Italy trip report: Rome, San Gimignano, Lavagna: part 1
Nov 2nd, 2004 | 11:04 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 13
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Italy trip report: Rome, San Gimignano, Lavagna: part 1
Hello,
Just got back from our 12 day trip to Italy. Much thanks to those of you who recommended places to stay and how to plan.
We had three days in Rome, staying at the Hotel Trastevere in the Trastevere neighbourhood. I highly recommend the area and hotel: the hotel is well-run and very clean, and the room was big enough for us and comfortable (it was room 16). The ceilings are high and give a larger feeling than the dimensions might otherwise. It's two single beds pushed together (as usual) and reasonably comfortable. The bathroom is a bit small (the shower almost too small to move in) but otherwise fine. The window overlooks a market in Piazza di San Cosimato, which is great for a local feel (fresh veggies, fruits, meats, cheeses, and flowers each morning), but a bit noisy sometimes (seemed to be a huge traffic jam at 8 am each morning complete with honking and yelling). The owner is very helpful, fluent in English, and thorough. The breakfast in the morning is croissants and excellent cappucinos. In Rome we ate in Trastevere each night, and discovered an energetic evening culture in and around all the small streets north of the hotel (go beyond the Santa Maria square). We ate at Bruno di Lungharetta (so-so, and poor service), and Paris (fantastic: our best meal of the trip, and impeccable service and details). Trastevere is definitely walking distance from the sights, and now that I've seen Campo dei Fiori and Pza Navona, I wouldn't want to stay near those areas. My main memories of coming and going from the core of those neighbourhoods were of discount clothing stores. The Pantheon area did seem charming, though.
We rented a car in Rome (through carhiredirect.uk) to drive through Tuscany to a house we rented in Liguria. We opted to take a taxi to the pickup location at Via Tiburtina, way out of Rome (cab ride was 45 minutes and just under 20 euros--lots of traffic in morning). It seemed to also be easily accessible (with a short walk at the other end) via the Rebbibia metro station, but we didn't want to take chances. We chose that location as an easy way to get to the northeast of Rome to head to Tuscany on the autostrade. One note on taxis in Rome: it's illegal for them to respond to a hail, so you have to either call or go to a taxi stand. Even calling is not reliable: when we wanted to leave the hotel the concierge called a taxi company for us and said there weren't any taxis in the area and we should wait 10 minutes and try again (as opposed to being in queue). We went to a nearby taxi stand and brought the cab back the hotel quite efficiently.
We stopped in Orvieto for lunch--very nice town to visit, a long haul up the hill to it but charming. We spent one night in San Gimignano, which we're really glad we did. We stayed at L'Antico Pozzo, the nicest hotel we had for the trip. Huge room, comfortable bed, big bathroom with new fixtures, fantastic breakfast (meat, cheese, eggs, yogurt, fruit, breads, and cappucinos made to order), and very well-run. Our room (#10, I think) was a bit unprivate (window on the same level as the patio and just feet from tables and chairs) and noisy in the morning (across from the kitchen). We ate at La Mangeatoia and had a wonderful meal with special touches from the staff. We were only there from late afternoon to 11 the next morning but saw a fair bit of the town, and while it does attract big groups of tourists, as others have noted on this site, I didn't mind that when we had such a short stay (I'm happy to be pointed the way towards notable parts of the village).
(to be continued)
Just got back from our 12 day trip to Italy. Much thanks to those of you who recommended places to stay and how to plan.
We had three days in Rome, staying at the Hotel Trastevere in the Trastevere neighbourhood. I highly recommend the area and hotel: the hotel is well-run and very clean, and the room was big enough for us and comfortable (it was room 16). The ceilings are high and give a larger feeling than the dimensions might otherwise. It's two single beds pushed together (as usual) and reasonably comfortable. The bathroom is a bit small (the shower almost too small to move in) but otherwise fine. The window overlooks a market in Piazza di San Cosimato, which is great for a local feel (fresh veggies, fruits, meats, cheeses, and flowers each morning), but a bit noisy sometimes (seemed to be a huge traffic jam at 8 am each morning complete with honking and yelling). The owner is very helpful, fluent in English, and thorough. The breakfast in the morning is croissants and excellent cappucinos. In Rome we ate in Trastevere each night, and discovered an energetic evening culture in and around all the small streets north of the hotel (go beyond the Santa Maria square). We ate at Bruno di Lungharetta (so-so, and poor service), and Paris (fantastic: our best meal of the trip, and impeccable service and details). Trastevere is definitely walking distance from the sights, and now that I've seen Campo dei Fiori and Pza Navona, I wouldn't want to stay near those areas. My main memories of coming and going from the core of those neighbourhoods were of discount clothing stores. The Pantheon area did seem charming, though.
We rented a car in Rome (through carhiredirect.uk) to drive through Tuscany to a house we rented in Liguria. We opted to take a taxi to the pickup location at Via Tiburtina, way out of Rome (cab ride was 45 minutes and just under 20 euros--lots of traffic in morning). It seemed to also be easily accessible (with a short walk at the other end) via the Rebbibia metro station, but we didn't want to take chances. We chose that location as an easy way to get to the northeast of Rome to head to Tuscany on the autostrade. One note on taxis in Rome: it's illegal for them to respond to a hail, so you have to either call or go to a taxi stand. Even calling is not reliable: when we wanted to leave the hotel the concierge called a taxi company for us and said there weren't any taxis in the area and we should wait 10 minutes and try again (as opposed to being in queue). We went to a nearby taxi stand and brought the cab back the hotel quite efficiently.
We stopped in Orvieto for lunch--very nice town to visit, a long haul up the hill to it but charming. We spent one night in San Gimignano, which we're really glad we did. We stayed at L'Antico Pozzo, the nicest hotel we had for the trip. Huge room, comfortable bed, big bathroom with new fixtures, fantastic breakfast (meat, cheese, eggs, yogurt, fruit, breads, and cappucinos made to order), and very well-run. Our room (#10, I think) was a bit unprivate (window on the same level as the patio and just feet from tables and chairs) and noisy in the morning (across from the kitchen). We ate at La Mangeatoia and had a wonderful meal with special touches from the staff. We were only there from late afternoon to 11 the next morning but saw a fair bit of the town, and while it does attract big groups of tourists, as others have noted on this site, I didn't mind that when we had such a short stay (I'm happy to be pointed the way towards notable parts of the village).
(to be continued)
Nov 2nd, 2004 | 12:16 PM
#4
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 13,194
Likes: 0
There is a school of thought that it would be better to post all of your trip report here on this thread (by posting additional parts as replies to yourself).
But no big deal.
The second part of this trip report can be found at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34538905
Best wishes,
Rex
But no big deal.
The second part of this trip report can be found at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34538905
Best wishes,
Rex
