First time to Italy: Rome, Venice, Tuscany
Oct 23rd, 2015, 09:46 AM
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First time to Italy: Rome, Venice, Tuscany
After spending so much time on this forum and Trip advisor in planning our trip to Italy, I thought I should write a trip report in case it will help someone else. Also, if anyone has honeymoon recommendations for our trip in September 2016 please share!
My fiancé & I had a direct flight through Emirates, JFK -> Milan and both flights went smoothly. We saved a ton of money flying into and out of Milan, and even though it wasn't the most convenient, the amount that we saved made it worth it. Plus, having a direct flight was awesome.
Venice: 3 nights
I had heard that Venice was overrated, but this ended up being our favorite part of the trip. I think the key to enjoying Venice is finding less touristy things to do. It was packed with tourists when we went (it always is) but we still enjoyed ourselves. However, I wouldn't go back to Venice for a long time. We feel like we saw enough of it this trip that if we went back we wouldn't enjoy it as much. And, I actually think that 2.5 days/ 3 nights here was plenty. I would only add one more night if I had the extra time.
Highlights:
We stayed at Palazzo Paruta and we were pretty happy with the hotel. The breakfasts and cappuccinos were good. We also bought the rolling venice card (I think that's what it was called) and it was a 3 day vaporetto pass for two people for around 56 E. We used the vaporetto a lot so I recommend getting this.
-The Venice free walking tour: This was our favorite part of our trip to Venice. It teaches you about the history of Venice (so you can see past the tourists) and everything we learned was so interesting. I would even take this tour a second time if I ever go back.
-Real Venetian Kayak: We wanted to do something different than the typical (overpriced) gondola ride that everyone seems to do in Venice. So, we went kayaking and had a great time. Our guide was really nice and it came with drinks and cichetti afterwards. We went kayaking on the grand canal and all of the little canals, plus the lagoon, so we saw a whole new side to Venice that we wouldn't have seen on foot.
-The campanile at San Giorgio: We spent a long time on the vaporetto getting here, but the views and pictures we took were worth it. Plus, much less crowded here than St. Marks.
-Libraria Acua Alta: I spent a few hours here looking through pictures, paintings, books, and other things to take home, and the prices were great. It's apparently on BBC's list of top 10 bookstores in the world?
Favorite restaurants:
- La Zucca! Highly recommend the pumpkin flan and anything with eggplant in it
-Pontini - the seafood pasta and tiramisu were fantastic
- Arte della Pizza: not sure if this is the best pizza in Venice, but we went both days for lunch and it was very good. It was all locals too so that was a good sign.
Disappointments:
- We missed the Secret Itineraries tour. I forgot to book this before we left and when we arrived in Venice we found out it was booked for the next two weeks. If we go back, we would do this tour (and book in advance.)
-Da Mamo (restaurant): We went here on our first night in Venice. It has great reviews but nothing we got was really that good. I would recommend Pontini or La Zucca instead.
- Cichetti in general....maybe we just didn't go to the right places, but we went to 3 or 4 different places for cichetti and none of it was good. I think it would have been better if the bread were toasted?
-Spritz: On our free tour, the tour guide said that 95% of people like spritz. I must be in the other 5% because I thought the orange flavor of the aperol spritz was too strong and didn't enjoy the Campari spritz either. I still recommend you try it though, in case you're in that other 95%!
- We booked our train from Venice to Rome ahead of time and didn't pay extra for the refundable ticket, so naturally we missed the train and had to buy new tickets. Lesson learned: in the future we will either pay extra for the refundable tickets or not purchase them in advance.
Rome: 5 nights
We booked an apartment through Airbnb near Piazza Navona, and it was fine. It wasn't nearly as nice as the hotel or agriturismo we stayed at and the mattress was awful but it was a good price. The best part about it was that it came with a pocket wifi, which we brought with us to use our maps app to find our way around Rome. We didn't end up buying a SIM card while we were there and just used wifi. Next time we go since we won't have the pocket wifi, we may buy a phone or SIM card only to use for data because the maps app was so useful to get around with; we didn't get lost like we did in Venice.
Our trip to Rome started off on a bad note since we were late because of the train and missed the Rome Free Tour we had booked for that day. We ended up getting there only five minutes late but they must leave right on time, we noticed some other people were late to it too and missed it. I think both of us were a little overwhelmed with Rome (mostly because we got lost the first day) but the more time we spent there the more we enjoyed it. Out of Venice, Rome, and Tuscany, Rome is probably the only place I would go back to since there's so much to do there.
I wish we had learned the bus system because we walked so much that my feet were killing me, even in sneakers! There are so many restaurants on my list for Rome that we didn't go to because they were just too far and we were too tired to walk there.
Highlights:
Cooking class through Cook with us in Rome: Originally we had wanted to book a class with Andrea Consoli but he was booked so we booked this one instead. This was a fun way to spend an afternoon. We learned how to make pasta, two different sauces, artichokes, fried zucchini flowers, and tiramisu. It was a fun class and we met a lot of great people, however, I think we would only make a few of the recipes we learned and I wish there had been a meat course since it was so expensive! But, I don't regret it because we enjoyed doing it.
Vatican tour through City Wonders: I'm not an art lover but I thought this tour was pretty interesting.
Trastevere: We loved this neighborhood and next time we're in Rome we will definitely stay here.
Capuchin Crypt: We only really saw the crypt, (and just walked through the museum) but it was pretty interesting to see. It only took us about 5-10 minutes.
Good restaurants: Armando al Pantheon, Ditirambo, Grappolo di Oro, Roma Sparita
Bar: Pimms - great cocktails with outdoor seating
Best gelato: Gelateria Come il Late and Frigidarium
Disappointments:
The Roman Guy tour of the Colosseum, dungeon, third level and arena floor: I think the reason why we didn't enjoy this tour as much is that we had just come from the tour of the Vatican so our attention span wasn't great. However, nothing on this tour really seemed too interesting to us. I wish we had booked the Vatican tour for a different day as the Vatican tour was a last minute booking.
Palazzo Valentini: I had high hopes for this tour but it just wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be and I feel that it was a bit long. It wasn't expensive though, so if the tour sounds interesting to you it might still be worth checking out.
ParmaRoma (restaurant): We had meant to go to a restaurant in Monti one night and we had reservations, but we were so tired that we wanted something close to our apartment. I found this on Tripadvisor with good reviews and a coupon so we went here. The ONLY good thing about this restaurant was the parmesan cheese with honey. The rest of our food was pretty awful and flavorless. I was so mad to waste a dinner on this restaurant when there's so many other good restaurants in Rome!
Beppe e I suoi Formaggio: I was really looking forward to trying this place since I love cheese, so we went here for lunch one day. I'm sorry to say that we must not have sophisticated taste in cheese because we didn't like anything we ordered and it was a pretty expensive lunch! I would recommend this if you like soft cheeses, but we prefer hard cheese and sharp cheese. We also tried pate for the first time and thought it tasted exactly like cat food....Again, this was just our personal preference and I'm sure others would enjoy this place more than we did.
Monti (neighborhood): Unfortunately, we only made it to this neighborhood once or twice since it was so far from where we were staying and we didn't get bus passes. However, I had found a bunch of restaurants here that I wanted to try and sadly, didn't have time to try any of them. I had heard that this was a fun, hip neighborhood but we really didn't think much of it. I think maybe we just didn't find the area people were talking about? This would be a place we would explore on our next trip to Rome. I also don't think we made it to the Jewish Ghetto and Testaccio areas of Rome so we would walk around those next time.
Tuscany: 5 nights
Highlights:
We stayed at Agriturismo Marciano (right outside of Siena) for 4 nights and wow, that place is amazing. It's so cozy and the beds were so comfortable! We loved the family style dinners and we met a lot of great people. I'd have to say the dinners we had there were the best we had in Italy and the best deal (5 courses for 35E each plus a different wine for each course!) Plus, everything we ate came straight from the farm. We bought a few good bottles of wine from here.
Our last day before we flew home we drove to Greve in Chianti and stayed at another agriturismo, Il Pozzo di Villa Caprera. The hosts were incredibly welcoming and friendly and the whole villa is completely renovated and beautiful. But, it wasn't as charming as Agriturismo Marciano perhaps because we were the only guests there for the night so it wasn't as fun. The dinners were great, but also didn't compare to Marciano. We did, however, buy wine and olive oil here. Also, they serve cappuccinos at breakfast which is always a plus. If you are staying in Chianti, I would recommend this place.
Siena: We loved Siena and went to a great place for panini (3E for a huge panini!) and bruschetta for lunch. I forget the name of it but I think it's on San Pietro, next to a gelato place. The food here is great and so cheap, but the menu was completely in Italian and we were the only tourists so we basically guessed at everything we ordered. We also stopped by an artist studio on the same street and purchased several paintings to bring home.
Disappointments:
Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona winery: I went to this winery expecting a leisurely afternoon sipping wine on the patio with great views of Tuscany. We went on a Saturday afternoon and were the only guests. The person who gave the tasting was friendly, but had sort of an attitude of "taste the wine quickly and leave." So, we were there for about 20 minutes, bought a bottle, and left. It was kind of a waste of a trip because it took us about an hour to get there, but we did stop at Sant Antimo abbey. Can anyone recommend a good winery in Tuscany for if we ever go back? We meant to go to Castello Verrazzano in Greve but they were closed the day we were there.
The hilltowns: The hilltowns were beautiful, however, I wish I had listened to other Fodorites who said that they are all very similar. We went to Orvieto, Montalcino, San Gimignano, Montepulciano (we were only here for an hour), Pienza, San Quirico, Volterra, and Monterrigioni. I had the preconceived notion that you could just go there and find stuff to do, but I wish I had instead found stuff to do ahead of time (although I did look up restaurants and gelato ahead of time). Honestly, they all looked the same to me, and the shops were all the same and sold the same things. Out of the hilltowns, I would recommend Montalcino, Pienza (although VERY crowded), San Gimignano, and Orvieto, but I don't think it's even necessary to go to all of those. Quite honestly, towards the end of our trip to Tuscany we started speed walking through each town hoping to find something interesting and were disappointed. I wish we had gone to Florence for the day or just stayed at our agriturismo and drank wine and relaxed. The drive to get to the hilltowns was beautiful, though, and we stopped to take pictures a few times. If you go to one of these towns, here are a few restaurants that I recommend:
San Gimignano: Cafe Giardino right outside the gates. Look at the specials menu on the wall and order off of that. We got amazing bruschetta with carmelized squash and bacon and ribollita soup and Panini.
San Gimignano: Gelateria Dondoli: voted best gelato in Tuscany. The flavors are very creative
Orvieto: Trattoria del Moro - Aronne: great pumpkin soufflé and other dishes
Pienza: Trattoria Latte di Luna - try the tiramisu
On our last day, we drove to Milan from Chianti to catch our plane and returned our car at the airport.
Overall, we loved Italy. I doubt we'd go back to Venice or Tuscany, and probably not Rome on our next trip, but we had a great time. Now we have to figure out where we will go on our 3 week honeymoon in September 2016. For our honeymoon, I would like to build in more time to relax and just enjoy our surroundings. We are definitely going back to Europe, but we're not sure where yet and are open to suggestions! We are thinking about southern France, Croatia, Prague. Recommendations??
My fiancé & I had a direct flight through Emirates, JFK -> Milan and both flights went smoothly. We saved a ton of money flying into and out of Milan, and even though it wasn't the most convenient, the amount that we saved made it worth it. Plus, having a direct flight was awesome.
Venice: 3 nights
I had heard that Venice was overrated, but this ended up being our favorite part of the trip. I think the key to enjoying Venice is finding less touristy things to do. It was packed with tourists when we went (it always is) but we still enjoyed ourselves. However, I wouldn't go back to Venice for a long time. We feel like we saw enough of it this trip that if we went back we wouldn't enjoy it as much. And, I actually think that 2.5 days/ 3 nights here was plenty. I would only add one more night if I had the extra time.
Highlights:
We stayed at Palazzo Paruta and we were pretty happy with the hotel. The breakfasts and cappuccinos were good. We also bought the rolling venice card (I think that's what it was called) and it was a 3 day vaporetto pass for two people for around 56 E. We used the vaporetto a lot so I recommend getting this.
-The Venice free walking tour: This was our favorite part of our trip to Venice. It teaches you about the history of Venice (so you can see past the tourists) and everything we learned was so interesting. I would even take this tour a second time if I ever go back.
-Real Venetian Kayak: We wanted to do something different than the typical (overpriced) gondola ride that everyone seems to do in Venice. So, we went kayaking and had a great time. Our guide was really nice and it came with drinks and cichetti afterwards. We went kayaking on the grand canal and all of the little canals, plus the lagoon, so we saw a whole new side to Venice that we wouldn't have seen on foot.
-The campanile at San Giorgio: We spent a long time on the vaporetto getting here, but the views and pictures we took were worth it. Plus, much less crowded here than St. Marks.
-Libraria Acua Alta: I spent a few hours here looking through pictures, paintings, books, and other things to take home, and the prices were great. It's apparently on BBC's list of top 10 bookstores in the world?
Favorite restaurants:
- La Zucca! Highly recommend the pumpkin flan and anything with eggplant in it
-Pontini - the seafood pasta and tiramisu were fantastic
- Arte della Pizza: not sure if this is the best pizza in Venice, but we went both days for lunch and it was very good. It was all locals too so that was a good sign.
Disappointments:
- We missed the Secret Itineraries tour. I forgot to book this before we left and when we arrived in Venice we found out it was booked for the next two weeks. If we go back, we would do this tour (and book in advance.)
-Da Mamo (restaurant): We went here on our first night in Venice. It has great reviews but nothing we got was really that good. I would recommend Pontini or La Zucca instead.
- Cichetti in general....maybe we just didn't go to the right places, but we went to 3 or 4 different places for cichetti and none of it was good. I think it would have been better if the bread were toasted?
-Spritz: On our free tour, the tour guide said that 95% of people like spritz. I must be in the other 5% because I thought the orange flavor of the aperol spritz was too strong and didn't enjoy the Campari spritz either. I still recommend you try it though, in case you're in that other 95%!
- We booked our train from Venice to Rome ahead of time and didn't pay extra for the refundable ticket, so naturally we missed the train and had to buy new tickets. Lesson learned: in the future we will either pay extra for the refundable tickets or not purchase them in advance.
Rome: 5 nights
We booked an apartment through Airbnb near Piazza Navona, and it was fine. It wasn't nearly as nice as the hotel or agriturismo we stayed at and the mattress was awful but it was a good price. The best part about it was that it came with a pocket wifi, which we brought with us to use our maps app to find our way around Rome. We didn't end up buying a SIM card while we were there and just used wifi. Next time we go since we won't have the pocket wifi, we may buy a phone or SIM card only to use for data because the maps app was so useful to get around with; we didn't get lost like we did in Venice.
Our trip to Rome started off on a bad note since we were late because of the train and missed the Rome Free Tour we had booked for that day. We ended up getting there only five minutes late but they must leave right on time, we noticed some other people were late to it too and missed it. I think both of us were a little overwhelmed with Rome (mostly because we got lost the first day) but the more time we spent there the more we enjoyed it. Out of Venice, Rome, and Tuscany, Rome is probably the only place I would go back to since there's so much to do there.
I wish we had learned the bus system because we walked so much that my feet were killing me, even in sneakers! There are so many restaurants on my list for Rome that we didn't go to because they were just too far and we were too tired to walk there.
Highlights:
Cooking class through Cook with us in Rome: Originally we had wanted to book a class with Andrea Consoli but he was booked so we booked this one instead. This was a fun way to spend an afternoon. We learned how to make pasta, two different sauces, artichokes, fried zucchini flowers, and tiramisu. It was a fun class and we met a lot of great people, however, I think we would only make a few of the recipes we learned and I wish there had been a meat course since it was so expensive! But, I don't regret it because we enjoyed doing it.
Vatican tour through City Wonders: I'm not an art lover but I thought this tour was pretty interesting.
Trastevere: We loved this neighborhood and next time we're in Rome we will definitely stay here.
Capuchin Crypt: We only really saw the crypt, (and just walked through the museum) but it was pretty interesting to see. It only took us about 5-10 minutes.
Good restaurants: Armando al Pantheon, Ditirambo, Grappolo di Oro, Roma Sparita
Bar: Pimms - great cocktails with outdoor seating
Best gelato: Gelateria Come il Late and Frigidarium
Disappointments:
The Roman Guy tour of the Colosseum, dungeon, third level and arena floor: I think the reason why we didn't enjoy this tour as much is that we had just come from the tour of the Vatican so our attention span wasn't great. However, nothing on this tour really seemed too interesting to us. I wish we had booked the Vatican tour for a different day as the Vatican tour was a last minute booking.
Palazzo Valentini: I had high hopes for this tour but it just wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be and I feel that it was a bit long. It wasn't expensive though, so if the tour sounds interesting to you it might still be worth checking out.
ParmaRoma (restaurant): We had meant to go to a restaurant in Monti one night and we had reservations, but we were so tired that we wanted something close to our apartment. I found this on Tripadvisor with good reviews and a coupon so we went here. The ONLY good thing about this restaurant was the parmesan cheese with honey. The rest of our food was pretty awful and flavorless. I was so mad to waste a dinner on this restaurant when there's so many other good restaurants in Rome!
Beppe e I suoi Formaggio: I was really looking forward to trying this place since I love cheese, so we went here for lunch one day. I'm sorry to say that we must not have sophisticated taste in cheese because we didn't like anything we ordered and it was a pretty expensive lunch! I would recommend this if you like soft cheeses, but we prefer hard cheese and sharp cheese. We also tried pate for the first time and thought it tasted exactly like cat food....Again, this was just our personal preference and I'm sure others would enjoy this place more than we did.
Monti (neighborhood): Unfortunately, we only made it to this neighborhood once or twice since it was so far from where we were staying and we didn't get bus passes. However, I had found a bunch of restaurants here that I wanted to try and sadly, didn't have time to try any of them. I had heard that this was a fun, hip neighborhood but we really didn't think much of it. I think maybe we just didn't find the area people were talking about? This would be a place we would explore on our next trip to Rome. I also don't think we made it to the Jewish Ghetto and Testaccio areas of Rome so we would walk around those next time.
Tuscany: 5 nights
Highlights:
We stayed at Agriturismo Marciano (right outside of Siena) for 4 nights and wow, that place is amazing. It's so cozy and the beds were so comfortable! We loved the family style dinners and we met a lot of great people. I'd have to say the dinners we had there were the best we had in Italy and the best deal (5 courses for 35E each plus a different wine for each course!) Plus, everything we ate came straight from the farm. We bought a few good bottles of wine from here.
Our last day before we flew home we drove to Greve in Chianti and stayed at another agriturismo, Il Pozzo di Villa Caprera. The hosts were incredibly welcoming and friendly and the whole villa is completely renovated and beautiful. But, it wasn't as charming as Agriturismo Marciano perhaps because we were the only guests there for the night so it wasn't as fun. The dinners were great, but also didn't compare to Marciano. We did, however, buy wine and olive oil here. Also, they serve cappuccinos at breakfast which is always a plus. If you are staying in Chianti, I would recommend this place.
Siena: We loved Siena and went to a great place for panini (3E for a huge panini!) and bruschetta for lunch. I forget the name of it but I think it's on San Pietro, next to a gelato place. The food here is great and so cheap, but the menu was completely in Italian and we were the only tourists so we basically guessed at everything we ordered. We also stopped by an artist studio on the same street and purchased several paintings to bring home.
Disappointments:
Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona winery: I went to this winery expecting a leisurely afternoon sipping wine on the patio with great views of Tuscany. We went on a Saturday afternoon and were the only guests. The person who gave the tasting was friendly, but had sort of an attitude of "taste the wine quickly and leave." So, we were there for about 20 minutes, bought a bottle, and left. It was kind of a waste of a trip because it took us about an hour to get there, but we did stop at Sant Antimo abbey. Can anyone recommend a good winery in Tuscany for if we ever go back? We meant to go to Castello Verrazzano in Greve but they were closed the day we were there.
The hilltowns: The hilltowns were beautiful, however, I wish I had listened to other Fodorites who said that they are all very similar. We went to Orvieto, Montalcino, San Gimignano, Montepulciano (we were only here for an hour), Pienza, San Quirico, Volterra, and Monterrigioni. I had the preconceived notion that you could just go there and find stuff to do, but I wish I had instead found stuff to do ahead of time (although I did look up restaurants and gelato ahead of time). Honestly, they all looked the same to me, and the shops were all the same and sold the same things. Out of the hilltowns, I would recommend Montalcino, Pienza (although VERY crowded), San Gimignano, and Orvieto, but I don't think it's even necessary to go to all of those. Quite honestly, towards the end of our trip to Tuscany we started speed walking through each town hoping to find something interesting and were disappointed. I wish we had gone to Florence for the day or just stayed at our agriturismo and drank wine and relaxed. The drive to get to the hilltowns was beautiful, though, and we stopped to take pictures a few times. If you go to one of these towns, here are a few restaurants that I recommend:
San Gimignano: Cafe Giardino right outside the gates. Look at the specials menu on the wall and order off of that. We got amazing bruschetta with carmelized squash and bacon and ribollita soup and Panini.
San Gimignano: Gelateria Dondoli: voted best gelato in Tuscany. The flavors are very creative
Orvieto: Trattoria del Moro - Aronne: great pumpkin soufflé and other dishes
Pienza: Trattoria Latte di Luna - try the tiramisu
On our last day, we drove to Milan from Chianti to catch our plane and returned our car at the airport.
Overall, we loved Italy. I doubt we'd go back to Venice or Tuscany, and probably not Rome on our next trip, but we had a great time. Now we have to figure out where we will go on our 3 week honeymoon in September 2016. For our honeymoon, I would like to build in more time to relax and just enjoy our surroundings. We are definitely going back to Europe, but we're not sure where yet and are open to suggestions! We are thinking about southern France, Croatia, Prague. Recommendations??
Oct 23rd, 2015, 11:41 AM
#2
great TR, kbm, and I like your honesty. sounds like overall you had a great time and you've learnt a lot of things to make your next trip more successful.
Shame you didn't like Monti - we ended up staying there on our first visit yo Rome and we loved it. I still wouldn't recommend it for people visiting Rome for the first time but it does mean that you get to know the buses. I suggest giving it a longer try on your next trip - you may find that you like it more if you can wander around at night, and you would enjoy the little restaurants there I'm sure.
Shame that you didn't like spritz - I find the aperol ones horrid but like the others as I like campari. but if you don't, a spritz is not for you. and of course ccicchetti are very variable - and it depends what you order too.
turning to your honeymoon, if you don't want crowds, forget Prague and southern France. Croatia is lovely, beaches, islands and Dubrovnik - hard to go wrong, really.
Shame you didn't like Monti - we ended up staying there on our first visit yo Rome and we loved it. I still wouldn't recommend it for people visiting Rome for the first time but it does mean that you get to know the buses. I suggest giving it a longer try on your next trip - you may find that you like it more if you can wander around at night, and you would enjoy the little restaurants there I'm sure.
Shame that you didn't like spritz - I find the aperol ones horrid but like the others as I like campari. but if you don't, a spritz is not for you. and of course ccicchetti are very variable - and it depends what you order too.
turning to your honeymoon, if you don't want crowds, forget Prague and southern France. Croatia is lovely, beaches, islands and Dubrovnik - hard to go wrong, really.
Nov 1st, 2015, 12:38 PM
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Thanks for the TR. We are planning a month in Italy spring 2016 and I am trying to figure out where we would like to go. We just got back from a month in Spain in May and really enjoyed the people, culture, food and landscape. It was also very economical, and from what I understand (from our Spanish amigos) 30% less expensive than Italy! You may want to consider it for your honeymoon in September. Feel free to contact me for more info on where we went if interested.
Nov 2nd, 2015, 02:36 AM
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kbmtravel,
Yours is one of the most helpful and honest trip reports I have ever read. By describing your expectations, disappointments, the hits and the misses, you really help others have perspective on whether they might be like you -- or not like you -- so that is a great help.
I am also in the 5 percent that thinks an Aperol Spritz is awful. The sugar overload gives me a headache. However, I have been a huge public advocate of Beppe e i suoi formaggi (I might have talked you into going), so I am sorry to learn that you didn't find your cheese heaven there. (Never tasted their pate, but then I've never tasted cat food either!)
It's wonderful to hear that you enjoyed such good farm fresh meals at Agriturismo Marciano. That experience is unique in the world. It is good that you send out the message to people that enjoying Tuscany is less about working through a list of hill towns (whose character is now about selling stuff to tourists) than appreciating what Italians have saved and preserved, which is their deep attachment to the land.
Also -- kayaking in Venice was a brilliant inspiration!
I don't have a specific recommendation for your honeymoon, but it sounds like you enjoy places dense with historic interest but mixing it up with some off the beaten track activities. September has such fine weather throughout Europe, I'm sure you'll be able to put together something unique & beautiful
Yours is one of the most helpful and honest trip reports I have ever read. By describing your expectations, disappointments, the hits and the misses, you really help others have perspective on whether they might be like you -- or not like you -- so that is a great help.
I am also in the 5 percent that thinks an Aperol Spritz is awful. The sugar overload gives me a headache. However, I have been a huge public advocate of Beppe e i suoi formaggi (I might have talked you into going), so I am sorry to learn that you didn't find your cheese heaven there. (Never tasted their pate, but then I've never tasted cat food either!)
It's wonderful to hear that you enjoyed such good farm fresh meals at Agriturismo Marciano. That experience is unique in the world. It is good that you send out the message to people that enjoying Tuscany is less about working through a list of hill towns (whose character is now about selling stuff to tourists) than appreciating what Italians have saved and preserved, which is their deep attachment to the land.
Also -- kayaking in Venice was a brilliant inspiration!
I don't have a specific recommendation for your honeymoon, but it sounds like you enjoy places dense with historic interest but mixing it up with some off the beaten track activities. September has such fine weather throughout Europe, I'm sure you'll be able to put together something unique & beautiful
Nov 2nd, 2015, 05:43 AM
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kbmtravel, no need to guess at menu items in languages you don't know ( though it's nota bad way to try new things.)
There are many menu apps and small books which translate menus by course.
If you want to go to Italy again you could consider Puglia.
There are many menu apps and small books which translate menus by course.
If you want to go to Italy again you could consider Puglia.
Nov 3rd, 2015, 06:02 PM
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Thank you for the complement, Sandralist! You were so helpful when I was planning our trip, so I'm glad you got a chance to read the end result.
2Busy2Work, thanks, Spain is definitely on my list of places to research!
Jubilada, I definitely should have gotten one of those apps, especially an offline one, and will add that to my to do list for next time. Although, I will say that we never ended up ordering anything we didn't like!
2Busy2Work, thanks, Spain is definitely on my list of places to research!
Jubilada, I definitely should have gotten one of those apps, especially an offline one, and will add that to my to do list for next time. Although, I will say that we never ended up ordering anything we didn't like!
Nov 3rd, 2015, 09:37 PM
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I agree with Sandralist - what an insightful and interesting trip report to read. Thank you for putting the time into writing it! In particular, I appreciate the recommendation for Pimm's - I'm putting it on my list of bars I want to check out when I go back in a few months.
I also thought it was interesting to read your take on Palazzo Valentini. I happened to see my ancient Roman history professor (whose class I took fall 2004) and he recommended it to me and I loved it. I agree it started to feel long (my friend and I thought we were nearing the end at two separate points) but overall I liked it quite a lot (I could live in museums and scavi). But it's a good testament to the reality that what one finds interesting another may not!
Additionally, I thought your review of Beppe's was interesting - it was on my list this year but I couldn't make it so it's a must-do next time. Some friends really loved it and I will admit, I'm a huge fan of almost any well-made cheese you put in front of me, especially soft cheeses. I'm from Wisconsin...it's the way we're made.
(Nerd alert: I hosted a dinner party this summer for which I printed a menu and the cheese course was <my first name> e i suoi formaggi with 4 soft cheeses from Wisco, Vermont, France and Italy.)
Best wishes planning your honeymoon - I'm sure wherever you go, you'll have a phenomenal time; you clearly know what you like and have a great attitude while planning and exploring. Are you planning to spend three weeks in one general area (such as southern France) or jumping to 1 or 2 additional places, spending a week or so in each?
I also thought it was interesting to read your take on Palazzo Valentini. I happened to see my ancient Roman history professor (whose class I took fall 2004) and he recommended it to me and I loved it. I agree it started to feel long (my friend and I thought we were nearing the end at two separate points) but overall I liked it quite a lot (I could live in museums and scavi). But it's a good testament to the reality that what one finds interesting another may not!
Additionally, I thought your review of Beppe's was interesting - it was on my list this year but I couldn't make it so it's a must-do next time. Some friends really loved it and I will admit, I'm a huge fan of almost any well-made cheese you put in front of me, especially soft cheeses. I'm from Wisconsin...it's the way we're made.
(Nerd alert: I hosted a dinner party this summer for which I printed a menu and the cheese course was <my first name> e i suoi formaggi with 4 soft cheeses from Wisco, Vermont, France and Italy.)Best wishes planning your honeymoon - I'm sure wherever you go, you'll have a phenomenal time; you clearly know what you like and have a great attitude while planning and exploring. Are you planning to spend three weeks in one general area (such as southern France) or jumping to 1 or 2 additional places, spending a week or so in each?
Nov 4th, 2015, 12:16 PM
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Thank you Ducinaltum! Yes everything is all personal preference! I'm sure you will love Beppe! I just found out the hard way what types of cheese I prefer 
If I could I would go to a place that specializes in Cabot cheese!
For my honeymoon I definitely would like to visit at least two places. Ideally, if I could find two places that have a wide range of things to do, that would be great so we didn't have to move around as much. But then again, it will be a long time before we'll take a 3 week long vacation again so maybe we should take advantage of the time and see three places!
If I could I would go to a place that specializes in Cabot cheese! For my honeymoon I definitely would like to visit at least two places. Ideally, if I could find two places that have a wide range of things to do, that would be great so we didn't have to move around as much. But then again, it will be a long time before we'll take a 3 week long vacation again so maybe we should take advantage of the time and see three places!
Nov 4th, 2015, 06:05 PM
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I know, such a hard dilemma, especially when future travel is indeterminate. A week in three places is a reasonably-paced trip, depending on how much you want to relax after the rush-rush-rush pace of the weeks leading up to a wedding.
I can't help you with recommendations for romantic spots for two, but a week somewhere in Spain, as someone upthread mentioned (maybe Barcelona and its environs?), a jaunt up to southern France (maybe a countryside estate as a base for something more relaxing like your agriturismo?) and then a week on the Croatian coast. I know a couple that just spent a week along the coast there (their first time) and raved about it. It seems like you like a balance of city activity with some slow-paced rural beauty.
Whatever you end up doing, it'll be wonderful.
I can't help you with recommendations for romantic spots for two
, but a week somewhere in Spain, as someone upthread mentioned (maybe Barcelona and its environs?), a jaunt up to southern France (maybe a countryside estate as a base for something more relaxing like your agriturismo?) and then a week on the Croatian coast. I know a couple that just spent a week along the coast there (their first time) and raved about it. It seems like you like a balance of city activity with some slow-paced rural beauty.Whatever you end up doing, it'll be wonderful.
Nov 5th, 2015, 09:28 AM
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I love that idea! It would be great to see three different countries. Does anyone know if there are any cheap round trip flights for certain airports? For example, the Emirates Milan -> JFK flights.
Nov 5th, 2015, 01:03 PM
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If you love Cabot Cheddar, maybe you should visit the UK. Even if you don't go to the actual town of Cheddar, you can find great cheese shops in London, and menus in London restaurants typically offer a cheese course.
A very simple trip might be to fly to Amsterdam, have fun there, go on some cheesy excursions, take a train to Paris, spend a week there (fabulous cheese stores/tours), and then go off to London, and fly home from there. Or you could easily skip Amsterdan and just make it France and the UK (maybe a pit stop in Belgium for chocolate?) or spend the whole 3 weeks in the UK, adding to London some beautiful countryside destationas and/or hikes in beautiful Scotland.
If you are flying from NYC, you just have to sign up for e-mail alerts from all the airlines flying from the NYC areas to the places you finally decide you want to go. Also sign up for the Flyer Talk Forum for tips on how to snag a good airfare. Good luck!
A very simple trip might be to fly to Amsterdam, have fun there, go on some cheesy excursions, take a train to Paris, spend a week there (fabulous cheese stores/tours), and then go off to London, and fly home from there. Or you could easily skip Amsterdan and just make it France and the UK (maybe a pit stop in Belgium for chocolate?) or spend the whole 3 weeks in the UK, adding to London some beautiful countryside destationas and/or hikes in beautiful Scotland.
If you are flying from NYC, you just have to sign up for e-mail alerts from all the airlines flying from the NYC areas to the places you finally decide you want to go. Also sign up for the Flyer Talk Forum for tips on how to snag a good airfare. Good luck!
Nov 5th, 2015, 01:06 PM
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I'm trying to post a link for you but Fodor's won't let me. Apparently sometimes they turn some automatic feature that disallows posts with links. But if you a do a google search for "Travel Away Top 10 Destinations for Cheese Lovers" you can get the link and you might get some great ideas.
Nov 5th, 2015, 01:51 PM
#16
Cabot cheddar? I had to google that. And Cheddar isn't even big enough to be called a town - more like a village, albeit a big one.
any decent UK supermarket will stock a range of British cheeses, ranging from mousetrap to authentic farmhouse cheddars, stilton, cheshire, etc, etc,. of course there are some which never make the supermarkets because the quantities are too small - our favourite Wookey Hole cheddar being a case in point.
BTW many UK restaurants offering a cheese course [often as an alternative to dessert, though of course you may have both] will offer french cheeses so may not be the best places to go if you want to sample British cheeses.
any decent UK supermarket will stock a range of British cheeses, ranging from mousetrap to authentic farmhouse cheddars, stilton, cheshire, etc, etc,. of course there are some which never make the supermarkets because the quantities are too small - our favourite Wookey Hole cheddar being a case in point.
BTW many UK restaurants offering a cheese course [often as an alternative to dessert, though of course you may have both] will offer french cheeses so may not be the best places to go if you want to sample British cheeses.
Nov 6th, 2015, 05:53 AM
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Thanks for the replies! I'm going to sign up for those email alerts you mentioned, Sandralist.
Although I do love cheese, I don't think that will be the main draw for our honeymoon, I really just mentioned it as a joke! Thank you for the suggestions though!
Although I do love cheese, I don't think that will be the main draw for our honeymoon, I really just mentioned it as a joke!
Thank you for the suggestions though!
Feb 24th, 2016, 03:32 PM
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Youve probably already booked your September honeymoon, but if still looking - Barcelona is amazing, different than any other European city I've visited. Good wineries outside, we stayed a couple of nights in San Fruto de Bages (Hotel Mon San Benet, also culinary school!) Did a winery tour and tasting at Abadal - loved, loved, loved. Also spent time on Mallorca on that trip abd it was fabulous.
Mar 3rd, 2016, 11:54 AM
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Glad to hear your honeymoon is shaping up. You will certainly find plenty to do in Barcelona. (Never been to Mallorca.) I know you said before that cheese is not the focus of your honeymoon, but I still thought you might like to see this if you haven't already.
https://www.shopikon.com/sl/places-t...e-in-barcelona
https://www.shopikon.com/sl/places-t...e-in-barcelona
