lisa

DH and I returned on Monday from a wonderful trip to Italy -- my fourth, his first.

Normally we plan our trips far in advance but this one was a little more spur of the moment after we saw sale fares to Italy in March. Flew on Delta into Milan, rented a car with Avis, and drove to Manarola. As always, only brought carry-on luggage and were so glad we hadn't brought more as we wheeled our bags through town and carried them up and down stairs! Parked in the public lot above Manarola for our two nights there, 25 Euros. Stayed in a lovely apartment at Alla Porta Rossa -- the "Creme Caramel" suite which is small but has huge terraces with some of the most beautiful views of anyplace we've ever stayed. We really loved this place -- the location was fantastic. It was expensive (for us) at 250 Euros per night but frankly we were happy we found it -- when we were looking for a place to stay it was only 3 months before our trip and a lot of places in Cinque Terre were already booked up. It has a washing machine, and a small kitchen which is a plus -- we sat out on the terrace each morning eating breakfast and marveling at the views over the town, the vineyards, and the sea. On one side it overlooked a picturesque little square where some of the locals would gather each evening, often setting up a card table and chairs and playing cards or chatting -- and from that side we could also see the train tracks and the "Via del Amore" path to Riomaggiore. Another plus were the huge windows on three sides which could be completely opened up to let in the wonderful breezes and bring the outside in. To the extent there is any downside to this place, the bed is on the smaller side -- just a double (not queen or king), and the bathroom and particularly the shower is tiny. But everything is very nicely decorated, and spotless. We were met by Orfeo, who speaks limited English but showed us around the apartment and how everything worked, etc. -- and he gave us some good restaurant suggestions. Mark went to the little market up the street and got us a bottle of the local white wine, which we opened and enjoyed on our huge terrace with that remarkable view.

I will have to look up where we ate that first night, because it was very good -- one of Orfeo's recommendations. The next morning after sleeping in a bit (jetlag) and a late breakfast of yogurt and fruit on our terrace we took the ferry to Monterosso which was a great way to see all of the little towns on the way and get photos of them. Unfortunately the path between Monterosso and Vernazza was closed due to a mudslide, so after wandering around Monterosso a bit -- and having some bruschetta pomodoro to fortify myself -- we took the ferry to Vernazza and started our hike there. By then it was already early afternoon, and Mark picked up a panini and spinach pastry at a bakery in Vernazza to bring on the hike. It had started out cloudy that morning but by midday it was quite warm -- and the sun was intense on the path. Unfortunately I had neglected to put on sunscreen since it was overcast that morning, and ended up with a pretty good sunburn. The hike from Vernazza to Corniglia was definitely challenging in places, with a lot of up and down parts -- but it was absolutely gorgeous and there were all sorts of beautiful wildflowers along the way. We stopped a lot for photos, so what would have been around a 1.5-hour hike was actually quite a bit longer, closer to 3 hours.

Finally we arrived in Corniglia, which I thought was really charming. We rewarded ourselves with some gelato, our first of the trip, and sat in their little church square before heading off on the path to Manarola. Again, the hike was a bit challenging -- even for Mark, who is in much better shape than I am. We stopped a lot for photos on the way. By this time it was late afternoon, and the lower light was beautiful for photographs. We had made dinner reservations at Billy's for 7:30pm, which was great motivation to keep moving. In the end, by the time we made it back to the apartment to clean up before dinner, it was after 7pm -- a full day! In the end I wish we had had three nights in Manarola rather than two -- having only one full day in Cinque Terre was not quite enough for us. Dinner at Billy's was absolutely lovely. We had the BEST Caprese salad, with tiny tomatoes that were as sweet as candy. I had fresh anchovies with lemon and olive oil, which were good. We shared a bottle of local white wine. And we shared a dish of the local pasta with pesto that was delicious. Dessert was outstanding -- a fresh berry semifreddo made with "fruits of the woods" -- and our waiter brought bottles of cognac and limoncino to our table for us to sample. I think the total came to a little over 70 Euros -- and it was worth every penny. Plus, the view was very nice, although nothing could compare to the view from our apartment!

In the morning after checking out and putting our luggage in the car, we did a walk up around the town, through the vineyards, which was lovely, then walked the "Via dell'Amore" to Riomaggiore, which was very busy and touristy. Then we took the train back to Manarola, got in our car, and headed for Tuscany.

Of the towns in Cinque Terre, I loved Manarola by far the best and was thrilled that we stayed there. My second favorite town was Corniglia. Mark liked Vernazza a lot. Monterosso was nice too. Neither of us cared as much for Riomaggiore.

From Manarola we drove to our next location, just outside of San Gimignano, which took us a little over 4 hours. We stayed at La Torraccia di Chiusi, a farm about 5 km outside of town, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves (they make their own wine -- white and red -- and olive oil as well), and with a fantastic view. We loved this place. We arrived just after 6:30 pm and were met by the chef, Bruno. Having heard about his cooking we had reserved dinner there for that evening at 8pm, which was perfect after our long drive. We stayed in one of the suites on the top floor -- room 9 (room 8 has a better view, looking over San Gimignano, but our room was very nice too). The room was very large -- again with a huge terrace -- and the bathroom was a good size as well, plus there was an extra little sitting area. And the bed was large.

The first thing we did after checking in was change into our swimsuits, grab a bottle of white wine and two cups, and run down to the pool -- but it was freezing! Mark went in but I didn't have the courage. It was lovely to sit outside looking at the view and enjoying their delicious white wine, which they make on site. After going back to the room and cleaning up, we went down for dinner which was served outdoors. It was 5 courses -- bruschetta, pea soup with mint, roasted pork loin, pasta with vegetable sauce, and panna cotta with chocolate sauce. All for 25 Euros per person -- and delicious. Plus we had another bottle of their lovely wine.

The next day we enjoyed a delicious breakfast outdoors on their terrace and after wandering their lovely grounds and taking lots of photos, we did a great hike from Torraccia di Chiusi into San Gimignano. They said it would take about 1.5 hours but it actually took us three (this was a recurring theme throughout our trip...). It was very pretty. San Gimignano was very nice but I was glad we weren't staying there -- I loved the quiet of the countryside at Torraccia di Chiusi. In San Gimi, we walked to a square at the far end of the town (the quieter side) and sat outside and had a great lunch of pasta, salad, and bruschetta while listening to gorgeous choral music emanating from the church next to the square. Then we walked back to the main square, where Mark climbed one of the towers while I sat out on the square and people-watched. We picked up some bread and wild boar salami and cheese to have later, and ended up taking a taxi back to where we were staying, where we again sat out by the pool with some wine, and then ate our picnic dinner outside on our terrace under the stars. It was so peaceful.

The next day we explored the Chianti region. We drove up to Castellina and walked around enjoying the cute town, then up to Greve (which neither of us cared for), and finally Radda, which we really liked a lot. Along the way we stopped at Vignamaggio for some wine-tasting (pretty, lovely views, and nice, but we didn't like the wine enough to buy anything). And we had lunch in Radda, which was a bit impromptu, as the sky opened up and started pouring while we were walking around and we ducked into the nearest open cafe -- which turned out to be fortuitous because it was a wine bar with a very interesting menu, and the food and wine were great.

After that we drove to Volterra for the rest of the afternoon. We happened to be there on a day when there was a ceremony out on the main square, featuring townspeople dressed up in Renaissance costumes waiving flags representing different teams and enacting a series of tug of wars. It was very colorful and fun to watch. The town of Volterra was beautiful I thought, and I could see that it would be a nice town to stay in. We enjoyed a late dinner at a little pizzeria and drove back to La Torraccia di Chiusi.

The next day we checked out. We were a little sad to leave. The owner gave us a nice tour of his wine cellar, which is in an Etruscan tomb they discovered on the property. I forgot to mention, they have the sweetest dog -- Raja, a black and white border collie. One pleasant surprise upon checkout -- we never bothered to ask how much their wine was, but after having enjoyed three bottles of it, our final bill revealed the price -- 5 Euros per liter! Quite the delicious bargain. I highly recommend this place, and would love to return.

After leaving, we drove southeast through Tuscany, in the rain, to Orvieto, where we returned the car and boarded the train to Rome. We had hoped to have time to explore Orvieto, but we had gotten a late start, and the drive took longer than expected. It was nice to ride the train the rest of the way instead of driving. After arriving in Rome we took a taxi to our hotel, Albergo Cesari. We had reserved a standard double and prepaid for a reduced rate. I was glad we did not reserve a deluxe room, because our standard room was surprisingly large and very nice, a corner room with windows on two sides (double-paned, which blocked out the noise perfectly), with hardwood floors, a pretty view onto the square, a king-sized bed, and a spacious bathroom. Plus, it had a mini-frig. The hotel also had a very nice roofdeck, which was a bar at night and served a very good breakfast in the morning. The location was ideal, on a pedestrian-only street between Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain, very close to the Pantheon.

For dinner we went to a little family-run trattoria nearby with red and white checked tablecloths -- I think it was called Mario's but have to look it up and double-check. The food was good -- in fact, we did not have a single bad meal the entire trip -- and all of the prices were quite reasonable we thought. We always got the house red or white wine with our meals, and it was always pretty decent -- nothing to write home about, but very drinkable. After dinner we walked to Piazza Navona and enjoyed the people-watching while eating gelato (of course).

The next morning after breakfast on the roof we walked to Campo dei Fiori and took lots of photos around the marketplace. Then we walked to the Forum and the Colosseum. For these we had downloaded the free Rick Steves tours onto our iPods, which worked great. Then cabbed back to the hotel, walked to dinner at a little pizzeria near Piazza Navona at Pizzeria da Francesco (very good pizza & pasta). I was dead on my feet and went back to the room, while Mark walked over to the Trevi Fountain for a gelato before bed.

The next day we had reserved a Vatican Museum tour. It took about 30 minutes to walk there from our hotel. We were glad for the reservation because the line was long in the hot sun, and we got to skip it and walk right in -- that was 4 Euros per person well spent. It was my second time at the Vatican, and very crowded (it was a Saturday) but the beauty is just dazzling. My eyes ached from so much pretty. For the Sistine Chapel we had downloaded the free Rick Steves tour on our iPods and again this worked well. Then it was off to St. Peter's, where we also did the iPod tour. Next time I would choose a day other than Saturday for this tour, as they had quite a bit of St. Peter's roped off for services that evening and the next day. After St. Peter's we walked back to our 'hood and toured the Pantheon, then had pizza at da Buffetto which was terrible service but great pizza. And of course, walked over to Trevi fountain afterwards for gelato.

The next day we took a taxi to the airport for our flight home. One thing I forgot to mention: half of the facade of the Pantheon is covered with scaffolding, and there was also scaffolding around part of the outside at St. Peter's.

That's it -- wish we were back there now -- happy to answer any questions!

cathies

What a lovely report! Thank you so much for taking the time to write it. If you have them could you post the links for your accommodation in Tuscany and Rome as they both sound great and we are hoping to return next year! We stayed in Castellina when we were in Italy in 2006 and loved it as a base to explore. Shame about the scaffolding but I guess there is always some somewhere in such an old city.

zeppole

Thanks for the interesting report! Did Torraccia di Chiusi only offer dinner on your first night, or did you decide on your own to forego dinner there on subsequent nights?

White wine in San Gimignano is usually Vernaccia, which is a grape that originally was cultivated in Vernazza.

cathies, here is the website of Torraccia di Chiusi

http://www.torracciadichiusi.it/

cathies

Thanks Zeppole, it looks gorgeous. I've bookmarked it for next year.

lisa

Torraccia di Chiusi offers dinner every night. You just have to prebook so they know how many they're cooking for. It's really good. I forgot to mention, the olive oil (which we had on the bruschetta) was like ambrosia. Yum! The owners are delightful as is the staff. The husband is a Senator and works in Rome -- his wife runs the daily operations. If you need or want for anything, you just have to ask and they are extremely accommodating. My husband mentioned something about the view and they invited him in to their private living quarters upstairs to see it from there (and he said their home is divine). And they offered to show us their wine cellar. They also offer spa services, which we did not have time for but after peeking in their spa area before we left I think it would be very nice. Their gardens are truly beautiful.

The wine they make there is actually from chardonnay grapes -- but I almost would not have recognized it as a chardonnay (and I drink a lot of wine and enjoy all kinds). It was lighter and more minerally and drier than what we are used to -- definitely had a unique character that I liked very much with the local food. They had chickens and ducks which they raise (far enough away from the house that you don't hear the roosters crowing).

You can see the Creme Caramel Suite of Alla Porta Rossa in Manarola here:
http://www.allaportarossa.com/eeappcreme.htm

And Albergo Cesari in Rome here: http://www.albergocesari.it/inglese/hotel.htm

And it is worth reading reviews on tripadvisor for all three places.

Enjoy!

zeppole

Torraccia di Chiusi sounds like a real find! Interesting about the chardonnay. I'm pretty sure if I stayed there I'd eat and drink at the farm every night.

I can understand why you chose Alla Porta Rossa, but it is a sign of the times that hoteliers can charge 250e per night in le Cinque Terre in May. Since both my husband and I are near six feet (him over, me a bit less), I don't think we could have survived the double bed.

The Ligurian sun is fierce, isn't it? It can be a glorious day in the shade, and step out into the sun, and you are burining up in a few minutes!

lisa

I hear you zeppole. They did have a separate fold-out sofa in our apartment at Alla Porta Rossa-- small, but it worked. (My husband is over 6 feet as well, so it was nice to have the extra option.) If it weren't for those terraces and views, 250 Euros would have been unreasonable -- but honestly, given the views, we felt it was worth it. We spent an hour or so every morning and an hour or so every evening just sitting out there and soaking it up -- and if we went back I would probably stay there again.

Yes, it is amazing how strong the sun is there! In the shade it was actually chilly at times -- but the sun was fierce.

2010

I enjoyed reading your report very much! I was especially interested in your Rome portion since my husband & I are planning to go here next year. We are looking to stay at the Albergo Cesari.

It's good to know that the the hotel is well situated & the classic double room is comfortable. Do you remember your room number?

lisa

It was on the 2nd floor -- up two floors from the street level. I don't remember the room number unfortunately -- just that it was double digits and started with a 2.

zeppole

My first visit to the Italian Riviera, I never left my terrace! Ever! (Except to eat of course, but then I went right back.)

I can very well understand why you thought it was worth it. But before you rebook at those prices, consider other places in Liguria, inside le Cinque Terre and beyond it. With that budget, you have a very wide array of choices with terraces -- plus king sized beds -- and having seen le Cinque Terre, you might enjoy experiencing the towns beyond le Cinque Terre, which get far fewer tourists, and the trails are in better shape so they seldom close.

annhig

hi lisa - sounds as if you had a great trip. I do sympathise about the splurge on the CT - the views are terrific. though what Zeppole says about alternatives is very interesting - care to be more specific, Zep?

I'd heard of the Albergo Cesari here before; as we have so far always been to Rome en famillie, we've rented apartments, but it would make a good choice for a couple. and I love the idea of the roof bar.

your pick near San Gim looks a real gem - not cheap but good value. the walks that you talk about, both there and on the CT, did you plan them in advance or just ask for advice when you got there?

aussiedreamer

Another great read. What would I do without fodors

I'm a new convert to Rick Steves, so I will be checking out the ipod idea, thank you. And thanks for the food reports, always my favourite part of a report.

cathies

aussiedreamer, we used Rick Steve's downloads on our ipods. I was criticised here on Fodor's one one thread about them as his isn't the official audio tour etc. He is a bit corny sometimes but generally we were happy with the info provided. My husband teaches Ancient History and he was happy with them, so that was good enough for me.

One of the reasons for using them is that we both get a bit fed up with paying for entry to venues and then having to pay again for an audio guide. The cost adds up after a while.

It also meant that we could listen in advance to some of the downloads ie I listened to his Pompeii audio tour while on the train to Pompeii. I do recommend them.

macdogmom

Interesting report-our trips overlapped in Italy. We stayed in Camogli at the Villa Rosmarino this visit (loved La Toretta in Manarola last year). Wonderful spot although we ended up paying alot in cab fares after dinner. The meal up above Camolgi at La Nonna Nina was wonderful as well as the views from up there. Also, had a great meal at DaPaola's in Camogli. I am going to try and duplicate the fish, olive and potato dish we had there.

We stayed in a wonderful apartment in Rome at the Residenza Giubbonari on Via Giubbonari off the campo de fiori. We had two bedrooms and a terrace with incredible views that we loved using every night. Good there was a/c though since the street was very noisy.

We also really appreciated the corny but very informative Rick Steves downloads. Nice to not have to pay more after the initial entry fee and you can listen to it again. And we loved the scavi tour that I learned about on the fodor boards. I am always quoting and using information I have acquired on these boards!

lisa

Yes -- On a previous trip to Rome a girlfriend and I had splurged for a private tour guide for St. Peters and the Vatican -- it was 200 Euros for 4 hours I think, which we split between the two of us and both thought was well worth it (she was an American studying for her PhD in Art History in Rome) -- but having done that already (and given that my husband is not much for long private tours (he tends to wander off and look at whatever he wants to) the Rick Steves iPod tours were plenty enough for me this time around. We both enjoyed them. Are they the most detailed available option? Probably not. Are they the most convenient and best of all free? Yes.

And yes, we did think La Torraccia di Chiusi was great value. It was 85 Euros per person per night I think, so 170 per night including an excellent breakfast buffet with eggs, cold cuts, fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, pastries, etc. I would stay there again for sure, and definitely recommend prebooking their dinner for at least one night -- it is well worth it.

aussie_10

Enjoyed your trip report. Thank you for spending the time, a great read.

Hoping to get to Italy in the next year

Amy_Mich

"but the beauty is just dazzling. My eyes ached from so much pretty." I love this! I am so excited to be leaving for Rome next week! My daughter's high school choir is singing at 4:00 mass in St. Peter's. I am sure it will be an experience we won't forget.

annhig

My daughter's high school choir is singing at 4:00 mass in St. Peter's. >>

Amy - she is so lucky. we have come across several choirs either rehearsing or performing in rome and elsewhere, and I've sung in a few of them, but never in St. Peter's. what will they be singing?

zeppole

macdogman.

Glad you liked the neighborhood, and glad you had a nice experience at Da Paolo and La Cucina di Nonna Nina.

Yep, you have to be up for some stair climbing after dinner if you stay at Villa Rosmarino -- and mamma mia, taxis are licensed in Camogli to charge a very high meter rate. It can be motivating! (But also you get used to walking up the stairs, even miss it if you don't do it, and you are glad for the chance to walk off the food!)

These Ligurian fish recipes might do you (although black olives are more common around Camogli than green)

http://italianfood.about.com/od/fres.../r/blr1223.htm

http://farfalle1.wordpress.com/recip...igurian-style/

When I lived in the states, I used to try to duplicate some Ligurian recipes, and the only way to come close is to splurge on high quality Ligurian olive oil and the Taggiasche olives.

Also, If you can track down Fred Plotkin's book "Recipes from Paradise" , he's an American used to cooking Ligurian dishes in the states, so you might find it helpful.

macdogmom

Zeppole--thanks so much for the recipes and I will look for the Plotkin book. My memory is that the olives were black in the dish I fell in love with at Da Paola's. Should be able to find all the high quality ingredients in the bay area. We are moving to Santa Barbara in a few weeks to a house with ocean views on the hill, so it will remind me of all the wonderful coastal towns we have been able to visit in Italy in the last few years. Although I admit I do appreciate the mix of cuisines in Calif--I was craving mexican food by the end of our 3 week trip.