We're back from Italy! What a great trip!
Aug 11th, 2008, 06:33 PM
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We're back from Italy! What a great trip!
Hello everyone,
We just returned from the best trip of our lives! We had 14 days in Florence, Tuscany & Venice, and thanks in large part to help from fellow fodorites, it was a dream trip.
I'll be posting lots of details in my trip report and I'll be happy to answer any questions.
Day 1: Fly into Venice, take bus to train station & train to Florence
We had a direct flight from Philadelphia to Venice, which was so much better than connecting at another European airport first..for one thing, our bags got there when we did! I slept a bit on the plane, thanks to Ambien, which I took for the first time but only 1/2 tablet, since I was a bit worried that it would be too strong. It did work for about 3 hours, but that was all I needed. DH didn't take any, and didn't sleep a wink, but he caught up on the train later.
I was quite brave on this trip, and after reading everyone's advice on bringing cash, we only brought a few hundred dollars for emergency use only, and headed straight to the ATM at the Venice airport. The ATM was a bit intimidating at first, but a kind fellow tourist helped me navigate the buttons. Then we took out what I thought would be enough for the first several days (it wasn't), and then headed to our next adventure: the bus to Mestre station.
It turned out that all I needed to do was go to the information booth to buy the bus tickets for Mestre, then we went to wait for the bus outside. Noticing the locals, I went & stamped our tickets in the yellow machine, DH loaded our bags on the bus and we climbed aboard, feeling quite proud that we'd gotten this far.
When we reached Mestre, the local people all seemed to drift off, and we stepped out into the blazing heat at the stop, which was at the side of a building. It looked like a long walk with our bags to the station entrance, so we took a shortcut behind the building. I think that this was actually the service area, and we were in fact the only travelers walking briskly along toward the trains. We earned the first bemused looks of the trip, but it didn't slow us down.
Usually I make my train reservation online, but I've always already been in Italy on the day scheduled for the train. This time we were flying in, and I never really trust the airlines' arrival times. Knowing that missing the train could be costly if we had a reservation, and since everyone said it was so easy to just buy the train tickets at the station, I had decided to try it.
As we reached the main area of the station & got our bearings, we headed for the area to purchase tickets. Remembering all I'd read on this website, I bypassed the line waiting to buy tickets, and went right to the machine. Unfortunately, the 10:45 train was full! Drat--maybe I should have made a reservation. However, there were still seats on the next train, so I bought the tickets, and we went outside to wait for the train.
The train tickets were a bit confusing to DH, which led to some worries about which car the seats were in. Even though I was sure I knew, I agreed to go confirm it with the information people.
Getting help from Customer Service is interesting. I was trying really hard to do the right thing this trip, since a few faux pas have occurred on past trips. The door was closed, and with my limited Italian, I could determine that only one person was welcome inside at a time.
I dutifully waited outside the closed door, but a couple of other people just went right in. They looked like they might have the right idea, but I really didn't want to get off on the wrong foot, so I continued to wait. Another man started to go in ahead of me, but then I pointed out the sign. He was French, and apologized for missing the sign. Then both of us stood outside for a moment, until the next person went in past us and then we decided to join the crowd inside.
When it was my turn at last, the woman confirmed that our seats were where I had thought, but it was still worth my time to go there, because my train was listed on the board as Roma, not Firenze. Firenze is just a stop along the way. This could have messed us up, so it turned out well that I'd gone for help.
Then we had the issue of dragging our bags down the stairs, through the tunnel and up the next stairs to the train platform to await the train. This trip, the third bag was really DH's things: all my things for the 14 days were in my carry-on! I think next trip, DH might be a bit more organized in his packing. That extra bag was a beast more than once on the trip!
We did manage to manhandle the bags onto the train without too much incident and then we were on our way to Florence. DH slept the whole way, but I was worried that we'd sleep through our stop, so I stayed awake. Besides, I was too excited to sleep!
Days 1-3: Florence
We stayed at the Relais Cavalcanti, a very nice no-frills Bed & Breakfast centrally located near the Mercato Nuovo. We stayed there on our last trip, and the room had a nice view of the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, so we were looking forward to another stay.
To the first timer pulling up to the Relais Cavalcanti, it looks as though this couldn't possibly be the place. It is right next to an outdoor Irish Pub, with a graffiti covered sliding door to the left of the entrance, and Vespas parked along the sidewalk. However, we knew that this was the right spot and walked confidently to the nondescript brown door and rang the bell as several people in the cafe looked on.
When there was no reply to our first ring, we rang again...and again received no reply. Since I'd called ahead from the station in Venice, I knew that they were expecting us but this was still a bit worrisome. We were about to examine our options, but just for good measure gave another ring, and this time received a reply.
We were let in and dragged our bags up the long flight of stairs to the elevator. (DH says it doesn't really make sense to have an elevator, if you have to drag everything up a flight of stairs first and I must say that I sort of agree with him there).
We dropped our bags in our room, and then we were off to start having some fun in Florence. (Translation: I wanted to shop, and DH was patient with that) After a couple of hours of wonderful window shopping on the Ponte Vecchio where I just narrowly avoided spending every cent budgeted for the entire trip on some awesome earrings, we returned to the bed & breakfast to get ready for dinner.
Here is a summary of the restaurants we went to in Florence. I had done a lot of research on this site and chowhounds.com and tripadvisor among others, since we weren't that thrilled with our restaurants last trip. These were all highly recommended:
First night: Trattoria Quattro Leoni: a wonderful casual and inexpensive little spot on a quiet piazza in the Oltrarno. We had made reservations online, and I'd recommend it since they were very busy. We were greeted with two glasses of prosecco, and the service was warm & friendly. We sat outside and had a wonderful first night in Florence. The total bill for two dinners with wine was only about 50 Euro!
Second night: La Giostra
This is a more romantic and intimate restaurant, with lovely atmosphere. It was started by a Hapsburg prince and his two sons, and I was very excited to go there. I had originally requested an outdoor table, but when we had seen the restaurant's outdoor seating that afternoon, we knew that indoors was the way to go. Not to mention, it was about 95 degrees and we needed relief from the heat! Our meal was more expensive but not outrageous. Highly recommended.
Third night: Acqua al Due
This was promoted as a lively, bustling place with reservations essential. We had our reservations, and I was looking forward to another great night. Unfortunately, it was NOT a good night. For some reason, our waiter never gave us any service! People who had come in at the same time as we had, and even later were eating their third course before we had even received a thing! (And, no, I don't think we'd committed any offenses...our English-born waiter had been very friendly to us when he'd taken our drink order, but then studiously ignored us for the next hour.) When I finally asked about it, as our neighbors were receiving their secondi, he acted somewhat surprised, then came over and apologized with some story about one of the ovens not working. Finally, our meals arrived and we thought all was well, until we tried to order espresso. 15 minutes later, still no espresso, so we asked for the check (it was 10:00 by then). At that point, he acted shocked and said, "Oh, you ordered espresso, didn't you?" So we said that was okay we no longer wanted it, but he brought it anyway with the bill. We paid the bill and left, very disappointed with such poor service, but determined not to let it ruin our entire night. I would NOT recommend this restaurant; the woman who runs it is very abrupt, diners are practically sitting in each others' laps, and the food wasn't even that good.
Fun things to do at night in Florence:
Piazza della Republica is usually a hopping place. The same gypsy band was there that we saw last time (three years ago). We like to sit at one of the outdoor cafes with a glass of wine and people watch.
Piazza della Signoria is also very active at night. It's fun to sit at one of the cafes there and admire the statues and take lots of pictures that all look the same of the Palazzo Vecchio.
Street musicians play outside the Uffizi (we really enjoyed the guitar player this year who played Simon & Garfunkel and other baby boomer tunes) and a more hip area is the Ponte Vecchio, where we felt more like chaperones but it's so beautiful we didn't care.
Favorite stores:
There's a small store at the corner of the Santa Croce Piazza right across from the Peruzzi store that sells beautiful gold leaf items. The couple who run it are lovely, and it's a great place to pick up truly nice souvenirs.
Signum (between Piazza della Signoria and Piazza Santa Croce) sells prints of antique maps which I'm a sucker for, as well as beautiful leather books and gilt edged stationery.
The Misuri leather store in Piazza Santa Croce has some great deals on quality leather goods, and the Gold Market store connected to it carries some nice jewelry.
The Erboristeria in Piazza della Signoria (right next to the pizza place, across from the Rivoire cafe) has some very nice perfumes and body lotions with authentic old fragrances like Limone di Sicillia and Lavender. Much less expensive than what you'll find at Santa Maria Novella, and very high quality. Great gifts.
Farmacia Santa Maria Novella: on this fourth trip to Florence, I was determined to locate this mecca of fragrances and body lotions. We did find it at last, but it is in a less than attractive area and quite a long walk. The building is very lovely, and I received personal and attentive service (I was the only customer at the time). The products are special but very costly. I did buy a few things and I'm looking forward to trying them.
Ponte Vecchio: I didn't buy anything there this trip, but i Ristori carries quality jewelry and has great service. Dante Cardini is another nice shop to deal with. Some of the stores don't seem as nice as these two, and I can vouch for the honesty of these merchants. Word to the wise: never pay the asking price. They'll almost always come down if you ask what their best price is. Paying cash also helps in most stores.
Sights to see:
After the Uffizi and the Accademia (David), San Lorenzo church has many wonderful masterpieces. The Bargello is also highly recommended if you like sculpture. Capelle Medicee doesn't take long, and contains some beautiful works by Michelangelo.
Tip: every afternoon, we would find the restaurant where we'd be eating that evening. That way, we could make all the wrong turns ahead of time. This was a great help in getting to the reservations in a timely manner, and much more calmly!
Well, sorry to be so long-winded, but I hope some of this is helpful to anyone planning a trip.
Next time: Fun Times Driving Standard...Where's Reverse? ...Driving through Chianti region to San Quirico d'Orcia
We just returned from the best trip of our lives! We had 14 days in Florence, Tuscany & Venice, and thanks in large part to help from fellow fodorites, it was a dream trip.
I'll be posting lots of details in my trip report and I'll be happy to answer any questions.
Day 1: Fly into Venice, take bus to train station & train to Florence
We had a direct flight from Philadelphia to Venice, which was so much better than connecting at another European airport first..for one thing, our bags got there when we did! I slept a bit on the plane, thanks to Ambien, which I took for the first time but only 1/2 tablet, since I was a bit worried that it would be too strong. It did work for about 3 hours, but that was all I needed. DH didn't take any, and didn't sleep a wink, but he caught up on the train later.
I was quite brave on this trip, and after reading everyone's advice on bringing cash, we only brought a few hundred dollars for emergency use only, and headed straight to the ATM at the Venice airport. The ATM was a bit intimidating at first, but a kind fellow tourist helped me navigate the buttons. Then we took out what I thought would be enough for the first several days (it wasn't), and then headed to our next adventure: the bus to Mestre station.
It turned out that all I needed to do was go to the information booth to buy the bus tickets for Mestre, then we went to wait for the bus outside. Noticing the locals, I went & stamped our tickets in the yellow machine, DH loaded our bags on the bus and we climbed aboard, feeling quite proud that we'd gotten this far.
When we reached Mestre, the local people all seemed to drift off, and we stepped out into the blazing heat at the stop, which was at the side of a building. It looked like a long walk with our bags to the station entrance, so we took a shortcut behind the building. I think that this was actually the service area, and we were in fact the only travelers walking briskly along toward the trains. We earned the first bemused looks of the trip, but it didn't slow us down.
Usually I make my train reservation online, but I've always already been in Italy on the day scheduled for the train. This time we were flying in, and I never really trust the airlines' arrival times. Knowing that missing the train could be costly if we had a reservation, and since everyone said it was so easy to just buy the train tickets at the station, I had decided to try it.
As we reached the main area of the station & got our bearings, we headed for the area to purchase tickets. Remembering all I'd read on this website, I bypassed the line waiting to buy tickets, and went right to the machine. Unfortunately, the 10:45 train was full! Drat--maybe I should have made a reservation. However, there were still seats on the next train, so I bought the tickets, and we went outside to wait for the train.
The train tickets were a bit confusing to DH, which led to some worries about which car the seats were in. Even though I was sure I knew, I agreed to go confirm it with the information people.
Getting help from Customer Service is interesting. I was trying really hard to do the right thing this trip, since a few faux pas have occurred on past trips. The door was closed, and with my limited Italian, I could determine that only one person was welcome inside at a time.
I dutifully waited outside the closed door, but a couple of other people just went right in. They looked like they might have the right idea, but I really didn't want to get off on the wrong foot, so I continued to wait. Another man started to go in ahead of me, but then I pointed out the sign. He was French, and apologized for missing the sign. Then both of us stood outside for a moment, until the next person went in past us and then we decided to join the crowd inside.
When it was my turn at last, the woman confirmed that our seats were where I had thought, but it was still worth my time to go there, because my train was listed on the board as Roma, not Firenze. Firenze is just a stop along the way. This could have messed us up, so it turned out well that I'd gone for help.
Then we had the issue of dragging our bags down the stairs, through the tunnel and up the next stairs to the train platform to await the train. This trip, the third bag was really DH's things: all my things for the 14 days were in my carry-on! I think next trip, DH might be a bit more organized in his packing. That extra bag was a beast more than once on the trip!
We did manage to manhandle the bags onto the train without too much incident and then we were on our way to Florence. DH slept the whole way, but I was worried that we'd sleep through our stop, so I stayed awake. Besides, I was too excited to sleep!
Days 1-3: Florence
We stayed at the Relais Cavalcanti, a very nice no-frills Bed & Breakfast centrally located near the Mercato Nuovo. We stayed there on our last trip, and the room had a nice view of the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, so we were looking forward to another stay.
To the first timer pulling up to the Relais Cavalcanti, it looks as though this couldn't possibly be the place. It is right next to an outdoor Irish Pub, with a graffiti covered sliding door to the left of the entrance, and Vespas parked along the sidewalk. However, we knew that this was the right spot and walked confidently to the nondescript brown door and rang the bell as several people in the cafe looked on.
When there was no reply to our first ring, we rang again...and again received no reply. Since I'd called ahead from the station in Venice, I knew that they were expecting us but this was still a bit worrisome. We were about to examine our options, but just for good measure gave another ring, and this time received a reply.
We were let in and dragged our bags up the long flight of stairs to the elevator. (DH says it doesn't really make sense to have an elevator, if you have to drag everything up a flight of stairs first and I must say that I sort of agree with him there).
We dropped our bags in our room, and then we were off to start having some fun in Florence. (Translation: I wanted to shop, and DH was patient with that) After a couple of hours of wonderful window shopping on the Ponte Vecchio where I just narrowly avoided spending every cent budgeted for the entire trip on some awesome earrings, we returned to the bed & breakfast to get ready for dinner.
Here is a summary of the restaurants we went to in Florence. I had done a lot of research on this site and chowhounds.com and tripadvisor among others, since we weren't that thrilled with our restaurants last trip. These were all highly recommended:
First night: Trattoria Quattro Leoni: a wonderful casual and inexpensive little spot on a quiet piazza in the Oltrarno. We had made reservations online, and I'd recommend it since they were very busy. We were greeted with two glasses of prosecco, and the service was warm & friendly. We sat outside and had a wonderful first night in Florence. The total bill for two dinners with wine was only about 50 Euro!
Second night: La Giostra
This is a more romantic and intimate restaurant, with lovely atmosphere. It was started by a Hapsburg prince and his two sons, and I was very excited to go there. I had originally requested an outdoor table, but when we had seen the restaurant's outdoor seating that afternoon, we knew that indoors was the way to go. Not to mention, it was about 95 degrees and we needed relief from the heat! Our meal was more expensive but not outrageous. Highly recommended.
Third night: Acqua al Due
This was promoted as a lively, bustling place with reservations essential. We had our reservations, and I was looking forward to another great night. Unfortunately, it was NOT a good night. For some reason, our waiter never gave us any service! People who had come in at the same time as we had, and even later were eating their third course before we had even received a thing! (And, no, I don't think we'd committed any offenses...our English-born waiter had been very friendly to us when he'd taken our drink order, but then studiously ignored us for the next hour.) When I finally asked about it, as our neighbors were receiving their secondi, he acted somewhat surprised, then came over and apologized with some story about one of the ovens not working. Finally, our meals arrived and we thought all was well, until we tried to order espresso. 15 minutes later, still no espresso, so we asked for the check (it was 10:00 by then). At that point, he acted shocked and said, "Oh, you ordered espresso, didn't you?" So we said that was okay we no longer wanted it, but he brought it anyway with the bill. We paid the bill and left, very disappointed with such poor service, but determined not to let it ruin our entire night. I would NOT recommend this restaurant; the woman who runs it is very abrupt, diners are practically sitting in each others' laps, and the food wasn't even that good.
Fun things to do at night in Florence:
Piazza della Republica is usually a hopping place. The same gypsy band was there that we saw last time (three years ago). We like to sit at one of the outdoor cafes with a glass of wine and people watch.
Piazza della Signoria is also very active at night. It's fun to sit at one of the cafes there and admire the statues and take lots of pictures that all look the same of the Palazzo Vecchio.
Street musicians play outside the Uffizi (we really enjoyed the guitar player this year who played Simon & Garfunkel and other baby boomer tunes) and a more hip area is the Ponte Vecchio, where we felt more like chaperones but it's so beautiful we didn't care.
Favorite stores:
There's a small store at the corner of the Santa Croce Piazza right across from the Peruzzi store that sells beautiful gold leaf items. The couple who run it are lovely, and it's a great place to pick up truly nice souvenirs.
Signum (between Piazza della Signoria and Piazza Santa Croce) sells prints of antique maps which I'm a sucker for, as well as beautiful leather books and gilt edged stationery.
The Misuri leather store in Piazza Santa Croce has some great deals on quality leather goods, and the Gold Market store connected to it carries some nice jewelry.
The Erboristeria in Piazza della Signoria (right next to the pizza place, across from the Rivoire cafe) has some very nice perfumes and body lotions with authentic old fragrances like Limone di Sicillia and Lavender. Much less expensive than what you'll find at Santa Maria Novella, and very high quality. Great gifts.
Farmacia Santa Maria Novella: on this fourth trip to Florence, I was determined to locate this mecca of fragrances and body lotions. We did find it at last, but it is in a less than attractive area and quite a long walk. The building is very lovely, and I received personal and attentive service (I was the only customer at the time). The products are special but very costly. I did buy a few things and I'm looking forward to trying them.
Ponte Vecchio: I didn't buy anything there this trip, but i Ristori carries quality jewelry and has great service. Dante Cardini is another nice shop to deal with. Some of the stores don't seem as nice as these two, and I can vouch for the honesty of these merchants. Word to the wise: never pay the asking price. They'll almost always come down if you ask what their best price is. Paying cash also helps in most stores.
Sights to see:
After the Uffizi and the Accademia (David), San Lorenzo church has many wonderful masterpieces. The Bargello is also highly recommended if you like sculpture. Capelle Medicee doesn't take long, and contains some beautiful works by Michelangelo.
Tip: every afternoon, we would find the restaurant where we'd be eating that evening. That way, we could make all the wrong turns ahead of time. This was a great help in getting to the reservations in a timely manner, and much more calmly!
Well, sorry to be so long-winded, but I hope some of this is helpful to anyone planning a trip.
Next time: Fun Times Driving Standard...Where's Reverse? ...Driving through Chianti region to San Quirico d'Orcia
Aug 12th, 2008, 03:15 AM
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Great trip report, cybertraveler. I've got to get off my toucas and do up a report from our trip last year. 
We came across Quattro Leoni quite by accident on the way back to our apartment from Pitti Palace and they were clearly doing a land-office business. We got reservations for the next evening and definitely didn't regret it one scintilla.
We came across Quattro Leoni quite by accident on the way back to our apartment from Pitti Palace and they were clearly doing a land-office business. We got reservations for the next evening and definitely didn't regret it one scintilla.
Aug 12th, 2008, 12:48 PM
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Very timely report for me, as I am going on a 2-week trip to Rome, Umbria and Florence in September. I have reservations at Relais Calvacanti which I found recommended on Fodors and am looking forward to it.
The steps aren't a big problem for us. The room we had in Bath last year was on the 3rd floor from the street and 4th floor from the basement dining room. Now THAT was a climb.
The steps aren't a big problem for us. The room we had in Bath last year was on the 3rd floor from the street and 4th floor from the basement dining room. Now THAT was a climb.
Aug 12th, 2008, 05:28 PM
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Hello again,
Thanks everyone for reading and your positive comments.
jdc26: The Signum store is easy to miss, since it's in a cellar. It's on Borgo Dei Greci, right between the Piazza della Signoria and Santa Croce. You'd love all the tinted copies of antique engraved maps. We've framed a few and they're great reminders of our trip.
LoisD: Anna & Francesca at the Relais Cavalcanti are very helpful, and they'll make dinner & museum reservations for you in advance: highly recommended to avoid the lines. It's a very quaint building with nice rooms.
So, on with our saga...
Fun Times Driving Standard...through Chianti to San Quirico d'Orcia
Fortunately for us, DH had enough Marriott points to get a "free" car for the driving part of the trip. We weren't planning on paying 400 euros for their travel insurance, but since our insurance said that we absolutely had to sign up for the insurance in Italy we did. Money had a way of slipping through our fingers on this trip...
Well, we had a reservation at 9:00 to pick up our car at Hertz, but this was vacation and we didn't feel like rushing, so we mosied over around 10:00. The Hertz office turned out to be a small, stuffy glass fronted place on a street near the train station. Since there was no air conditioning, and there were already a few people in the room, I opted to wait outside with the luggage.
Even though it was early, the sun was still relentless. It was definitely going to be another scorching hot day, and I stood in the meager shade of a sidewalk vendor's stall. More people entered the Hertz office until soon it was packed with people and luggage. The line didn't appear to be moving, and everyone was very listless in the heat. I was glad that DH was second in line. Finally he emerged with the keys, and we were to go get our car "around the corner". Again, the adventure of tracking down a location! Well, it turned out to be a parking garage not far away, and we rolled our bags over to collect the car.
I should interject here that we both drive automatic cars at home. We had been thinking of requesting an automatic in Italy, but it was going to cost a LOT more, and from what I've read you often don't get the requested vehicle anyway. DH had owned a standard Audi in the past (18 years ago), so he was pretty confident that it would come right back to him. Personally, I had never been very good with the Audi...so we had agreed that he would be doing all the driving.
Well our car turned out to be a Renault, not the Passat we had thought we were getting. DH was pleased with this; they all seem the same to me. We got into the car in the garage with about 4 Italian mechanics looking on, and DH wanted to be sure he knew where all the gears were, so he manipulated the shift a couple of times. When he was satisfied, he put it into first and we lurched out of the garage!
Our first challenge was getting out of Florence. We had our new TomTom920 (bought on recommendations from Fodorites!) and I programmed it to get us out of town. We didn't have a good street map of Florence, but we'd been walking all over for the past 3 days, and I had a good idea where the river was. Once we got over the river, I was sure that we'd be all set.
The drivers are a little crazy in Florence, and the traffic zoomed by the parking garage. I could tell DH was a little rattled by the lurching start in front of the mechanics, and he wanted to avoid doing that in traffic. An opening came up and he jumped into it. The Tom Tom gave directions, which didn't seem to take into account the construction ahead of us but he dutifully followed the Tom Tom anyway. I bit my tongue, since this was going to be a long trip. However, in a moment we had circled back and we were right in front of the Hertz office again! So, I suggested that we ignore the TomTom and just go across the river at the first opportunity.
I should mention that DH was having quite a bit of trouble with the standard transmission, and his shifting was not very smooth. About the time we passed the parking garage on our circuitous route out of town, I started to notice the smell of burning rubber. DH was not exactly panicking, but I could tell that he probably wanted to shoot me for signing him up to drive through Tuscany for the next week...
Well, we ignored the TomTom and took the first turn toward the river, determined to cross at the first bridge. The car was roaring but we pushed onward, and before long we were at the Amerigo Vespucci bridge. We crossed and by now there was a definite smell of smoke and we could see smoke coming out of the engine! We were losing power, but we made it across the bridge, and pulled to the side of the road, with no idea what to do next.
I pulled out my trusty iPhone (yes, I did buy one, and it turned out to be a lifesaver more than once on the trip!).
I called Hertz' help line and got the automatic prompts in Italian and English (as the traffic whizzed by). When I tried to get the emergency line in English, all we got was a busy signal, so I tried the emergency line in Italian. (My Italian is very weak, but usually people understand the gist of what I want to say).
Luckily the woman who answered spoke a little English, but she didn't want to help me at first. Finally after much confusion she took my cell phone number for them to call me back, but I really didn't think that we'd be hearing from them soon.
This had all taken enough time that the engine had started to cool, and DH admitted that probably the problem wasn't with the car but with the way he'd been driving it. (You think?) So he decided to try it again and get us off this bridge area.
He did and miraculously it started. He eased out onto the road, but wanted to pull over & park to get his bearings before going any further. I totally agreed with this, and he pulled into a slanted spot right after passing an old arch. There we sat for a few minutes, and then decided we were calm enough to continue.
DH put the car into reverse but as he applied the accelerator, he realized that it was really in 1st gear and we almost leaped onto the sidewalk. He tried again, but again no reverse. Starting to get nervous, he tried over and over but could not get it into reverse.
I noticed an old Italian man walking towards us on the sidewalk and we called over to him to help us. He kindly came over to the car, but didn't speak any English. Still we were able to communicate that DH couldn't get the car into reverse. (I think the man probably could already have figured that out, if he'd been watching us as he walked up.) He tried to show DH how to do it, but it didn't work.
Then a young Italian couple came by and we asked the man to help us. He came over and showed DH the "trick" to getting it in Reverse (apparently you have to push it in or pull it up first). With many grazies, we prepared to back into traffic and resume our trip. The nice old man even went out and helped direct us--the Italians are such nice people!
So, we were really on our way! How beautiful the countryside was as we drove along, and before long we were confident enough to pull over to take some pictures and videos. The pictures were lovely and peaceful; they didn't capture the noise of traffic zooming past us the way the video did.
The TomTom was better on the open road, but we still weren't really used to the Italian system. You never really know the name of the road you're on; you just look for the signs to the town you want to go to. As we came to a fork, the TomTom told us to go left, and we weren't that familiar with the towns on the signs, so we went left.
After we'd gone a while and the area became increasingly remote, we had the feeling that we should have gone right. We came to a small settled area with a store and a parking area so we pulled in to turn around. A man watched us from his pickup across the street; I had the feeling that the only tourists they ever see are the lost ones!
For some reason, DH felt the need to go into reverse for this maneuver, rather than do a U-turn...and once again could not find Reverse! The man in the pickup across the street kept his eyes on us, and I got the feeling he was waiting to see if we needed help before he left. After a few more attempts, DH finally got the car into Reverse, and manipulated the car back into the road with a minimum of lurches driving right past the man like we'd been intending to do all that.
So, on the road again...we needed the TomTom to get us through all the round abouts near Siena. It was super with those, and we bypassed the city and continued on our way.
The sky was beginning to darken as we neared San Quirico d'Orcia, and just before we pulled into the town gates the clouds burst into a downpour. This was our first time driving in a medieval town, and the narrow streets would be challenging enough without the rain. Luckily it's a small town, and before long we came upon the Palazzo del Capitano, which is where we were staying.
We pulled into a small parking area across from the hotel entrance to wait out the downpour and DH ran in as soon as there was a lull to register. In a few minutes, he was back, with a smiling girl who worked for the hotel. She was to show us to our room in Casa Camaldoli which is a separate building of the hotel.
She directed us around the corner to Casa Camaldoli and we parked momentarily outside the door. The street is so narrow that only one car can fit, so as soon as another car came we had to move. The rain continued and we ended up dragging our luggage up the short incline to Casa Camaldoli and arrived like two drowned rats.
Our room in Casa Camaldoli was lovely! Very old and authentic with a beautiful wrought iron canopy bed--and air conditioning! We also had a terrace that we looked forward to using once things dried out.
We had dinner at Trattoria Al Vecchio Forno, which is affiliated with the hotel. Very highly recommended! You reach it by going through an enchanting series of arches, passageways and flower-lined streets, and the restaurant is charming! Authentic Tuscan cooking, and they speak very little English--which I love, so I get a chance to practice my Italian. No outdoor seating, which we do enjoy but otherwise perfect.
San Quirico d'Orcia was to be our home base for the next few days as we explored some of the beautiful areas of Val d'Orcia. It's a great little town, and you really get a peak at the lives of the people who live there. There are a few tourists who stay there, but mostly it's the local people who are out at night. It's a very different feeling than you get in the larger cities like Florence, where everyone seems to be a tourist.
We also ate at Il Tinaio, which has outdoor seating with a nice view of the Collegiata. We didn't care for the food as much at Il Tinaio, but you can't beat the atmosphere!
Once again, I seem to be a bit long-winded...it's so nice to have an audience!
Next up:
Breath-taking moments in Val d'Orcia
Thanks everyone for reading and your positive comments.
jdc26: The Signum store is easy to miss, since it's in a cellar. It's on Borgo Dei Greci, right between the Piazza della Signoria and Santa Croce. You'd love all the tinted copies of antique engraved maps. We've framed a few and they're great reminders of our trip.
LoisD: Anna & Francesca at the Relais Cavalcanti are very helpful, and they'll make dinner & museum reservations for you in advance: highly recommended to avoid the lines. It's a very quaint building with nice rooms.
So, on with our saga...
Fun Times Driving Standard...through Chianti to San Quirico d'Orcia
Fortunately for us, DH had enough Marriott points to get a "free" car for the driving part of the trip. We weren't planning on paying 400 euros for their travel insurance, but since our insurance said that we absolutely had to sign up for the insurance in Italy we did. Money had a way of slipping through our fingers on this trip...
Well, we had a reservation at 9:00 to pick up our car at Hertz, but this was vacation and we didn't feel like rushing, so we mosied over around 10:00. The Hertz office turned out to be a small, stuffy glass fronted place on a street near the train station. Since there was no air conditioning, and there were already a few people in the room, I opted to wait outside with the luggage.
Even though it was early, the sun was still relentless. It was definitely going to be another scorching hot day, and I stood in the meager shade of a sidewalk vendor's stall. More people entered the Hertz office until soon it was packed with people and luggage. The line didn't appear to be moving, and everyone was very listless in the heat. I was glad that DH was second in line. Finally he emerged with the keys, and we were to go get our car "around the corner". Again, the adventure of tracking down a location! Well, it turned out to be a parking garage not far away, and we rolled our bags over to collect the car.
I should interject here that we both drive automatic cars at home. We had been thinking of requesting an automatic in Italy, but it was going to cost a LOT more, and from what I've read you often don't get the requested vehicle anyway. DH had owned a standard Audi in the past (18 years ago), so he was pretty confident that it would come right back to him. Personally, I had never been very good with the Audi...so we had agreed that he would be doing all the driving.
Well our car turned out to be a Renault, not the Passat we had thought we were getting. DH was pleased with this; they all seem the same to me. We got into the car in the garage with about 4 Italian mechanics looking on, and DH wanted to be sure he knew where all the gears were, so he manipulated the shift a couple of times. When he was satisfied, he put it into first and we lurched out of the garage!
Our first challenge was getting out of Florence. We had our new TomTom920 (bought on recommendations from Fodorites!) and I programmed it to get us out of town. We didn't have a good street map of Florence, but we'd been walking all over for the past 3 days, and I had a good idea where the river was. Once we got over the river, I was sure that we'd be all set.
The drivers are a little crazy in Florence, and the traffic zoomed by the parking garage. I could tell DH was a little rattled by the lurching start in front of the mechanics, and he wanted to avoid doing that in traffic. An opening came up and he jumped into it. The Tom Tom gave directions, which didn't seem to take into account the construction ahead of us but he dutifully followed the Tom Tom anyway. I bit my tongue, since this was going to be a long trip. However, in a moment we had circled back and we were right in front of the Hertz office again! So, I suggested that we ignore the TomTom and just go across the river at the first opportunity.
I should mention that DH was having quite a bit of trouble with the standard transmission, and his shifting was not very smooth. About the time we passed the parking garage on our circuitous route out of town, I started to notice the smell of burning rubber. DH was not exactly panicking, but I could tell that he probably wanted to shoot me for signing him up to drive through Tuscany for the next week...
Well, we ignored the TomTom and took the first turn toward the river, determined to cross at the first bridge. The car was roaring but we pushed onward, and before long we were at the Amerigo Vespucci bridge. We crossed and by now there was a definite smell of smoke and we could see smoke coming out of the engine! We were losing power, but we made it across the bridge, and pulled to the side of the road, with no idea what to do next.
I pulled out my trusty iPhone (yes, I did buy one, and it turned out to be a lifesaver more than once on the trip!).
I called Hertz' help line and got the automatic prompts in Italian and English (as the traffic whizzed by). When I tried to get the emergency line in English, all we got was a busy signal, so I tried the emergency line in Italian. (My Italian is very weak, but usually people understand the gist of what I want to say).
Luckily the woman who answered spoke a little English, but she didn't want to help me at first. Finally after much confusion she took my cell phone number for them to call me back, but I really didn't think that we'd be hearing from them soon.
This had all taken enough time that the engine had started to cool, and DH admitted that probably the problem wasn't with the car but with the way he'd been driving it. (You think?) So he decided to try it again and get us off this bridge area.
He did and miraculously it started. He eased out onto the road, but wanted to pull over & park to get his bearings before going any further. I totally agreed with this, and he pulled into a slanted spot right after passing an old arch. There we sat for a few minutes, and then decided we were calm enough to continue.
DH put the car into reverse but as he applied the accelerator, he realized that it was really in 1st gear and we almost leaped onto the sidewalk. He tried again, but again no reverse. Starting to get nervous, he tried over and over but could not get it into reverse.
I noticed an old Italian man walking towards us on the sidewalk and we called over to him to help us. He kindly came over to the car, but didn't speak any English. Still we were able to communicate that DH couldn't get the car into reverse. (I think the man probably could already have figured that out, if he'd been watching us as he walked up.) He tried to show DH how to do it, but it didn't work.
Then a young Italian couple came by and we asked the man to help us. He came over and showed DH the "trick" to getting it in Reverse (apparently you have to push it in or pull it up first). With many grazies, we prepared to back into traffic and resume our trip. The nice old man even went out and helped direct us--the Italians are such nice people!
So, we were really on our way! How beautiful the countryside was as we drove along, and before long we were confident enough to pull over to take some pictures and videos. The pictures were lovely and peaceful; they didn't capture the noise of traffic zooming past us the way the video did.
The TomTom was better on the open road, but we still weren't really used to the Italian system. You never really know the name of the road you're on; you just look for the signs to the town you want to go to. As we came to a fork, the TomTom told us to go left, and we weren't that familiar with the towns on the signs, so we went left.
After we'd gone a while and the area became increasingly remote, we had the feeling that we should have gone right. We came to a small settled area with a store and a parking area so we pulled in to turn around. A man watched us from his pickup across the street; I had the feeling that the only tourists they ever see are the lost ones!
For some reason, DH felt the need to go into reverse for this maneuver, rather than do a U-turn...and once again could not find Reverse! The man in the pickup across the street kept his eyes on us, and I got the feeling he was waiting to see if we needed help before he left. After a few more attempts, DH finally got the car into Reverse, and manipulated the car back into the road with a minimum of lurches driving right past the man like we'd been intending to do all that.
So, on the road again...we needed the TomTom to get us through all the round abouts near Siena. It was super with those, and we bypassed the city and continued on our way.
The sky was beginning to darken as we neared San Quirico d'Orcia, and just before we pulled into the town gates the clouds burst into a downpour. This was our first time driving in a medieval town, and the narrow streets would be challenging enough without the rain. Luckily it's a small town, and before long we came upon the Palazzo del Capitano, which is where we were staying.
We pulled into a small parking area across from the hotel entrance to wait out the downpour and DH ran in as soon as there was a lull to register. In a few minutes, he was back, with a smiling girl who worked for the hotel. She was to show us to our room in Casa Camaldoli which is a separate building of the hotel.
She directed us around the corner to Casa Camaldoli and we parked momentarily outside the door. The street is so narrow that only one car can fit, so as soon as another car came we had to move. The rain continued and we ended up dragging our luggage up the short incline to Casa Camaldoli and arrived like two drowned rats.
Our room in Casa Camaldoli was lovely! Very old and authentic with a beautiful wrought iron canopy bed--and air conditioning! We also had a terrace that we looked forward to using once things dried out.
We had dinner at Trattoria Al Vecchio Forno, which is affiliated with the hotel. Very highly recommended! You reach it by going through an enchanting series of arches, passageways and flower-lined streets, and the restaurant is charming! Authentic Tuscan cooking, and they speak very little English--which I love, so I get a chance to practice my Italian. No outdoor seating, which we do enjoy but otherwise perfect.
San Quirico d'Orcia was to be our home base for the next few days as we explored some of the beautiful areas of Val d'Orcia. It's a great little town, and you really get a peak at the lives of the people who live there. There are a few tourists who stay there, but mostly it's the local people who are out at night. It's a very different feeling than you get in the larger cities like Florence, where everyone seems to be a tourist.
We also ate at Il Tinaio, which has outdoor seating with a nice view of the Collegiata. We didn't care for the food as much at Il Tinaio, but you can't beat the atmosphere!
Once again, I seem to be a bit long-winded...it's so nice to have an audience!
Next up:
Breath-taking moments in Val d'Orcia
Aug 12th, 2008, 10:07 PM
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Oh cybertraveler, I am loving, absolutely loving your trip report. And your descriptions have me laughing so hard. I am sure at the time the "smoking car" was not funny..but really you have such a way with words! And driving into a little Italian town with streets so narrow..didn't the city planners realize that someday people would be driving vehicles versus horses? The fun of being in Italy!
Aug 13th, 2008, 02:34 AM
#18
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Again, wonderful report. I'm so enjoying this and more importantly makes me even more anixous for my upcoming trip to Firenze. I will definitely find my way to Signum.
Don't keep us waiting too long for more on your lovely trip.
jdc
Don't keep us waiting too long for more on your lovely trip.
jdc
Aug 13th, 2008, 03:24 AM
#19
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cybertraveler, I'm really enjoying your report. I can just imagine the conversation you and your husband were having while the car was smoking! I'm glad things worked out for the car.
Looking forward to more.
Looking forward to more.
Aug 13th, 2008, 06:23 AM
#20
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Cybertravler - I don't know if you read our trip report from Italy, but we had a similar experience in Florence with our car rental and although we didn't have smoke we did have a wrench symbol on the dashboard that flashed menancingly. Someone told us it meant we were low on oil, so we filled it up. It stopped flashing, but still stayed lit.
We also arrived at our destination in the Tuscan mountains in a rainstorm. And we never so happy to climb into a dry bed.
Enjoying your report.
We also arrived at our destination in the Tuscan mountains in a rainstorm. And we never so happy to climb into a dry bed.
Enjoying your report.
