Belated Trip Report - London, Paris, Florence and Rome
 

Between May 24th and June 9th I visited London, Paris, Florence and Rome with three traveling companions who in this report will be knows and C (my partner), R (our best buddy) and D (R’s 74 year old mom who smokes and drinks and walked us into the ground.) On another thread I have posted my tips (such as they are) - “My Advice for Other First Time Europe Visitors”.<BR><BR>We left Houston on Continental at about 4pm on a Friday and arrived in London at 7am on Saturday. I was lucky enough to sleep the entire flight so when we arrived at Gatwick I was feeling pretty good. C’s cousins who live in London met us at the airport. ( We were very fortunate to know people in 3 of the 4 cities we visited. C’s family is from London and C has visited on a number of occasions. R spent three months traveling in Europe after college. For D and I it was our first visit.) After collecting our luggage, we took the train into Victoria station. We then hopped on the tube’s Central line to Lancaster Gate where we got off and walked the half block to our hotel.<BR><BR>We stayed at the London Elizabeth Hotel across from Hyde Park and just down from the Lancaster Gate tube station. The hotel is a little tattered but I really liked staying there. It is small and, to my mind, very British.<BR><BR>One of the criteria we had for picking hotels on this trip was that they not feel like Holiday Inn. Not that there is anything wrong with Holiday Inns, but we didn’t want to feel like we were in any city in the US. We wanted to feel like we were in Europe.<BR><BR>The London Elizabeth Hotel served us quite nicely. There is an attached restaurant where we had breakfast. There was room service. (When you order a pot of coffee for your room it comes with little slices of pound cake.) The smallest elevator (lift) I’ve ever seen (never did take the elevator). Friendly and helpful staff. And the cutest pub you’ve ever seen with a wonderful bartender who served us peanuts and olives swimming in olive oil.<BR><BR>We stayed in London Saturday night through Monday night. After arriving at the hotel we dropped off our luggage, checked in and walked through Hyde Park to the Marble Arch where we got on a Big Bus Tour. It’s very easy to buy your tickets from the bus driver (I used a credit card) and you can also buy tickets for St Paul’s, etc.<BR><BR>We took the Big Bus Tour to get an overall view of London without having to exert ourselves too much. Remember, we just got off the plane. The weather was drizzling one minute and sunny the next.<BR><BR>On the bus tour you can get off and on at will, so we got off at Piccadilly Circus and walked into Soho where we had lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant. Not our best meal of the trip. We walked back to the bus stop and grabbed some Starbucks coffee along the way. There are about a million Starbucks in London.<BR><BR>We got off the bus at the Tower of London and went in for a tour. Self-guided, we didn’t want to take the time for the beefeaters’ tour. The Tower of London is really cool and they have a good gift shop (important criteria of any stop along the way).<BR><BR>After the Tower we headed back to the hotel for short naps and long showers. <BR><BR>The cousins met us at the hotel about 7ish and off we went to dinner. We ate a truly wonderful meal at the Ladbroke Arms (I have no idea where it is other than in London). During our meal we also sampled several different ales of which I really liked two and cannot remember what they are so I’ll just have to do it all over again next time. For my meal I had grilled sea bass on a bed of risotto. It was terrific. One of the best meals on our trip. We then took the tube back to our hotel and passed out. The end of a long day.<BR>

C and I got up Sunday morning,ordered room service coffee, had breakfast in the restaurant and then went in search of an internet cafe. R & D had gone to church.<BR><BR>We walked down Bayswater halfway to Queensway when we stopped to confirm directions. We were pointed back in the direction we came from so we dutifully turned around and walked back to the hotel, where we stopped and asked directions again, only to be told we were going in the right direction to begin with, so back we went only this time via the tube. We got on at Lancaster Gate and got off at Queensway.<BR><BR>On Queensway was a Starbucks with an Internet Exchange in the basement where we sent our first emails from abroad.<BR><BR>Unfortunately we had a little mishap that morning. Okay, I had a mishap that morning. I brought a bottle of Texas wine for C's uncle who is a wine afficcionado (no idea how to spell that). I managed to get the bottle to London only to drop it in the street in front of our hotel. When it crashed, all the people in the crosswalk with us let out a collective sigh. So instead of gracing the table, the Messina Hof double barrel aged Cab christened the street in front of our hotel.<BR><BR>On our way back to the hotel we ran into R and D returning from church. We hopped on the tube to Tottenham Road station where we met the cousins. C's cousins by the way are the nicest people on the planet. Lucky us.<BR><BR>We walked to the British Museum. Stunning. Among other things we saw the Rosetta Stone, winged Assyrian Beasts, ancient Greek and Roman art, and a bunch of cool stuff. The British Museum has a good gift shop where among other things, I bought a coffee mug. Very important.<BR><BR>Throughout the trip, when we visited any museum or cathedral, C first bought a guide book from the gift shop and then post cards depicting either works of art from the museum or photos of the cathedral. This turned out to be a very good idea. We now have quite a nice library of books from all the places we visited. And even though most museums and cathedrals do not allow flash photography we still have nice photos to remind us what we saw.<BR><BR>After the British Museum, we stopped for lunch at a pub. Then caught a black cab to the National Gallery where we saw works by Van Gogh, Seurat, Arnolfini, da Vinci and many others. It was awesome. C has an undergraduate degree in art history which was invaluable on this trip.<BR><BR>We then took the tube out to one of the cousin's flats (that's London talk), got into autos and drove to C's aunt and uncle's house for a lovely dinner. I got to meet C's 94 year old grandmother who is spectacular.<BR><BR>When we arrived at the aunt and uncle's (mom and dad of the cousins, obviously) we had afternoon tea, followed by afternoon champagne, followed by dinner (roast pork, Yorkshire pudding with gravy, leaks, broad beans, roasted potatoes), a cheese course, dessert of tiramisu and apricot meringue tarts, and lots of wine. It was really fun to be in a British home and get some idea of the life style. It was a lovely time and greatly appreciated by all.<BR><BR>After our after dinner drinks and chatting, we took a cab back to our hotel. The cab ride to the hotel was quite interesting. The sort of ride that makes you wish you had blinders on, but somehow the cab driver managed not to hit anything despite talking the whole time and looking at us rather than the road. Yikes!!

I just read my first post and that is supposed to say "known as". Jeez. Please forgive my typos, spelling errors and just general goofiness. Thanks.

Monday we got up, had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and walked down to Lancaster Gate tube station. Unfortunately we arrived just behind a large group of Japanese tourists who were in line in front of us buying tickets. We tried to use the machine to buy tickets, but it was out of order (I think that's right). So we decided to walk. Our destination was the internet cafe where we sent off emails, then bought coffee at Starbucks and then rode the tube to St Paul's Cathedral. We wandered around the cathedral, saw the crypt, the nave, the transepts, the mosaics, walked up the 247 steps to the Whispering Gallery. When we left we passed a huge crowd waiting to get in and we were glad we had arrived early.<BR><BR>It was time for lunch so we walked down the street and found a place called Davy's Wine Bar and Restaurant at No. 10 Creed Lane. Great place!! R ordered a lovely, light and flaky vegetable tart. D ordered some kind of sandwich. C and I split a plate of hummus, pita bread, feta cheese and olives. We shared a bottle of wine and thoroughly enjoyed our lunch.<BR><BR>I was amazed at the number business men who were putting away a lot of alcohol at lunch. I mean a lot. Apparently Brits have a high tolerance for booze or at least these Brits did.<BR><BR>After lunch we took a cab to Harrod's and went through room after room of stuff we couldn't afford. We did buy some very yummy chocolates. I thought it was interesting that there was a restaurant in Harrod's called Mo's Diner that was reminiscent of 1950's Americana.<BR><BR>I forgot, before Harrod's we went to Buckingham Palace. (There is a very nice gift shop across the street.)<BR><BR>Maybe I should point out that I was charged with bringing back a LOT OF SOUVENIRS and thus my interest in gift shops. Whatever I bought I tried to keep it either small or flat for easy packing.<BR><BR>Okay, on to the palace. This was just before the Queen's jubilee and a lot of preparation was going on across from the palace. The gates to the palace are very pretty and we took some nice photos. Otherwise I found Buckingham Palace somewhat a disappointment. Maybe it's in part because we did not arrive for the changing of the guards.<BR><BR>After Harrod's we took the tube back to our hotel, or so we thought until we got on the wrong train and had to double back.<BR><BR>Upon arriving at the hotel we went into the cute little bar, had some refreshments and chatted about our time in London. We then went upstairs to our rooms, put on pjs and ordered room service for dinner. We had an early train to Paris the next morning.

Am loving your report!! You are covering a lot of territory in a short time, and having fun doing it.

topping

On to Paris. <BR><BR>Tuesday we all got up very early and headed downstairs to catch a cab to the Eurostar train station. No problem catching a ubiquitous black cab in front of our hotel. In short order we arrived at the train station where we found seats, snacks and coffee. The station was very clean and efficient looking. The train platform is “hidden” behind large sliding doors so the station has the feel of an airport. I of course hit the gift shop. I bought a Eurostar keychain for a friend of mine who is a train freak.<BR><BR>Once aboard the train, we stowed our luggage and found our seats. We rode standard class as opposed to first class when traveling on the Eurostar between London and Paris. There was a nice little snack bar car with soft drinks, coffee, wine, sandwiches and chips (I mean crisps). Our seats were very comfortable and the trip passed in no time (okay it was 3 hours). The ride was smooth and the scenery beautiful.<BR><BR>We arrived in Paris about noon, showed our passports to the Paris police and got in line for a taxi. The taxi deposited us at Hotel Millesime on Rue Jacob in the St Germaine area. Great hotel. We took turns using the very small lift to get our luggage (which was getting heavier by the city) up to our rooms. Only one room was ready so we stashed our luggage in there and went out in search of lunch.<BR><BR>For lunch we stumbled upon a little place called La Palette which had roast beef as the daily special. R & C at the roast beef. I had a french grilled ham and cheese (I won’t attempt the french name for it) and C had an omelet. <BR><BR>After lunch we made it to a Metro station where we bought 3-day metro passes and 3-day museum passes. Our first stop was Sainte Chapelle on Ile de la Cite. Absolutely breathtaking. There are two levels, you think the bottom floor is gorgeous and then you take these dark, winding little steps up to the second floor which has floor to ceiling stained glass that will make you cry.<BR><BR>Then on to Notre Dame which isn’t far from St Chapelle. The relief work on the front of the cathedral is outstanding. Beautiful rose windows inside. A carving behind the choir area showing scenes from Jesus’ life and a pieta at the top of the church. We went into the sacristy and saw beautiful vestments and impossibly ornate chalices and reliquaries.<BR><BR>On our way back to the hotel we came across a shop which sold batik scarves with beaded tassels. Very pretty. C bought three. I can’t remember the name of the shop, but it was just down the street from our hotel on Rue Jacob.<BR><BR>We then walked back to the hotel and used the hotel’s laptop to check and send email. The hotel has a laptop in the lobby which guests can use. It was interesting to find that the keyboard was different. Some letters are in a different place than we are used to and it took us about 5 minutes to figure out how to get an “@” symbol. One reason for all this emailing is that C has her own business and had to keep in touch.<BR>

R’s Parisian friend, Sandrine called us at the hotel and we arranged to go to dinner with her. Sandrine met us at the hotel and we traveled to a terrific restaurant called La Fresque where we joined seven of Sandrine’s friends for a lively dinner and service with a Parisian attitude. It was great. The owner/chef/waiter (not sure which) was a big guy with a beard and apron. He was dishing attitude in a major fashion until one of the French girls gave him hell at which point he laughed and lightened up. Seemed to really improve his mood. The food was delicious (I had roast pork with red fruit sauce).<BR><BR>The dinner company was really cool even though I don’t speak French, most of the people spoke some English. R speaks more French than the rest of us combined. (Do I keep switching between present tense and past tense? Oh well.) Two of Sandrine’s friends were an Italian newlywed couple. I practiced my limited Italian on them. They seemed to understand what I was saying. Either that or they were very polite.<BR><BR>After a long dinner it was back to the hotel for some slumber.<BR>

Wednesday morning we were up early and had breakfast in the hotel’s basement breakfast room. Beautiful room. The French really know how to do pastries. Yummy. However, the price for breakfast was 15E apiece. A little pricey for coffee (even really good coffee) and croissants.<BR><BR>Then we were off to the Louvre. We walked to the Seine and crossed over on a pedestrian bridge. With our museum passes we entered at the Richelieu entrance off Rue de Rivoli. We had no delay entering the museum. We picked up a book and plan at the information booth and away we went.<BR><BR>One thing that impressed me about the Louvre is the beautiful architecture. Even without the works of art it would be worth just going to see the building. We spent about half a day in the Louvre and saw a bunch of cool stuff. (How’s that for detail?)<BR><BR>After the Louvre we went in search of lunch. Unlike London, flagging down a taxi in Paris is impossible. You have to go to where the taxis are or call one to come to you. We found a spot across from the Louvre where taxis were picking folks up and we flagged down a taxi only to have him pitch a fit when he discovered there were four of us and he had to clean the passenger seat. I think he would have just driven off, but three of us were already in the backseat. We tipped him well for his trouble.<BR><BR>We went to Le Caf&eacute; du Marche on Rue Cler for lunch. We had a good meal and even better dessert. We sat next to (and almost on top of) two nice Italian guys who were very busy flirting with our waitress. I managed to practice my Italian again.<BR><BR>Then we were off for the Eiffel Tower. We approached the Tower via a long park. I probably should know what it is called but don’t. We got to the Eiffel Tower and got in line for tickets. This was the longest wait of our entire trip, but it wasn’t more than 45 minutes or so. We took the first leg of the elevator trip up the Tower to the level where there are restaurants and a gift shop (imagine that).<BR><BR>After making the requisite stop in the gift shop we got in line for the central elevator going to the top of the Tower. We had to wait in line about half an hour. It was worth it when we arrived at the top. Great views. I’m not fond of heights, but there was no way I was going all the way to Paris and not get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Just wouldn’t be right.<BR><BR>We got back down to earth safely via the elevators ;o) and went in search of a taxi. We made it back to the hotel and decided to go out for drinks before dinner. We sat outside a caf&eacute; in the St Germaine area and had refreshments before going to dinner at a restaurant recommended by our hotel staff, La Petite Cour on Rue Mabillon. <BR><BR>The restaurant was really lovely and service was very good, however the food was decidedly average. Maybe we ordered the wrong thing. All in all it was a pleasant experience.<BR><BR>After dinner we returned to the hotel where I spent an exciting evening doing laundry in our bathroom.

ttt

Sheesh, girl, don't stop now! This is great fun, please tell us more.

Okay Robdaddy, so like, I can't tell if you're seriously interested or if you're trying to tell me I'm dull as dirt. Guess it doesn't matter as I'll press on anyway. But not until tomorrow. Next installment - Versailles and the night walk that wouldn't end.

Thursday we got up at 6am to get an early start for Versailles. We stopped at a nice little cafe on the corner of Rue Jacob and Rue Bonaparte (I think) called Le Pre Aux Clercs to have pastries and cappuccinos. Then on to the Musee d'Orsay RER station where we relied on the kindness of strangers to get us on the right train. It was about a 30 minute trip to the Versailles - Rive Gauche station.<BR><BR>From the station to the palace was a quick walk and along the way we passed one of the several Tex Mex Restaurants we saw on our trip. If I had the time to waste, I would have eaten at one just for grins. This particular place was called El Rancho - Le Restaurant Tex Mex.<BR><BR>Okay, on to the palace. Because we had museum passes we consulted our guide book and went in via the special entrance for passes where there was no wait although we later saw a line. <BR><BR>The palace was beautiful. It was opulant. After a while it was crowded. After we left the palace we used some pay toilets (.40 Euro seems to be the "going" price in France). To get to the women's room we had to pass the men's room which had the door wide open. Strange.<BR><BR>We then hopped on a tram to tour the Versailles grounds (gardens, Petite Trianon and Grand Trianon). We got off at the Petite Trianon and walked around. Very pretty and very peaceful until we caught up to a large group of school children. It was fun watching them run around and shout in French (I was impressed that all those kids could speak French.) Okay, that was a joke.<BR><BR>After Versailles, we broke into two groups. R and D went on to the Rodin Museum and Napoleon's tomb. C and I opted for lunch in Versailles and a nap at the hotel. I had a cold when we left Houston and C caught it somewhere in London so we both needed a little extra rest. By the way, what are the odds that I get a cold right before we leave? I hadn't had a cold in a year or two. It was probably all the pre-trip excitement.

We walked into what looked to us like the center of town (Versailles) and looked for an appealing restaurant. We settled on a restaurant called Le Tire Bouchon. Good choice. We settled down at our table and the waiter walked up and said something to C in very fast French. She blinked at him. He said "Understand?" She said no. He wheeled around without another word and sent the owner to our table. It was really quite funny. The owner was a very nice lady who spoke fluent English (and Spanish) and she helped us with the menu.<BR><BR>Even with her help I managed to order the country pork plate (my translation) which turned out to be ham, bacon, sausage, pepperoni and cheese. Only it wasn't cooked or smoked. Just cold and raw. I got by on my delicious onion soup, cheese, bread and a wonderful (best of the trip) creme brulee.<BR><BR>Then back to the train and to the hotel. I napped while C read. While she was reading she heard an engine revving outside the open window. We were on the third floor and our window opened onto Rue Jacob. She looked out the window to see a van parking by bumping the car in front and the car behind it to make room, eventually resorting to shoving the car behind it back a little bit.<BR><BR>The Hotel Millesime was for us an excellent choice. As much for the location as anything else.<BR><BR>Around 6pm we met R and D downstairs. We made arrangements to meet R's friend Sandrine for dinner after we went to the Musee d'Orsay.<BR><BR>The Musee d'Orsay is open late on Thursday nights. We went right in and enjoyed the beautiful sculpture and paintings by Manet, Monet, Degas, Gauguin and Seurat. The building itself is a refurbished railway station that is mixed with new, sleek modern stone partitions. The contrast between the two styles was somewhat jarring. Not nearly as nice as some other museums we visited.<BR><BR>We left the museum and went in search of a public telephone which was a fiasco. I wrote about that in my other post. Suffice it to say we once again relied on the kindness of strangers and we managed to call Sandrine on her cell phone. She arrived right away.<BR><BR>It was now about 9pm so we made a quick choice of Le St Germain Cafe Brasserie. It wasn't very good. After dinner, Sandrine offered to walk with us to get ice cream. She said it was a long walk. No problem, by now we were used to walking.<BR><BR>Well we walked, and we walked, and we walked. In circles, loops and squares. Did I mention Sandrine lives in Paris? It was fun to see Paris at night, but at some point we got a little tired of being lost. When we finally got to the ice cream shops, they were closed (it was well after midnight). We did manage to find a very nice restaurant still open and still serving ice cream.<BR><BR>

By the time we got back to the hotel that night it was about 1:30am. We had been walking non-stop (except for the 15 minute ice cream break) for about 3 1/2 hours. This was the only time on our trip that my feet hurt and they were screaming at me. But we did get a great view of Notre Dame at night.<BR><BR>We bid Sandrine fairwell when we finally got to the hotel.<BR><BR>R asked me to get his mother some Ibuprofen to help her sleep comfortably after all that walking. When I brought them to her she said "Can I put em on my feet? I'm so glad we're going to be on a train tomorrow night cause we can't walk anywhere." It was welcome comic relief.<BR><BR>The next day Sandrine sent a nice note and a box of chocolates to our hotel.<BR>

Belinda, I am enjoying this sooo much! I can't wait to read more. You are an excellent writer and you are making London and Paris come alive for me!

Thanks for the kind words. It's fun reliving the trip. I'll post again during my lunch hour today. It's amazing how much time it actually takes to write a trip report. I'm consulting our photos, notes and C's journal to try and get the details right.

topping

Belinda,<BR>This is great. Looking forward to reading more. Hope you keep a copy for yourself when you are all done so you have your own journal (as well as C's) of what sounds like a fun trip.

Belinda:<BR><BR>Thanks so much for your report! I will be a first-time visitor to Europe next year and our itinerary almost exactly mirrors yours (we're going to Venice in addition to London, Paris, Florence and Rome)! Also like you, I am a big "planner." Thanks to your postings (this one and your "Advice for First Timers") I have put several things on my "to do" list! Thanks for taking the time to post your observations!<BR><BR>Jennie

Great report Belinda. While in the south of France my friend insisted we eat at one of the Tex Mex restaurants as she was tired of French food (gasp), let me tell you the French should stick with the butter and cream sauces and really stay away from anything spicy! Our salsa was made from ketchup and there was tuna on my taco salad! eek! :)

Wendy - I love it!! That's just the sort of experience I would expect from a French Tex Mex restaurant. <BR><BR>Friday we slept in a bit. We had to check out that morning and the hotel stowed our luggage for us until we left for the train station later that evening. We had breakfast at Pre Aux Clercs. After cappuccinos and pastries we did a little shopping in the St Germain area.<BR><BR>We then took the metro to the Monmartre area to visit Sacre Cour. Just outside the metro station were a set of mimes with a puppet. At first glance they looked like statues. I took their photo and then later felt guilty for not tipping them. Didn't occur to me at the time.<BR><BR>The walk from the metro stop to the church steps involved passing some really cheesy t-shirt shops and an organ grinder with a monkey. If you try to take the monkey's photo without first paying a tip, the organ grinder will cover the monkey's face with his hat. These are things one needs to know before arriving in Paris.<BR><BR>We took the funicular up to the church rather than the steps. Last night's walk was vivid in our memory.<BR><BR>Sacre Cour is beautiful and has a quite nice gift shop. There is a lovely view of Paris from the top of the steps.<BR><BR>We walked around the neighborhood a bit and had cold drinks in a little cafe.<BR><BR>We then took the metro to the Champs Elysees. Down one end of the avenue was the Arch d'Triomphe and down the other end was Place du Concorde. (I know I'm butchering these names, I'm sorry.) We walked leisurely toward Cleopatra's Needle.<BR><BR>Once we reached the Place du Concorde we went in search of a public restroom and found a very nice one for a mere .40 Euro.

Next we went to Jeu de Pomme (Musee L'Orangerie was closed) and saw an awful exhibit of the art of Daniel Spoerri. Not my cup of tea.<BR><BR>As we walked we passed some guys playing frisbee in front of a statue by the same artist who did a piece of work in downtown Houston. My description of it is - "It looks like a Houston Metro bus wreck." All mangled white, red and blue.<BR><BR>We went in search of a restaurant recommended to us called Le Souffle. When we got there at 2:50pm they had closed at 2:30pm. Disappointment all around.<BR><BR>Eventually we ended up at one of the ubiquitous brasseries in the area except this one had it's own dog. Named Larry. Larry was a great big German Shepherd who wandered in and out of the cafe, up and down the street and finally settled on the sidewalk next to our table. C gave him a good tummy scratch.<BR><BR>By this time we needed to head back to the hotel, but first we stopped for picnic supplies. We bought wine, bread and cheese for the train ride. The cheese came from a great stinky cheese shop. You almost couldn't breathe in there but boy did they gave good cheese.<BR><BR>When we got back to the hotel, R realized we had forgotten our baguette so he ran back to the bread shop and almost missed our taxi. While he was gone I was busy trying to figure out how to tell an impatient French taxi driver that R would be right back with our bread, please wait. Thankfully R showed up just as the last piece of luggage went in the trunk.

Later, the sleeper train or "Why doesn't this knob work?" and welcome to Italy - "You have reservations for 11:00? Get in line. Ours were for 9:00."

ttt

We arrived at the train station in plenty of time to figure out how to get on the right train. Or so we hoped. We had rail passes and reservations in hand, but it was still nerve-wracking. Everytime we were in a train station I had the feeling I was in the wrong line, holding the wrong ticket, waiting at the wrong platform, boarding the wrong car...you get the idea.<BR><BR>On the "my advice..." post I talked about what happened at the Paris train station. Suffice it to say it's good for you to know what should be happening vs. what is happening. That is to say, educate yourself as much as possible before you leave if you plan on riding trains. We used a service at www.Euraide.com and they were invaluable. I highly recommend their service.<BR><BR>So we manage to get to the right platform and the right train. We queu up with all the other folks getting in our car. It's the overnight train between Paris and Florence and it leaves Paris around 7pm. When we booked we weren't able to get the compartments with the attached <BR>WC (that's a bathroom to all you fellow Texans.) So I guess we rode second class instead of first (I'm not sure about this).<BR><BR>Anyway, we're in line. We give our passports and tickets to the lady in charge of our car. I'll call her a steward. If somebody else knows what the right word is, let me know. Maybe it's porter. So I go up the stairs into the train first and I tell C, "wait for me here, I'll be back."<BR><BR>I lug my suitcase (a 24" rolling bag), my small backpack and my small carry onto the train. I manuever it into the corridor (it barely fits), wrestle it down the corridor to what I hope is our compartment, and start giggling. It is the smallest room I've ever seen. I yell back at C - either we or our luggage are going in here, but we're not all fitting in here. Then I notice that there are bunks up just below the ceiling and the luggage rack is about a foot above the bunk level.<BR><BR>By now I'm sweating, there is no a/c happening. (By the way, R and D are in the car behind us which is the last car when we leave Paris and the first car when we arrive in Florence.) So I'm sweating and giggling, cause there's no damn way I'm getting our heavy a** luggage up onto that rack that's about 3 feet above my head.<BR><BR>Here comes C with her luggage. She didn't wait for me because obviously there's a line of impatient passengers behind her. Well I'm useless. I'm trapped in the compartment because my rolling bag is between me and the door and I'm sweating and giggling. So this Italian guy grabs her bag and throws it into our compartment (which by the way is about a foot above corridor floor level so you have to step up). Somehow he managed to make it seem chivalrous. So now I'm in this tiny room (about the size of an RV bathroom) trying to lift these pieces of luggage over my head onto the luggage rack. It ain't happening.<BR><BR>We finally figure out there is a ladder in here with us. Only if you put the ladder up, it takes up all the floor space in the compartment. So anyway C & I manage to get a rolling bag up on one of the bunks. Then I climb up there and wrestle the bag onto the luggage rack. We put one big bag and both our carry-ons on the luggage rack.<BR><BR>The other bag we just move around down below and try to keep it out of the way.

So we finally get settled in and I go in search of R and D. They have the picnic supplies!! It's kind of cool to walk between train cars because the floor at the junction moves and you have to watch your step. Did I mention this trip was the first time I'd ever ridden on a train. I loved it.<BR><BR>So I get to R & D (their compartment is even smaller than ours) and I snag dinner and make my way back to our compartment where C & I have a lovely picnic in our teeny tiny compartment.<BR><BR>There is a knob in the compartment with us. Just below the window and what appears to be a vent. The knob has a snowflake symbol on it which leads us to believe it might be air conditioning. No such luck, or at least we couldn't get any cool air to come out of the vent. I think it's just there to drive dumb American tourists (that would be us) crazy.<BR><BR>So we slept with the window halfway down, which was fine temperature-wise but every time we went through a tunnel the whoooosh about scared us out of our bunks.<BR><BR>We woke up in Italy and had cappuccinos and croissants for breakfast. The very nice porter came around to serve coffee, but I got to her before she got to us. <BR><BR>Our little compartment had a sink in it which allowed teeth brushing and face washing although you had to use bottled water.<BR><BR>The toilet was down the hall and to flush it there was a large rubber button on the floor that you stepped on. You weren't allowed to flush the toilet while stopped at a train station.<BR><BR>The porter returned our passports to us before we arrived in Florence. Upon arrival we got in line at a taxi stand and soon arrived at our hotel on Via Laura, the Hotel Morandi alla Crocetta.

<BR>Hi Belinda,<BR>Your'e trip report is a hoot, very informative. Four of us are going next May and taking the overnight train just like you, I have been nervous about the logistics of the train trip, now I'm terrified! Keep up the great reporting.

My advice to make train travel go smoothly is educate yourself, arrive early and ask lots of questions at the train station. People were happy to help us when they could. Train travel is really a lot of fun. Don't forget to bring a good picnic.

ttt

So we get to our hotel in Florence and are decidedly unimpressed with the exterior and the street. It's more like an alley with a lot of graffitti, posters and parked vehicles. It's at least quiet. The hotel itself is lovely. The lobby is on the second floor of the building and the staff is very nice and helpful. Rooms are big and comfy. We leave our luggage in the lobby as our rooms are not ready.<BR><BR>And off we go to find the Academia. We have 11:00 a.m. reservations. Well we get there and there's a big crowd in the street. Doesn't bode well. We find the entrance that says something about reservations. Turns out the people in the front of the queu had reservations for 9 o'clock that morning and still hadn't gotten in. Apparently the museum staffs in Florence had called a meeting for that morning so none of the museums opened at their usual times.<BR><BR>We waited in line and chatted with folks until the doors opened. Then they let us in in groups based on reservation time (earlier ones first, etc).<BR><BR>We finally get in and let me tell you, if we had waited for a week in the boiling sun it would have been worth it. I was ahead of C (she was looking at postcards in the entry gift shop) and I went through a doorway and turned to my right and there he was, at the end of the corridor in all his breathtaking glory - Michelangelo's David. I called to C - "You gotta see this." (Not like she would have missed it if I hadn't called her, but I wanted to share the moment.) Even with the mass of people in the room you could feel his presence. It was at that point that I fell in love with sculpture.<BR><BR>It is simply beyond explanation how someone can take what is cold, hard and unyielding and make it seem warm, moving, living, feeling, breathing... you get the point. Okay, enough of that.

After the Academia we went in search of lunch which we found at a cafe in San Marco square. I think it was called Gran Cafe San Marco, but I haven't been able to confirm that. Anyway, the food was very good and the staff was delightful.<BR><BR>We finished lunch and then went to the Museum of San Marco and the Medici Chapels, both worth a quick visit. We walked around the Duomo and Baptistry. <BR><BR>Then we went in search of coffee which we found on a little street between the Duomo and our hotel. I think the name of the place was Robiglio, but I could be way off. It was a very nice little shop, but we found out the next morning that it didn't open very early.<BR><BR>(We had trouble finding coffee early in the morning, but soon settled on Cafe Mingo across from the Bargello as our early morning stop.)<BR><BR>Okay, after coffee we went back to the hotel for much deserved showers and dressed for dinner. The hotel staff recommended a few places to us. That night we went to Acquacotta.<BR><BR>It was quite good and service was excellent. Our waiter was a very tall Italian guy with bedroom eyes. Cool.<BR><BR>We wandered around a bit after dinner and eventually had gelato at a gelato place whose name escapes me for the moment, but I know it will come back. I think it was Festival Gelato or something like that. It had great tile on the walls.<BR><BR>That's something I noticed about Florence, there was gorgeous ceramic tile in the most unexpected places.<BR><BR>After gelato we walked back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.

If you mentioned it, I missed it, so please tell us the name of your hotel in Florence. Thanks!

The hotel in Florence was the Morandi alla Crocetta. A very nice hotel and you can find photos etc on the web at www.hotelmorandi.it. I'm just not sure the location is the best, but others may disagree. The hotel has a small room where breakfast and evening drinks are served. No other dining. If I remember correctly the room had a mini bar and a safe.

Anyone besides me reading this?

XXX, yes, I am reading it and I think lots of others are. This is a great trip report - detailed and honest. I am loving the part about the train!

I'm definitely reading it. Keep up the good work, Belinda!<BR><BR>Jennie

trippingly to the top

Glad to know somebody's reading this. It gets lonely out here. :o)<BR><BR>Okay, Sunday we got up early and had a quick bite at Cafe Mingo on our way to the Uffizi Gallery. We had reservations for 8:30. When we arrived the museum staff hadn't put up the signs by the doors yet and we were thoroughly confused about what line we were supposed to be in. We got in what turned out to be the wrong line, but realized our error in short order (after somebody opened the door and stuck a sign out) and moved to the "reservations" line. The non-reservations line was very long.<BR><BR>The Uffizi is a grand museum. We saw sketches and drawings by Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, and lots of other really cool paintings and sculptures. Not to mention the views of the Arno from the upstairs windows and the views of town from the rooftop cafe where we stopped for a cold drink.<BR><BR>We then walked to the Ponte Vecchio and window shopped. After which we had lunch at Cibrea Cafe (food was good but came with a nasty attitude from the waitstaff).<BR><BR>After lunch it was on to Santa Croce, a gorgeous church. Inside are the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo among others. R & D bought me a really nice poster of the front facade which I shipped home.<BR><BR>I did a little shopping in town and found a really cool (and reasonable) jewelry shop where I bought some real gifts (not just souvenirs).<BR><BR>Then back to the hotel for a short nap before dinner. For dinner we took a taxi to Trattoria Angiolino (where we had tried to have lunch earlier, but it wasn't open for lunch, so we made reservations for dinner).<BR><BR>Side note - We found taxis in Florence were more expensive than taxis in Rome. So were restaurants and drinks. Just FYI.<BR><BR>We had a very nice dinner. Ordering meals in Italy was a little tricky because everything is basically served ala carte. We found that most waitstaff was willing to help us with the menus, a lot of which was indicipherable to us (probably like my spelling is to you).<BR><BR>We finished dinner and walked back over the Ponte Vecchio in the night air (the restaurant was on the Oltrarno side). We felt compelled to try the gelato at Vivoli's so we did. It was good.<BR><BR>We then walked across town back to the hotel. End of a perfect day.

Whew. I thought all that typing was gone for good.