I miss my cucina duo! Marianna's Trip: Rome, Sorrento, Villefranche-sur-mer, and Paris
Aug 1st, 2004, 09:07 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,823
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I miss my cucina duo! Marianna's Trip: Rome, Sorrento, Villefranche-sur-mer, and Paris
We returned over a week ago from our trip to Italy and France. I finally have some energy to write the report since it has taken me a long time to get back into the swing of things once we returned home.
Thanks to everyone for all the information and help we received. ATMs were everywhere and made getting euro very easy - maybe too easy! No problems at all in Europe with ATMs - wished we had done this on our other trips. My Clarks (style: Lindsey) were so comfortable. I wore them every time we went out for one of our 5 or 6 mile walks and never had any problems with feet hurting. Clothing - we saw just about everything everywhere. I took several of my favorite (some new) summer outfits which I knew could take me just about anywhere, looked good yet were comfortable I added two bathing suits and coverups (for the beach part of the trip), a few extra tops (short and long sleeves) and bottoms (capris, lightweight pants, skirts) to mix and match, packed a sweater (used it a only few times), a dress, 2 extra pairs of sandals in addition to the Clarks, and an umbrella which we used only in Paris. I took home only a few things which I did not wear so, although I did not pack light (took my 26 inch suitcase without opening the extra space zipper though), I think I packed well.
The only way to describe the trip is WOW! Although we have been to Europe several times, this was our first trip to Europe without mothers, sister, and son. We missed them, but we had a fabulous trip. We combined a little sightseeing with lots of relaxation. We did not get to do a few things we planned to do, but that only means that we will have to go back again soon.
Rome:
We left Boston to Newark to Rome on June 29 and had a great flight on Continental in first class (thank you FF miles) on a 767 - great meal selections, comfy seats ( sleeper ones), movies - a wonderful way to start our trip. We arrived in Rome at about 8:30 AM on the 30th for our two night stay. We had arranged a pick up with our hotel, La Residenza on via Emilio. When we left customs, the driver was there waiting for us with a sign with our name. It was a very stress-free way to get to our hotel which was quite a distance from the airport. The people at La Residenza were very responsive to our email questions and quickly arranged this pick-up for us. It cost us 50 Euro and was well worth it. As we got closer to the where the hotel was located, the driver pointed out places of interest to us. He drove around the area so that we could get a sense of the location of the hotel in relation to the surrounding area. We appreciated that and found it helpful.
Our room was spacious and comfortable with a window which looked out to the street - nothing special about the view or the decor. There is an elevator from the lobby to all floors. The room had a very large bathroom. The location was just fine for the 2 nights - short walks to the Spanish Steps, Borghese Gardens, and Via Veneto.
We checked in early - before noon - freshened up and went out for a walk to the Spanish Steps which was about 15 minutes away from the hotel. I was surprised that I seemed to be more energetic than my husband who was tired and a bit cranky which is very unusual for him. However, he adjusted much faster upon our return home than I did. In the afternoon, we returned to the hotel, rested and then got ready to go out for dinner. We decided to eat early since we were both tired by then, so we stopped for dinner at Restaurante Tiffany on Via Ludovisi which is a short 5 minute walk from the hotel. It was just about the only restaurant in the area opened before 7:30. We ate outside at a sidewalk table since it was such a lovely evening. Dinner was very good. Waiters were funny and friendly. Sponge cake with lemon cream filling was delicious. I actually read about this restaurant on Fodors on a Rome restaurant thread. While doing my trip research, I made a file of suggestions from Fodors posts for all the places we were going to visit - restaurants, sights, museums, etc. Just before we left, I selected what I wanted from the documents and printed out a little booklet to take with us. It came in handy everywhere we went - thank you!
When we returned to our room in the evening, we found a welcome note from the management along with a bowl of fruit, cheese, crackers, and a bottle of water. It was a nice touch at the end of a long day.
We began our only full day in Rome with a buffet breakfast at the hotel. It was a full breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausages, cheese, pastries, fruit, cereal, etc. - very good. After breakfast, we walked for miles - to Piazza Barberini, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, along the Tiber River, Trevi Fountain (threw in the coins again so we will definitely be back), Piazza del Popolo and many other piazzas, to the Spanish Steps and everywhere my Clarks could take me since we only had that one day to squeeze in a lot of things.
While walking, we came upon a little street not far from the Pantheon - one of those places where voices echo and footsteps sound nearby but you can't see anyone near you. We were somewhere between Via Pastini and Piazza del Pietra. There was a lovely young lady on the street corner with the fairest skin and blondest hair who was playing the violin. We stopped to listen and dropped in a few coins as we did for all the musicians (our son is a musician) and other performers we saw such as Cleopatra at the Piazza Navona. My husband went into the nearby Pinocchio shop, but I decided to stay and listen to the violin. Now, as luck would have it, the young woman began playing "Torna a Surriento" on her violin. It was just beautiful, just the sound of the single violin - simple and sad. And that did it! I started crying. When I was a child, my grandparents, mother, father, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins would gather under the grapevine after dinner and sing Neapolitan songs. The adults would start out laughing as they reminisced about their beloved Italy. Soon they would begin singing "Torna a Surriento" and everyone would end up crying. So ever since I was little, I cry whenever and wherever I hear that song. Of course, the young lady did not know this - how could she? As she played, she kept looking at me since I was the only one there at that time. When she ended the song, I thanked her for the beautiful music and dropped in a few more coins. It was actually a very nice moment, tears and all.
That evening, we walked to the Hotel Eden for drinks at the bar at the top - we relaxed and enjoyed the view. Afterwards, we went to Restaurante Nino (near the Spanish Steps) for dinner. It was a great place with delicious food at reasonable prices. After dinner, we walked up and down the nearby streets and then stopped at the Spanish Steps for a while enjoying the warm evening along with all the other people who were there. It was a wonderful night! Then we climbed the stairs to begin a leisurely walk back to the hotel. We lingered at the top just savoring the view, the atmosphere and trying to capture it all in our memories.
The next morning, we were a bit sad about leaving Rome after such a brief visit but we were eager to start out on our next journey. The people at the hotel had located a nearby AVIS rental place a so we were able to easily pick up our car on the morning of our departure. That worked out really well for us since we did not need the car at all in Rome.
Off to Sorrento!
Thanks to everyone for all the information and help we received. ATMs were everywhere and made getting euro very easy - maybe too easy! No problems at all in Europe with ATMs - wished we had done this on our other trips. My Clarks (style: Lindsey) were so comfortable. I wore them every time we went out for one of our 5 or 6 mile walks and never had any problems with feet hurting. Clothing - we saw just about everything everywhere. I took several of my favorite (some new) summer outfits which I knew could take me just about anywhere, looked good yet were comfortable I added two bathing suits and coverups (for the beach part of the trip), a few extra tops (short and long sleeves) and bottoms (capris, lightweight pants, skirts) to mix and match, packed a sweater (used it a only few times), a dress, 2 extra pairs of sandals in addition to the Clarks, and an umbrella which we used only in Paris. I took home only a few things which I did not wear so, although I did not pack light (took my 26 inch suitcase without opening the extra space zipper though), I think I packed well.
The only way to describe the trip is WOW! Although we have been to Europe several times, this was our first trip to Europe without mothers, sister, and son. We missed them, but we had a fabulous trip. We combined a little sightseeing with lots of relaxation. We did not get to do a few things we planned to do, but that only means that we will have to go back again soon.
Rome:
We left Boston to Newark to Rome on June 29 and had a great flight on Continental in first class (thank you FF miles) on a 767 - great meal selections, comfy seats ( sleeper ones), movies - a wonderful way to start our trip. We arrived in Rome at about 8:30 AM on the 30th for our two night stay. We had arranged a pick up with our hotel, La Residenza on via Emilio. When we left customs, the driver was there waiting for us with a sign with our name. It was a very stress-free way to get to our hotel which was quite a distance from the airport. The people at La Residenza were very responsive to our email questions and quickly arranged this pick-up for us. It cost us 50 Euro and was well worth it. As we got closer to the where the hotel was located, the driver pointed out places of interest to us. He drove around the area so that we could get a sense of the location of the hotel in relation to the surrounding area. We appreciated that and found it helpful.
Our room was spacious and comfortable with a window which looked out to the street - nothing special about the view or the decor. There is an elevator from the lobby to all floors. The room had a very large bathroom. The location was just fine for the 2 nights - short walks to the Spanish Steps, Borghese Gardens, and Via Veneto.
We checked in early - before noon - freshened up and went out for a walk to the Spanish Steps which was about 15 minutes away from the hotel. I was surprised that I seemed to be more energetic than my husband who was tired and a bit cranky which is very unusual for him. However, he adjusted much faster upon our return home than I did. In the afternoon, we returned to the hotel, rested and then got ready to go out for dinner. We decided to eat early since we were both tired by then, so we stopped for dinner at Restaurante Tiffany on Via Ludovisi which is a short 5 minute walk from the hotel. It was just about the only restaurant in the area opened before 7:30. We ate outside at a sidewalk table since it was such a lovely evening. Dinner was very good. Waiters were funny and friendly. Sponge cake with lemon cream filling was delicious. I actually read about this restaurant on Fodors on a Rome restaurant thread. While doing my trip research, I made a file of suggestions from Fodors posts for all the places we were going to visit - restaurants, sights, museums, etc. Just before we left, I selected what I wanted from the documents and printed out a little booklet to take with us. It came in handy everywhere we went - thank you!
When we returned to our room in the evening, we found a welcome note from the management along with a bowl of fruit, cheese, crackers, and a bottle of water. It was a nice touch at the end of a long day.
We began our only full day in Rome with a buffet breakfast at the hotel. It was a full breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausages, cheese, pastries, fruit, cereal, etc. - very good. After breakfast, we walked for miles - to Piazza Barberini, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, along the Tiber River, Trevi Fountain (threw in the coins again so we will definitely be back), Piazza del Popolo and many other piazzas, to the Spanish Steps and everywhere my Clarks could take me since we only had that one day to squeeze in a lot of things.
While walking, we came upon a little street not far from the Pantheon - one of those places where voices echo and footsteps sound nearby but you can't see anyone near you. We were somewhere between Via Pastini and Piazza del Pietra. There was a lovely young lady on the street corner with the fairest skin and blondest hair who was playing the violin. We stopped to listen and dropped in a few coins as we did for all the musicians (our son is a musician) and other performers we saw such as Cleopatra at the Piazza Navona. My husband went into the nearby Pinocchio shop, but I decided to stay and listen to the violin. Now, as luck would have it, the young woman began playing "Torna a Surriento" on her violin. It was just beautiful, just the sound of the single violin - simple and sad. And that did it! I started crying. When I was a child, my grandparents, mother, father, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins would gather under the grapevine after dinner and sing Neapolitan songs. The adults would start out laughing as they reminisced about their beloved Italy. Soon they would begin singing "Torna a Surriento" and everyone would end up crying. So ever since I was little, I cry whenever and wherever I hear that song. Of course, the young lady did not know this - how could she? As she played, she kept looking at me since I was the only one there at that time. When she ended the song, I thanked her for the beautiful music and dropped in a few more coins. It was actually a very nice moment, tears and all.
That evening, we walked to the Hotel Eden for drinks at the bar at the top - we relaxed and enjoyed the view. Afterwards, we went to Restaurante Nino (near the Spanish Steps) for dinner. It was a great place with delicious food at reasonable prices. After dinner, we walked up and down the nearby streets and then stopped at the Spanish Steps for a while enjoying the warm evening along with all the other people who were there. It was a wonderful night! Then we climbed the stairs to begin a leisurely walk back to the hotel. We lingered at the top just savoring the view, the atmosphere and trying to capture it all in our memories.
The next morning, we were a bit sad about leaving Rome after such a brief visit but we were eager to start out on our next journey. The people at the hotel had located a nearby AVIS rental place a so we were able to easily pick up our car on the morning of our departure. That worked out really well for us since we did not need the car at all in Rome.
Off to Sorrento!
Aug 3rd, 2004, 07:47 AM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,823
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Rome to Sorrento:
We enjoyed the ride (roomy, new car - name we did not recognize) and took a quick side trip to Gaeta to see the place where my paternal grandfather was born. It was a longer ride than we expected to get to Gaeta from the highway. We stopped for lunch at Villa Irlanda Grand Hotel in Gaeta which was a lovely hotel with beautiful grounds. It consisted of 3 villas with about 40 rooms and suites, large pool area, and restaurant all postioned on a hill near the sea. We planned to return to Gaeta on another day to spend more time looking around the town and locating the cemetery to try to find my the graves of my great grandparents.
Sorrento:
We stayed at an apartment in Villa Cavalieri on the grounds of the beautiful gardens of the Parco di Principi which is in a section of Sorrento called Sant? Agnello. We stayed at that hotel 16 years ago on our first family trip to Italy.
The apartment was on the primo terra (US second floor) in a 3 level villa which was a short walk from the hotel and was just a few steps from the hotel pool. The pool was actually closer to the apartment than it was to the hotel! The apartment was air-conditioned and was more spacious than we expected. It had two large bedrooms (sleeps 2 each - one with full bed and other with two twins), two full baths, large living room with tv, a large dining area which seated 6-8 and a small kitchen with dishwasher, fridge, gas stove and washing machine (with a speed wash cycle!). There was another small, very sunny room which had an extra fold-up bed in a cabinet. We used this area to dry our clothes and iron as needed.
The rooms were all done in white and Mediterranean blue-green tones. The entire apartment had a gorgeous Italian tile floor. I loved the floor to ceiling windows with narrow balconies and the views of the beautiful grounds. We did not have a sea view, but it was just a few steps to the view of the Bay of Naples and the beautiful pool area which overlooked the bay also. The villa was near the Hotel Cocumella. It was about a 15 -20 minute walk into town - a killer on the hot days, which was ervery day, but we got used to it.
After carrying the luggage up the 25 marble steps, we went out grocery shopping. We did this many times when we stayed in Massa Lubrense a few years ago so we knew exactly where to get groceries, wine, pastry, bread, etc. During the week, we cooked all our breakfasts and most of our dinners. We had dinner at La Tonnarella one night - view was spectacular and the meal was good but not great. On two other nights, we had dinners in Massa Lubrense. We returned to one of our favorite restaurants, Riccardo di Francischiello at the Hotel Buena Vista. The meal was fabulous as was the view of Capri. Our other dinner was at Cantuccio at Piazza del Vescovado which is on the bay in the town center of Massa Lubrense. Dinner with a view here was wonderful!
On our second night (Saturday), there was a wedding at the hotel in another villa (this one was seaside) which was renovated since our last visit and is now used for functions. While sitting at the pool during the day, we watched them setting up the inside and outside for the wedding - tables being placed on the terrace and in the main hall and covered with beautiful table cloths and then set with china, silverware, and crystal glasses for the wedding dinner. Panels with bows and flowers were placed at strategic points to try to make the setting more private. Later in the afternoon, a flurry of flowers appeared on every table. People began arriving early in the evening just as we decided to go out for a while. When we returned to the villa at night, the party was in full swing - band playing, people singing. We could hear the celebration from the apartment bedroom so I opened the window to enjoy the music. The first band sang and played more contemporary music and then, late at night, a different singer began singing old Neapolitan songs which I remembered from my childhood. The guests were singing also and I sang along with them from the bedroom window (good thing the wedding guests couldn?t hear me, but perhaps our villa neighbors could) and we danced around the room until the celebration was over. We poured ourselves glasses of Italian wine, toasted the new couple and wished them well and toasted ourselves with good wishes for beginning 35 years of marriage. The end of another magnificent day in Italy!
Our week in Sorrento was filled with lots of little side trips - the time just flew by! We drove to Positano one day. Another day we went to Sant Agata sui due Golfi and Massa Lubrense.On another day, we visited my relatives in Ercolano and spent a few hours in Napoli. This was such a fun adventure! Naples is a huge city. We stopped to walk around a beach area called Mergellina. Afterwards, we drove ?goppa Mergellina? to see the view from up in the hills. My cousins came with us and we all sang Italian songs as my husband drove us around.
The music of Italy just semed to surround us everywhere we went!
On another day we returned to Gaeta and had a wonderful visit there. We were both surprised by the beauty of the town and the nearby area. The old section was very interesting with narrow streets, hidden parks, and stone tunnels all taking you up the hill to reward you with a spectacular view of the other side of the peninsula. We did find the cemetery but, unfortunately, it was closed on the day we were there. So, we will just have to go back to Gaeta on another trip to Italy.
Our week in Sorrento flew by and now it was time to leave for France.
We enjoyed the ride (roomy, new car - name we did not recognize) and took a quick side trip to Gaeta to see the place where my paternal grandfather was born. It was a longer ride than we expected to get to Gaeta from the highway. We stopped for lunch at Villa Irlanda Grand Hotel in Gaeta which was a lovely hotel with beautiful grounds. It consisted of 3 villas with about 40 rooms and suites, large pool area, and restaurant all postioned on a hill near the sea. We planned to return to Gaeta on another day to spend more time looking around the town and locating the cemetery to try to find my the graves of my great grandparents.
Sorrento:
We stayed at an apartment in Villa Cavalieri on the grounds of the beautiful gardens of the Parco di Principi which is in a section of Sorrento called Sant? Agnello. We stayed at that hotel 16 years ago on our first family trip to Italy.
The apartment was on the primo terra (US second floor) in a 3 level villa which was a short walk from the hotel and was just a few steps from the hotel pool. The pool was actually closer to the apartment than it was to the hotel! The apartment was air-conditioned and was more spacious than we expected. It had two large bedrooms (sleeps 2 each - one with full bed and other with two twins), two full baths, large living room with tv, a large dining area which seated 6-8 and a small kitchen with dishwasher, fridge, gas stove and washing machine (with a speed wash cycle!). There was another small, very sunny room which had an extra fold-up bed in a cabinet. We used this area to dry our clothes and iron as needed.
The rooms were all done in white and Mediterranean blue-green tones. The entire apartment had a gorgeous Italian tile floor. I loved the floor to ceiling windows with narrow balconies and the views of the beautiful grounds. We did not have a sea view, but it was just a few steps to the view of the Bay of Naples and the beautiful pool area which overlooked the bay also. The villa was near the Hotel Cocumella. It was about a 15 -20 minute walk into town - a killer on the hot days, which was ervery day, but we got used to it.
After carrying the luggage up the 25 marble steps, we went out grocery shopping. We did this many times when we stayed in Massa Lubrense a few years ago so we knew exactly where to get groceries, wine, pastry, bread, etc. During the week, we cooked all our breakfasts and most of our dinners. We had dinner at La Tonnarella one night - view was spectacular and the meal was good but not great. On two other nights, we had dinners in Massa Lubrense. We returned to one of our favorite restaurants, Riccardo di Francischiello at the Hotel Buena Vista. The meal was fabulous as was the view of Capri. Our other dinner was at Cantuccio at Piazza del Vescovado which is on the bay in the town center of Massa Lubrense. Dinner with a view here was wonderful!
On our second night (Saturday), there was a wedding at the hotel in another villa (this one was seaside) which was renovated since our last visit and is now used for functions. While sitting at the pool during the day, we watched them setting up the inside and outside for the wedding - tables being placed on the terrace and in the main hall and covered with beautiful table cloths and then set with china, silverware, and crystal glasses for the wedding dinner. Panels with bows and flowers were placed at strategic points to try to make the setting more private. Later in the afternoon, a flurry of flowers appeared on every table. People began arriving early in the evening just as we decided to go out for a while. When we returned to the villa at night, the party was in full swing - band playing, people singing. We could hear the celebration from the apartment bedroom so I opened the window to enjoy the music. The first band sang and played more contemporary music and then, late at night, a different singer began singing old Neapolitan songs which I remembered from my childhood. The guests were singing also and I sang along with them from the bedroom window (good thing the wedding guests couldn?t hear me, but perhaps our villa neighbors could) and we danced around the room until the celebration was over. We poured ourselves glasses of Italian wine, toasted the new couple and wished them well and toasted ourselves with good wishes for beginning 35 years of marriage. The end of another magnificent day in Italy!
Our week in Sorrento was filled with lots of little side trips - the time just flew by! We drove to Positano one day. Another day we went to Sant Agata sui due Golfi and Massa Lubrense.On another day, we visited my relatives in Ercolano and spent a few hours in Napoli. This was such a fun adventure! Naples is a huge city. We stopped to walk around a beach area called Mergellina. Afterwards, we drove ?goppa Mergellina? to see the view from up in the hills. My cousins came with us and we all sang Italian songs as my husband drove us around.
The music of Italy just semed to surround us everywhere we went!
On another day we returned to Gaeta and had a wonderful visit there. We were both surprised by the beauty of the town and the nearby area. The old section was very interesting with narrow streets, hidden parks, and stone tunnels all taking you up the hill to reward you with a spectacular view of the other side of the peninsula. We did find the cemetery but, unfortunately, it was closed on the day we were there. So, we will just have to go back to Gaeta on another trip to Italy.
Our week in Sorrento flew by and now it was time to leave for France.
