tower

Susan...please notice, I also told Ralstonlan to keep it coming...a delightful report..I merely wanted other posters who may not have had any recent experiences in Italy, to realize that all hell hadn't broken loose with Italy's restaurant prices...as the concern the poster above mine showed . Yes, you're right, that it's really no one else's business..but for the uninformed, and inexperienced let's keep the record straight so they won't be scared off. Italy is too precious for people to ignore because of one high spending poster...do you agree?
SFT

travelphile

Well said SusanP!

Eagerly awaiting more Ralstonlan

SusanP

tower, I agree that people can eat for a lot less, but you could have made that point without saying you were "aghast at your recounting of meal costs" or "your expenditure for dinners, especially, are totally outrageous" or calling them ridiculous for what they spent for one hotel night. I don't consider it outrageous or ridiculous for someone to do so if they enjoy it and can afford it.

swalter518

Ralstonlan, not to stir the pot but can you give a price range for Antico Bottego del Vino in Verona? Also did you notice if they were open for lunch?

Ralstonlan

candert-- for me, D stands for dear, but at any given moment it could mean a variety of things!

missypie- The answer is both. Some were formal, some were not. My son does well in any restaurant and really enjoys when it is, in his own words, "fancy pantsy". I love a bargain, but I love great food. When they both come together, it is heaven. What I don't like is overpaying for food that is not outstanding.

tower-
I have thought about it, I haven't been had, and boy have I had fun! Trust me, I did loads of research, loads of study and do not regret a morsel.

SusanP- Thanks for your support!

swalter518- So sorry, I did not record the price for Antico Bottega Vino, nor can I locate the receipt. As the vacation wound down, I was not being quite so fastidious in my journal. It was definitely not a "high end price", that I do remember.

yipper

Hi,
I love your report and do not care how much you pay for meals, but I am impressed at how much food you eat. I am jealous. Even with Italian portions I can only share an appetizer and have either the pasta or the prima dish, then I share a dessert. Also I could not eat a big lunch and a big dinner. I wish I could as the food is soooo good.

Jddechomd

I agree that your report is enjoyable. It is quite clear that you love to travel. Your gift for travel writing is a fine one. Some day "DS" will thank you for showing him the world in this way. You are surely enriching his education and sharing some exciting moments together.

StCirq

Great report, and I too am impressed at how much you can eat! Wow!

I will also say that for new travelers to Italy, you can eat very, very well for less than these folks paid. That's their choice, of course, but I would not want every new traveler to Italy thinking that a 175 euro meal was a bargain because it tasted really good.

We've done both high-end and low-end dining all over Italy and generally ended up preferring the family-owned trattoria where you could fill yourself up with amazing food for about 20-25 euros a person including a pitcher of wine.

I posit this not to detract at all from Ralstonlan's experience, which was wonderful, but for those many Fodor's posters who are looking for a way to eat well in Italy without breaking the bank.

Ralsontlan, I have a 15-year-old son who has spent every summer in Europe since he was 2 years old, who is absolutely dedicated to fresh, good food, and who can spend 4 hours at a good restaurant without a complaint. He may end up being a chef, I don't know, but I do know that kids who are good at restaurants are usually good kids - somehow the combination of having to put new things in your mouth and sit at a table without whining brings on a discipline that's useful in later life. Your son is a gem.

LoveItaly

Hellon dear Ralstonlan, although I can only enjoy one fantastic meal a day I have to say that your descriptions of your meals...oh my...one of the reasons I love eating in Italy!! They have such fantastic food. You have me drooling, LOL. Please, continue on with your trip report, I am enjoying every moment of it. Sigh!!

Ralstonlan

Thank you for all the positive comments. Trust me, all that dining was not without coming home to a few extra pounds. I was back at the gym the following morning and it will take a few weeks to undo the damage! Worth every pound, though. We had broiled haddock and steamed broccoli for dinner last night. Washed it down with a nice glass of sparkling water.

Ralstonlan

Next stop Milan

Ralstonlan

Sept. 2 Day 9

We woke up around 7:30 to another glorious morning overlooking Lake Como. A beautiful breeze was cooling us nicely. We had to pack to leave our beloved Bellagio, as we were being picked up by a driver at 2:00 this afternoon to go to Milan. The Hotel Florence had arranged the driver for us, and he would take us to our hotel door , in Milan, for 100E. We had done this ride ourselves, years ago, and decided a driver would be a nice alternative.

We all walked down the street, to Villa Melzi, just to walk around for a bit. We ran into our painting friends again, as they were already at work. She was working on another gem of a painting of Bellagio.

We stopped in the store where I had been eying “the purse” and I finally broke down and bought it. These details I will not share, just suffice it to say, I was very happy. After checking out, we had a leisurely lunch at the wonderful outdoor restaurant at the hotel. Here we go again! I had a caprese salad with the most tender and very fresh buffalo mozzarella I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. This is how it should always taste. DH and DS each had pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil. Tasted like it just came from garden, which it more than likely did.

Our driver was right on time, early actually so we gathered our bags and set off for the exciting ride from Bellagio to Milan. DS thought it was quite exciting, sort of like being on an amusement ride. Our driver had lived his entire life in Bellagio (lucky him!) and was quite familiar with the roads. Translated, that means he went any speed he felt he could do without falling off the cliff.

We arrived at our hotel, .Dei Cavalieri, Piazza Missori, ( [email protected]) in about 1 ½ hours. The hotel is in a great location, just a five minute walk to the Duomo and Galleria.. It is a large, business type hotel, without much character. 259E per night for a triple. The room was fine, again a business type hotel. After opening the obligatory bottle of champagne, (by now DH had come to expect it!), we freshened up and set out to tour the Duomo, DS’s church, naturally. This is an outstanding Gothic Cathedral with you could spend hours in. It was unfortunate that the facade was covered in scaffolding, but walking around the sides is equally inspiring. DS had a great time shooting photos in here. You can take an elevator to the top of the outside of the cathedral , to walk around the pinnacles and flying buttresses, but they were do to close in 20 minutes, so we opted to save it for the next day.

We walked over to Via Spadari to go into Peck’s. www.peck.it This is an experience in pure gastronomic delight. Endless cases filled with cheeses, meats, breads, pastries and everything in between. I bought some dried porcini mushrooms to bring home, and we decided we would come the next day and buy supplies for an in room picnic dinner.

We came back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. From many positive reports on this forum, I had made reservations at Bouecc. DH and DS were pleased that jacket and tie were not required, as it was a very hot evening and they were tired of dressing for dinner.

We were able to walk there in about 15 minutes and found it with no problem. It is a lovely atmosphere, almost like being in someone’s very nice home. Superb service. DH and I shared an appetizer of duck pate that was wonderful. DS son ordered a filet of beef with a mushroom sauce that he devoured. DH had veal scallopine with fresh porcini and I had Osso Bucco with Rissotto Milanese. The fragrance of the saffron was incredible. I wished I’d remembered to buy saffron at Peck’s! I did not write down the price. Sorry!

We were back to the hotel by 10:30, watched a little of Katrina update and settled in for a great night’s sleep.

ellenem

I'm enjoying your report, especially all the food details. And many thanks for including the prices. As others have said, I like to know about a worthwhile splurge, a meal where the food and ambience merit the price. I also like to know about the dive around the corner that serves heavenly food. Keep it coming!

edhodge

In your title, you said your trip report was going to be long. I am enjoying it so much that I am afraid it will not be long enough to satisfy me.

progol

Thoroughly enjoyed -- rather, savored--your trip report, even as I nearly choked over the cost of some of the meals. I envy the ability to be able to go high end so much, but don't begrudge anyone the choice to do so! I was surprised by the reaction of some who thought Ralstonlan was "had"!
She knew what she wanted and clearly took time to find it! At least, we all get to share in it, vicariously.
Paule

LoveItaly

Bouecc, oh Rolstonlan, I am so glad you enjoyed this beautiful restaurant. Again, I am, shall we say, wishing I was in Italy right at the moment enjoying all the delicious food.

Details please about "the purse"! LOL. I love purses, handbags, shoulder bags etc. Can you share any details??? In Italy food, purses and shoes (except I have a hard time getting any shoes to fit me) are so enjoyable!!! Continue please!

StCirq

I too want to know about the purse. I know I wrote about being able to eat inexpensively in Italy, but I do have my priorities and want to know about the purse because a good bag to me is worth a thousand pizzas.

Ralstonlan

OK , a little about the purse. It is a large, Birkin style, yellow ostrich bag. Not a Birkin knock-off,but a hand made bag by Giordio Sardi. It is quite beautiful and the color is outstanding. I'm not in the Hermes price range, but it was enough to cause me three days of thinking long and hard about it. I do not regret it!

Ralstonlan

Sept. 3 Day 10

We woke early and went to the Dei Cavalieri’s breakfast room. Filled with mostly business travelers. Breakfast was fine, the usual array of fruits, breads, yogurt, cheeses, and great coffee. We headed out early, as we wanted to go back to the Duomo , to go to the top before our reserved time at Santa Maria della Grazie. As we walked around, awestruck by the beauty of the marble and workmanship, we heard music coming from within. There was a Saturday morning mass going on. We went back down and into the Duomo, where we were able to enjoy the music for a while. What incredible sound , just wonderful. Unfortunately, it was time to leave , as we had to be at The Last Supper at 10:45. It was about a 25 minute walk from there, less if we hadn’t gone around in a circle! DH and I had been there 14 years ago, when it was covered in scaffolding while undergoing renovation. The fresco has been cleaned and renovated and is beautiful. It is sad to see how much damage the refectory endured during WW II. The fresco was actually exposed to the elements for quite some time.

From there we walked up to Castello Sforza. A fortress really. The castle houses a series a small city-run museums. Here is where Michelangelo’s unfinished pieta is kept. Supposedly, this was the last piece he was working on at the time of his death at 89. It is truly amazing to see the depth of emotion in Mary’s face, when it is still only a sketch in marble. Something only a true master could accomplish.

By now we were all hot, tired and hungry. We sat down at the first place we came to, unfortunately it was in the Galleria. Overpriced and OK, but we were too tired to care, and just wanted a bite. We just shared a salad, and DS had a pizza. 45E, including wine and soda. Like I said, overpriced. DS and DH were done for the day, so they headed back to the hotel and I set out to do a little shopping.

I did mostly window shopping, but boy, would I like to come back to Milan on a girls only shopping spree. I went into Rinascente, which is a very large department store, as I needed a gift for a friends 3 year old daughter. Browsed around for a while. Even in the department stores, the fashion makes everything at home look shabby. The Italian women have definitely cornered the market on style.

We all met up and went to Peck’s to shop for our “picnic”.We bought three different cheeses, a salami, a loaf of bread, olives and marinated mushrooms. On the way back to the room, we stopped at a fruit market and bought grapes. Next stop was for wine. Our goodies in hand, we headed to our room for our picnic dinner. Everything was yummy, but DS wanted more! We let him order room service and he ordered a pasta dish with lobster! Give him an inch..... DH ordered a basil flan with a tomato coulis that was absolutely divine. Early to bed as we had to get up at 5:00 the next morning.

Sept 4 Our trip home

Everything had gone so smoothly the entire trip, I was convinced something was going to go wrong. My biggest fear was that we would not make our connecting flight in Munich, as it was imperative that DH make it home to be at work the following day, and we had only a 75 minute connection time. The hotel had arranged for their car service to pick us up at 6:00 AM to get us to Malpensa by 7:00 for a 9:00 AM flight. At 6:05, when the car was not there, the hotel staff called the car service and they knew nothing about it. Here it comes, I said to myself, we’re going to be late. The hotel had a car there in 5 minutes, we made it to Malpensa in 40 minutes, and we were right on time. The 9:00 flight took off right on time, landed early, and we had time for coffee. Our 11:30 flight from Munich to Boston, took off right on time also. We sat in Lufthansa’s “new business” seats and it was wonderful. Extremely comfortable seats, lousy food. The time went by very quickly, we landed early and our friends were at the airport waiting for us. We were back in our home by 4:00 that afternoon.

Many thanks for all those who helped me plan this pretty much flawless trip. I spent hours reading numerous trip reports, extracting a lot of valuable information. This is a wonderful forum, and I am pleased to be a part of it. Writing this report has been a lot of fun and I hopes it gives back some of the help I’ve received.

LindyE

Excellent report!
Your writing style is very enjoyable.
What a wonderful trip to take your son on - and I loved the idea of having him do "research" before you went.

Thanks for sharing!