Italy trip report Sept 04
Jan 28th, 2005, 12:41 PM
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Italy trip report Sept 04
I took a trip to Italy in September with my husband and two friends. It was one of the one of the best trips I’ve ever had and I couldn’t have done it without the help of this site. Your trip reports, observations, tips, and amusing anecdotes helped me prepare for just about everything. I wanted to return the favor by offering some of my own observations, tips, anecdotes, etc. This report is reaaaaally long, so I’ve grouped the food, and fashion first for those only interested in that, then separated the rest of the report by city. Hope this is not too confusing.
My main recommendation for anyone going to Italy is to learn some of the language. We took an 8 week Italian course at the local community college and it came in handy daily. You will meet people who don’t speak English. There are people who are just nicer when you try to speak their language. Also, it was fun to practice.
EATING IN ITALY
Best Overall Restaurant Experience: La Giostra in Florence is run by a literal prince of a guy. The meal begins with a huge, free platter of the best antipasti we had anywhere and spumanti. The prince’s son waited on us at the beginning and he’s gorgeous and that always helps my digestion. We had this incredible ravioli with sage and butter and an ossobucco to die for. For dessert, the three dessert lovers (I like beer, not sweets) had sacher torte, tiramisu and a dessert recommended by the waitress that was like a caramelized sugar strawberry ice cream sundae. The sacher torte was declared a little dry. The tiramisu was the second best they had in Italy, and they thought the ice cream dessert was phenomenal. The prince / owner comes by every table and asks about the food and chats a little, which I thought was a nice touch. The setting is dark and candle lit, so would make for a very romantic evening as well. Make sure you make a reservation.
Best Pumpkin at a Place Named for a Pumpkin: La Zucca in Venice. Their pumpkin flan was delightful, as was the rest of the food. Make sure you get reservations.
Best Restaurant Run By Pamela Anderson, Naomi Judd Look-alikes: Medio Eva in Siena – great food, great ambiance, great service. It’s on the main street you walk up from the escalator.
Friendliest Chef: Il Ritrovo in Florence. This was a beautiful restaurant and our waitress was the chef / owner’s wife. She spoke very little English, but was really sweet and the food was wonderful. The chef speaks very good English and comes out and talks to everyone. At the end of the evening he came and had a digestif with us and talked about people he knew from the states. He took our picture, we took his. It was just a wonderful experience. I highly recommend it.
Largest Primi: Taverna San Travoso in Venice had the largest portions I’ve seen outside the U.S. for the least amount of money. Go at exactly 7:00p.m., or make a reservation.
Most Overrated Restaurant: ‘Gusto in Rome. This place has gotten really good reviews in two or three of the guide books I looked in. It’s also very close to our hotel, so we went to the wine bar in the afternoon on our first day. We liked it so much we reserved a table in the osteria for dinner. Mistake. The soup was cold; the chicken was the driest I’ve ever had; the potatoes were cold and completely devoid of flavor. Our waiter was really busy, so I won’t fault him with forgetting the wine, my beer, and my antipasti. We finally got a busboy to bring us those. They did have good ravioli, but it was by far our worst dining experience in Italy.
Sassiest Waiter: Alle Madonna in Venice. I love sassy, and this guy was great. We had a great time practicing our Italian. I accidentally called my husband mia moglie, and the waiter said “your wife has quite a beard” and everyone cracked up. Also, “signora, you have to sing it when you say ‘il conto per favore’” . The food was good and my dessert- loving companions declare Alle Madonna’s tiramisu the best in all of Italy.
The “My God, that’s a lot of food!” Award: L’Orso 80 in Rome. If you go to L’Orso 80 for their justly famous antipasti, go hungry! The platters just kept coming and coming. The best item was the suppli (deep-fried risotto balls). For about 15 euros you will eat and drink more than anyone ever should.
The “Wow, am I waiting for a rock star or trying to get into a restaurant?” Award: Il Latini in Florence. This place needs a serious reworking of their seating system. No matter what anyone tells you, you can and must make a reservation to get into this place. Even with a reservation, you’re liable to be crushed by the mob of people who also have a reservation trying to jockey to the front when the door opens. There’s a guy standing there to seat people, but you basically have to shove your way up to him and shout out your name to get seated. Luckily, I am short and was able to weasel to the front pretty easily while my taller comrades waited for me to get our table.
GELATO: I am sorry to say that I am not a huge fan of ice cream, so although my three traveling buddies had gelato everyday, I didn’t pay attention to where they got it. I do know that their favorite flavors were hazelnut, pistachio, and stracciatella (chocolate chip).
DRINKING
I don’t like wine, so I was extremely happy that they had Budweiser in many places in Italy, but when they didn’t I was just fine with Moretti, Peroni, and Heineken.
My husband discovered a love of grappa and brought back two bottles of it. I think it tastes like lighter fluid, but to each his own.
Limoncello tastes yummy and has quite a kick. Try it.
FASHION
Men in Venice, Florence, and Siena seemed to love orange pants. Buy yourself a pair and you’ll fit right in.
Italians can wear sweat suits, white tennis shoes, and fanny packs and still be fashionable; it’s all in the confidence with which they carry themselves. Heck, they looked good in those orange pants.
Don’t bring your orange pants to Rome. Denim or black, and anything tight seems to be all you need to get by there; extra points for the ladies who can wear stiletto high heels.
You can’t wear shorts in Harry’s bar, San Marco Basilica, or the Vatican. My husband and friend Rob both brought the zipper pants that turn into shorts and those work great when you don’t know exactly where you’re going to end up.
I saw a few tourists wearing their money belts and neck pouches on the outside. Don’t do this. Think of them as underwear – it’s for security, not show.
Venice:
Once you pay for your Alilaguna tickets at the airport and go outside, it is very hard to find a sign for it. There’s a small ripped one on a pole, but that’s all we saw. We went up to ACTV bus and asked the driver, who told us his bus was the Alilaguna bus, duh.
A two bedroom / two bathroom apartment is a great option for 4 people and costs about the same as a hotel (225euros/night). Denise from Venice Rentals was extremely helpful and the apartment we had was right across from Scala Del Bovolo (The staircase that is sometimes called the “straight tower of Pisa”). My only caveat would be that the apartment echoes quite a bit and the neighbors are very sensitive to noise, so you must speak and walk softly at all times.
I will never understand why people want pigeons in St. Mark to land on them. They’re still pigeons. They don’t make you better looking and won’t help you win the lottery. Pigeons poop. On you. Ew
The Secret Itinerary Tour at the Doge’s Palace was well worth it. The story of Casanova is great.
There are bars in the Campo Santa Margherita area that are fairly lively, but I saw no dance clubs. Nightlife seems to end around midnight. It was eerily quiet at night with no cars and no loud music.
Venice is romantic, beautiful, and a joy to explore on foot. Three days was exactly enough for us.
We bought our train tickets for both Venice to Florence and Florence to Rome at a travel agency in Venice and it couldn’t have gone more smoothly.
If you can afford it, take a water taxi to the train station for a great tour of the Grand Canal on your way out of town. It was 50 euros from San Marco to the Ferrovia stop.
The Slow Travel website was really helpful in explaining the tickets – I easily found our car #, seat #, etc. and helped others find theirs.
We rode first class for 3 hours and, this being my first long train ride, I loved it.
Florence:
The one and only time in Italy I thought a cab driver would kill us or a pedestrian was from the train station to our apartment. This didn’t happen and I soon realized this is just how people drive here and relaxed the rest of the time we took cabs.
Once again we had a two bedroom / two bath apartment. We rented from Florence Bed and Breakfast and Roberto, the manager, was just great. Apartment 124 on Via Alfani is right next to the Accademia. For only 150 euros a night, this was the best bargain we had in Italy.
Climbing the Campanile was fun. There were several landings to stop and catch one’s breath. What a view. We didn’t do the Duomo climb as we figured it would be about the same.
I do not like shopping, but even I had to buy a leather jacket, scarves, purses, etc. at the San Lorenzo street market. I like cheap and this was paradise compared to some places we went.
RE: The Uffizi. I highly recommend making reservations over the phone. However, Rick Steves says “just walk past the people without reservations to the reservations entrance”. Don’t believe him! We walked past the people without reservations twice and couldn’t find a separate entrance. Then we got smart and asked someone that worked there, who told us to go across to Door 3 – don’t forget this – to pay for your tickets. This is not “past the line”. It’s on the opposite side of the courtyard! I love Rick Steves’ books, but I was cursing his name on this day. Also, there are clearly marked signs for group reservations and for those without reservations, but the line for individuals with reservations is sort of clustered in between and people were crowded around the sign, so you couldn’t see it. Once again, just ask.
That being said, the art in Uffizi is not to be missed. Allegory of Spring by Botticelli was my favorite.
The Accademia: Again we had to ask someone where the reservations line was, but this time skipped looking around and wasting time trying to find it ourselves, so it was a much better experience. David and the Prisoners were incredible, but I think I was a little Renaissance-d out after the Uffizi, so I sped through the rest of the museum.
Boboli Gardens is a misnomer. What gardens? Where? Boboli Scrub Grass, Trees, and Some Nice Paths would be a better name. If you’re looking for flowers – you’re pretty much out of luck. There were some really neat sculptures and fountains and lots of cats, which I love, so I was happy.
Nightlife in Florence is plentiful. We wandered into an Irish pub and played some darts one night. A kid around twelve came in and tried to hustle us into buying all of his roses if he threw a bullseye. We gave him one dart and he missed, so he tried to grab the other darts, but we told him to beat it. He said a bunch of stuff in Italian which I’m sure wasn’t “thank you, nice people” and did a little Carol Burnett-type tug on his ear and left. I told my friend that he put a curse on us, but I have no idea what the gesture really meant.
Across from the pub, we went to a dance club called Marecana, which required you to get a punch card – they record your drinks on it. Women were free, but men had to buy at least two drinks or pay 20 bucks. Great place for people watching, lots of Brazil soccer shirts on the men and short, short skirts on the women. They also have their own version of YMCA, which includes a lot more clapping.
We spent four days in Florence, which was enough for everyone else, but I would have stayed another week.
San Gimignano:
We rented a car from AutoEurope near the train station in Florence, so we could catch our train to Rome easily when we returned the car. Our friend Rob was the driver and he took to the crazy Florence driving as if he’d been doing it all his life. It was a fast and uneventful ride to San Gimignano.
We got to San Jimmy, as Rob likes to call it, around 1:00 and parked on the side of a hill along with everyone else as all the parking lots were full. We climbed the Torre Grande and the view was spectacular. We also went to the Torture Museum, which was nightmare-inducing. They were playing this eerie violin music and the whole place had the creepiest vibe I’ve ever felt - not for the faint of heart. We went back to our car and found a ticket on it, as did every car parked in the same area. Here’s a tip: the blue sign with a red circle and slash through it means “no parking”.
Siena:
We stayed at the Hotel Moderno right across from the escalator that takes you into the city center. It was very convenient and clean with no frills. I would stay here again.
We came at the right time of year, so the mosaic floors in Siena’s Duomo were uncovered and they were incredible. I recommend taking the audio tour, which explains each mosaic in detail.
I loved all the flags and different colored light fixtures that marked each contrada and it was a joy just wandering around within the city walls. This was the most relaxing stop on the trip.
We took the car back to Florence and took the train to Rome. It was very comfortable and uneventful two hour ride. I love the train.
Rome:
First and foremost, it’s very easy to cross the street in Rome. Get in the middle of a big crowd and go!
Second, I saw a lot of beggars, but no children with cardboard, or people throwing babies. At the train station we went outside to the designated taxi stands. There was a gypsy woman pointing out taxis and she grabbed one of our bags for us and put it in the trunk. I made the mistake of warning my husband about all the scams I had read about on the internet and he totally overreacted and started screaming at the lady to get away from him. We got my husband into the cab and our friend Rob gave the lady 30 cents, which she complained about, but he just ignored her and we drove away. Besides the kid with the ear flicking in Florence, this was our only incident in any of the cities and it lasted about 5 seconds
We stayed at the Hotel San Carlo by the Spanish Steps and couldn’t have picked a better location. We had reserved the much-talked-about room 77 and were really happy with it. It was roomy enough for the 4 of us and the large terrace was wonderful. I would highly recommend it to those who are fit enough to climb up four flights of stairs at least twice a day.
We did two tours with Enjoy Rome – the Vatican and Ancient Rome. I highly recommend both of these.
Things I learned while taking a tour of the Vatican:
1. It’s easier for short people to weave their way through crowds without doing bodily harm. My poor husband is 6’ and kept getting trapped by the crowd because he wouldn’t elbow his way through.
2. The School of Athens by Raphael (Raffaello) is so much more incredible in person. Knowing who the people are is especially important. He seemed to capture so much personality in each one.
3. People will not shut up in the Sistine Chapel no matter how many times the guard claps his hands and says “Silencio!” I saw several tour guides talking into their little microphones the entire time – rude, rude, rude.
4. Little old ladies really, really want to see the Pieta and will step on you and push to see it.
5. Three hours with no bathroom, no water, and getting kicked, elbowed, and stepped on makes one cranky. My friend Rob, who is not always the soul of tact, stated in a loud voice that he had to “get out of this hellhole” as a nun walked by.
And then he was struck by lightning. Okay, it was my fist.
The Ancient Rome walking tour by Enjoy Rome was our favorite activity of the entire trip. The tour starts outside the Colosseum and takes you through the Forum, Capitoline Hill, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. Our guide was a true Roman and she loved to talk about how the Romans had a knack for “recycling”. Bronze statues became bullets and cannonballs; the marble from the Colosseum was used on St. Peter’s and so on. She was amusing and informative.
If you love cats as much as I do, go to the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary. The shelter smells like the world’s largest litter box, but I had the best time there holding and petting all the kitties. Loved it, loved it, loved it.
We didn’t spend as much time exploring the night life in Rome as I would have liked. However, we did spend one evening at the Drunken Ship located at the Campo dei Fiori and it was like going to a big frat party – not something I’ve done in about 15 years, so it was extremely amusing. The same night, we also went dancing at this teeny tiny club in the same area, but I can’t remember the name.
Our fours days in Rome went by way too fast and I would go back in a heartbeat. We all thought it was the best city on our trip.
So, to sum up, Italy rocks!
If you’ve made it all the way through this trip report, I commend you for your patience.
My main recommendation for anyone going to Italy is to learn some of the language. We took an 8 week Italian course at the local community college and it came in handy daily. You will meet people who don’t speak English. There are people who are just nicer when you try to speak their language. Also, it was fun to practice.
EATING IN ITALY
Best Overall Restaurant Experience: La Giostra in Florence is run by a literal prince of a guy. The meal begins with a huge, free platter of the best antipasti we had anywhere and spumanti. The prince’s son waited on us at the beginning and he’s gorgeous and that always helps my digestion. We had this incredible ravioli with sage and butter and an ossobucco to die for. For dessert, the three dessert lovers (I like beer, not sweets) had sacher torte, tiramisu and a dessert recommended by the waitress that was like a caramelized sugar strawberry ice cream sundae. The sacher torte was declared a little dry. The tiramisu was the second best they had in Italy, and they thought the ice cream dessert was phenomenal. The prince / owner comes by every table and asks about the food and chats a little, which I thought was a nice touch. The setting is dark and candle lit, so would make for a very romantic evening as well. Make sure you make a reservation.
Best Pumpkin at a Place Named for a Pumpkin: La Zucca in Venice. Their pumpkin flan was delightful, as was the rest of the food. Make sure you get reservations.
Best Restaurant Run By Pamela Anderson, Naomi Judd Look-alikes: Medio Eva in Siena – great food, great ambiance, great service. It’s on the main street you walk up from the escalator.
Friendliest Chef: Il Ritrovo in Florence. This was a beautiful restaurant and our waitress was the chef / owner’s wife. She spoke very little English, but was really sweet and the food was wonderful. The chef speaks very good English and comes out and talks to everyone. At the end of the evening he came and had a digestif with us and talked about people he knew from the states. He took our picture, we took his. It was just a wonderful experience. I highly recommend it.
Largest Primi: Taverna San Travoso in Venice had the largest portions I’ve seen outside the U.S. for the least amount of money. Go at exactly 7:00p.m., or make a reservation.
Most Overrated Restaurant: ‘Gusto in Rome. This place has gotten really good reviews in two or three of the guide books I looked in. It’s also very close to our hotel, so we went to the wine bar in the afternoon on our first day. We liked it so much we reserved a table in the osteria for dinner. Mistake. The soup was cold; the chicken was the driest I’ve ever had; the potatoes were cold and completely devoid of flavor. Our waiter was really busy, so I won’t fault him with forgetting the wine, my beer, and my antipasti. We finally got a busboy to bring us those. They did have good ravioli, but it was by far our worst dining experience in Italy.
Sassiest Waiter: Alle Madonna in Venice. I love sassy, and this guy was great. We had a great time practicing our Italian. I accidentally called my husband mia moglie, and the waiter said “your wife has quite a beard” and everyone cracked up. Also, “signora, you have to sing it when you say ‘il conto per favore’” . The food was good and my dessert- loving companions declare Alle Madonna’s tiramisu the best in all of Italy.
The “My God, that’s a lot of food!” Award: L’Orso 80 in Rome. If you go to L’Orso 80 for their justly famous antipasti, go hungry! The platters just kept coming and coming. The best item was the suppli (deep-fried risotto balls). For about 15 euros you will eat and drink more than anyone ever should.
The “Wow, am I waiting for a rock star or trying to get into a restaurant?” Award: Il Latini in Florence. This place needs a serious reworking of their seating system. No matter what anyone tells you, you can and must make a reservation to get into this place. Even with a reservation, you’re liable to be crushed by the mob of people who also have a reservation trying to jockey to the front when the door opens. There’s a guy standing there to seat people, but you basically have to shove your way up to him and shout out your name to get seated. Luckily, I am short and was able to weasel to the front pretty easily while my taller comrades waited for me to get our table.
GELATO: I am sorry to say that I am not a huge fan of ice cream, so although my three traveling buddies had gelato everyday, I didn’t pay attention to where they got it. I do know that their favorite flavors were hazelnut, pistachio, and stracciatella (chocolate chip).
DRINKING
I don’t like wine, so I was extremely happy that they had Budweiser in many places in Italy, but when they didn’t I was just fine with Moretti, Peroni, and Heineken.
My husband discovered a love of grappa and brought back two bottles of it. I think it tastes like lighter fluid, but to each his own.
Limoncello tastes yummy and has quite a kick. Try it.
FASHION
Men in Venice, Florence, and Siena seemed to love orange pants. Buy yourself a pair and you’ll fit right in.
Italians can wear sweat suits, white tennis shoes, and fanny packs and still be fashionable; it’s all in the confidence with which they carry themselves. Heck, they looked good in those orange pants.
Don’t bring your orange pants to Rome. Denim or black, and anything tight seems to be all you need to get by there; extra points for the ladies who can wear stiletto high heels.
You can’t wear shorts in Harry’s bar, San Marco Basilica, or the Vatican. My husband and friend Rob both brought the zipper pants that turn into shorts and those work great when you don’t know exactly where you’re going to end up.
I saw a few tourists wearing their money belts and neck pouches on the outside. Don’t do this. Think of them as underwear – it’s for security, not show.
Venice:
Once you pay for your Alilaguna tickets at the airport and go outside, it is very hard to find a sign for it. There’s a small ripped one on a pole, but that’s all we saw. We went up to ACTV bus and asked the driver, who told us his bus was the Alilaguna bus, duh.
A two bedroom / two bathroom apartment is a great option for 4 people and costs about the same as a hotel (225euros/night). Denise from Venice Rentals was extremely helpful and the apartment we had was right across from Scala Del Bovolo (The staircase that is sometimes called the “straight tower of Pisa”). My only caveat would be that the apartment echoes quite a bit and the neighbors are very sensitive to noise, so you must speak and walk softly at all times.
I will never understand why people want pigeons in St. Mark to land on them. They’re still pigeons. They don’t make you better looking and won’t help you win the lottery. Pigeons poop. On you. Ew
The Secret Itinerary Tour at the Doge’s Palace was well worth it. The story of Casanova is great.
There are bars in the Campo Santa Margherita area that are fairly lively, but I saw no dance clubs. Nightlife seems to end around midnight. It was eerily quiet at night with no cars and no loud music.
Venice is romantic, beautiful, and a joy to explore on foot. Three days was exactly enough for us.
We bought our train tickets for both Venice to Florence and Florence to Rome at a travel agency in Venice and it couldn’t have gone more smoothly.
If you can afford it, take a water taxi to the train station for a great tour of the Grand Canal on your way out of town. It was 50 euros from San Marco to the Ferrovia stop.
The Slow Travel website was really helpful in explaining the tickets – I easily found our car #, seat #, etc. and helped others find theirs.
We rode first class for 3 hours and, this being my first long train ride, I loved it.
Florence:
The one and only time in Italy I thought a cab driver would kill us or a pedestrian was from the train station to our apartment. This didn’t happen and I soon realized this is just how people drive here and relaxed the rest of the time we took cabs.
Once again we had a two bedroom / two bath apartment. We rented from Florence Bed and Breakfast and Roberto, the manager, was just great. Apartment 124 on Via Alfani is right next to the Accademia. For only 150 euros a night, this was the best bargain we had in Italy.
Climbing the Campanile was fun. There were several landings to stop and catch one’s breath. What a view. We didn’t do the Duomo climb as we figured it would be about the same.
I do not like shopping, but even I had to buy a leather jacket, scarves, purses, etc. at the San Lorenzo street market. I like cheap and this was paradise compared to some places we went.
RE: The Uffizi. I highly recommend making reservations over the phone. However, Rick Steves says “just walk past the people without reservations to the reservations entrance”. Don’t believe him! We walked past the people without reservations twice and couldn’t find a separate entrance. Then we got smart and asked someone that worked there, who told us to go across to Door 3 – don’t forget this – to pay for your tickets. This is not “past the line”. It’s on the opposite side of the courtyard! I love Rick Steves’ books, but I was cursing his name on this day. Also, there are clearly marked signs for group reservations and for those without reservations, but the line for individuals with reservations is sort of clustered in between and people were crowded around the sign, so you couldn’t see it. Once again, just ask.
That being said, the art in Uffizi is not to be missed. Allegory of Spring by Botticelli was my favorite.
The Accademia: Again we had to ask someone where the reservations line was, but this time skipped looking around and wasting time trying to find it ourselves, so it was a much better experience. David and the Prisoners were incredible, but I think I was a little Renaissance-d out after the Uffizi, so I sped through the rest of the museum.
Boboli Gardens is a misnomer. What gardens? Where? Boboli Scrub Grass, Trees, and Some Nice Paths would be a better name. If you’re looking for flowers – you’re pretty much out of luck. There were some really neat sculptures and fountains and lots of cats, which I love, so I was happy.
Nightlife in Florence is plentiful. We wandered into an Irish pub and played some darts one night. A kid around twelve came in and tried to hustle us into buying all of his roses if he threw a bullseye. We gave him one dart and he missed, so he tried to grab the other darts, but we told him to beat it. He said a bunch of stuff in Italian which I’m sure wasn’t “thank you, nice people” and did a little Carol Burnett-type tug on his ear and left. I told my friend that he put a curse on us, but I have no idea what the gesture really meant.
Across from the pub, we went to a dance club called Marecana, which required you to get a punch card – they record your drinks on it. Women were free, but men had to buy at least two drinks or pay 20 bucks. Great place for people watching, lots of Brazil soccer shirts on the men and short, short skirts on the women. They also have their own version of YMCA, which includes a lot more clapping.
We spent four days in Florence, which was enough for everyone else, but I would have stayed another week.
San Gimignano:
We rented a car from AutoEurope near the train station in Florence, so we could catch our train to Rome easily when we returned the car. Our friend Rob was the driver and he took to the crazy Florence driving as if he’d been doing it all his life. It was a fast and uneventful ride to San Gimignano.
We got to San Jimmy, as Rob likes to call it, around 1:00 and parked on the side of a hill along with everyone else as all the parking lots were full. We climbed the Torre Grande and the view was spectacular. We also went to the Torture Museum, which was nightmare-inducing. They were playing this eerie violin music and the whole place had the creepiest vibe I’ve ever felt - not for the faint of heart. We went back to our car and found a ticket on it, as did every car parked in the same area. Here’s a tip: the blue sign with a red circle and slash through it means “no parking”.
Siena:
We stayed at the Hotel Moderno right across from the escalator that takes you into the city center. It was very convenient and clean with no frills. I would stay here again.
We came at the right time of year, so the mosaic floors in Siena’s Duomo were uncovered and they were incredible. I recommend taking the audio tour, which explains each mosaic in detail.
I loved all the flags and different colored light fixtures that marked each contrada and it was a joy just wandering around within the city walls. This was the most relaxing stop on the trip.
We took the car back to Florence and took the train to Rome. It was very comfortable and uneventful two hour ride. I love the train.
Rome:
First and foremost, it’s very easy to cross the street in Rome. Get in the middle of a big crowd and go!
Second, I saw a lot of beggars, but no children with cardboard, or people throwing babies. At the train station we went outside to the designated taxi stands. There was a gypsy woman pointing out taxis and she grabbed one of our bags for us and put it in the trunk. I made the mistake of warning my husband about all the scams I had read about on the internet and he totally overreacted and started screaming at the lady to get away from him. We got my husband into the cab and our friend Rob gave the lady 30 cents, which she complained about, but he just ignored her and we drove away. Besides the kid with the ear flicking in Florence, this was our only incident in any of the cities and it lasted about 5 seconds
We stayed at the Hotel San Carlo by the Spanish Steps and couldn’t have picked a better location. We had reserved the much-talked-about room 77 and were really happy with it. It was roomy enough for the 4 of us and the large terrace was wonderful. I would highly recommend it to those who are fit enough to climb up four flights of stairs at least twice a day.
We did two tours with Enjoy Rome – the Vatican and Ancient Rome. I highly recommend both of these.
Things I learned while taking a tour of the Vatican:
1. It’s easier for short people to weave their way through crowds without doing bodily harm. My poor husband is 6’ and kept getting trapped by the crowd because he wouldn’t elbow his way through.
2. The School of Athens by Raphael (Raffaello) is so much more incredible in person. Knowing who the people are is especially important. He seemed to capture so much personality in each one.
3. People will not shut up in the Sistine Chapel no matter how many times the guard claps his hands and says “Silencio!” I saw several tour guides talking into their little microphones the entire time – rude, rude, rude.
4. Little old ladies really, really want to see the Pieta and will step on you and push to see it.
5. Three hours with no bathroom, no water, and getting kicked, elbowed, and stepped on makes one cranky. My friend Rob, who is not always the soul of tact, stated in a loud voice that he had to “get out of this hellhole” as a nun walked by.
And then he was struck by lightning. Okay, it was my fist.
The Ancient Rome walking tour by Enjoy Rome was our favorite activity of the entire trip. The tour starts outside the Colosseum and takes you through the Forum, Capitoline Hill, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. Our guide was a true Roman and she loved to talk about how the Romans had a knack for “recycling”. Bronze statues became bullets and cannonballs; the marble from the Colosseum was used on St. Peter’s and so on. She was amusing and informative.
If you love cats as much as I do, go to the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary. The shelter smells like the world’s largest litter box, but I had the best time there holding and petting all the kitties. Loved it, loved it, loved it.
We didn’t spend as much time exploring the night life in Rome as I would have liked. However, we did spend one evening at the Drunken Ship located at the Campo dei Fiori and it was like going to a big frat party – not something I’ve done in about 15 years, so it was extremely amusing. The same night, we also went dancing at this teeny tiny club in the same area, but I can’t remember the name.
Our fours days in Rome went by way too fast and I would go back in a heartbeat. We all thought it was the best city on our trip.
So, to sum up, Italy rocks!
If you’ve made it all the way through this trip report, I commend you for your patience.
Jan 28th, 2005, 01:17 PM
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shana,
Thank you for the excellent trip report! I'm so glad you loved La Giostra too--as well as the prince's son--still can't believe he hasn't been signed by an agent for movies--he's so drop-dead gorgeous (yes, it helps digestion!) We're going back in May!
Thank you for the excellent trip report! I'm so glad you loved La Giostra too--as well as the prince's son--still can't believe he hasn't been signed by an agent for movies--he's so drop-dead gorgeous (yes, it helps digestion!) We're going back in May!
Jan 28th, 2005, 01:25 PM
#3
Grazie. Great report, and I have taken the names of some of those restaurants for our September trip. After getting in, did you like Il Latini? We had a fun meal there in 2001, but will be trying new places this trip.
By the way, I agree with you wholeheartedly regarding those pooping pigeons.
By the way, I agree with you wholeheartedly regarding those pooping pigeons.
Jan 28th, 2005, 01:56 PM
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Hi shana, enjoyed your report. I have some questions for you:
- do you remember the name of the travel agency in Venice where you bought your train tickets? Or do you think all agencies will basically do the same thing?
- How bad was it to get out of Florence with the rental car? Where did you pick the car up?
Thanks.
- do you remember the name of the travel agency in Venice where you bought your train tickets? Or do you think all agencies will basically do the same thing?
- How bad was it to get out of Florence with the rental car? Where did you pick the car up?
Thanks.
Jan 28th, 2005, 02:28 PM
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Very enjoyable trip report! I'll be returning to Florence in April to visit my homestay family so this trip report is getting me all excited. ooh, maybe I'll pay the prince's son a visit--just curious--I'm only human! <wink>
Jan 28th, 2005, 02:42 PM
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Terrific report Shana.
I would also like to hear more about Il Latini. We will have two children 12 and 10 with us, so the waiting time to get seated and served is very important. We thought it would be a "fun" place to eat.
Any additional comments on Il Latini?
I would also like to hear more about Il Latini. We will have two children 12 and 10 with us, so the waiting time to get seated and served is very important. We thought it would be a "fun" place to eat.
Any additional comments on Il Latini?
Jan 28th, 2005, 03:38 PM
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Hi,
Thanks for the positive responses.
rickmay - most of the travel agencies will sell train tickets. just look for the trenitalia sign on the window. I found the one I used through the Rick Steves site. Sorry, I can't remember the name. Also, getting out of Florence takes a bit of patience; make sure you have a good map from the car rental company, because we went around and around some smaller streets trying to find the right direction on the autostrada. We rented from AutoEurope and their office was a block from the train station - borgo ognissanti is the street, I believe.
maitaitom, I did like Il Latini a lot once we were seated. The waiters were great characters, and we had some great people sharing our table; a German couple, who made my friend's day by saying she looked like Kim Basinger, and two airline pilots from Monterey, Mexico. There's a great air of comaraderie when you sit at a long table like that. We did a lot of toasting each other!
I_am_kane: we got there about 30 minutes before the restaurant opened and there were a lot of people milling around. Nobody's ever heard of an orderly line. It doesn't really take them very long to get everyone in the door once it's opened - 15 minutes tops, I would guess. Once you're in, service is really fast. They have two seatings - one at 7:00 and one at 9:00, so they're motivated to get you fed and outta there.
littletonlady, the website is www.bed-and-breakfast-florence.com - they have a number of apartments for rent, depending on the number of people you have with you. It's a great deal.
Thanks for the positive responses.
rickmay - most of the travel agencies will sell train tickets. just look for the trenitalia sign on the window. I found the one I used through the Rick Steves site. Sorry, I can't remember the name. Also, getting out of Florence takes a bit of patience; make sure you have a good map from the car rental company, because we went around and around some smaller streets trying to find the right direction on the autostrada. We rented from AutoEurope and their office was a block from the train station - borgo ognissanti is the street, I believe.
maitaitom, I did like Il Latini a lot once we were seated. The waiters were great characters, and we had some great people sharing our table; a German couple, who made my friend's day by saying she looked like Kim Basinger, and two airline pilots from Monterey, Mexico. There's a great air of comaraderie when you sit at a long table like that. We did a lot of toasting each other!
I_am_kane: we got there about 30 minutes before the restaurant opened and there were a lot of people milling around. Nobody's ever heard of an orderly line. It doesn't really take them very long to get everyone in the door once it's opened - 15 minutes tops, I would guess. Once you're in, service is really fast. They have two seatings - one at 7:00 and one at 9:00, so they're motivated to get you fed and outta there.
littletonlady, the website is www.bed-and-breakfast-florence.com - they have a number of apartments for rent, depending on the number of people you have with you. It's a great deal.
Jan 28th, 2005, 04:35 PM
#12
I_am_Kane...a little more about my experience at Il Latini.
We, too, thought the waiters were great. They picked our whole meal except for what cut of meat we wanted.
When we went to Il Latini in 2001 with another couple, we downed the giant bottle of Chianti on the table. Late in the evening I started singing, "When the Moon hits your eye..." As soon as I got to that part, the entire room started singing That's Amore (we were the only Americans except for a couple of college kids because we chose the late seating...rest were locals).
We (the entire room) sang Dean Martin songs for the rest of the hour, we partied with everyone at each table even though they spoke little English and we spoke even less Italian). It was a magical evening.
I guess one of the reasons I don't want to go back is that you never can recreate an event like that. It was so spontaneous. But I thought the place was really fun.
Shana, are the prices still reasonable? My wife still raves about the bread soup we had there.
We, too, thought the waiters were great. They picked our whole meal except for what cut of meat we wanted.
When we went to Il Latini in 2001 with another couple, we downed the giant bottle of Chianti on the table. Late in the evening I started singing, "When the Moon hits your eye..." As soon as I got to that part, the entire room started singing That's Amore (we were the only Americans except for a couple of college kids because we chose the late seating...rest were locals).
We (the entire room) sang Dean Martin songs for the rest of the hour, we partied with everyone at each table even though they spoke little English and we spoke even less Italian). It was a magical evening.
I guess one of the reasons I don't want to go back is that you never can recreate an event like that. It was so spontaneous. But I thought the place was really fun.
Shana, are the prices still reasonable? My wife still raves about the bread soup we had there.
Jan 29th, 2005, 07:48 AM
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Hi shana
great report.
As for the pigeons in the Piazza San Marco, on a return trip to Venice my sister (it was her first visit) insisted that she take a picture of me feeding the pigeons. Once I had the feed in my hands I was suddenly in a Hitchcock film.
I was so grossed out afterwards, though poop-free, that I insisted in my turn that we return to the hotel so that I could wash my hair and change clothes.
I'm also with you on the Boboli Gardens.
It makes for a nice change if you are going to the Pitti Palace anyway, but otherwise not a must-see in Florence imo, especially if time is limited.
great report.
As for the pigeons in the Piazza San Marco, on a return trip to Venice my sister (it was her first visit) insisted that she take a picture of me feeding the pigeons. Once I had the feed in my hands I was suddenly in a Hitchcock film.
I was so grossed out afterwards, though poop-free, that I insisted in my turn that we return to the hotel so that I could wash my hair and change clothes.
I'm also with you on the Boboli Gardens.
It makes for a nice change if you are going to the Pitti Palace anyway, but otherwise not a must-see in Florence imo, especially if time is limited.
Jan 29th, 2005, 09:38 AM
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shana and maitaitom, Thanks for the additional information about Il Latini. We "thought" it would be one of our choices because of the kids, but now I "know" it will be a choice.
Jan 31st, 2005, 07:27 AM
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I very much enjoyed your report, Shana. It reminded me a lot of our own trip in 2003. Great tips!
We had reservations to eat at La Giostra for my husband's birthday, but he decided to cancel them since he was rather tired that night. Now we know we will HAVE to go on our next trip. Sounds divine.
I agree with your assessment of Boboli Gardens as well, although there was a lovely view from the area near the porcelain museum.
Also, I have been in the apartment at Scala del Bovolo in Venice with Denise. Nice place with a great patio, so I'm glad Venice Rentals worked out well for you.
For lulu: you can reach Venice Rentals at http://www.venicerentals.com or [email protected].
We had reservations to eat at La Giostra for my husband's birthday, but he decided to cancel them since he was rather tired that night. Now we know we will HAVE to go on our next trip. Sounds divine.
I agree with your assessment of Boboli Gardens as well, although there was a lovely view from the area near the porcelain museum.
Also, I have been in the apartment at Scala del Bovolo in Venice with Denise. Nice place with a great patio, so I'm glad Venice Rentals worked out well for you.
For lulu: you can reach Venice Rentals at http://www.venicerentals.com or [email protected].
