Impending Italy trip
 

I am so excited...we leave for our trip this Friday! This is my first post but I have really enjoyed reading all of the great info from all of you experienced travelers.

Our itenterary is:

April 2,3,4 ROME

April 5 ORVIETO for the day on the way to
Florence

April 6 FLORENCE

April 7,8 MONTEROSSO AL MARE

April 9,10,11 VENICE

Has anyone taken the ENJOYROME ancient/old Rome tour on Sundays? It sounds good except they said that you could only see the Colosseum from the OUTSIDE on this tour. Does that sound odd?

Also, any restaurant recommendations for any of our cities would be greatly appreciated. We are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary and looking for romance! Thanks!

I Sette Consoli in Orvieto, an easy walk from the Duomo, don't miss it!

For Rome:
La Cisterna
Via della Cisterna 13
Phone: 06-581-2543

Run by the same family for decades, it is great.

Also in Rome:
Trattoria der Pallaro
located off the Campo de fiore. Tiny, local and fantastic. A set menu, they just bringing you food, and not expensive. We go everytime we are there.

VENICE:
For something really fab, take a day trip out to the Island of Burano. There is a great restaurant there,
Al Raspo de Ua Trattoria
Via Galuppi
560 Burano

Molta buona!

I love Orvieto, but can't recall the restaurant where we ate! Mi dispiace! (Mee Dis Pee Ah Chay) (I am sorry)

Buon viaggio!

Hi mc,

I Sette Consoli is one of the best restaurants in the region. Make reservations for lunch in the garden. about 40E pp for the fixed price menu.

In Florence, we liked
Il Ritrovo, 4 via dei Pucci, opens at 7:30.
This is a MUST. We ate there twice and were hard pressed to spend 100E for two with wine for a meal that was well prepared and beautifully presented.

Owned by Marco, who does the cooking, and Rosetta, who is the server, this is a lovely place in a vaulted, white-washed basement.

Dinner opens with a complimentary proseco and closes with ice cold limoncello. In between are pasta, risotto, prawns, shrimp, veal, lamb, beef, vegetables, fruits and sweets that are fresh, perfectly ripe, carefully prepared and beatifully presented.

Cantinetta Antinori, 3 Via degli Antinori
Great ambience, perfect service, excellent wines, VG+ food. About 125E with wine. Pasta in a sauce of zucchini blossoms, pine nuts and cream was particularly interesting.

Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco, 43 Borgo San Jacapo
Very pleasant atmosphere. Good, but not outstanding, food. Interesting local wines.

Osteria Dell Agnolo, Borgo San Lorenzo 24r
Stopped in for a pizza and a bottle of wine. Looks like a nice place for lunch or dinner. 25 kinds of pasta. Pizza made in house in a wood-fired oven.

Gusto Winebar and Pizza, 2 Via del Proconsolo
Pleasant wines, generous salads, low prices.

Ciro & Sons, Pzza di San Giovanni
Nice place for a pizza and bottle of wine. Good service and ambience. Pricey

Salaam Bombay, Via F. Rosselli 45r
Where the locals go if they want something exotic. A good, inexpensive Indian restaurant. Excellent nan.

((I))

Ira: thanks for all the great suggestions. Tucking the list in my bag - we leave in 5 weeks. Woo hoo!

I had a wonderful meal at Osteria San Patrizio in Orvieto. (Corso Cavour 312)

Here is a great link for a restaurant guide. it is a pdf document so you have to have adobe to pull it up and is only for Rome restaurants.

http://www.romaturismo.it/v2/richies...itipici_en.pdf

For lunch at I Sette Consoli in Orvieto, I am assuming that we can make them that AM when we arrive or should I call in advance?

Also, has anyone taken the underground tour or done wine tasting at Tenuta Le Velette?

Any info on the ENJOYROME tours?

I took that Enjoy Rome tour, but not on Sunday. My daughter and I went into the Colosseum before the tour began and walked all through it. Then the tour walked around it and filled us in on all the history. Our tour guide was a PhD candidate in classical archeology at the University of Rome. We enjoyed it very much. This was two years ago, however, and the guides may well be different.

>For lunch at I Sette Consoli in Orvieto, I am assuming that we can make them that AM when we arrive or should I call in advance? <

Call in advance.

((I))

Has anyone every used Icon Tours in Rome?