dawn

Just back from a wonderful trip. Thought I would share some of the things we did and places we ate for everyone. <BR> <BR>First some general observances (IMO) <BR>1. Do not stress over what you are going to wear! The locals that I saw (everywhere, including Florence) were dressed very casually in shorts, jeans, polo shirts, kakhi’s etc…I remember reading that people wore dark colors. I rarely saw any locals wearing black and other dark colors. Linen sun dresses and pants were common (in beige). Everything goes I guess. <BR>2. Learn basic phrases. We used the Berlitz CD and used the phrases we learned and got by very well. The most important phrase to learn is "Che pronzo eccellente" (that was an excellent meal) You wouldn’t believe the smiles, blushes and multiple grazie’s we got when saying this after the meal. <BR>3. Remember that it is normal to have the deer in the headlights reaction the first time someone answers your question in Italian even if you understood what they said. Just relax. <BR>4. Bring bubble wrap to wrap wine. We brought this and special wine shippers (that kept the wine cool in the trunk )which worked out great <BR> <BR>Santa Margherita: <BR> <BR>Wonderful place. Our favorite for our whole trip. People were very friendly and the weather was beautiful (as it was for our whole trip actually) <BR>We stayed on the water at the Hotel Continental. Bland rooms but the best swimming/sunning area of all of the in town hotels. They, as I’m sure all, charge you to use the swimming/sunning area ($10/day I think). Cabanas are more. We just got two chairs and 2 towels. The gardens are beautiful as they are in the whole town. The smell of the hydrangeas are amazing. <BR> <BR>Took the train to the CT which was lovely. Easy train ride. The best swimming by far is in Maranola at the bottom of the town. No "beach" but rocks and such to lay on to sun. <BR> <BR>Was disappointed with Portofino. The hike to the castle and lighthouse were great for the views. <BR> <BR>Dinners: <BR>Ristaurante la Botte: very rustic trattoria. There weren’t any tourists when we went, just locals who seemed to all know one another and the staff. (menu in italian only which is rare for SM) <BR> <BR>Trattoria Baicin: good food but extremely touristy. No locals in sight. <BR> <BR>Ristaurante Pizzeria Dal Baffo: our best meal in SM. Reserve if you want to eat outside. More locals then tourists when we went. Order the fish and watch them work their magic, taking the whole fish and cutting it here and there and producing only the meat for you. We didn’t get it but an italian family next to us did. <BR> <BR>

Dawn

Pienza: <BR> <BR>If you are going to be in the area between Siena and Montalcino you have to go to the following for a meal. The best overall meal on our whole trip. It is in a medieval hamlet outside of Murlo called La Befa. 10 houses and this restaurant which is fabulous. It is called La locando del Catello. No tourists in sight. Order the aritchoke lasagne you won’t be disappointed with this one. We actually found the info on it in the Rough Guide to Tuscany and Umbria but it didn’t list a name for the restaurant. It is out of the way but very worth it. <BR> <BR>Stayed in Pienza in a farmhouse called Le Traverse. Very warm and helpful hostess who made reservations for us and planned things for us to see. She produces jams and olive oil as well. The fresh squeezed blood orange juice at breakfast was amazing. <BR> <BR>Montalcino and Montepulciano are great towns to visit with lots of flowers and flags decorating each. We did a winery tour in each town. San quirco d’orca was very nice as well though shops were all closed because of the festival in town. <BR> <BR>Dinners: Latte di Luna in Pienza. good food but well touristed. I actually got very sick that night but don’t know if it was from there or not. <BR> <BR>La Porta in the town of Monticello. Very good meal. Locals next to us got steaks and grilled vegetables which smelled amazing. <BR> <BR>

Dawn

Umbria: Todi <BR>Stopped in Perugia on the way. Was very disappointed in it. It lacked charm and was very bland. <BR> <BR>Todi was a nice small town. Do not walk up, take the trolley. <BR> <BR>Stayed at Tenuta di Conica. Amazing place. Parts date back to the Roman times. Our room was on 2 levels and the views were outstanding. They have a very lovely pool and the views from there are spectacular. Very warm hosts. <BR> <BR>Towns we liked: Spello, Deruta (go to the old town for the pottery which is not cheap. We only bought at places where the women were painting the pottery) Spoleto and Bevagna. <BR> <BR>Towns we didn’t like: Trevi and Narni. <BR> <BR>Meals: Cavour in Todi for good pizza. <BR>Umbria in Todi- okay food well touristed <BR>La Cantina in Spello made a very fine lunch place <BR>We also ate where we stayed which was excellent <BR>They also recommended a place to us in the small town of Titignano (maybe 8 houses and a church) It was in a 12 century B&B that was recommended in the Karen Brown book. Wonderful frescoed dining room with 3 long tables. They give you a carafe of red and white, a bottle of white and a bottle of water. All of which can be refilled for free. 2 plates of antipasti, 2 firsts, 2 seconds, 1 desert and coffee and grappa. All of which you can have seconds of. The food is basic homestyle. Come hungry. The price for all of this is L25,000 per person for dinner ($12.50) It was a wonderful experience! <BR> <BR> <BR>

Dawn

Florence: <BR> <BR>I’ll just put my quick 2 cents worth in <BR> <BR>I don’t recommend eating at Zsa Zsa. <BR>I highly recommend eating at Pane e Vino (via san niccolo, 70r). Absolutely wonderful. Locals and tourists, though many more locals. The only place we saw that the menu was in Italian and English in Florence. Don’t be put off by that. The best ricotta and asparagus gnudi (gnocci) and a lamb dish with a eggplant and yougurt sauce. I have the chef’s email and am going to ask him for those recipies. They are only open for dinner. <BR>Angelino’s was great for lunch. Very pretty trattoria but the service was not very good. <BR> <BR>If you haven’t bought any wine you have to go to le volpi e l’uva (across the bridge at piazza dei rossi, 1r). Very knowlegeable man who only buys from the small producing vineyards in Italy and France. A wide variety of wines by the glass and snacks. We bought 3 bottles of the same white which was amazing (bought our reds already). <BR> <BR>The Street wise Florence map was a must for us (after using the same kind in Paris) <BR>Brought the Rough Guide and Touring wine country:Tuscany with us. <BR> <BR>Please e-mail me if you need more specifics on any of the places! <BR> <BR>Sorry I had to break this up, it was too long for one post. I didn't include any #'s or addresses because the first time I posted it all disappeared and I didn't want it to be too long again!

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Dawn, great report--you hit some of my <BR>favorite haunts and obviously enjoyed <BR>your trip---thanks for sharing.

Don

Disppointed in Portofino? Was it just not as pretty as you thought it would be? What did you expect-an old harbor that goes back 100's of years or were you looking for a beach or something and were disappointed. I thought it was a beautiful old place to see!!!

Diane

Don, I have to agree with Dawn. I was also disappointed in Portofino. I'm not sure what I expected, but the town was small and outside of the climb up to the castle, there really was not much to do there. (Maybe that's the point.) The view was lovely, but I'm glad I stayed in Santa Margherita instead.