Italy -- just back from a two week vacation
Sep 23rd, 2003, 12:40 PM
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Italy -- just back from a two week vacation
First and foremost, I do want to thank all of you for sharing your experiences, suggestions and opinions. I booked my entire trip based on this board (and a few suggestions from Rick Steve?s and Karen Brown?s travel books). My husband and I had a wonderful 16-day trip. This is not a trip report, but more of the informational on the hotels and other services that we found interesting or useful. It came out longer than I thought, so I apologize in advance.
We flew Alitalia from Newark to Milan. I vowed never again to fly Alitalia. Service is bad. After we landed, the inside of the cabin looked like ?a morning after a fraternity? party. But, that?s aside, it got us there.
Hotels
Milan ? Hotel Gritti. It was a last minute change of plans. Location is unbeatable; it is in the middle of the historic center. But, it is what other people have said: tiny rooms, tiny bathroom. It?s clean. Stuff speaks English. I wouldn?t stay there for more than one night, but it served its purpose.
Venice ? stayed in Anitca Venezia. Very cute, family-run hotel. 2 minutes from St. Marco?s Square, in the quite alley. I would stay there again. The only downside is that there is no elevator. We enjoyed Venice, however, the amount of tourists and tour-groups is simply overwhelming for such a small town.
Florence ? hotel Bellettini ? stayed in the annex and absolutely loved it. Large nicely decorated rooms, big bathrooms ? we even had a bathtub. Big breakfast. I would strongly recommend this place.
In Florence we picked a car up that I booked over the web through italybycar.com. No problems at all. Even though they messed up our reservation, they had a different car available for an immediate pick up.
Siena ? stayed at Bureau Palazzo Ravizza ? another great find. Very corteous, English-speaking staff, absolutely amazing view of the tuscan countryside from the room?s window.
Montepulciano ? stayed at Il Riccio ? it?s in the heart of town. This was the best value for the price out of all the hotels that we stayed in. This hotel is run by a husband and a wife, and we truly felt like guests at their house. Again, there is no elevator, but the place is so much worth it.
Rome -- Residenza Canali ai Coronari. The hotel is within 2 minutes walking from Piazza Navona, so once again, it?s hard to beat location-wise. We had a nice room w/a balcony. Staff is nice and helpful. Some speak English better than others, but we didn?t have problems communicating or explaining what we needed.
The downside ? no elevator. I also didn?t realize this when making reservations. And since this was by the end of the trip, hauling heavy suitcases up and down the stairs wasn?t exactly on the top of our list.
Trains ? we took Eurostar from Milan to Venice and Venice to Florence. I bought tickets for Venice when we flew into Milan, and for Florence, once we arrived in Venice. We traveled first class, which was nice. We took a side trip to Capri from Rome, and went 2nd class ? frankly, I didn?t notice much of a difference, except that it?s more crowded. but you still have your assigned seats.
Tours -- I booked Scavi Tours for Rome, and I would very strongly recommend it. I also used Scala Reale for Rome ? wonderful. Not only did we have a package with pertinent information about Rome when we arrived, their groups are small (6 people), docents are charming and very knowledgeable. We took two 4-hour tours on 2 consecutive days, and both times walked away wanting to go to the bookstore right away and read more about what we just heard.
Driving ? Once you?re on the highway or on the country roads, it?s a free reign. When you?re in the city you just have to be more aware of scooters, people walking right in front of your car, and narrow streets. I didn?t realize that most of the towns don?t have sidewalks, so people and cars share the same road. But, as long as you?re paying attention, it?s not a problem to get in or out of the city.
Food ? I will probably appall pasta lovers around the world, but I found food to be a little bit of a disappointment. Most of the restaurants offer the same menu and choices regardless of location. There is some variation, but I didn?t find it to be significant. We didn?t eat at the high-end restaurants, I would say anywhere between $40-60 for 2 people for dinner. From what I gathered by talking to other people in Italy, it?s not a matter of food, but location of a restaurant, eating inside or outside, etc. I was also surprised by the lack of ethnic food ? there is practically nothing besides Italian. Also, I would not recommend ordering house wine. Our first week, that?s all we tried in different places and it was really horrible. You can pay x-tra 2 euros and get a really nice bottle of wine.
And, your meal does not have to last 2 hours. In most of the places, we were served right away and it was up to us if we wanted to take 40 minutes to finish our entire dinner or make it last for 3 hours. I liked the fact that nobody was rushing us to get out and we could sit another half-hour after dinner finishing half-a-glass of wine.
Shopping ? I didn?t find shopping to be that?s great, unless you know where to go. And, when you only have that many days in one place, it?s a shame to spend it all looking for deals.
Venice, if you are looking for glass, go to Murano island ? the prices are cheaper there than on the island itself. We paid $140 for an item that was between $300-500 everywhere else.
I thought the best shopping was in Rome, but as I read in one of the travel books, if you see something, buy it. It happened to me several times.
Ok, well I guess I covered it all.
We flew Alitalia from Newark to Milan. I vowed never again to fly Alitalia. Service is bad. After we landed, the inside of the cabin looked like ?a morning after a fraternity? party. But, that?s aside, it got us there.
Hotels
Milan ? Hotel Gritti. It was a last minute change of plans. Location is unbeatable; it is in the middle of the historic center. But, it is what other people have said: tiny rooms, tiny bathroom. It?s clean. Stuff speaks English. I wouldn?t stay there for more than one night, but it served its purpose.
Venice ? stayed in Anitca Venezia. Very cute, family-run hotel. 2 minutes from St. Marco?s Square, in the quite alley. I would stay there again. The only downside is that there is no elevator. We enjoyed Venice, however, the amount of tourists and tour-groups is simply overwhelming for such a small town.
Florence ? hotel Bellettini ? stayed in the annex and absolutely loved it. Large nicely decorated rooms, big bathrooms ? we even had a bathtub. Big breakfast. I would strongly recommend this place.
In Florence we picked a car up that I booked over the web through italybycar.com. No problems at all. Even though they messed up our reservation, they had a different car available for an immediate pick up.
Siena ? stayed at Bureau Palazzo Ravizza ? another great find. Very corteous, English-speaking staff, absolutely amazing view of the tuscan countryside from the room?s window.
Montepulciano ? stayed at Il Riccio ? it?s in the heart of town. This was the best value for the price out of all the hotels that we stayed in. This hotel is run by a husband and a wife, and we truly felt like guests at their house. Again, there is no elevator, but the place is so much worth it.
Rome -- Residenza Canali ai Coronari. The hotel is within 2 minutes walking from Piazza Navona, so once again, it?s hard to beat location-wise. We had a nice room w/a balcony. Staff is nice and helpful. Some speak English better than others, but we didn?t have problems communicating or explaining what we needed.
The downside ? no elevator. I also didn?t realize this when making reservations. And since this was by the end of the trip, hauling heavy suitcases up and down the stairs wasn?t exactly on the top of our list.
Trains ? we took Eurostar from Milan to Venice and Venice to Florence. I bought tickets for Venice when we flew into Milan, and for Florence, once we arrived in Venice. We traveled first class, which was nice. We took a side trip to Capri from Rome, and went 2nd class ? frankly, I didn?t notice much of a difference, except that it?s more crowded. but you still have your assigned seats.
Tours -- I booked Scavi Tours for Rome, and I would very strongly recommend it. I also used Scala Reale for Rome ? wonderful. Not only did we have a package with pertinent information about Rome when we arrived, their groups are small (6 people), docents are charming and very knowledgeable. We took two 4-hour tours on 2 consecutive days, and both times walked away wanting to go to the bookstore right away and read more about what we just heard.
Driving ? Once you?re on the highway or on the country roads, it?s a free reign. When you?re in the city you just have to be more aware of scooters, people walking right in front of your car, and narrow streets. I didn?t realize that most of the towns don?t have sidewalks, so people and cars share the same road. But, as long as you?re paying attention, it?s not a problem to get in or out of the city.
Food ? I will probably appall pasta lovers around the world, but I found food to be a little bit of a disappointment. Most of the restaurants offer the same menu and choices regardless of location. There is some variation, but I didn?t find it to be significant. We didn?t eat at the high-end restaurants, I would say anywhere between $40-60 for 2 people for dinner. From what I gathered by talking to other people in Italy, it?s not a matter of food, but location of a restaurant, eating inside or outside, etc. I was also surprised by the lack of ethnic food ? there is practically nothing besides Italian. Also, I would not recommend ordering house wine. Our first week, that?s all we tried in different places and it was really horrible. You can pay x-tra 2 euros and get a really nice bottle of wine.
And, your meal does not have to last 2 hours. In most of the places, we were served right away and it was up to us if we wanted to take 40 minutes to finish our entire dinner or make it last for 3 hours. I liked the fact that nobody was rushing us to get out and we could sit another half-hour after dinner finishing half-a-glass of wine.
Shopping ? I didn?t find shopping to be that?s great, unless you know where to go. And, when you only have that many days in one place, it?s a shame to spend it all looking for deals.
Venice, if you are looking for glass, go to Murano island ? the prices are cheaper there than on the island itself. We paid $140 for an item that was between $300-500 everywhere else.
I thought the best shopping was in Rome, but as I read in one of the travel books, if you see something, buy it. It happened to me several times.
Ok, well I guess I covered it all.
Sep 23rd, 2003, 04:53 PM
#4
Yana we also noticed the absence of ethnic restaurants in Italy. We live in L.A. where you can find any kind of ethnic food you can think of (including Islamic-Chinese whatever that is, Ethiopian, Burmese, Moroccan, Peruvian, etc.). But we went to Italy to eat Italian food, so we were happy. We did see some repetition in the menus, but locals provided some great suggestions for more unusual dining experiences. That's one reason why I don't seek out restaurants mentioned in guidebooks.
Oct 21st, 2003, 06:22 AM
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Yana, great report!! Thank you for taking the time to share your trip experiences with us! My FI and I are planning on visiting Rome June 2004 for our honeymoon. Our first stop will be in Rome and we have booked Casa Howard's pink room. But after reading your post, I went on the website to look at the hotel, the terrace looks great! We are a bit concern about the no elevator situation, can you tell me how many floors did you have to walk up? And which junior suite has the best view? Will you stay at the hotel again on your next trip?
thanks
cindy
thanks
cindy
Oct 21st, 2003, 06:38 AM
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Your post is terrific. Your trip paralleled mine in many ways. Right on target with Alitalia, house wine and shopping...
We too stayed at the Palazzo Ravizza in Siena and we now have that wonderful view from our room hanging in our living room to enjoy day after day.
Food: Since my husband cannot eat pasta, he ate lots of Rissotto dishes in Italy which were wonderful and many times more interesting than the pasta dishes. Just a suggestion for your next trip.
Welcome back.
We too stayed at the Palazzo Ravizza in Siena and we now have that wonderful view from our room hanging in our living room to enjoy day after day.
Food: Since my husband cannot eat pasta, he ate lots of Rissotto dishes in Italy which were wonderful and many times more interesting than the pasta dishes. Just a suggestion for your next trip.
Welcome back.
Dec 23rd, 2003, 05:51 AM
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Cindy -- I haven't been on this board for a while, but I just read your question about the hotel -- we actually stayed in 2 different rooms, b/c our original room w/balcony was booked for the last night. Ironically, the room w/out a balcony was absolutely amazing (and cheaper) -- it was basically a suite. The room w/a balcony frankly wasn't worth the price: there are way too many flights of stairs (I think we were on the 3rd floor), but it seemed that we were climbing the Eiffel tower.
Also, the view from the balcony was not that's great -- we were literally looking at somebody else's living room window, a little weird.
I would stay there again -- by European and, frankly, American standards, the rooms and bathrooms are clean and spacious. Good luck and enjoy your honeymoon.
Also, the view from the balcony was not that's great -- we were literally looking at somebody else's living room window, a little weird.
I would stay there again -- by European and, frankly, American standards, the rooms and bathrooms are clean and spacious. Good luck and enjoy your honeymoon.
