Ciao from Italy (Monica)
Jul 21st, 2006, 01:12 PM
#81
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Mauld,
You won't want to bike up to Montefioralle! Too hilly.
As for lunch, when you get to the beginning of the town, the building is on the left side (first building you come to) and their outdoor seating is on the right side facing the valley. You can't miss it!
Monica
You won't want to bike up to Montefioralle! Too hilly.
As for lunch, when you get to the beginning of the town, the building is on the left side (first building you come to) and their outdoor seating is on the right side facing the valley. You can't miss it!
Monica
Oct 3rd, 2006, 04:24 AM
#83
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Hi Monica!
Yes I did, although I arrived too early to eat at the little restaurant outside of town. I took the 8:30 am bus into Greve in Chianti and (at first) found the Saturday market to be a bit dowdy, as all I initially saw were stands with cheap clothing, odds & ends and the kind of stuff you'd find at $1.00 Stores in the US. (My opinion changed later on, if you coninue to read this). So I figured I'd do the walk up to Montefioralle and after a bit of asking for directions, I was on my way. You were right to let me know how steep the climb up the road was!! But the views on my right side were fantastic, as were the abundant wine groves to my left. At the entrance to Montefioralle, I begun my walk to the left up to the church, unfortunately the church was locked and after several attempts to walk around it for the views, I came back down and continued my circular walk around the town. (It actually took me 1 1/2 times around before I realized, I kept walking in the same circle around the village (duh!). You are right, it is very small, but charming. It was about 11 when I was leaving the town, so the restaurant was still not open (although they were in the process of setting up tables etc.), so I walked back down (much easier
, on the way it began to rain--but I did have my umbrella so not a big deal. Back in Greve in Chianti, I entered the market from the back and found wonderful stands selling cheeses, fruits, meats etc where I happily compiled a take away lunch for myself. I also began to explore all the shoppes surrounding the market area and made a number of purchases. I caught the 1:30pm bus back to Florence, where the rain turned into a major downpour. But it didn't deter me from taking the city bus to Fisole, although the rain did curtail my exploration of the Etruscian sites.
Thank you so much for the information!
Yes I did, although I arrived too early to eat at the little restaurant outside of town. I took the 8:30 am bus into Greve in Chianti and (at first) found the Saturday market to be a bit dowdy, as all I initially saw were stands with cheap clothing, odds & ends and the kind of stuff you'd find at $1.00 Stores in the US. (My opinion changed later on, if you coninue to read this). So I figured I'd do the walk up to Montefioralle and after a bit of asking for directions, I was on my way. You were right to let me know how steep the climb up the road was!! But the views on my right side were fantastic, as were the abundant wine groves to my left. At the entrance to Montefioralle, I begun my walk to the left up to the church, unfortunately the church was locked and after several attempts to walk around it for the views, I came back down and continued my circular walk around the town. (It actually took me 1 1/2 times around before I realized, I kept walking in the same circle around the village (duh!). You are right, it is very small, but charming. It was about 11 when I was leaving the town, so the restaurant was still not open (although they were in the process of setting up tables etc.), so I walked back down (much easier
, on the way it began to rain--but I did have my umbrella so not a big deal. Back in Greve in Chianti, I entered the market from the back and found wonderful stands selling cheeses, fruits, meats etc where I happily compiled a take away lunch for myself. I also began to explore all the shoppes surrounding the market area and made a number of purchases. I caught the 1:30pm bus back to Florence, where the rain turned into a major downpour. But it didn't deter me from taking the city bus to Fisole, although the rain did curtail my exploration of the Etruscian sites. Thank you so much for the information!
Oct 3rd, 2006, 11:25 AM
#84
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Hi Mauld,
Great report on your visit to Greve and Montefiroalle! Glad you got out there to see the town and enjoy the market. Too bad you missed the restaurant for lunch, but I'm sure your picnic lunch was yummy!
Monica
Great report on your visit to Greve and Montefiroalle! Glad you got out there to see the town and enjoy the market. Too bad you missed the restaurant for lunch, but I'm sure your picnic lunch was yummy!
Monica
Oct 3rd, 2006, 03:05 PM
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re: Montefioralle. If you liked the area, Mauld, I can recommend the place we stayed, a wonderful agriturismo just up the road: Podere Torre. We walked (down, for us!) to La Castellana one night for dinner and had the most amazing time and meal.
Oct 5th, 2006, 05:48 AM
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I'm leaving next week on a trip to Lake Como and Venice. I have a Bank of America ATM/debit card with a VISA logo on it. I called to let them know I would be in Italy. A couple of suggestions: verify your daily withdrawel limit and remember it will be in Euros so it won't be as much, also verify the point of sale limit should you want to use your atm for purchases which I frequently do. Also, verify any transaction or withdrawel fees. BOA has a partnership with Deutsche banks which are throughout Italy so the only fee is their normal transaction fee for using a non BOA bank - I've read other banks charge an additional $5.00 withdraw fee! Hope this helps.
Dec 7th, 2007, 04:23 AM
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Hi Monica. Enjoyed your report, thanks.
We are planning to spend a couple of nights in Bologna next June and after lots of work on hotels I have a (not very) short list including the Paradise and the University. I'm thinking the University looks nicer but I saw your Tripadvisor review where you said you didn't like the area as much ? I appreciate you were travelling on your own, but did it actually seem dodgy, or just rowdy ? Also, on the map the two places don't look far apart, so how would you describe the difference ? In know some reviewers have found the University noisy, but we are used to living in city centres and hearing beery ranting
I'm aiming not to pay more than €100pn for a double in June and other hotels near the top of my current shortlist are the Hotel Touring, the Albergo delle Drapperie, the Centrale, Accademia, Holiday.
I'd be very grateful for any further advice you can offer - thanks very much.
We are planning to spend a couple of nights in Bologna next June and after lots of work on hotels I have a (not very) short list including the Paradise and the University. I'm thinking the University looks nicer but I saw your Tripadvisor review where you said you didn't like the area as much ? I appreciate you were travelling on your own, but did it actually seem dodgy, or just rowdy ? Also, on the map the two places don't look far apart, so how would you describe the difference ? In know some reviewers have found the University noisy, but we are used to living in city centres and hearing beery ranting
I'm aiming not to pay more than €100pn for a double in June and other hotels near the top of my current shortlist are the Hotel Touring, the Albergo delle Drapperie, the Centrale, Accademia, Holiday.
I'd be very grateful for any further advice you can offer - thanks very much.
Dec 7th, 2007, 06:35 AM
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Hi Caroline,
I didn’t like the University area because I saw a lot of homeless people, both old and young, sitting with their dogs and their camping gear (although they didn’t have much) drinking their bottles of booze. I felt uncomfortable walking by, so I figured I wouldn’t like it at night, especially being alone. Maybe there are other parts of the University area that I would feel safer, but I didn’t go back to that area.
The Paradise is just off the main avenue, so it was a good location to get to the train station and to the main piazza. There’s a great tiny restaurant across the street from the hotel too.
I had Albergo delle Drapperie on my list too, but they were booked during my travel dates. I think they were the ones that offered me an apartment, but I wanted to stay in a hotel. I was quite happy with Paradise.
Hope this helps!
Monica
I didn’t like the University area because I saw a lot of homeless people, both old and young, sitting with their dogs and their camping gear (although they didn’t have much) drinking their bottles of booze. I felt uncomfortable walking by, so I figured I wouldn’t like it at night, especially being alone. Maybe there are other parts of the University area that I would feel safer, but I didn’t go back to that area.
The Paradise is just off the main avenue, so it was a good location to get to the train station and to the main piazza. There’s a great tiny restaurant across the street from the hotel too.
I had Albergo delle Drapperie on my list too, but they were booked during my travel dates. I think they were the ones that offered me an apartment, but I wanted to stay in a hotel. I was quite happy with Paradise.
Hope this helps!
Monica
Dec 10th, 2007, 09:35 AM
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Let me know which you choose and if you end up near the University area, I'd love to get your comments. I plan to return to Bologna some day, as I loved the city and the atmosphere of the city.
Monica
Monica
