Italy Trip Report: Como (Tremezzo), Florence, Tuscany, Positano, Rome
 

Just returned from Italy. Here's some initial thoughts, and I would be glad to follow up if anyone has specific questions:

Flights: Delta direct from NYC to Milan. Return direct to NYC from Rome

Rental Car: Europcar: Rented a shitty Lancia. Ugliest car on the road, and shook like it was going to disintegrate. Entire Europcar stock in Milan seemed to be this Lancia model.

Como:
Stayed in Grand Hotel Tremezzo. Amazing hotel with smashing views. Rate was about E550/night. Public areas of the hotel were among the best we've ever seen. Dining room on the patio overlooking the lake and Bellagio was incredible. Spa facilities (indoor pool with amazing outdoor tub, waterfall, underwater bubblers, etc) were completely first rate and sexy. Breakfast (included) was outrageous buffet with all you could ever imagine served on the patio overlooking the lake. Formal dinner on the terrace is a prix-fixe type of deal and was very romantic although the food was not as good as the room/views. We had one formal dinner included in our package. Room was lake view on top floor (Superior Double) with a private patio. Room was small, with seating area. Unlike the common areas, the room was ancient, faded glamour. Bed sagged, furniture was scuffed, etc. Hotel is next door to Villa Carlotta and the ferry to Bellagio.

http://www.grandhoteltremezzo.com/

Dinner at Azalea in Tremezzo was not great. Boring cuisine in cookie cutter room. Excellent dessert.

Bellagio: had lunch at (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) Suisse hotel patio, close to the water. Lunch here blew us away and the melon/ham dish was to die for. Highly recommend (RECOMMENDED) Frey Como for hand made silk ties (Euro 25 each) and my wife bought a beautiful, sexy dress that only cost E150 (but looked like E1500).

Florence: Drove with Lancia into Florence and parked at the Santa Maria Novella train station. GPS is a must. Walk around the Central Market and ate lunch (RECOMMENDED) at Nerbone, which was cheap, crowded, and absolutely delicious! Seeing the David (RECOMMENDED) was a breathtaking experience, as was walking the steps to the top of Il Duomo (RECOMMENDED) for about E8 per person. The line to enter the museum to see the David was about an hour long (and it was raining) on a week day. Highly recommend buying tickets in advance.

Florence was overrun with tourists and we did not enjoy the literally shoulder to shoulder mobs of tourists walking down the streets in the historic district. It was, however, better than Rome in this regard.

Tuscany: I can't recommend our B&B highly enough. Follonico Inn (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) is a design hotel with amazing food and beautiful, modern rooms built in a centuries old restored farm house. We're talking old world, dirt road Toscana, and the inn in set in the middle of a vineyard. Breakfast every morning was artisan and hand crafted with grass-fed meats, cheeses, small batch honey, and good coffee. About E125/night!

http://www.follonico.com/

Drove to see two wineries in Montalcino: San Palino (organic) and Fattoria di Barbi. We enjoyed the tastings, drank a lot of Brunello, and shipped a bunch of wine home. The Reserva Brunello at Barberi cost about E30 per bottle at the vineyard and we saw it for about E60 at stores around Italy.

Dinner at Ristorante Walter Redaelli (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) is a high-cuisine, artisan type environment and was one of the highlights of the trip. Located in a small section of Bettolle, it is not "Touristic" in the least, and represents high Tuscan cuisine at its best. The service was old school and the place was buzzing with well heeled Europeans. Walter is some type of celebrity chef, and the food and wine were outrageously delicious. Recommended to us by locals over La Grotta. Beautiful building and grounds.

http://www.ristoranteredaelli.it/

We loved, loved, loved Toscana and our only regret was not staying longer.

Positano:

Rented Il Gozzo one-bedroom villa in Positano. Total for the entire week was about E700! We loved having our own little villa and the flexibility that it allowed us. It was right next to Hotel Poseidon. Il Gozzo had a little patio overlooking the water. The steps to the beach totaled around 300, so non-athletic persons may want to reconsider!

http://www.villeinitalia.com/houses/IlGozzo.jsp

The Path of the Gods Hike (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) is amazing. Take the little bus from the center of Positano all the way to the end in Nocelle. From there, you can walk along the sides of massive cliffs and witness the splendor of the Amalfi coast in all its glory. Hike took something like 3-4 hours. Buy a hiking map at any little store in Positano.

http://www.summerinitaly.com/guide/walk-of-the-gods

Mamma Agata's Cooking Class (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) in Ravello was incredible. The grounds/house were simply breathtakingly beautiful, and Chiara and Mamma Agata made us feel like family. Ravello is the most beautiful hill town you can ever imagine. E190 per person included enough food to stuff us completely, recipes, stunning views, and more. We rented a scooter for E65 and did the drive from Positano. Wife rode on back and it was a highlight of our trip. Ravello should be on any traveler's itinerary.

http://www.mammaagata.com/

We had very good meals at Bar Bruno (RECOMMENDED) and Mediterranio (RECOMMENDED). Next2 was a huge disappointment. We are from Manhattan and were excited for the modern, sexy design. But the meal and the wine was by far the worst we had in Positano.

The restaurant Il Pino (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) in Praiano was possibly the best meal of my life. Call ahead to book a table right on the edge of the patio. A place with a view like this shouldn't have food this good. It was spectacular. Spectacular. Take the Praiano bus from the main square in Positano.

http://www.hosteriailpino.it/

There are two beaches in Positano: the main beach and the small (Fornillo) beach. The small beach had a laid back, more Caribbean style vibe and we wanted to go there first. The problem is that 1) the Italians don't "go" for this type of look so the beach was essentially dead and filled with people who were interested only in saving the extra Euro in beach chair rentals and 2) the larger stones here were rougher on the feet. Beach chair rental was about E12.50 at the big beach and E8 at the small beach.

We took Salvatore and Gerrano's tour boat to Capri for E40 per person. Both Salvatore and Gerrano were hilarious, engaging, and warm. The boat was comfortable and we enjoyed the tour of the island. Seeing the island of Capri by boat is definitely the way to go - and I recommend taking "the tour" (which will allow you to see the Blue/Green/White grottos by sea). Capri itself is a strange juxtaposition of extreme beauty offset by being possible the biggest tourist trap I have ever seen. We boarded the funicular at the ferry docks to the town of Capri and took the bus to Anacapri, where we took the chairlift to the top of the island. Incredible views. We then took the bus back to Capri, where we had lunch and watched the never ending crush of tourists march through the small streets.

Rome:
In a nutshell, Rome was the most "touristy" city I've ever visited and the sights were ruined by two things: 1) horrible public transportation and 2) constant harassment by scammers/street peddlers/"buy my rose" types of people.

Beautiful city and we did the most notable sites such as the Colosseum and Vatican.

Stayed at Romeo al Babuino (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), where we had a huge room in a beautiful private type apartment. It was like half-hotel, half-apartment.

Finding good food in Rome is a chore, and everything in the city felt like a huge tourist trap and rip off. Many restaurants would loudly offer "Pizza and Fries", much to our dismay. As foodies from New York who had limited web access in Italy, we tried to make the best of things but were again and again disappointed by the food, which was junky passable tourist type food. (even in places recommended in our guide books)

The constant barrage of people trying to sell us junk and rip us off on the street was tiring, and the "touristic menu" was a real downer. With the exception of our hotel, we left Rome feeling that we did not get to see a real, functioning city. Sitting on the Spanish Steps on our last night was magical, until approached by one of the many scam rose vendors (we had already been approached by four of them) who called my wife ugly because we refused his offer to "give" us a rose. Admiring the Pantheon, my outgoing wife attracted the attention of the "gladiators" who used her camera to take a picture and then demanded E10. Walking to the Roman Forum, the guy trying to sell us an umbrella followed us for almost 5 minutes, despite being told (in not so nice language) to go away.

Glad we saved Rome til the end, because my wife and I were never happier to get home to New York.

We also found the Italians to be wonderful people. Bright, outgoing, and helpful!

Thank you for the report.
Out of curiosity, how long were you in Florence and Rome?

1 day in Florence (too little) and 4 days in Rome (too much!)

:)

7 days in Positano
2 in Toscana
4 in Como/Tremezzo

Thanks for the report! Good info.

Were you happy with the service offered by the villa rental company,Ville in Italy?

So sorry you did not have a good meal in Tremezzo; one of my favorite restaurant meals in northern Italy took place in that little town. The hotel looks lovely; your comments about the faded glamour of the interior make it sound similar to my hotel in Menaggio..

Do you know by any chance if the outdoor pool is heated at GH Tremezzo?

We actually rented a very good little Mercedes from that airport rental outlet, so perhaps the stock varies by season..

Great trip report w/lots of details. Bookmarking.

I was very pleased with Ville in Italia! They were helpful in both the during the booking process and the actual rental. Basically, they give you the contact information of the "key holder" (usually the owner of the villa you are renting), and arrange a time and place to meet to pick up the key. You of course also have the company of the main rental office if for some very rare occurrence you were unable to meet up. Overall it couldn't have gone smoother although since this was my first foreign villa rental...I felt a little uneasy and a little added stress until the place was actually in my possession.

The villa in Positano overall was nice. It definitely didn't feel luxurious, but it was stylishly decorated for a 1 bedroom apartment. The views were pretty amazing but there was a road beneath the apartment. Since Positano is a walking town, the road is often filled with tourists and Italians walking around, it provides some fun people watching with very few of them noticing you up on your beautiful little patio. And honestly, I just loved that little patio. Still, I can't stop wondering if I could have gotten a much nicer place with a little more expenditure, since this condo was priced under my initial budget.

Grand Hotel Tremezzo has three pools, and all of them are heated.

The main pool is infinity style and is built directly into the surface of the lake. The hotel constructed essentially a big dock and put a pool right in the dock. You take a small metal walkway to span from the shore to the floating pool on the dock. It looks stunning at night. Due to bad rain, we didn't get to enjoy this pool during our stay. And it felt nice and warm even though we had unseasonably cool, rainy weather.

The spa pool is smaller, but it just feels really stylish and serene. The spa pool extends from indoors to outdoors, where there it rounds and has a hot tub style. The spa pool also has a T shaped "cave" area where you depress buttons to turn on a water fall, make water blast up from the ground (which was awesome), or turn on a big grid of jets that were built into a tiled, lounge chair area. The main section of the spa pool is rectangular infiniti style, and you can rest on the edge and enjoy the insane views. It's glassed in, which was awesome during the rain. Even if it wasn't raining, I'd love to be here. Each lounge chair was full, and you felt like you had the whole place to yourself. And it was comfortable for both older and younger couples.

The garden pool is up by TPizza and it's the place to go if you want to literally feel like you have your own pool. It was also heated.

We actually loved our main dinner meal at GHT, although if I wasn't staying at the hotel I'm not sure it would be worth the price to dine there. They said jacket was required (and I lugged one all the way to Italy), but in truth lots of guys weren't wearing jackets and nobody could care less. I wish I hadn't lugged one of mine all the way to Italy! :p

In my opinion, the place was awesome but overall it was definitely a splurge. I'm not sure it was worth 550 euros a night. But overall we really had a seriously awesome time with the hotel facilities. They have a nice clay tennis court with awesome views and a little path/hike with (again, you guessed it), incredible views.

The villa in Positano, B&B Follonico (in Tuscany), and the apartment/loft/hotel Romeo al Babuino (in Rome) felt like an amazing bang for our buck.

Thanks and congratulations.

I enjoy your reports and appreciate you taking the time to tell us your impression.
My impressions of Rome and Florence are a bit different.
IMHO, Rome is the greatest city in the world (NYC and Paris rank high also). Yet,I know many people who describe NYC much like you did Rome. Sorry your experience didn't match what mine has been after many stays there.
Florence in just a day is almost always described as "overrun with tourists ."
I'm not sure where you got your Rome restaurant recommendations from, but I can assure you there are great restaurants there (and I love NYC restaurants as well).
I will say that I stay away from the Trevi area ,especially on weekends. It can be very crowded and the steps have very rude salespeople.
I often saty that people need at least four nights in Rome to really begin to appreciate it. It also allows you time away from the most crowded areas.
Again, thanks for your report.

I do agree about eating in Rome. There are many great places easily found with some research here... (I am also from NYC and think Rome is a great eating city, IF you know to avoid the type of places described by the OP).

Let's hope he and his new wife have many more trips in store and that they will come to love Rome as many of us already do. I might have had the same impression had my first visit been at this time of year..who knows!?

hi ABCDEFG,

i too am sorry that you disliked Rome so much. you're not alone - my DH isn't that keen either. But the rest of us love it. perhaps it's to do with the areas we stayed in - the first time in the Monti area, which isn't too full of tourists, and the 2nd time near the via coronari, which although not free of tourists, is very full of romans! we usually ate near our apartment and had some of the best italian food we've ever had.

I'm glad that you enjoyed the rest of your stay so much. Hopefully you'll both enjoy many more italian holidays. perhaps if you can go back to Rome in the winter, you might get to like it too.

I agree about the location in Rome.

The OP stayed at a nice-looking place which happens to be in a not-very-great location for restaurants..and the persistent vendors could not have added much to the city's charm!

To the OP: Where did you end up eating in Rome?

In all my vists I never remember anyone hawking pizza and fries. Guess I have something to look foward to.

Maybe they do that in the summer?

Although I did have pasta with potatoes and cheese in a pizzeria on Ischia last year.

I've been there twice in June and May. I also have been there four times in October (my favorite time there) and a three times in winter. I have seen chestnuts hawked, but really nothing else. I have no doubt there are places where this happens, but I guess I stay away from them.

I wanted to clarify my comments about "Finding good food in Rome is a chore".

In other parts of Italy we had great luck finding great dinner spots by talking to locals. My wife is awesome at this. Our Tuscan innkeepers made a wonderful recommendation, a shopkeeper in Bellagio made a crucial low-key lunch recommendation, and we had an incredible meal in Praiano.

But in Rome all the locals would suggest spots that were ways away from our hotel. And with the lack of transportation in Rome, getting to these restaurants was a chore especially because we had been walking all day. We ended up having a great time in some low-key wine bar and cafe type places.

The places we ate in the area: La Buvette (small cafe with upscale patio and nice food), Tad (high design store with an overpriced but trendy designed cafe), Antica Enoteca (fun old wine bar), and Cafe Rosati (boring food with a beautiful location on Piazza del Popolo). We had fun at the Antica Enoteca (went twice) and thought the best food was at La Buvette, where we had lunch. Tad was way too pricey and the wife got a funny meal, but the shopping at Tad was really cool. And Rosati was such a fun view/location but we thought very disappointing food. Don't get me wrong we had a great time everywhere.

Looking back on my pictures from our trip now. Incredible. I wish others have as fun of a honeymoon! Rome might have left me feeling a little frustrated, but wow do my Roman pictures look great.

Used a Canon S90 for pictures and highly recommend for people who want an DSLR but need something point-and-shoot sized. My flickr album is really amazing (but of course i am biased!)

"But in Rome all the locals would suggest spots that were ways away from our hotel."

I'm not sure about your walking ability,but you were within 15 minutes walk of many fine restaurants.

Hi ABCDEFG - I am going to Italy in a month and my itinerary is sort of similar to yours (but in less time). If you could check out my post and provide any feedback that would be really helpful.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...erary-help.cfm

Thanks!

Nice report. I'm headed to Bellagio, and will use your recommendations.

i loved your blog, we are staying 2 weeks at a villa in positano and will book a table at Il pino,on your recomendation..are there supermarkets in positano for supplys?we wont have a car...thanks