annhig

wow Dina,

what a trip.

you crammed in so many wonderful experiences - i hope your kids appreciate you.

looking forward to mroe,

regards, ann

MomDDTravel

Dina - I will be in Florence again for the second time and staying 2 weeks this time. I will be using your resturants! Dd and I will be eating in the apartment a few nights but I am sure will also eat out. I loved the food in Florence and was not as excited about the food in Rome - but think we just did not get to the right resturants.

One question for now for you - I think I would like to rent bikes for a number of days - did you happen to notice if they did that? I will also email our apartment agency...

thanks in advance,
Dawn

dina4

Dawn-- I am so jealous. Two weeks in Florence. That is so great!

The bike rentals were practically the cheapest thing we did in Italy. It was something like 1 euro per hour, and I"m sure you could rent it for more than a day. I'm sorry I don't remember noticing. The place we rented was on the east side of the train station, right in front. It was the only place we saw in the city that rented bikes, and we walked (or rode) all over. Maybe your apt agency will be a bigger help.

If you go to Ciangale Bianco, be sure to get the wild boar pasta. OMG -- we were blown away. But truly everything was so good. the owner waited on us and we pretty much ordered what he recommended.

have fun!
dina

MomDDTravel

I will definately check out the resturant and thank you for the information on the bikes.

cybertraveler

I'm loving your trip report. We just returned from 2 weeks in Italy, but we stayed in Tuscany, Florence and Venice. We'd really like to get to Positano and the Lake district, too. Your report will be a big help as we plan our next trip--thanks!

MomDDTravel

cyber - love your trip report too!!

dina4

Thanks so much for all your kind words. I'm so glad people are finding my report helpful or at least enjoyable. I get so much from this forum, so I'm so happy to give back a little bit...

cybertraveler, we didn't make it to Positano until our 3rd trip to Italy (our first trip sounds just like yours), and even on our third trip, we only got a DAY trip to the lake district. You can never spend enough time in this country!!

dina4

So.. after sightseeing and being busy Milan and Florence, we were ready for some down time again in our favorite spot...

MONTALCINO

This town is world famous for it’s wine, but it is surprisingly and refreshingly quiet and completely unspoiled by tourists. We absolutely love it here. It is the perfect Tuscan location for our family: great wine for mom and dad, a hotel with a pool for the kids, excellent restaurants that we can walk to, and loads of charm.

Highlights:

1. Staying at Hotel Dei Capitano in rooms with a view. And what a view -- the entire valley spread below you like a patchwork quilt. And what a value -- 115 euro per room per night! The pool and breakfast terrace have the same views. Another slice of heaven, here, trust me. (I'm not sure why this hotel doesn't get more kudos in guidebooks and on this forum. Maybe it's because the hosts/owners seem a bit socially awkward and don't come across as being very friendly.)

2. The quiet, cobblestone streets and friendly locals.

3. Having lunch every day with a view at Osticcio. The owners of this enoteca are wonderful people, and their food and wine selections are amazing. (We left the kids at the pool with some money to go buy pizza for lunch, and did this on our own.) If you go to Montalcino, do not miss this place.

4. Dinner at Il Pozzo. The owners from Osticcio recommended to us their favorite place to have dinner. It’s just outside of Montalcino in Sant’Angelo in Colle. There are two restaurants in the town, and they recommended Il Pozzo for delicious, authentic Tuscan food. The food was fantastic and the experience of being in a tiny town with no tourists was great. We were clearly the only tourists around.

5. Dinner at Il Grifo. Their pizza is to die for.

6. Driving through the wineries and countryside below the town. It’s not like Napa Valley, where you can just stop in and taste. Most of the wineries are closed to visitors unless you have an appointment. We did our tastings in town, and just enjoyed the drive.

7. Day trip: (well, actually, a late afternoon trip) We stopped in PIENZA, a charming town we had wanted to visit again. Bought a wheel of pecorino to bring home. Also checked out the lovely road to MONTICHIELLO, a very quiet, charming town. Had fantastic gelato at the Osteria La Porta and headed home.

8. The wine... Brunello for lunch and dinner. My husband was in heaven. He also spent a lot of time (I mean A LOT of time) in the wine shops throughout town.

9. Our leisurely routine: sleep in, breakfast on the terrace, read/lounge by the pool, lunch at the enoteca, read/lounge by the pool, shop or take a drive in the late afternoon, shower/relax, walk to dinner. Aahh.... (I feel relaxed just rereading this paragraph!!)


Our Only Disappointment:

Dinner at Grapolo Blu. We had eaten here a few years ago and loved it. Tonight, the friendly owners we remember were not around and the waiter was easily the 2nd most unfriendly person we encountered on our trip (the only other being the Villa Krupp hostess on Capri). The food was really mediocre for all four of us. On top of that, we all ordered 2 courses, like usual, but for some reason he decided to bring them in 3 courses according to how they were listed on the menu (appetizer, pasta, and main meal), so that at least one person had no food in front of them for each course and had to wait until the others finished so his/her course could be served! Crazy!

At this point our trip was sadly almost over. Our next and last stop would be Rome...

MomDDTravel

I wanted to follow up on the bike rental in case anyone every needs the information. Lisa, from ItalyPerfect emailed me back this morning:

Florence By Bike
via San Zanobi 120/122r - Firenze
tel: +39 055 488992
fax: +39 055 488992
E-Mail: [email protected]
http://www.florencebybike.it

Olim Risciò
via del Leone 35 - Firenze
tel: +39 328 5910979
fax: +39 055 6235214
E-Mail: [email protected]
http://www.olimfirenze.com

Samsaf

dina, does the Hotel Dei Capitano have a website? I wasn't able to find one, but I did look at their reviews and pictures on tripadvisor, and it looks like a wonderful place to stay.

Thanks for your report!

dina4

Samsaf --

here's the website for Hotel dei Capitani (I had spelled it wrong!) The rooms are simple, but very comfortable -- certainly not luxurious. The setting, like I said, is spectacular, and the breakfast is delicious.

http://www.deicapitani.it/homepage.php



Dawn --
Thanks for posting the bike info. I would have loved to have had that before our trip.

fyi: i looked at the website of the first one and it seems much more sophisticated (and possibly expensive) than the place we used -- which seemed a like a local guy with a bunch of green bikes with no website, store front, or phone #. We just signed and give him a drivers license.


Dina

missypie

Regarding the two courses being served as three, we had this experience in quite a few reataurants in Italy. We are really low-key and polite and I don't think we come across as "ugly Americans." However, we had the (paranoid)feeling that the waiters thought we were too dumb to know to order all the courses and they were teaching us a lesson. We may not speak the language well, and we may not have followed the local custom to a T, but a little human kindness would be in order...a 10 year old child orders pasta as her one and only course and she's the only one who orders pasta, so she's supposed to eat it when no one else is eating? Do Italian children really order all the courses? Or, do the parents say, "Please bring her pasta when you bring our..." and we didn't know how to say that?

dina4

Missypie, we have spent 5 weeks total in Italy with our kids and have eaten at a restaurant for dinner every single night of those nights. That had NEVER happened to us before. It was insane and completely unenjoyable.

Dayle

dina,

Still loving the report! The Palio sounds like an amazing experience. Kind of like staying overnight to stake out your place for the Rose Parade!

I loved Montalcino too and, of course, the Brunello. That's really disappointing to have a poor meal at Grappolo Blu. I wonder if Luciano & Mariapia were on vacation or something?

It occured to me that maybe your waiter thought the family was going to share and all sample the pasta course? I've seen a lot of people do that, but I've also been asked by the waiter if we wanted this or that course served at the same time. Even when I was dining solo.

Do continue!

Hokie2001

dina4,

Thanks for these posts - they are wonderfuly informative! My husband and I are planning a last hurrah (aka "baby-moon&quot trip before our baby arrives in January 2009 to Tuscany/Montalcino for 10 days in September. It will be our first time visiting Italy, and his first time to Europe.

Again, your posts have provided many great ideas for the itinerary and for excellent places to eat. Can't wait to check it out!

Any ideas for walking tours or olive orchard tours??

Thanks!

Leely2

Dina, I've been enjoying your report. Can't wait to read about Rome. Do you think Dei Capitani would work with a younger child (say 4 or so)?

Thanks very much for posting this. Entertaining and useful.

dina4

Sorry for the delay. I'll try to finish now.

Leely,
There was another family at the Dei Capitani with two little kids. I think it's the best choice for young kids because of the pool. It's hard to find a hotel INSIDE a hill town with a pool. The benefit of being in town is that you can walk to dinner and to get gelato, etc.

Hokie,
That sounds like a wonderful trip you're planning with your young family! Unfortunately, we never took any olive orchard or walking tours, so I can't help you there.

Dayle,
I thought maybe the owners were on vacation or something too. It was very different than I remember it. And I don't think he thought we would share, because we had gotten in the habit of ordering by saying, "First, I'll have the... And second, I'll..." etc. Seriously, if he had been friendly and warm, I would give him the benefit of the doubt, but honestly he never even smiled.

okay... on to Rome

dina4

ROME

We have spent time in Rome with our kids in the past and seen many of the major sights and museums, so this very short stay (2 nights, 1.5 days) was more about soaking up the feeling of just being there and exploring some areas we hadn’t in the past.


Highlights:

1. Popping into churches. No need to have a long detailed list. Your best bet is to just to take a break from wherever you’re heading if you see a church. Chances are very high that you will be blown away by the beauty once you step inside. On top of that, you’ll have a cool and lovely place to rest your legs for your bit. (Keep a thin scarf stuffed in your purse that can easily cover your shoulders if you’re sleeveless)

2. Capitoline Musuem: The giant statues of feet and arms are great for kids (and adults!). We also loved the view of the forum from the Tabularium.

3. Seeing the Tiber at dusk. It was quite lovely at this time of day. I never realized they had bars set up along the banks, as well as outdoor market stalls. It must be quite a scene there after dark.

4. Re-visiting the Borghese Gallerie. We had been before and enjoyed the guided tour, but my daughter and I went again this year on our own, just to see those gorgeous Bernini statues. Wow!

5. Exploring the Trastevere area. We went at in the late afternoon / early evening. Very cute, charming neighborhood. Had a drink and snack in the main piazza, and then dinner at another whose name escapes me -- it was fine, nothing special.

6. Dinner at Pierluigi. This place is amazing. Tell them to “just take care of you”, and they will bring incredible things to your table. We’ve eaten here twice, and it was recommended by a friend who lives in Rome. Absolutely fantastic!

7. Being presented with a gold fleur di lis charm from Florence by my husband and kids, who bought it as a surprise / thank you for planning our trip.

Disappointments:

1, I had my long list of restaurants to try (complete with addresses), and as we approached each one for lunch on Sunday, we found out each one was closed. A big bummer when everyone is hot, tired, and STARVING.

2. The food we ate in Rome was good (not great). Perhaps it was just the restaurants we ended up in, but we only got one GREAT meal in Rome, and that was at Pierluigi (see above).

3. All around Rome there were these orange bike stalls, where you could rent a bike and then return it at any of the other orange stalls throughout the city. There was no body to help you, just a phone # to call. Our concierge knew nothing about it, so I called the number and was told that the bikes were not for tourists, only for people who live in Rome. Too bad!

Biggest disappointment:

Having our trip come to an end.

As we’re sending our oldest to college this month, and our youngest will be soon be driving, I really made an effort to enjoy every moment of our time together.
Sure, with the cost of the euro and rising inflation, the trip was much more expensive than we anticipated.
But three weeks of family togetherness was truly priceless.

missypie

Ah, possibly the last big trip together...of course, my son (a rising senior) refuses to consider that there may be a time where he doesn't come along on family vacations....hope he doesn't change his mind!

mikster

Hi Dina...thank you so much for your wonderful report. My husband and I are off to Rome and then on to Sardinia on September 5th. We will try Pierluigi as it sounds wonderful. Of those restaurants that you wanted to try and were closed, would you mind telling me what some of them were?

Thanks so much.