Capodanno 2007 - New Years in Florence and Rome
Jan 9th, 2007 | 06:44 AM
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Capodanno 2007 - New Years in Florence and Rome
I recently returned from our family's 3rd annual Sylvester (New Years) celebration in Europe. This year's trip name changed a little because we left the land of Christmas Markets (Garmisch 2005 & Salzburg 2006), and headed south to Italy. Sylvester became San Silvestro or Capodanno as we were in Florence, and then Rome. Our group was made up of the usual suspects; DW, MIL (JulieVikmanis), FIL and BIL. I could put a "D" in front of the "in-laws" but no need to take this acronym thing to the extreme.
This is my 4th or 5th trip report here. I don't pre-type it out in a Word document so excuse my spelling and gramatical errors (this irratates DW). I imagine there are thousnads of reports on Florence and Rome. I'll try and avoid the items that have been covered a 1,000 times like how-to enter St. Peters, etc. Our family enjoys meals, well 80% of us do. So there will be a little more detail in this area. Enjoy...
December 26
DW and I left MSP for Rome with two layovers planned. We did this to fly business class, but were a little nervous at getting stuck somewhere. Our flights were MSP to ORD to AMS to FCO all on NWA/KLM. Overall travel time was longer, but everything went as planned. If you have the frequent flyer miles always use them for business class on overseas flights. Trying to sleep up front is so much easier.
December 27
We arrived in FCO as planned around 12pm. Our only real travel hassle was waiting for luggage. It came eventually but for some reason the airport was only using one baggage carousel and the place was a zoo. We took the Leonardo Express to Roma Termini. There is a post here with great instructions for this process. Thanks to whomever posted.
From Termini we trained to Florence to meet up with MIL, FIL and BIL. They traveled from FLL and were about 4 hours ahead of us. Our minor error in the train process was not booking RT tickets. We planned to return to Rome on Saturday the 30th with them. The thought was how do we know what time to return, or did they already book tickets. So we just bought one-way. We will later find out that everyone goes to Rome for NYE, and getting a train isn't easy.
Upon arriving in Florence we decide to walk to our hotel. We were staying at the Grand Hotel Minerva (www.grandhotelminerva.com) located on the Piazza Santa Maria Novella. According to the website the hotel was only 300m away. We took a couple wrong turns, but no big deal. It did take us past a little wine shop where we purchased a cold bottle and an opener to toast our arrival, but when we walked into the hotel lobby our waiting family was thinking ahead of us. They were sitting at hotel bar waiting for us with a cold bottle of sparkiling to toast the arrival. Apparently we all think alike.
DW and I took some time to unpack and clean up, then met the others to head out for the evening. We ended up spending a little time in the hotel lobby/bar area. It was an enjoyable setting, the bartender was friendly, and there was a delightful spread of light food. After a couple bottles we left for dinner. This is the one meal we didn't document. So as the saying goes if you don't remember it didn't happen. MIL might chime in with some recollections, btu I can't even recall the name of the restaurant. The wine and lack of sleep took its toll (at least on me). DW and I quickly departed for the hotel after dinner eager to rest up for tomorrow.
This is my 4th or 5th trip report here. I don't pre-type it out in a Word document so excuse my spelling and gramatical errors (this irratates DW). I imagine there are thousnads of reports on Florence and Rome. I'll try and avoid the items that have been covered a 1,000 times like how-to enter St. Peters, etc. Our family enjoys meals, well 80% of us do. So there will be a little more detail in this area. Enjoy...
December 26
DW and I left MSP for Rome with two layovers planned. We did this to fly business class, but were a little nervous at getting stuck somewhere. Our flights were MSP to ORD to AMS to FCO all on NWA/KLM. Overall travel time was longer, but everything went as planned. If you have the frequent flyer miles always use them for business class on overseas flights. Trying to sleep up front is so much easier.
December 27
We arrived in FCO as planned around 12pm. Our only real travel hassle was waiting for luggage. It came eventually but for some reason the airport was only using one baggage carousel and the place was a zoo. We took the Leonardo Express to Roma Termini. There is a post here with great instructions for this process. Thanks to whomever posted.
From Termini we trained to Florence to meet up with MIL, FIL and BIL. They traveled from FLL and were about 4 hours ahead of us. Our minor error in the train process was not booking RT tickets. We planned to return to Rome on Saturday the 30th with them. The thought was how do we know what time to return, or did they already book tickets. So we just bought one-way. We will later find out that everyone goes to Rome for NYE, and getting a train isn't easy.
Upon arriving in Florence we decide to walk to our hotel. We were staying at the Grand Hotel Minerva (www.grandhotelminerva.com) located on the Piazza Santa Maria Novella. According to the website the hotel was only 300m away. We took a couple wrong turns, but no big deal. It did take us past a little wine shop where we purchased a cold bottle and an opener to toast our arrival, but when we walked into the hotel lobby our waiting family was thinking ahead of us. They were sitting at hotel bar waiting for us with a cold bottle of sparkiling to toast the arrival. Apparently we all think alike.
DW and I took some time to unpack and clean up, then met the others to head out for the evening. We ended up spending a little time in the hotel lobby/bar area. It was an enjoyable setting, the bartender was friendly, and there was a delightful spread of light food. After a couple bottles we left for dinner. This is the one meal we didn't document. So as the saying goes if you don't remember it didn't happen. MIL might chime in with some recollections, btu I can't even recall the name of the restaurant. The wine and lack of sleep took its toll (at least on me). DW and I quickly departed for the hotel after dinner eager to rest up for tomorrow.
Jan 9th, 2007 | 01:05 PM
#3
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Joined: Mar 2004
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December 28
We awake to our first full, non-travel day, of vacation. Always the best feeling. The Minerva has a very nice breakfast spread. A little above the average European breakfast; grains, fruit, meat, cheese, eggs and sausages. DW's favorite part was the whole roasted apples and pears. A staff of 4 or 5 diligently maintained the buffet. A satisfying breakfast.
The Minerva is adjacent to Santa Maria Novella, and borders a large open square. I was slightly disapointed with the photo opportunity after seeing the photos of the square from the website. The church facade was under renovation and thus covered by scaffolding, and the grassy area of the square seemed a little unkept. It could just be because it was late December, and its not like the area was overwhelmed with squalor, but I just expected a little more.
The first destination of the day was the San Lorenzo Market. Maybe a few blocks from the train station. MIL loves markets, and I've become a fan as well. The streets surrounding the structure were lined with consumables, most notably leather products. Inside the market building was food; meats downstairs, and vegetable upstairs. We didn't see anything exoctic like komodo dragon (movie reference) hanging from the hooks, but plenty of whole chickens, pigs, rabbits and other good things to photograph. Not the best market I've been, but worthy of at least a 7.
Being we were at the San Lorenzo market it would've been dumb not to walk into the church. San Lorenzo was the Medici family's church. The Medici's paid to remodel the interior, and its supposed to represent Renaissance archetecture. Our favorite room was the Old Sacristy. They wouldn't allow any photos so that was disappointing.
Next was the Santa Maria del Fiore, or better known as the Duomo, and our first taste of crowds. The church facade is done in white, green and red marble. Just as the Santa Maria Novella is. The main cathedral is open to the public, and you can pay to climb the cupola. We did though a word of caution. Devote an hour to getting up and down, and don't go if you get claustrophobic, or have a heart/lung ailment. We past one couple on the climb where I thought the guy was going to die right there on the steps. The views from the top are worth the effort. Hopefully you'll get some sun because we were clouded in.
Leaving the Duomo we headed down Via Cavour. Great xmas lights on this pedestrian street. I made note that we'd return in the evening to take them in.
After a beverage break we walked through the Uffizi towards the Ponte Vecchio. The lines for the Uffizi were huge. Buy tickets in advance and you don't have to wait. We bought for the following morning.
The Ponte Vecchio sort of reminded me of the Rialto bridge - looks great from a distance, but when you cross it all you see is people selling things. Takes away from the effect. The bridge still was fully documented by camera and video.
People started to grumble for food. Our tour guide MIL (always prepared) set us a down a street with a goal in mind. We got side tracked by Osteria Del Cinghiale Biano - translation White Boar. DW, MIL and BIL have a thing for boars, especially with tuskers. We were eating here.
The Osteria was a nice neighborhood restaurant - very cozy. (www.cinghialebianco.it) We were quickly seated and began ordering. Meat trays around featuring prosciutto and of course boar meat. Three ordered an artichoke salad with mixed reviews. The successful eaters had pesto pasta, or pasta w/ boar sauce.
If you seen my reports before you know we rate restaurants. Three categories; food, ambiance and service - each five points. Everyone rates and totals are averaged to score our meal. The White Boar was rated a 9.25 - slightly below the trip average, but not a disappointment. Ambiance carried the highest rating.
Palazzo Pitti was next on the list. We didn't tour the rooms, just walked the gardens. They were huge, but not too exciting. Don't think I'd go again. Maybe another chalked up to the time of the year, but I don't see it being tons better in the summer time.
Back to the hotel for a brief nap and refreshing before dinner - Cafe Antinori - MIL was excited.
We awake to our first full, non-travel day, of vacation. Always the best feeling. The Minerva has a very nice breakfast spread. A little above the average European breakfast; grains, fruit, meat, cheese, eggs and sausages. DW's favorite part was the whole roasted apples and pears. A staff of 4 or 5 diligently maintained the buffet. A satisfying breakfast.
The Minerva is adjacent to Santa Maria Novella, and borders a large open square. I was slightly disapointed with the photo opportunity after seeing the photos of the square from the website. The church facade was under renovation and thus covered by scaffolding, and the grassy area of the square seemed a little unkept. It could just be because it was late December, and its not like the area was overwhelmed with squalor, but I just expected a little more.
The first destination of the day was the San Lorenzo Market. Maybe a few blocks from the train station. MIL loves markets, and I've become a fan as well. The streets surrounding the structure were lined with consumables, most notably leather products. Inside the market building was food; meats downstairs, and vegetable upstairs. We didn't see anything exoctic like komodo dragon (movie reference) hanging from the hooks, but plenty of whole chickens, pigs, rabbits and other good things to photograph. Not the best market I've been, but worthy of at least a 7.
Being we were at the San Lorenzo market it would've been dumb not to walk into the church. San Lorenzo was the Medici family's church. The Medici's paid to remodel the interior, and its supposed to represent Renaissance archetecture. Our favorite room was the Old Sacristy. They wouldn't allow any photos so that was disappointing.
Next was the Santa Maria del Fiore, or better known as the Duomo, and our first taste of crowds. The church facade is done in white, green and red marble. Just as the Santa Maria Novella is. The main cathedral is open to the public, and you can pay to climb the cupola. We did though a word of caution. Devote an hour to getting up and down, and don't go if you get claustrophobic, or have a heart/lung ailment. We past one couple on the climb where I thought the guy was going to die right there on the steps. The views from the top are worth the effort. Hopefully you'll get some sun because we were clouded in.
Leaving the Duomo we headed down Via Cavour. Great xmas lights on this pedestrian street. I made note that we'd return in the evening to take them in.
After a beverage break we walked through the Uffizi towards the Ponte Vecchio. The lines for the Uffizi were huge. Buy tickets in advance and you don't have to wait. We bought for the following morning.
The Ponte Vecchio sort of reminded me of the Rialto bridge - looks great from a distance, but when you cross it all you see is people selling things. Takes away from the effect. The bridge still was fully documented by camera and video.
People started to grumble for food. Our tour guide MIL (always prepared) set us a down a street with a goal in mind. We got side tracked by Osteria Del Cinghiale Biano - translation White Boar. DW, MIL and BIL have a thing for boars, especially with tuskers. We were eating here.
The Osteria was a nice neighborhood restaurant - very cozy. (www.cinghialebianco.it) We were quickly seated and began ordering. Meat trays around featuring prosciutto and of course boar meat. Three ordered an artichoke salad with mixed reviews. The successful eaters had pesto pasta, or pasta w/ boar sauce.
If you seen my reports before you know we rate restaurants. Three categories; food, ambiance and service - each five points. Everyone rates and totals are averaged to score our meal. The White Boar was rated a 9.25 - slightly below the trip average, but not a disappointment. Ambiance carried the highest rating.
Palazzo Pitti was next on the list. We didn't tour the rooms, just walked the gardens. They were huge, but not too exciting. Don't think I'd go again. Maybe another chalked up to the time of the year, but I don't see it being tons better in the summer time.
Back to the hotel for a brief nap and refreshing before dinner - Cafe Antinori - MIL was excited.
Jan 11th, 2007 | 05:32 AM
#4
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Joined: Mar 2004
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Dinner was at the wine bar Cantinetta Antinori just off of Via Tornabuoni. Its an off-shoot of the Antinori wine empire. Most of the food ingrediants come from one of their farms, and all of the wine is Antinori. There is contact info in Fodor's Destination Florence page. The best plates we had were Lentils, Goose breast w/ rosemary, Shrimp risotto, and the favorite - Tuna w/ butter potatoes & rosemary. I unfortunately didn't order any of the above, but our group is sharing so I was able to taste all. MIL (the foodie of the group) gave her "gut" reaction of A+ for the meal. The FAS rating was 11.5, and our third highest rated meal of the trip. I'd recommend it.
December 29
"Art day" - DW, BIL and I set out early for the Uffizi Gallery. We purchased tickets the day before. We arrived around 8:30am and there was already a huge line. For 3E more you can purchase a reservation time, and just enter which is what we did. I don't understand why anyone would wait in that line to save 3E, but people did. We walked to the front of the line, showed our tickets, and walked right in.
We spent about an 1-1/2 hours in the Ufizzi. We saw everything, but moved at good pace. BIL had taken an art history class in college so he was our guide on the "big" paintings.
From the Ufizzi we met up with MIL and FIL to see another market. Not sure of the name, but it was near Santa Croce. It was very busy with NYE just two days away. Some good exotic seafood for sale.
Leaving the market we sort of wandered. There is not much else in the area. We tried to go into the large Synagouge, but they don't allow cameras so no dice.
Lunch was a random find - Acquacotta. The women of the group liked the menu, the rest were tired of walking, so in we went. Four of us ordered the Fish Soup. It was great. Our waitress was very friendly, but overall service was slow. I think she was the only one working tables. We sat in this back room that was pretty plain - Ambiance rating was low, but to the restaurants credit we were offered a better table but declined. Total rating of 9.1 - not a bad find.
FIL, thinking ahead, had purchased tickets for the Academia. There was some time between lunch and our reservation so we went to Santa Croce. Its filled with tombs - the walls, the floor, and most notably Michelangelo's. Worth a stop.
From Michelangelo's tomb we went to one of his more famous work's - David. The Academia has the same line situation as the Ufizzi. Huge lines but for a couple extra Euros you can bypass it as we did. The statue of David is worth the effort of going, but as whole the place is pretty small. I guess I was expecting a huge museum. For me the best part of seeing Michelangelo's statue was being able to view it from 360 degrees. Most of us know it well from the front only. One of those experiences you only get from being there.
At this point DW was dying for a workout, while I was ready for a little nap. We were leaving tomorrow morning for Rome. FIL, MIL and BIL already had train tickets, but FIL was nice enough to volunteer to get more. Turned out to be a huge ordeal. The train they were on was sold out. I didn't know that happened w/ trains. It looked like DW and I would have to wait until 6pm to get out of Florence, DFIL (I'll add the "D" here) was able to horse trade his way to getting all three of his kids on one train. The only drawback was that it left at 6:40am. We were lucky. If FIL hadn't done this DW and I would be rather unhappy if we all showed up for the scheduled 8:30am train with no tickets available.
December 29
"Art day" - DW, BIL and I set out early for the Uffizi Gallery. We purchased tickets the day before. We arrived around 8:30am and there was already a huge line. For 3E more you can purchase a reservation time, and just enter which is what we did. I don't understand why anyone would wait in that line to save 3E, but people did. We walked to the front of the line, showed our tickets, and walked right in.
We spent about an 1-1/2 hours in the Ufizzi. We saw everything, but moved at good pace. BIL had taken an art history class in college so he was our guide on the "big" paintings.
From the Ufizzi we met up with MIL and FIL to see another market. Not sure of the name, but it was near Santa Croce. It was very busy with NYE just two days away. Some good exotic seafood for sale.
Leaving the market we sort of wandered. There is not much else in the area. We tried to go into the large Synagouge, but they don't allow cameras so no dice.
Lunch was a random find - Acquacotta. The women of the group liked the menu, the rest were tired of walking, so in we went. Four of us ordered the Fish Soup. It was great. Our waitress was very friendly, but overall service was slow. I think she was the only one working tables. We sat in this back room that was pretty plain - Ambiance rating was low, but to the restaurants credit we were offered a better table but declined. Total rating of 9.1 - not a bad find.
FIL, thinking ahead, had purchased tickets for the Academia. There was some time between lunch and our reservation so we went to Santa Croce. Its filled with tombs - the walls, the floor, and most notably Michelangelo's. Worth a stop.
From Michelangelo's tomb we went to one of his more famous work's - David. The Academia has the same line situation as the Ufizzi. Huge lines but for a couple extra Euros you can bypass it as we did. The statue of David is worth the effort of going, but as whole the place is pretty small. I guess I was expecting a huge museum. For me the best part of seeing Michelangelo's statue was being able to view it from 360 degrees. Most of us know it well from the front only. One of those experiences you only get from being there.
At this point DW was dying for a workout, while I was ready for a little nap. We were leaving tomorrow morning for Rome. FIL, MIL and BIL already had train tickets, but FIL was nice enough to volunteer to get more. Turned out to be a huge ordeal. The train they were on was sold out. I didn't know that happened w/ trains. It looked like DW and I would have to wait until 6pm to get out of Florence, DFIL (I'll add the "D" here) was able to horse trade his way to getting all three of his kids on one train. The only drawback was that it left at 6:40am. We were lucky. If FIL hadn't done this DW and I would be rather unhappy if we all showed up for the scheduled 8:30am train with no tickets available.
Jan 24th, 2007 | 10:24 AM
#8
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 119
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Sorry for the delay - work has been real busy...
Dinner that night was at Ristorante Buca Mario. The hotel picked the place and made the reservation for us. www.bucamario.it The restaurant is below street level. You walk in thinking its small, but rooms upon rooms keep appearing. It was quite the lively and busy place (it was Friday night).
The restaurant is known for typical Tuscan food. So far none of us had Steak Florintine - well tonight the decision was to order it for 4. DW sat this beef-fest out. Before the maincourse we went through some Apps and Primi's. I ordered Prociutto Mozzerela (again), MIL and BIL split a plate of Lardo, and DW and FIL had vegetable soup. The primi's were Fetucinni Buca Mario (tomato & mushrooms), Tortollini with ragu, and Taglietale with boar sauce.
Bistecca Florintene for 4 (served rare) - They had to wheel in a cart with all that beef. The cut of meat was at least 2" thick. At the table it was seasoned with olive oil, salt & pepper. The waiter cut it up and served us. We washed it down with a magnum of Brunelo Moltacino that had been sitting in a caraf for a while. To me this is great eating. I gave the restaurant its highest rating. The group average was a 10.
We all retired after dinner to pack up, and prepare for our early train to Rome.
Dinner that night was at Ristorante Buca Mario. The hotel picked the place and made the reservation for us. www.bucamario.it The restaurant is below street level. You walk in thinking its small, but rooms upon rooms keep appearing. It was quite the lively and busy place (it was Friday night).
The restaurant is known for typical Tuscan food. So far none of us had Steak Florintine - well tonight the decision was to order it for 4. DW sat this beef-fest out. Before the maincourse we went through some Apps and Primi's. I ordered Prociutto Mozzerela (again), MIL and BIL split a plate of Lardo, and DW and FIL had vegetable soup. The primi's were Fetucinni Buca Mario (tomato & mushrooms), Tortollini with ragu, and Taglietale with boar sauce.
Bistecca Florintene for 4 (served rare) - They had to wheel in a cart with all that beef. The cut of meat was at least 2" thick. At the table it was seasoned with olive oil, salt & pepper. The waiter cut it up and served us. We washed it down with a magnum of Brunelo Moltacino that had been sitting in a caraf for a while. To me this is great eating. I gave the restaurant its highest rating. The group average was a 10.
We all retired after dinner to pack up, and prepare for our early train to Rome.
Jan 24th, 2007 | 12:10 PM
#9
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Joined: Mar 2004
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December 30
The 6:40am train from Florence to Rome was relatively empty. Most slept - I took the time to update my notes, and read some of MIL's plans for Rome.
This was DW and my 2nd time in Rome. We were here a few years ago on our own in September. I loved the place and DW - not so much. So I was excited to return while DW was the skeptic, but hey considering she could be sitting in MSP she was willing to give it another shot.
We arrived to clear skies and crisp weather. Our hotel was the Adriano www.hoteladriano.com - Located in between the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona and Piazza Popolo. A good launching point for many destinations. It was too early to check in, but we dropped off our luggage while MIL tried to ascertain the meal situation. She had requested the hotel make reservations for numerous meals for us, but it wasn't really clear what was accomplished. The poor guy working the desk that morning didn't know either. MIL was little anxious, but hopefully the next person would know something.
Since we arrived so much earlier then planned we were operating under bonus time, so we deferred from MIL's agenda and started treking. We made it from the Spanish Steps, to Piazza del Popolo and over the Tiber towards the St. Peters. Thus far we hadn't seen many people. The thought crossed my mind that we might luck out on the crowds. As we approached Mussolini's grand blvd entrance to St. Peter's the crowd appearance changed - Rome is packed! There were people everywhere. We originally contemplated going into St. Peters until we saw the line. It was huge - it wrapped around the entire collanade of the square. The only thing we did do was take the time to film the number of people because that was the only way to do it justice. BIL had never been to Rome before and wanted to see the Basilica, but not on this day.
The 6:40am train from Florence to Rome was relatively empty. Most slept - I took the time to update my notes, and read some of MIL's plans for Rome.
This was DW and my 2nd time in Rome. We were here a few years ago on our own in September. I loved the place and DW - not so much. So I was excited to return while DW was the skeptic, but hey considering she could be sitting in MSP she was willing to give it another shot.
We arrived to clear skies and crisp weather. Our hotel was the Adriano www.hoteladriano.com - Located in between the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona and Piazza Popolo. A good launching point for many destinations. It was too early to check in, but we dropped off our luggage while MIL tried to ascertain the meal situation. She had requested the hotel make reservations for numerous meals for us, but it wasn't really clear what was accomplished. The poor guy working the desk that morning didn't know either. MIL was little anxious, but hopefully the next person would know something.
Since we arrived so much earlier then planned we were operating under bonus time, so we deferred from MIL's agenda and started treking. We made it from the Spanish Steps, to Piazza del Popolo and over the Tiber towards the St. Peters. Thus far we hadn't seen many people. The thought crossed my mind that we might luck out on the crowds. As we approached Mussolini's grand blvd entrance to St. Peter's the crowd appearance changed - Rome is packed! There were people everywhere. We originally contemplated going into St. Peters until we saw the line. It was huge - it wrapped around the entire collanade of the square. The only thing we did do was take the time to film the number of people because that was the only way to do it justice. BIL had never been to Rome before and wanted to see the Basilica, but not on this day.
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