kathcoll

About us and the kind of travel we enjoy:

Daniella and I met when we both started working at Washington Hospital Center in DC in 1985. We have both passed our 60th birthdays, and both still love our careers as nurses.

We began travelling together about 10 years ago, having mutual love for exploring other places and seeing with our own eyes the beauty of our world, and the wonders man has created. We spend at least two weeks of precious vacation time away from our families, and off on our own.

We have definite low budget preferences for travel, and have the capacity to spend 12 hours walking, though we have regretfully given up the treks up to the top of towers (our knees know our ages!) We prefer B&Bs chosen with primary consideration for cleanliness, safety, economy, and location (near transportation when we don't have a car, like this trip). We usually have whatever breakfast our B&B provides, at least one meal of a packed sandwich and a piece of fruit,, and our other meal tends to be with less emphasis on gastronomic wonders and dining, and more on convenience and basic, home style eating.

Our "splourge" is the sights we want to see. While we will debate the cost of a meal and bypass the wonderful personal guided tours that cost more than a couple nights lodging, we unstintingly will shell out entrance fees.

This is our 11 day excursion to explore the basics of Rome and Florence.

March 13
We flew United by a codeshare. On arrival at the airport we found that the seats we were told were ours were not reserved for us, and we joined a list of at least 28 waiting for seat assignment at the gate. Among the last names called we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in business class - a perfect start to our trip!!!!

Arriving fresh from a good if short sleep, we followed our B&B host's instructions to arrive at Alla Cupola di San Pietro Rome. (70 euro per night for 4 nights). This two room B&B was perfect for us - about 1 km from St Peters Square. Great art deco building with freshly renovated facility including a kitchen.

After settling in and sharing a coffee with our host, we strolled through St. Peter's Square and on to Castel Sant'Angelo, bought our Roma passes and a couple single trip tickets for transportation for our 4th day, and on to visit to Villa Borghese gardens and the Burghese Museum (reservations made before the trip)

March 14, 4009
This was our day for the Vatican. Starting with our pre-arranged Scavi tour. I think I was more excited by this than my friend who does not share my Catholic heritage. There is such an awesome, almost overwhelming feeling to travel to the ancient remains of the first century burial place deep under St. Peter's cathedral. While the church does not claim absolutely that the bone fragments are the actual remain of St. Peter, there is supportive evidence for the claim. Not a doubting Thomas, I readily accept the theory these were Peter's bones. And I saw them myself. WOW

Then immediately after we proceeded to the Vatican Museums. While the Rafael rooom and the Sistine Chapel are the obvious highlights, don't rush through the rest. I was particularly impressed by the tapestry museum. I used to be a docent for the US National herb garden's dye plant garden. I will always love the wonderful natural colors of organic dyes. And as a needlepoint and cross stitch fan, imagining the hours of skilled effort to produce such works impresses and enthralls me.

Words can't express the awe of the Sistine Chapel. Amazing, wonderous...you just need to wait for an open spot on the benches and sit and try to absorb it. While we had known of the no-camera rule, on this occassion simply everyone seemed to have cameras pointed up. We joined the effort as the guards didn't seem to mind.

We used Rick Steves free podcats for both St. Peters and the Sistine Chapel. It is definitely worth the minimal effort to download the podcasts and use these as supplements to the information we had read in preparation for the trip. I'm not a big fan of group tours - we would have definitely have been greatly limited in our explorations if we hadn't been on our own.

Then, since 6+ hours of walking and gawking didn't tire us yet we headed to the Roman ruins for a preview of our adventures for tomorrow.


March 15
How could we miss the Museo Nazionale Romano - Rome's National museums? We literally walked in circles looking for the museums, giving up, went to visit a church or two, and ended up asking in an information center. Only to find that when we left Termini train station we walked right passed the places we were looking for...obviously our map-reading capacity was limited this day! Off to a slow start, but our day was great anyway as we further explored the wonders of Rome. We went on to Circus Maximus, the Temple of Vesta, and Bocca della Verita -the mouth of the truth.

March 16
We visited The Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, the cathedral of the Church of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope. Then we explored ancient Rome - visited the Coleseum, enjoyed a picnic lunch in the gardens atop Palentine Hill, trouped through the Forum, admired Trajan's column. We used both Rick Steves free podcasts and a Walki-talki podcast, but still managed to set off in our own, trying to explore and enjoy -immensely greatful that we were here in early spring rather than a Roman summer. We also visited San Pietro in Vincoli and saw the chains used to bind St. Peter as well as Michelangelo’s beautiful Moses.

March 17
The train to Florence took a bit longer than planned - we started out heading in the wrong direction and had to switch trains...but eventually we got there. When we tried to ask track information we were told to look it up on the arrivals and departure boards. On the FM3 Cesano line the binari listed is wrong so we were heading away from the city rather than towards Termini. One planning effort I would change is to spend more time investigating train schedules. You can't count on being able to find the right track (not a problem, obviously with the Metro, but we were about a mile from the nearest metro stop and 300 meters from San Pietro train station.)
Finally in Florence we walked the 5 minutes trek from the station to our B&B. The B&B, Hotel Delle Camelie (50 euro/night for 6 nights prepaid discounted rate) was perfect for us - inexpensive, good location, clean, comfortable...and a small balcony overlooking a courtyard.

TDudette

Am with you in spirit in Rome! Looking forward to the rest of your report!

dina4

Thanks for your report!

I was thinking of trying Rick Steves podcast for our trip to the Vatican musuems as well. It's a lot cheaper for a family of 4, and it would be our second visit. It sounds like you found them worthwhile?

Leely2

I am enjoying this very much--feel as I'm there with you and your friend. Looking forward to the next installment.

MelJ

This is a great report. I can recall walking in your steps last October and I'm enjoying it again through you. I had the same feelings about the Scavi Tour--a definite highlight--and I was in awe at seeing St. Peter's bones, too. I didn't expect that.

Looking forward to hearing what you thought of Florence.

bfrac

I am enjoying your report and looking forward to Florence.

kathcoll

Thank you for your encouragement!

Dina4, I would definitely recommend Rick Steves podcasts...its like having Rick with you. While I definitely hadinterest in things he doesn't mention, you just pause between segments and open again when you're where he went next. If you have an Itouch you even get photos to help you find what he's talking about.

I found the Walki-talki.com Forum and ancient areas tape easier to follow - maybe because it came with a map printout. But since the area is so huge we still wandered off and couldn't find things right away.

Still far better than paying for all those guides...Rick has some for the major museums in Florence, too. Download and listen before you leave to see if it will work for you.

kathcoll

MARCH 18th
Usually we don't take tours, but we wanted to maximize our experiences in Tuscany, so we arranged for The Best of Tuscany Tour. So much to see, so little time...

Our guide, Sandra was excellent. In Siena a guided visit with entrance fee for the cathedral is included, but you are free to choose to discover and explore on your own. Leaving Siena, we headed for a wine estate for lunch of: Pasta alla Puttanesca (pasta with fresh tomatoes and mixed vegetable sauce), a plate of Tuscan ham + Salami + two kinds of Pecorino (local sheep cheese) + Bruschetta, mixed salad, and Cantuccini (almond biscuits) to dip into Vin Santo (dessert wine). A tasting of local wines, extra virgin olive oil and honeys is also included. Next is a visit to San Gimignano, a beautiful feudal walled hill town. We had a great time, but almost missed our bus here - in this tiny little town we got lost...actually when it was getting close to time to leave I asked a gentleman "dov'e parking lot?" He helpfully pointed to a Parking sign, which we followed across town in the wrong direction, ending at a gate to car parking...as we ran back we asked for directions to the Duomo in the center of town - its easy to find the bus parking from there. I always HATE people who are inconsiderate of others on bus trips and I was so embarrassed! I expected to have to find a bus back to Florence, but they waited 10 minutes for us.

On the ride through the Chianti region enroute to Pisa, we watched a video of the Palio horserace. Then arrived at our last destination, Pisa.

kathcoll

MARCH 19th

Today we discover Florence!

We have reservations that Antonio made for us for 10am, but we saved the 3 euro reservation fee because there was no line first thing in the morning. David is certainly the star of the show but we did have a good time walking around the rest of the exhibits. We didn't know at the time that the copy by Palazza Vecchio was being restored so we didn't get any photos. Michealangelo's comtemplative David is beautiful. Certainly far more David-like to me than Donatello's fop with the hat!

Next we went around the corner to the little-visited Museum of Precious Stones (Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure) which features room after room of exquisite mosaics of inlaid stones and semi-precious gems., and upstairs is a 18th centurey workshop with tools of the trade.

We've passed the Duomo several times, admiring the doors and hearing about changes in art over the centuries coming to full fruition during th e Renassaince.
Now we'll spend the day touring the Duomo, the Baptistry and the museum, then heading to the Ponte Vecchio.

This was the location of our one unintentional splurge - we got gelottos that cost 6 euro each, which is most of our food budget for the day! The same size cones near the Pantheon in Rome cost 3 euro. Oh, well - it was good

There are some really great shops for window-shopping along the Arno's banks and we enjoyed a walk up to the church of Santa Maria Novella. As an avid herb gardener for years, I had to check out the herbarium at the Pharmacy there.

Another full day!

marigross

Thanks for the report, keep writing!

bfrac

I didn't know about the Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure. Thanks for mentioning it, my husband will love it.

kathcoll

I'm not sure if this link will work, but if it des, its photos from our rip
http://kathcoll.shutterfly.com/1543

peaceinonano

Love your stories. I am a nurse in Ohio and will be visiting the same areas in May for the first time with husband and friends. We feel a little lost about approaching Rome and Florence. You make it sound so easy! How's the weather?

adrienne

Gorgeous photos - the link worked fine.

kathcoll

Peaceinonana,
I have found that everywhere I've been in Europe, the tansportation system makes getting from place to place easy. People are wonderful and try so hard to help you. Preparing and setting an itinerary with slightly more than you think you can accomplish - then you can decide how to use your time wisely. I've found that nursing is great preparation for traveling - we are used to being on our feet for 12+hours!
We had one day with rain in the late afternoon, followed by a cold and windy 2 days...I had to buy a pair of leather gloves in Florence because I hadn't brought gloves :}
Email me [email protected] if I can help you

Oh, we don't speak Italian though my friend speaks Spanish.
Staying in major tourist areas you get by fine with basic courtesy vocabulary and "where" - most of my questions were for directions with map in hand.

kathcoll

the photo link isn't working for everyone, but if yu use this, the Rome and Florence photobook is top of left column
http://kathcoll.shutterfly.com/

kathcoll

We started by walking down to Santa Croce - the Renaissance's maussuleum of the rich and famous.

The tomb of Michaelangelo is immediately to the right as you enter; he chose this spot so that the first thing he would see on Judgment Day, when the graves of the dead fly open, would be Brunelleschi's dome through Santa Croce's open doors.

The tomb of Galileo is on the left wall though he was not granted a Christian burial until 100 years after his death.

The tomb of Niccolò Machiavelli, the political theoretician whose brutally pragmatic philosophy so influenced the Medici, is halfway down the nave on the right.

The grave of Lorenzo Ghiberti, creator of the Baptistery doors, is halfway down the nave on the left.

Composer Rossini is at the end of the nave on the right. Dante's memorial (not tomb -he is buried in Ravenna); it's on the right wall near the tomb of Michelangelo.

The collection of art includes Giotto frescoes in the two chapels immediately to the right of the high altar. They illustrate scenes from the lives of St. John the Evangelist and St. John the Baptist (in the right-hand chapel) and scenes from the life of St. Francis (in the left-hand chapel).

Other highlights are Donatello's Annunciation and 14th-century frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi illustrating scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary

Next we headed for the Bargello.

I'll never understand why there aren't lines for the Bargello museum - it is simply fantastic! We just walked up - no line, no crowds, just masterpieces by Michelangelo, such as his Bacchus, Pitti Tondo (or Madonna and Child), Brutus and David-Apollo.

I have to admit I think Donatello's David in bronze is almost laughable. This is one of the most famous pieces of Italian Renaissance sculpture one of the symbols of Florence. I just don't get the naked David in boots and feathered hat.

This is also where I made a major photography mistake. I had been freely taking pictures blissfully unaware that I shouldn't have been doing so. I get to Donatello's room. There's a lot of people in this room so I got up closer to take a shot - I had missed the opportunity to take a shot of the copy of Michelangelo's version.
An employee came up to me and said what I thought was "step back" so I backed up - hey I wasn't that close, but whatever she wants is okay with me. I am busy focusing from my new position and this woman almost is fuming and grabs my arm...that's when I realized she had said "in bag" telling me to put my camera away. Oops!

kathcoll

March 21
MARCH 21st
3 of 12

MARCH 21st

We continued our explorations of Florence's many churches, excellent artwork and holiday ambiance. We also spent some time browsing through the street markets around San Lorenzo. Danny bought a really nice black leather purse, and I gave in to the cold weather we had for a couple days, and bought fur lined leather gloves ;}

We had about the best cappuccino I've ever had at the Mercato Centrale- for 1 euro each. We also found some really great cheeses and whole grain bread that became a major part of our lunch for the next couple days.

San Lorenzo is the oldest church in a town full of ancient churches, and has a rather plain exterior. It is, however the burial place of the Medici family.

Medici Palace and Chapel were also on our Medici-themed day. Palazzo Medici Riccardi on Via Cavour was built in the 1440s as a Medici residence near the family church of San Lorenzo. Later the palace was sold to the Riccardi family and today it houses the offices of the Prefecture and of the Province.

The entrance has a unique exhibit. One person can stand and point at an interactive print of the frescoes in the chapel. The computer then enlarges the area pointed to and tells who was the model for that part of the fresco. It sounds corny, but its fun and does help you appreciate the beautiful Chapel of the Magi. There is also an exhibit of medieval style clothing.