiore was a buzz of activity full of people walking and shopping. It had a great energy.

We were getting a little parched and decided to stop for a break. It was aperitivo time, after all. We popped into the nearest place that had available seats indoors, and it turned out to be Tamburini, a renowned market and deli. We each had a glass of wine – including Mom, who I think I’ve seen have a drink MAYBE twice before EVER – and had fun watching the constant flow of people coming in and out for glasses of wine. Our tablemates ordered a salumi plate, which looked delicious so we of course had to order one, too. Really good.

For dinner that night, we went to a place near our apartment called Trattoria Trebbi. For old times’ sake, we decided to get lost on the way there. A man passed us looking at our map and asked us if we needed help. We told him where we were going, and he took us there himself. Very kind.

It wasn’t very busy on a Monday night. We were perpetually early for dinner in Bologna. We would usually get to a place around 830 and invariably be among the first to arrive. Others started to show up closer to 9 or 930. On this night, a few others trickled in around 9ish. Trebbi had a really nice vegetable antipasti buffet that we sampled, and we all enjoyed the pastas we ordered for dinner.

I had wanted to go to a concert at San Domenico that evening, but we were just too tired, and called it a night after dinner. We had a fabulous first day in Bologna, and couldn’t wait for more.

Samsaf

It sounds like you and your sister and mom had such a wonderful time! I'm really enjoying your trip report.

annhig

hi jmc,

we stayed just round the corner from the Vicolo del Governo Vecchio and ate at the antica taverna a couple of times, as well as another restaurant just opposite. what a great area - we loved it.

How did your mum react to the scavi tour? - when we got to the area underneath the main altar [just as they were celebrating the noon mass just above our heads] I burst into tears - and I'm not in the least religious!

looking forward to more!

jmct714

Hi Annhig,
I loved that area in Rome. I would absolutely stay around there again. One night we stopped at the Caffe della Pace (which I remembered from your trip report, which I really enjoyed BTW) for a pricey drink at one of the outside tables, and sitting there enjoying the night and the pretty piazza, I just sighed and thought - this is why I travel.

My mom was blown away by the Scavi tour, to say the least. She kept saying - 'I can't believe these walls are from 67. 67!' Our guide did a fabulous job explaining the evidence as to why they believe that it is indeed St. Peter there, and I think she about broke her neck trying to get the best possible look at the bone fragments at the end of the tour. I was so glad we went.

jmct714

Tuesday started with a rainy morning, our first major rain of the trip, but I'm not complaining b/c it's November and I was expecting many more wet days. It was the perfect morning to stay in, read, and relax. This is vacation after all!

When we finally pulled ourselves together, the rain had stopped and we walked to Santa Maria della Vita on Via Clavature, a church I had read about here on Fodor’s. From the outside, the church looks small and quaint, but inside… wow! Inside you’ll find a terracotta Pieta depicting life-sized mourners at the death of Christ. We couldn’t take our eyes off of it. You could feel the pain in the mourners’ faces. It’s breathtaking. We had seen a lot of amazing art on our trip so far, but we all thought that this was really special.

We managed to pull ourselves away from the church and started thinking about lunch. We decided to try Trattoria del Rosso, north of Piazza Maggiore. The place was actually full when we got there, and most seemed to be on their lunch break. Service was quick but the food was really good and the prices reasonable. They even have a three-course lunch menu for 10euro if you choose.

After lunch, we wandered back toward Maggiore, stopping at a few shops along the way. We thought we’d try to buy a DVD to watch in the apartment that night, so stopped in a bookstore. I picked up a chick-lit type book in Italian to practice (one of the Shopaholic books -- how complicated can the story possibly be?), and we bought the movie Up, which we never watched.

We had very good intentions of going to the Tourist office to take a walking tour of Bologna, which I’m sure would have been excellent and informative (and I probably would know how many churches are in Santo Stefano if I had taken it), but we were enjoying our leisurely day so much that we decided to skip it and keep exploring.

So we continued on, stopping at a few chocolate shops. K has a tradition of bringing home a giant sack of candy, chocolate and other goodies from our trips, and she certainly kept the tradition alive this time. After chocolate shopping, we popped into Eataly. K has been to the new NYC store, and was surprised to see that the Bologna outpost was much more of a bookshop with some food offerings, whereas the NY store is much more food and market-centric.

Dinner that night was at Trattoria la Mela, a trattoria and pizzeria near Piazza Maggiore. This was recommended to us by a friend of K, and we liked it quite a bit. We especially enjoyed our grumpy waiter. Classic. I was disappointed he didn’t growl. Food was good, though, and K loved her pizza with a much fluffier crust than those of the Roman pizzas.

We topped the night off with a trip to Sorbetteria Castiglione, a gelateria dangerously close to our apartment. As always I had the pistachio, and it was very good… but I wouldn’t marry it.

jmct714

Sorry I got so long-winded. I'm almost done.

For all of us, Wednesday was one of the best days of our trip. I had read about the Italian Days Food Tour here on Fodor’s, and even though it was a bit of a splurge for us, the raves convinced us to go for it. I thought it would also be a good way to see some of the Bologna surrounds and I had no interest in renting a car.

Our guide Alessandro and his driver, Fabrizio, picked us up promptly at 730am at our apartment. We made stops at a parmagiano-reggiano factory, the home of a family that makes Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena in their attic, and a Parma (really Modena) prosciutto producer. Also on the tour that day was a lovely couple from San Francisco. We really enjoyed their company.

We all shared what Alessandro called a ‘light’ lunch at an organic winery / agriturismo in the Bologna hills. I guess in Bologna ‘light lunch’ means ‘boozy feast’. We had a great time chatting with our new friends and sharing plates of salumi, a variety of cheeses, terrific pasta with tuna, and countless varieties of wine and grappa. No one left hungry, and Mom was probably the only one that left clear-headed.

We were delivered back to the apartment and all of us quickly fell into food and wine-induced comas for the duration of the afternoon. It was a fabulous day. The passion and love Alessandro has for the region and its artfully-produced products is obvious and infectious. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Believe it or not, we actually went to dinner that night, despite earlier vows of never eating again. That night it was a little place very close to our apartment called Trattoria Il Sole Mio. Despite the fact that their forno made the place about 200 degrees, it was a perfectly casual and light dinner, and very tasty. I wish I was hungrier, because the pizzas other diners were enjoying looked delicious. Next time.