Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Just back from bella Italia

Hi all,

We (six of us) just got back last night, so I'll give you a quick synopsis of our trip, and will be happy to answer questions if anyone has any.

We left Detroit on the Wednesday the 1st at 7 p.m., arriving in Milan at noon the next day. Took the 50 minute shuttle to Milan Centrale and took the 3:10 train to La Spezia, where we caught the local to Manarola.

We rented two apartments in Manarola for five nights. One was quite small but had two balconies, one of them overlooking the town and harbor. The other was much larger with two full size bedrooms and one balcony, also overlooking the harbor. The smaller was half way to the top of town, while the larger was two doors down from Billy?s Restaurant, near the top of town. We ate at Billy?s and Marina Piccolo in Manarola, and Il Castillo in Vernazza while there. I had my first anchovies ever at Il Castillo and my first spaghetti with pesto at a little place in Monterosso. I loved them both.

On Saturday, we had a windy day, and by evening, the wind was so bad that the waves were breaking up against the cliffs so high that they were up to the footpath that goes north from the center of town. We stood on our balcony taking pictures of the highest sprays, so I really hope the photos turn out. That was the night that we ate up at Il Castillo in Vernazza, and in the square by the church where all the restaurants have their tables outside for dinner, the square was filled with all the boats that are usually anchored in the little harbor.

We took a day trip to Florence to see David. He was everything I imagined, as were the unfinished slaves. I bought a book that has information on everything in the Accademia and can hardly wait to read it. We explored some of the streets of Florence, checked out the Bapistry, and had a panini and wine at a little outdoor café near the Ponte Vecchio. On our way back to the Cinque Terre, we stopped in Pisa and took the bus to see the Leaning Tower. I just wish we had had more time in Florence so we could have fit in the Uffizi and some of the other must see sights.

After our five days in the C.T., we took the train to Rome, staying at the Astoria Gardens Hotel, just four blocks from Termini. The area next to the station is a little scary, so I was amazed at how much different it was just four blocks away. The hotel was on a nice little street, across from a school, and we were half a block from a nice piazza (need my notes for the name), and had several decent trattorias around the corner and on the block behind us. Our rooms were quite small, but nice, with two of them overlooking the street and one overlooking a lovely little courtyard.

We arrived in Rome around 2:30, and after unpacking, took the metro to the Coliseum, walked to the Victor Emmanuel Monument, over to the Trevi Fountain, and on to the Spanish Steps. We then took the metro back to our neighborhood, where we ate at a trattoria around the corner from the hotel. I had eaten spaghetti alla carbona before and loved it; however, this was the first time I ever had it with cheese in it ? in fact, so much so that it tasted like Kraft macaroni and cheese. Such a disappointment!

The next day we joined the hoardes who were trying to get on the metro to go to St. Peter?s for the Pope?s audience. It took us so long to get on the train that I figured that by the time we got off and walked to the square, it would be over. However, I wasn?t aware that it lasts for a couple of hours, so we did get to see and hear Pope John Paul. We couldn?t get too close, but they had large screens all over, so we did get to see him close up. He was so frail, but what an amazing experience! We then went through the Vatican museum and back to St. Peter?s to join a tour by a young man from Ireland who was very entertaining. By then it was time to head back to Trevi Fountain, where we were suppose to meet JandaO for a limoncello. Unfortunately, we hung out in front of the gelato shop next to Treve from 6:50 to 7:25 and never found her. Every time I saw someone I thought might be her, I?d hear them speak in another language, so I don?t know if she was there or not. By 7:25, all my travel mates were really hungry since we didn?t have time for lunch because of the audience with the Pope, so I figured we?d better find some food before they decided to mutiny!

The next morning we were up early, as the airport shuttle was picking us up at 7:20 for our 10:20 flight home. We ended up sharing the shuttle with a young priest from Houston who was going to the airport to pick up his mother who was flying in to Rome for the beatification of Mother Theresa. In fact, Father Cedric will be coming to our hometown next October to mission at a church in my neighborhood. Such a small world!

That?s it in a nutshell. The trip was great, as was the gelato, and if anyone has any questions, I?ll try to answer them.