It seems we have so many new posters heading off to Italy. I'm ashamed to say I never contributed a formal trip report from May 2000. So here goes if you're interested. I won't quote prices since the info is pre-Euro, but our hotels were 3 & 4*, 2 people 2 beds & averaged $100 US/night.<BR><BR>Best friend & I traveled separately LAX into Milan Malpensa. She on BA through Heathrow -business class w/ FF miles - lucky bum, and I on Lufthansa through Frankfurt. Both managed to make connections & arrive at Milan within a hour of each other. On time & no lost luggage! Both airlines, service, etc. fine. Met at Malpensa w/ no problem. Took Malpensa Express train then taxi to hotel. Very easy. Traveling light with a carry on sized roller + a small cosmetic bag.<BR><BR>Stayed at Antica Locanda dei Mercanti just a couple blocks from Duomo. Great location, very helpful English-speaking staff, good with suggestions, directions. Small rooms & bath, but devinely comfortable beds w/ real linen sheets! Breakfast not included, but avail on request & served in room. Highly recommend this hotel! Visited the Duomo, the Galleria, & did some window shopping. Ate gellato immediately!<BR><BR>Next morning, taxi to Milano Centrale, train to Stresa, 1 hour. Walked to public boat dock in Stresa from station, downhill a few blocks. Public boat to Isola dei Pescatori to Hotel Verbano. Service ends 19:00. What a treat! So charming & incredible views. Hotel Verbano is the only hotel on the island, only 12 rooms, restaurant (very good w/ extensive wine list), outdoor dining terrace. Our double twin room shared a HUGE lake-side terrace with 3 other rooms. Day gained humidity quickly & we had a booming lightening storm late that night. Visited the other Borromean Islands and liked Isola Bella the best. Be sure to take the villa tour, very unique. Lots of Italians out today, Sunday & Mother's Day.<BR><BR>Day 2: Boat up to Villa Taranto to see the gardens. They should have been in full spring bloom, but spring was early & hot, so we missed it! Summer plantings had not been done yet. Strolled Stresa which we really liked & found (you guessed it) a great gellato shop!<BR><BR>Arranged w/ hotel for private boat pick up next am so we could get early train down to Siena. Helpful hint: have the boat drop you at the dock closest to the station, not the regular public boat dock! No taxis cruising in Stresa early, had to run for the train! On to Siena....

Changed trains in Milano Centrale & Florence. Chatted with 2 brothers going to class at the University. <BR><BR>Arrived at Siena & taxied to car rental which was Avis. Just outside the city walls. They didn't have our requested car & gave us an "upgrade" to a larger car which we really didn't want. Oh, well.<BR><BR>Up the Chianti highway to the village of San Sano near Gaiole. Stayed at the Residencia San Sano for 4 nights. Huge room, nice modern bath. Lovely, tiny village. Picture postcard perfect in the middle of olive groves & vineyards plus a pool. Breakfast included cereals, meat, cheese, juice besides the usual. Served in the herb & flower garden under the arbors. Excellent dinner optional featuring local specialties each night. Village also has a wonderful family run trattoria that was so good we ate there twice. San Sano was our overall favorite place of the trip!<BR><BR>Very easy driving in Tuscany, but roads are windy in Chianti & took longer than we anticipated. Lots of cycling groups on the hilly roads. Also saw one hiking group emerging from cross-country that looked pretty winded.<BR><BR>Did day trips to San Gimignano & Volterra; Greve where we visited a leather factory that produces for YSL & others; wine tasting at Castello di Brolio; and long lunch at Badia a Coultibono then spend the afternoon recovering by the pool. Hated to leave, but on by car to Orvieto...

We had also done a day trip to Siena. Found parking without too much trouble & put our ticket on the dash. Walked up to the Campo, which was larger than we thought & climbed the tower. Great views, put pretty sweaty going! Siena had an awful lot of tour groups, etc., very interesting medieval buidings & streets. I especially enjoyed all the very interesting door knockers. I believe most of them are modeled after the Cantradi (SP?) symbols.<BR><BR>Finding the right highway in the tangle of freeways around Siena was our only difficulty. Spent about 45 frustrating minutes (my friend is not the best navigator) and finally got it.<BR><BR>Detoured to Pienza & Montepulciano where we made the fatal mistake of not taking the first public parking lot we saw. Got caught up in the steep, narrow roads, did a lot of multi-point turns. The high point was getting stopped on a very steep hill (stick shift) behind the city shuttle bus with the usual eager Italian right on our rear bumper. Trying not to roll back, I burned rubber & garnered a startled look from the elderly lady standing next to our car! We considered this part of the trip a great success - no accident, no ticket, no arrest!<BR><BR>Country around Montepulciano is much less mountainous than Chianti. Rolling green hills & beautiful views! Stopped in on the spur of the moment & tried to get a tour at a pecorino farm, but no luck.

Arriving in Orvieto, parked in the car park & Hotel Piccolomini picked us up for shuttle to hotel. Met up with a 3rd friend at the hotel & explored Orvieto. We really loved this town! So unique, so ancient & modern at the same time. Cyber cafes in ancient buildings. Almost NO tourists anywhere & a great town for the evening stroll with the locals. Lots of great artisans, ceramics, wine stores & fabulous food in the restaurants. Such an easy town to walk around. You can't get lost - it's kind of like being on a small island. Hotel Piccolomini very comfortable, good breakfast included, helpful staff. Really enjoyed Sunday mass at the duomo, the Etruscan museum, underground caves tour & Etruscan tomb excavation site below town.<BR><BR>Managed to get a sinus infection & stopped in to the Ospediale. Saw a nurse with NO WAIT, translated & mimed my symptoms. Doctor wrote out a prescription and I was on my way in 10 minutes - NO CHARGE! On to the farmacia, again no wait, and only half the cost of US prescriptions. I like the Italian system!<BR><BR>Did day trips to Civita di Bagnoreggio - a MUST SEE - take coin change for parking spots. Wonderful,isolated, nearly abandonded town on a plateau. Only access is a 20 minute walk! Lots of lovely flowers. Only about 20 people left living there.<BR><BR>Also did day trip to Deruta for ceramics & Todi. Was not very impressed with the quality of ceramics in Deruta, compared to the Rampini factory in Chianti. Todi was lovely & would have liked to have more time there. Hiked up to the fort & park at the top of the town. Also enjoyed the rollerblade exhibition being held in the piazza!<BR><BR>Dropped the car in Orvieto, a couple blocks from train station. Check your agency hours to make sure they're open. Avis office was closed on Sundays. Only train station where ticket seller didn't speak English. Had enough Italian to purchase next tickets on to Santa Margherita Ligure. Hint: I like to print out train schedules for point to point destinations. Very helpful. Also, if time is tight, I confirm schedules & buy tickets for next departure upon arrival in town.<BR><BR>Trained to SML with changes in Pisa. Stopped for 3 hours in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower & Duomo. the Duomo was much more beautiful than I had expected. Pisa also had the most tacky tourist trap shops & hoards of tour groups! 3 hours was definitely enough - but we did stop for gelatto! Important note: NO taxis at train station unless called for ahead of time! Stood at the taxi stand with a couple who were going to miss their plane at the Pisa airport.<BR><BR>Long train ride, but did pass by Carrara. Amazing to see half a mountain gone from quarrying activity! Would have loved to stop for a tour.<BR><BR>Arrived SML & took taxi to Hotel Laurin for 3 nights....

Hotel Laurin not too far from station, but down a couple long flights of stairs. Located right on the marina, perfectly comfortable, a Best Western, the most "chain-type" of place we stayed on the trip, but still quite European. We had a double/double with the large private terrace ocean view. Our guy friend had a "single" room the size of a closet. Breakfast here left something to be desired compared to our other hotels.<BR><BR>Trained to the Cinque Terra, 1 hour to Riomaggiore. Started hiking about 10:30am - too late for unusually warm May. Stopped for lunch in Corniglia & I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant! It was fabulous! Located in the town piazza next to the church, of course. Hiked on to Vernazza where we pooped out & collapsed on the last stairs - across from the gellato shop! Got a great picture of about 30 people sitting & greedily licking their gellato after a long, hot hike. Tons of wildflowers during May!<BR><BR>Took the boat over to Portofino (20 Min) from SML, arrived before 10am & enjoyed the tiny town before all the cruise ship and tour groups arrived. Window shopped only, but you could spend some serious $$$$ here! Enjoyed a long lunch w/ lots of wine and watched the monsterous yachts pull in. Quite something those "rich & famous". <BR><BR>We really liked SML! Wonderful main street shopping where we picked up picnic items for our terrace dining. Had dinner one night at La Cambusa, very good & great atmosphere. SML has a lovely sea-side piazza where the families & friends gather each evening.<BR><BR>Next stop - Milan again...

Trained back to Milan so friend could depart from Malpensa. With one more full day in Milan, she did the museum/shopping thing, while I opted for Lake Como. Took the Metro to Milano Centrale - easy! Trained to Varenna which has a cute little station, but it was unmanned. Began to rain & clouds obsured the views. Did take the ferry to Bellagio, but probably didn't fully appreciate it with the crummy weather. Ran into a honeymoon couple who had taken the Orvieto cave tour with us! Trains returning to Milan not very frequent & had to wait 2 hours for the next one. Rats!<BR><BR>Dinner & strolling in Milan. Shocked to discover the hard way that the Metro stops running in downtown Milan at 19:00!!! Never would have dreamed it! Got a nice hotel desk clerk to call us a cab. <BR><BR>Friend departs early for Malpensa & I taxi to Centrale for train to Venice. Only full train of the trip. People boarding in Verona had to stand the rest of the way. On to Venice, the only repeat location on this trip....

Stayed at the Albergo Paganelli 4 nights. Took vaporetto all the way down the Grand Canal to the San Z. stop. Even when you've seen it before - it still takes your breath away!<BR><BR>Hotel is right on the lagoon close to Piazza San Marco. Very old & creaky, very Venecian furnishings, no elevator, breakfast room in the newer annex around the corner. Lovely elderly brothers owners, but they may be gone by now....when I made my res via fax, they were thrilled to hear that I was returning. I had stayed here on my first trip & returned mainly for convenience & price. Fodor's rated just a 1 star, but a small single room was comfortable for me.<BR><BR>A storm blew in(really blew, like the Santa Ana winds where I come from) complete with banging shutters and a little alta aqua! Piazza San Marco flooded just slightly, but the wind blew away all the humidity & haze in the air. This is why people fall in love with Venice!! 2 days of blue skies & sparkling tourquoise water! <BR><BR>On this repeat trip, I loved having the time to see:<BR><BR>Murano & Burano (great for photos)<BR><BR>Il Fairi (where Verdi is entombed & amazing Titian masterpiece hangs above the alter. Short hours but near the Accademia - check your timing.<BR><BR>Ca d'Oro Museum - loved seeing what a palazzo on the Grand Canal looks like on the inside! Plus great art.<BR><BR>Accademia - spent a long time here<BR><BR>Guggenheim - OK<BR><BR>the church where all the Doges are buried - can't remember the name - anyone?<BR><BR>La Scuola di San Rocco - absolutely amazing, don't miss!<BR><BR>Piazza San Marco at night with the orchestras......<BR><BR>Home out of Venice for LESS than returning from Milan on a weekday! One last gellato then took Alilaguna boat to Marco Polo - kicking & screaming all the way!<BR><BR>Hope this wasn't too boring & if anyone has questions, I'll be glad to help if I can.<BR>

What a wonderful trip report! Thank you for sharing this!

Dayle...<BR><BR>thanks so much ,I have copied for future use.<BR><BR>Wonderful report

Thanks Dayle<BR>You are getting me all excited for Venice in less than a week!<BR>Woo Hooooo!

Hi, just curious, your itinerary sounds familiar. Did you use the Rick Steves book?

LOL - I'm glad that you were able to survive being wedged between the bus and the 'eager' Italian in those steep, Medieval streets! <BR><BR>Dayle, that was a long trip! How many nights did you stay? 17? 18?<BR><BR>San Sano sounds quite lovely and a good base for day-trips.<BR><BR>Thanks for posting, it will be a while before I'm able to go back, so I have to live vicariously.

Mille grazie Dayle, A great report that any traveler to Italy should read.

Dear Dayle,<BR><BR>Really enjoyed reading about your trip. This June we're going to the Riviera, Lake Como and Switzerland.<BR><BR>Next year Tuscany/Orvieto sounds great. And I'll see how long I can hold off before returning to magical Venice!<BR><BR>hanks for some great reading while at work on a snowy day.<BR><BR>Nancy<BR>

Hi Mariarosa - I had 19 days, plus travel days, on this trip:<BR>Milan - 1 nt<BR>Stresa 2 nts<BR>San Sano 4 nts<BR>Orvieto 3 nts<BR>SML 3 nts<BR>Milan 2 nts<BR>Venice 4 nts<BR><BR>X - read Rick Steve's Italy book, but used it only for suggestions. Civita di Bagnoreggio was about the only recommendation we used from him. It was a great one!<BR><BR>Hotels chosen mainly from Fodor's "Hotels & Inns of Charm & Character - Italy" and confirmed w/ recommendations from posters here.<BR><BR>Looked at Karen Brown, but most of her properties were too expensive for us & too remote for where we wanted to go.<BR><BR>Thanks to all Fodorites for great advice! I'm sure you will have great trips too.

Topping to peruse later

Dayle, I agree, I'm not a Steves-ite by any means but I did learn of Civita from him. I don't think any of the other popular guidebooks even mention it. But what a treat!

Dayle-are you the Dayle that helped me with questions on our trip to the Olympics? If so, hi! I am on the European board more than the US board.<BR>Your trip report was great!! <BR>Thanks!<BR>Shadow

Dayle, thanks so much for the report, worth the wait. You were concise and interesting, but now I want to be in Venice!!!! Thanks again, where to next?<BR>

Great report..Will be in SML end April & going as a solo..Was thinking of hotel Laurin but now concerned I may get that "closet" single room! Any other suggestions? Anyone? Did you book direct on-line? Best websites for Italy Hotels? Thanks