Finally!! Halfway to Italy!!!
 

Finally my days to go is less than the # of days(139 down/138 to go)since I first put into motion my first trip to Italy!!!

I originaly booked an escorted tour with Gl**us. But after finding this site and absorbing the insights from all the seasoned travelers here at Fodors and a few other sites, I canceled the tour(lost only a $200 deposit)and now am going to Italy myself.

I am flying into Venice for 2 nights, staying at Corte Contarina. Plan on taking in the usual sites and just walking throughout the city, and with my sense of direction, getting lost multiple times,and just taking everything in.

Then taking the train to Florence for 5 nights, staying at Pensione Ferretti. I have booked day trips to Siena and San Gimignano. I am looking at some of the options that are offered by Accidental Tourist, especially the cooking ones(I cook for a living) Of course I will spend at least 2 days doing Florence proper. I was wondering, all of you out there, do you think Pisa is a must see? Have read mixed reviews. Or any other suggestions for day trips are very welcomed.

Then once again on the train down to Rome for 5 nights. I still havent picked a hotel, so once again, suggestions are welcome. Looking in the 125-150(or less if the location is right)euro per night? This part of the trip is still in the planning stages. I have planned one whole day to do the Vatican, St Peters, etc...

Any help is greatly appriciated. I am an avid photographer, love history and arcitechture(sp?) and of course have a love for great food!!

Once again, thanks again in advance for all of your help.

Tom

PS Hi to Loveitaly, elaine and tiff

Hi TRSW,

>..I canceled the tour(lost only a $200 deposit)and now am going to Italy myself.<

Good for you.

>do you think Pisa is a must see?

No.

I suggest a day in Orvieto. It's about 1 hr from Rome by train.

You could also do an overnight there on your way from Florence to Rome.

((I))

Is it noon where you are yet, Tom? If so, then this is for you! ((D))

Congrats about being past the half way mark, the closer you get baby, the closer we get, Yeah!

<I am an avid photographer.> Make sure you bring black and white film, unless of course you are bringing a digital, then please disregard above advice, hee. I ADORE my black and whites, there was this rainy day in Rome, and OH MY, what great photography, I am completely an amateur, but I humbly think I have a good eye (at least one anyway, hee!) If you are a great photographer, you will be in heaven.

My best Tom, keep me posted on the days, I'm right behind you! And don't we have some fantastic trip reports to keep us going?!? :S- Tiff

When in San Gimignano, when it is time to use the restroom do NOT use the public one on the side street! It is just a hole in the floor! It reeks and is very nasty. It is worth it to stop in a restaurant or gelato shop and buy a drink or gelato, anything - to use their restroom! Nice town but horrible public restroom...what some people will do to save a couple euros!

Tiff - It's only 10:30 right now in Seattle, but hey, I'll start the holiday weekend early!!! LOL

As for the Black and White photos, Already in my plans. Like you, I find B&W just soo moody. Thats how I got hooked on photography way back when. My high school only had a B&W lab set-up. It was such a blast messing around in the darkroom, especially doing high contrast shots. And yes, it is great reading all these trip reports. Gives me alot of suggestions on what to do and where to eat.

Ira - Thanks for the suggestion about going to Orvieto.

Geckolips - Thanks for the heads up on the bathroom.

You're closer than me, Tom. I have 148 days to go for my second trip.

Congrats on getting closer! You are going to fall in love with Italy.

Tommy Tom, are you still there? 'Ralstonlan' has saved us, check out his thread, and then the site in the thread, it's fantastic! We can make it now!
Eureka! LOL :) T.

oops, here, now you have it, in the midst of my excitement, I forgot to paste the thread I wanted you to see!

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34626201

Tiff-

Thanks for the heads up. Actually I saw the post from him earlier and bookmarked the site. I also have the Sorrento webcam bookmarked.

I cant remember if I have seen you and your husbands itinerary for your trip. Would you mind filling me in? And if you dont mind me asking, where are you from?

Thanks,

Tom

Good morning Tom,

No I don't mind you asking at all, my husband and I live in the Minneapolis.

Upon planning our next trip to the Caribbean (we always take a warm weather trip to escape the cold, snowy winters), we decided we could wait for Italy no longer, and changed our destination. At first, we were thinking of April, 2006, but relieve immediately hit my husband's face when I said maybe we should go late Jan, early Feb.
(the time of year we usually travel) It is a quieter time of year for his business, thus much easier for him to be away and not be concerned the entire time.

At first we were only going to go to Florence. (I have been to Rome and Florence once before - he has never been to Italy.) But as the planning continued, we decided to add Venice. I posted here and got so many great responses. One of my favorites, because of the responses, was a post I titled, Why do you love Venice?" Take a look if you want to, we were trying to decide if we should go there as well, we were really leaning towards it, and I adored the replies.

So the end of January, we fly into Florence, stay 4 1/2 days, train to Venice and stay 4 1/2 days, fly home from there.

We are very excited, and actually the more I read, the more happy we are that we are going in a slower season. It is more our style. We like less of a touristy feel.

The weather that time of year, whatever heather! We'll dress appropriately. I hope it works out. I also posted another thread, something like, “Would we be crazy to go to Florence in January?” Got some encouraging responses there, too.

Excited for you! It is fun looking forward to it, isn’t it? I thought of you immediately when I saw the webcam post, that will get it through!

My best wishes! Have a safe Memorial Day weekend out in lovely Seattle, looks like you are getting some GREAT weather, Tiff

p.s. BTW, I think you have a really amount of days in each city of your trip.
And with your profession, you are going to LOVE Italy. The food, the wine, the bread, the gelato, Ahhhhh!

p.s.s. I used to live in Seattle, loved it, great part of the country!

oops, sorry, that was meant to read "really NICE amount of days".

:">

Tiff

Thanks for answering my questions. And I am now addicted to the webcam. Watched the sunrise yesterday. I will be sure to take good notes and post a trip report when I get back.

I have been here in Seattle now for 12 years and cant see living anywhere else. Unless I could get ajob as a cook in Italy!!!

Hope you and Mr Tiff are having a great weekend also.

Tom

Well it is now down to 107 days to go!!! The last three weeks have flown by!!

Finally made a choice as where to stay in Rome. I have rented an apartment near Piazza Navona through sleepinitaly.com for 90 euro per night. www.sleepinitaly.com/files/apt_leuto.html This is going to be great!!

Tiff and Statia - What are your countdowns at now?

This has to be one of the most BOOOOOOORRRRIIING 1/2-sided cellphone conversations I've ever heard.

Quite clogging up the internet and this board and either have a one-on-one email exchange or get on the real telephone.

AuntIda - You must be having a hard time dealing with "the change of life" or are you just bitter about life in general?

Have a nice day!! Big smoochies!

Tom

LOL, Tom.

Mean People Suck.

Indeed my days are dwindling down! Something like 211 now, lol.

I think going the apartment route is an excellent way to get the feel for an area, feels less like a tourist, and also a wonderful way to save money.

I am excited for your journey in October! What a great time of year, not too hot, not too cold...

Statia's stepdaughter has been visiting her, so she hasn't been here much, just in case she doesn't see your post.

Cheers to you ((D)) Tiff

Hi Tom. Hi Tiff.

I'm at 116 days, or 16.5 weeks. It's actually ticking by pretty fast. :)

Hi Tom!!, I will add to this "boring conversation" LOL. I just saw this thread and so glad that you have your trip details worked out. The apartment in Rome sounds ideal Tom.

My daughter & SIL are due back from Rome today, I will be interested in how hot and humid it has been.

I know all of you with reservations are counting the days until your plane takes off for Italy. Although I had planned on going to Italy this September I am going to wait until 2006.

Tom, I lost the note I made to myself regarding the best black & white film to buy. Would you post that again? Thanks, and take good care.

Hi Love,

I think they told us Tri-X.

Tom, will confirm, he's good lad.

:S- Tiff

p.s. Glad your daughter and SIL will be back today.

LoveItaly - Yes it Tri-x for Black and White. Glad to hear your SIL & DD are coming home.

Tiff - The apartment will really come in handy seeing how it has a washing machine, get to pack even lighter now. Not to mention the kitchen...YAY I get to cook in Italy. 211 days eh? Hope they go fast!! And yes...Mean people do suck!!

Statia - You are right behind me! Too cool. I forgot who posted it awhile back, but another way to make the time seem shorter is to look at in how many paychecks left until you leave. (I have 7, number 8 will be deposited while I am in Venice)

Tom

Tom, for the days when you exceptionally do not want to cook, I warmly recommend a tiny hole-in-the-wall near your apartment called Il Fornaio. They sell very good panini and pizza slices as well as a small selection of pastries, and they're open, as far as I recall, until at least 9:00 p.m. Within a convenient hundred feet, there is Il Vinaio, where you can obtain wine.

Memory is a trifle hazy on the exact location, but I think Il Vinaio is on via dei Portoghesi and Il Fornaio kitty-corner to it at the corner of via dei Portoghesi and via dell'Orso.

I certainly enjoyed the evening picnics drawn together from the two places.

Eloise - Thanks for the tip. I will be sure to check it out. It sounds like the kind of places that I want to eat at. Not looking for touristy type places.

As for the cooking, I dont plan on doing alot, just want the opportunity to cook in another country. Do you know of any grocery stores in the area?

Tom

Tom, You can't eat at Il Fornaio; the place is barely large enough to take four people standing up. You point to what you want and, if necessary, indicate the amount you want -- they move the knife along until you say OK ("va bene cosi") -- they cut off the piece, wrap it and slap a price on it, which you pay at the cash squeezed in the corner. Then you take it home and have a picnic.

If I recall correctly, there is a very small grocery store on via dei Portoghesi, near Il Vinaio. But these days every corner of Rome seems to have its "supermercato" -- not what you and I would call a supermarket, but a bit bigger than the tiny grocery stores. Perhaps you can ask the rental agent or one of your neighbours where the closest "supermercato" is.

Oh, and if you want an infinitely superior picnic, then you can go to Volpetti on via della Scrofa to pick up the fixings. I'm not sure that it's related to the famous Volpetti in Testaccio, but it certainly seemed like a high temple of gastronomy to me.

As for nearby restaurants, there are two on via dell'Orso. Orso 80 is much frequented by tourists but has, by and large, maintained its quality. For an ample lunch, have their antipasto misto of about 12 different dishes for 13 Euro. The other is called Lagana, and although it is not mentioned in any guidebook that I am aware of, I had one of my most mediocre and most costly meals there. I would suggest that you avoid it; it is not that "undiscovered little gem" that everyone hopes to find.

On via della Scrofa, avoid Alfredo alla Scrofa; it claims to be the original Alfredo of fettuccine Alfredo, but if it was ever any good back in the 50s and 60s when American film stars used to flock there, it no longer is. Just off via della Scrofa after Alfredo is the vicolo della Campana, where La Campana is located. Again, it is much frequented by tourists, but in my experience, it has maintained its quality, at least at lunch when it is not overrun. Do not go near it on a Saturday evening!

I just did the "cooking" tour with Accidental Tourist earlier this month. We had originally wanted to do the biking tour but it wasn't scheduled for the day we could go and then we were going to do the hiking tour and the person didn't show up that morning. So we did the cooking tour. I am a fairly accomplished home cook, but the cooking tour was learning to make pasta. It was not hard nor very intense and we only made one type of pasta. I am very afraid as a professional cook, you would be very bored in the class especially if you had ever made pasta in the past.

I really liked the tour itself. We were picked up in Florence, drove to a winery and saw where they made the wine and how they did it. Then we drove down the road just a bit farther and had a wine tasting from the same winery and had some olive oil. The olive oil was truly fabulous and was the highlight of the trip for me. It had a smooth pepppery, spicy finish. Worth going on the trip just to be able to buy some of the oil.

Then we got back into the van and drove up to the top of a long, winding hill on a dirt road. Once there we made spinach and ricotta ravioli. The tour guide showed us how to make other types of pasta using the pasta machine. Then they cooked the pasta for lunch. We also had several other courses. This would be a great class for a family especially with kids.

Bon Appetit or Gourmet magazine had an article on cooking schools and food and restaurants either last month or the month before. I bought it and never read it so i can't tell you what it said. If you can't find it, email me and I'll be happy to send you my copy.

You ought to check out Divina cucina for cooking school in Florence and i know there are schools in Rome as well. You might want to search on www.egullet.org for better info on Tuscany and cooking schools.

Florence - We ate a great restaurant called Santo Bevetore i think. The name means "holy spirit" as in saints and wine. A very clever play on words and meanings. I would recommend it as a way to see an updated version of Tuscan food.

I would also suggest going to Orvieto on your way from Florence to Rome. Great town to spend a day in. I wasn't impressed by Siena, but we got lost and drove through town which is a big no-no and we were so freaked out that we just left and went on to San Gimgano which we loved.

Have fun in Italy.

Eloise - Thanks for clarifing that you cant eat in Il Fornaio. Still sounds like a good place to try. I'll check it out. And thanks also for the supermecato info.

Are there any open air markets nearby? I like going to Pike Place Market here in Seattle and seeing what is fresh and making up a meal plan right then and there.

Willamscb13 - Although I cook professionally, believe it or not I have never made pasta from scratch, and I love pasta. Keep telling myself to get myself a pasta machine, but keep putting off.

It was Bon Appetit that had the special issue on Italy. I have a very well thumbed through copy.Thanks anyway on your offer though.

Tom

The closest open-air market (with bakeries, butchers, grocery stores and probably fishmongers around the edge) is every morning (except Sunday) in Campo de Fiori, one of the largest and probably the most famous one in Rome. It shouldn't be more than a 10 to 12 minute walk from your apartment if you take a direct route.

Eloise - As soon as I hit the "post my reply" tab I remembered that in the Bon Appetit issue, there was a section on open air markets including Campo de Fiori.

Hello Tom and Tiff, thank you both so much for reposting the black and white film info. This time I will not lose this information, I promise!

Yes, my SIL and DD arrived home today, late afternoon. It was good to see them and my grandsons were sure happy to have them back home.

Tom, my SIL said when they were not cooking meals in his house in Rome they went to a lot of rosticceria's. Grilled meats, pastas and very good prices. So good it looks like my DD gained about 10 pounds in spite of all the stress they had there, Trip was last moment due to serious problems with the family in Rome, so their budget was on the tight side. So Tom, this is a type of restaurant you will want to experience.

Best wishes to both of you - take good care.

LoveItaly - Glad to hear that your DD and SIL made it home okay. Knowing why they went to Italy, how are they holding up? Good I hope. It is always hard when these things happen. I just got done reading the thread on Miriam from Germany. So sad! She sounded like a great person. Not to mention her friend Monica, what a true friend in every sense of the word.

In the short time I have been coming here to Fodors, I have made good friends and can tell that the core group really care about the well being of each other.

Thanks for the advice (or is it advise...just want to give the spelling police something to do ...hahahaha) on the rosticceria's.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

Tom

Good morning Tom, thank you for your kind thoughts. Daughter & SIL are amazing, they actually looked good when I saw them last night. Much better than I anticipated. Their sons and I were so happy to see them. Know they are tired today but hopefully things will settle down now.

Don't have any info regarding Rome at the moment except that it is VERY hot and humid. And the traffic conditions are terrible. But will hear more stories in this coming week.

Take good care, and keep dreaming about your Italian vacation!