My husband and I enjoyed our first trip to Italy in March. Now that the photos are sorted, I would like to offer our experience since we found the input from other Fodorites so helpful. We'll start with Florence and a little bit of Tuscany and if I get ambitious, I'll try to do Assisi, Orvieto and Rome later in the week. I apologize if this is too long or too much info for the forum - it was just such a great trip!

Left Wed. March 9, arrived Thurs. March 10.
We flew USAir from Philadelphia to Rome- coach there and upgraded to Envoy on the return. Good thing the upgrade was on the return - having to endure coach after Envoy would have been doubly painful.

We rented a car upon arriving in Rome - I know many of you cautioned not to - and were very happy we did (with exception of the 15-minute drive inside Rome to return it days later - more on that to follow) because it allowed us to drive through Chianti, Tuscany on our way to Florence and through Umbria on our way back to Rome. We rented through AutoEurope and were upgraded to a small wagon, which was great. The staff was helpful, friendly - the car was clean. No problems. I will say that Italian road maps are a bit difficult to read outside of the AutoStrada (the small roads - we would call them county roads - were not marked by number on most of the maps we found). Best advice is to buy a map specific to the region (e.g. Tuscany, Umbria)rather than an "Italy road map".

The vineyards and olive groves were just starting to turn green and it was simply breathtaking. We stopped in Monteriggioni which was a nice way to start our sightseeing. The town is very charming - a 13th century walled city. We had a small light lunch at La Cerchia on the piazza. We took some great photos through the arched doorways of the town. WIth the exception of some Italian high school students (we must have been there during field trip week because there were groups of Italian high school students everywhere we went) we had the town pretty much to ourselves. This is a great stop if you're driving through Tuscany, but I'm not sure it's worth a day trip on it's own.

We drove into Florence and arrived at The Regency Hotel, which is inside the city, but on the edge in the San Marco area. We found a buy 2 nights, get the 3rd free deal online. The hotel is lovely - old English feeling - the marble bathroom, fluffy robes, slippers, breakfast - all great. But the bed! Sagged in the middle! My husband and I found ourselves on a slow roll to the middle everynight!

The hotel was able to reserve our Uffizi and Accademia tickets. One note - the museum tickets had to be paid to the hotel in cash, we couldn't just add to our room charges.


Restaurant notes:
Loved Cantinetta del Verrazzano - via Del Tavolini 18/20 R, just a few streets off the Duomo. Owned by winery of the same name. We had lunch there and shared a table with locals. You can also get pizza, desserts, etc. at the bar or do wine tasting. The thing to get was a misto (mix)- kind of "sampler" platter of panini and pizza.
Ristorante Dino - via Ghibellina 51r - Great, simple Tuscan food. We had three courses each and a bottle of wine - 81 Euro.
Il Latini - A mixed review here. My husband loved it. I enjoyed the atmosphere and experience - very happy, friendly people all around and you don't really order inasmuch as you eat what they bring - but I didn't think the food was all that spectacular.
Cibreo Caffe - Hmmm. We went to the caffe because we'd read that it was the same food as the Ristorante at lower prices. Well. It's the same food - at the same prices. Of course you don't know that until the check comes. Yikes. The atmosphere was lovely and romantic. The staff was gracious and charming. The food was fancy and adventurous. The first option for the secondo -main course- was chicken neck with the chicken head served in the middle of the plate. The final tally was almost $200 with wine (they converted the check). The atmosphere, the wine, the antipasto and primo courses were fabulous. The main courses were just a bit pretentious for us. On the way home we past the Cibreo Trattoria - perhaps this is the place where prices are lower. The same owner also opened a Dinner Theatre in close proximity.

Sights: The duomo, campanile and baptistry were beautiful on the outside (east doors of baptistry, the orange dome itself), less impressive on the inside. Climbed the cupolo - very well worth it - given the up close view of the frescoes and the views overlooking Florence. The cost to climb was 6 euro. Loved the church in S. Lorenzo, and Medici Chapel of Princes (4 Euro), the Uffizi (11 Euro plus I think a fee), the Accademia (9,5 Euro plus fee. Get the reserved tickets as so many people suggest. Regarding the Duomo -a piece of info for Catholics - there is an English mass at 5 p.m. on Saturday night.

Two other vendors/stores stood out to us. In the S. Lorenzo Mercato (Mercato Centrale), on the first floor, there is a store called Baroni. We bought Olive Oil, Balsamic vinegar and parmigianno reggiano to bring home. We were able to taste the various vinegars and oils - she was very patient in explaining the different qualities, aging processes, etc. They vaccum packed the cheese and are very knowledgeable about what U.S. Customs will/won't allow. They also ship to the U.S., but will help you determine what's most economical. We bought about $120 worth of merchandise and after she explained that the cost to ship would be $70, we decided we could carry it. I'm so glad we did! We have enjoyed wonderful tastest of Italy since we returned.

We also found a wine shop just off the duomo called Borgo - Sapori di Toscana - run by an American who married a Florentine when she was studying there 30 years ago. She was incredibly knowledgeable about Tuscan wine and helped us choose three bottles to bring home. She gave us a great mini-seminar on the wine of the region and others in Italy.

On Sunday morning we left Florence and drove to Orvieto - more on that to follow!

Re-reading my post, realizing my many typos (past vs. passed, cupolo vs. cupola) Sorry for the painful reading!

Thanks for the report. We may have crossed paths as we were there March 2nd to 14th

Two Ravens, don't worry about typo's. Your report is a delight to read!!

Now about the chicken neck and HEAD?? Seriously?? I cannot even imagine. Or was that a typo? Good grief, I hope so. Did you eat it? Please, answer, I will be hanging in suspense until you do, LOL.

Thanks for sharing, two

Thanks for the comments - and no we opted against the Chicken neck and head. My poor husband - he is not such an adventurous eater and really made an effort through the meal to rave about all of the fanciness. But when the guy sat down and listed the entrees, it just about did him in. On a more positive note with Cibreo - they did bring us little tastes of nearly everything throughout the meal - there were little plates of olives, sips of prosecco, samples of polenta (to die for), cauliflower and potatoes, we tried their ribolita, had dessert and muscati. So by the time our fried pork (which didn't really strike us as either fried or pork) and sausage and beans arrived, our tummies were full. And we compensated the next day with a delightfully simple, small, inexpensive lunch on the piazza in Orvieto.

Thanks for your report. I love hearing about your dining experiences. I think Tuscany has the most "earthy" dishes I have ever heard of.

Thanks for the report TwoRavens! This will help with my trip in June!