Marianna's Trip to Italy
Jul 20th, 2006, 06:23 AM
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Marianna's Trip to Italy
We enjoyed our trip to Italy! I thought I would write some quick notes while I have the chance.
Rome:
Two nights (wished we had more time in Rome) at the Hotel della Torre Argentina. The hotel is in a great location for walking to just about everywhere which is what we did most of the time. We took a taxi (taxi stand a few steps from the hotel) to Spanish Steps one night because of heavy thunderstorms. We had dinners at Nino (near Spanish Steps) and Da Armando al Pantheon (Salita de Crescenzi) . Both meals were very good and about 100 euro for 4 with appetizers, wine, dessert.
The hotel was comfortable but a bit in need of some redecorating. We had the two rooms at the top with private, adjacent terraces. Rooms were both about the same size. Room 501 had a small hallway which lead to the bathroom (large) and to the terrace door. Room 502's terrace door was right in the bedroom area. This room seemed brighter than 501 since the terrace door was larger. The terrace for guest use is next to the one for room 502. It was not a problem since few people seemed to use it. We used our terraces for lunches, snacks, before dinner and late night wine and relaxation. On the terrace, we also watched the amazing lightening during one of the storms. Nice views from the terraces - very pleasant with potted plants as terrace dividers. If you stay here, I would highly recommend requesting one of these rooms with terraces.
One story and suggestion about visiting the Sistine Chapel - I guess you might say this is how I visited the Sistine Chapel at least three times in one day:
It was very crowded and very hot. I decided not to enter one of the rooms on the upper floor and told my husband that I would wait for him at the end of the narrow exit hall. I waited and waited and they never came out that way. I went down to the Chapel and could not find them there either. I went back upstairs and waited again (45 minutes or so had now passed) and then finally asked a guard for help. I found out that there were two ways to go to the Sistine Chapel from the room upstairs. They apparently went the opposite way from where I was waiting. I later learned that they didn’t have a choice of exiting the room towards where I was since the huge crowd just pushed them the other way. Another 45 minutes passed searching, asking for help, back and forth to the Chapel, etc. and still they were not to be found. I did not know this, but my family had departed the Chapel thinking I was waiting outside. The guards were not at all helpful and told me that they could not call the exit guards to see if anyone was looking for me since they did this for lost children only – after my experience, losing a child here would be just awful! I finally found someone who looked like he was in charge of something and told him that I had been separated from my family and could not locate them. He contacted a Chapel guard and sent me to him. He was very kind and took me to a spot near a busy stairway to wait. He kept saying wait here and my family will find me. After 30 minutes or more the guard returned and asked if I had seen them yet, but I had not. By now, I was really worried about how I would locate them or them me. The guard returned again and I suddenly saw my husband and son behind him. They had assumed I left the building and was waiting outside. When time passed and I did not show up, they went back in to search for me. They caught a glimpse of me on one of my trips to the Sistine Chapel but could not get to me in time to stop me from leaving. They later said I looked emotional – was it from worry or from the magnificence of the Sistine Chapel? Maybe a little of both. They looked for me for a while and then suddenly found me waiting at that busy staircase! I thanked the guard and “man in charge” for being so kind to me. Some of the other guards were downright rude though.
So, a suggestion is have a pre-arranged meeting place, just in case you get separated from your group or family.
Sorrento:
We drove to Sorrento from Rome (rented from AVIS which was a short walk from the Argentina). We stayed in Sorrento for 7 nights. Our apartment was Villa Cavalieri (or Villa Isabella, depending on your rental agency). It is located on the grounds of the Hotel Parco dei Principi. We stayed here 2 years ago and enjoyed the apartment with full use of hotel amenities (pool, beach, fitness room, terraces, etc) and its location, views, etc. Prior to our arrival, I had asked them to make sure that the apartment was ready for us – stove in good working order, AC on, fridge temp cooled, and that they had checked the condition of the mattress in one of the bedrooms (it was lumpy and dippy on our last visit). Well, everything was perfect – fresh fruit on the table, cloth napkins, silverware, AC on, fridge ready for food, stove worked, all was clean and neat and a new mattress for our bedroom! That’s service!
We cooked often, mainly breakfasts and a few dinners and several lunches. We dined at our favorite restaurant in Massa Lubrense, Roberto Francischiello at the Hotel Buena Vista. It was just as delicious as all the other times we have been there in the past. Our first dinner there was on the night of the World Cup finals. We made a reservation – HA – we were the only people there! So, we sat at a table near the bar and TV and dined while watching most of the game with the owners. We returned to our apartment to watch the rest of the game and when it ended we ran out to the terrace on the Bay to experience the post game events. Such excitement following the victory! Fireworks encircled the Bay of Naples and burst from every surrounding hillside town in the area. Every boat in the Bay had their horns blaring and you could hear shouting coming from everywhere. The fireworks lasted for hours. It was a night to remember! Celebrations continued for the next several days.
We dined at that restaurant again on another night and it was more crowded. As we were leaving, the mother gave us a lovely platter as a gift. That was so sweet! It ended up being the only gift I brought back for myself from Italy.
We drove the Amalfi Coast on one day and stopped in Positano for coffee and pastries (Café Positano), Amalfi for wine and cheese, olives, etc, and Ravello where we had dinner at the Hotel Rufolo on the terrace. We enjoyed our dinner, but WOW, what a view! This was a full day’s event for us. We left at about 11 AM and returned at about midnight. It was a great day!
On another day, we drove to Campobasso so that our son’s girlfriend could visit the place where her great grandparents were born. It was a long, but beautiful drive. I even got to get a glimpse of Avellino where my grandmother was from. We had lunch in Campobasso and then drove back to relax by the pool. A long trip, but a very nice day!
We did not get to Gaeta on this trip after all – just too much to do, but we did visit my cousins in Ercolano. They always go out of their way to make our visit special for the brief time we are at their home.
On the day of our departure from Sorrento, we drove the kids to Naples for their trip home and my husband and I went on to Siena for one night on our way to Venice.
Siena:
It was a long, yet beautiful ride to Siena. It took about 4-5 hours from the Naples airport, including a stop or two on the way. The scenery is just magnificent! We stayed at the Hotel Santa Caterina and got the only room with a little balcony. Room was a decent size and pleasantly decorated. The balcony view of the Tuscan countryside was gorgeous. This is a nice little hotel a short walk outside the Porta Romana. The hotel had a lovely courtyard with views. Breakfast (a substantial buffet with cheeses, meats, cereals, fruit, yogurt, pastries, coffee) was served here. We had a light dinner at a small restaurant in the city – I don’t remember the name of it.
Venice:
We drove from Siena to Venice. Again, 4 to 5 hours of driving on a winding road until you got to Bologna. We decided to drop our car off at the airport and take a water taxi to our hotel. This was the easiest way – expensive (90 euro) – but quick and easy. We were dropped off at just a short walk from our hotel, the Al Ponte Mocenigo which is near the San Stae vaporetto stop.
This is a nice hotel. Walter, one of the owners, is very helpful as is other help at the desk. The rooms (good size) are decorated in an ornate décor. Our room for 2 nights was #6 – serene green and gold décor – overlooked the narrow San Stae canal. It was a spacious, pleasant, bright room. Our room for one night (#8) was dark red and gold – too dark and ornate for my taste – with a window which faced a stone wall. Room #5 is decorated in the serene green and has a little balcony overlooking the canal. Breakfast is served in a little courtyard – good coffee, cheese, croissants, rolls, cereal, yogurt, fruit. The lady who serves the breakfast is lovely.
We had dinner in La Zucca, a restaurant near the hotel. We had a table outside, near a canal and a bridge. It was a lovely evening, food was good and reasonably priced, and we enjoyed watching the boats and people pass by. After dinner we walked a short distance and sat on a bench under trees and enjoyed listening to bands performing for a festa. They were roasting chickens outside. People sat on benches at tables which we had seen being set up earlier in the day. Adults and children were dancing and everyone was having a great time!
Lunches, snacks, pastry and coffee and other meals were mostly eaten at places we found as we walked around Venice. We did buy prepared food at a place called or at Bissa which was near the hotel and the Rialto Bridge. It was all delcious. They packed it up for us to go and we bought pastry, wine and bread as we walked back to the hotel. We dined in the courtyard. The front desk gentlemen gave us plates, utensils, napkins and wine glasses. It was very pleasant – quiet, enjoyable, restful.
I didn’t get lost here, but I did have a bit of a medical emergency on our first night. I won’t go into details, but I thought it was related to a larger medical issue (it was not) so I called my local doctor and was advised to go to a hospital for tests. What an adventure! We decided to take a water taxi and Giovanni called one for us and actually walked down to the San Stae stop to wait with us and speak to the driver. We arrived at the “First Aid” (ER) and completed a brief form. There were 4 or 5 men (doctors or staff) behind a desk. They spoke to me in Italian which I do understand. However, I couldn’t explain the problem in Italian since I speak little Italian and, as in the Sistine Chapel, I was nervous. Anyway, when it became apparent that I did indeed have a problem, I was immediately taken upstairs to an English speaking doctor who gave me his diagnosis and a prescription for 2 doses. I was told to return the next day for another test and to get a prescription for a week’s dosage.
So, my advice here is: If you have an existing medical condition and do not speak Italian, try to get it written down in Italian so you can show it in case of an emergency. Alternately, if you have an emergency situation and need medical care, ask someone at your hotel to write down your concerns to show at the hospital or ask the hospital to call the hotel to translate. Sometimes, privacy needs to be thrown to the wind!
Finally, Alitalia: Good News to Report
We were pleasantly surprised with Alitalia. When we checked in at Boston for our departure, a nice young man gave my husband and me window/aisle seats in row 20. We were previously assigned to aisle/center in row 28 which was a change from our initial assignement. We were also able to get window/aisle seats in row 30 for our son and girlfriend. Returning from Rome, we were assigned window/aisle row 18 and were happy.
The kids’ plane from Naples was late so they had quite a dash to make the Rome connection to Boston. They were the last to board with only a few minutes to spare. They said that landings in Rome and Boston were scary – something about the plane seeming to slide across the runway. I noticed something similar when landing in Boston, too.
All in all, flights were good, food was better than in the past, attendants were happy, smiling, and pleasant!
I may have left out some important things about our trip, but that’s all I can think of right now. We had a great time and are thankful for all the wonderful information and help from all of you here!
Rome:
Two nights (wished we had more time in Rome) at the Hotel della Torre Argentina. The hotel is in a great location for walking to just about everywhere which is what we did most of the time. We took a taxi (taxi stand a few steps from the hotel) to Spanish Steps one night because of heavy thunderstorms. We had dinners at Nino (near Spanish Steps) and Da Armando al Pantheon (Salita de Crescenzi) . Both meals were very good and about 100 euro for 4 with appetizers, wine, dessert.
The hotel was comfortable but a bit in need of some redecorating. We had the two rooms at the top with private, adjacent terraces. Rooms were both about the same size. Room 501 had a small hallway which lead to the bathroom (large) and to the terrace door. Room 502's terrace door was right in the bedroom area. This room seemed brighter than 501 since the terrace door was larger. The terrace for guest use is next to the one for room 502. It was not a problem since few people seemed to use it. We used our terraces for lunches, snacks, before dinner and late night wine and relaxation. On the terrace, we also watched the amazing lightening during one of the storms. Nice views from the terraces - very pleasant with potted plants as terrace dividers. If you stay here, I would highly recommend requesting one of these rooms with terraces.
One story and suggestion about visiting the Sistine Chapel - I guess you might say this is how I visited the Sistine Chapel at least three times in one day:
It was very crowded and very hot. I decided not to enter one of the rooms on the upper floor and told my husband that I would wait for him at the end of the narrow exit hall. I waited and waited and they never came out that way. I went down to the Chapel and could not find them there either. I went back upstairs and waited again (45 minutes or so had now passed) and then finally asked a guard for help. I found out that there were two ways to go to the Sistine Chapel from the room upstairs. They apparently went the opposite way from where I was waiting. I later learned that they didn’t have a choice of exiting the room towards where I was since the huge crowd just pushed them the other way. Another 45 minutes passed searching, asking for help, back and forth to the Chapel, etc. and still they were not to be found. I did not know this, but my family had departed the Chapel thinking I was waiting outside. The guards were not at all helpful and told me that they could not call the exit guards to see if anyone was looking for me since they did this for lost children only – after my experience, losing a child here would be just awful! I finally found someone who looked like he was in charge of something and told him that I had been separated from my family and could not locate them. He contacted a Chapel guard and sent me to him. He was very kind and took me to a spot near a busy stairway to wait. He kept saying wait here and my family will find me. After 30 minutes or more the guard returned and asked if I had seen them yet, but I had not. By now, I was really worried about how I would locate them or them me. The guard returned again and I suddenly saw my husband and son behind him. They had assumed I left the building and was waiting outside. When time passed and I did not show up, they went back in to search for me. They caught a glimpse of me on one of my trips to the Sistine Chapel but could not get to me in time to stop me from leaving. They later said I looked emotional – was it from worry or from the magnificence of the Sistine Chapel? Maybe a little of both. They looked for me for a while and then suddenly found me waiting at that busy staircase! I thanked the guard and “man in charge” for being so kind to me. Some of the other guards were downright rude though.
So, a suggestion is have a pre-arranged meeting place, just in case you get separated from your group or family.
Sorrento:
We drove to Sorrento from Rome (rented from AVIS which was a short walk from the Argentina). We stayed in Sorrento for 7 nights. Our apartment was Villa Cavalieri (or Villa Isabella, depending on your rental agency). It is located on the grounds of the Hotel Parco dei Principi. We stayed here 2 years ago and enjoyed the apartment with full use of hotel amenities (pool, beach, fitness room, terraces, etc) and its location, views, etc. Prior to our arrival, I had asked them to make sure that the apartment was ready for us – stove in good working order, AC on, fridge temp cooled, and that they had checked the condition of the mattress in one of the bedrooms (it was lumpy and dippy on our last visit). Well, everything was perfect – fresh fruit on the table, cloth napkins, silverware, AC on, fridge ready for food, stove worked, all was clean and neat and a new mattress for our bedroom! That’s service!
We cooked often, mainly breakfasts and a few dinners and several lunches. We dined at our favorite restaurant in Massa Lubrense, Roberto Francischiello at the Hotel Buena Vista. It was just as delicious as all the other times we have been there in the past. Our first dinner there was on the night of the World Cup finals. We made a reservation – HA – we were the only people there! So, we sat at a table near the bar and TV and dined while watching most of the game with the owners. We returned to our apartment to watch the rest of the game and when it ended we ran out to the terrace on the Bay to experience the post game events. Such excitement following the victory! Fireworks encircled the Bay of Naples and burst from every surrounding hillside town in the area. Every boat in the Bay had their horns blaring and you could hear shouting coming from everywhere. The fireworks lasted for hours. It was a night to remember! Celebrations continued for the next several days.
We dined at that restaurant again on another night and it was more crowded. As we were leaving, the mother gave us a lovely platter as a gift. That was so sweet! It ended up being the only gift I brought back for myself from Italy.
We drove the Amalfi Coast on one day and stopped in Positano for coffee and pastries (Café Positano), Amalfi for wine and cheese, olives, etc, and Ravello where we had dinner at the Hotel Rufolo on the terrace. We enjoyed our dinner, but WOW, what a view! This was a full day’s event for us. We left at about 11 AM and returned at about midnight. It was a great day!
On another day, we drove to Campobasso so that our son’s girlfriend could visit the place where her great grandparents were born. It was a long, but beautiful drive. I even got to get a glimpse of Avellino where my grandmother was from. We had lunch in Campobasso and then drove back to relax by the pool. A long trip, but a very nice day!
We did not get to Gaeta on this trip after all – just too much to do, but we did visit my cousins in Ercolano. They always go out of their way to make our visit special for the brief time we are at their home.
On the day of our departure from Sorrento, we drove the kids to Naples for their trip home and my husband and I went on to Siena for one night on our way to Venice.
Siena:
It was a long, yet beautiful ride to Siena. It took about 4-5 hours from the Naples airport, including a stop or two on the way. The scenery is just magnificent! We stayed at the Hotel Santa Caterina and got the only room with a little balcony. Room was a decent size and pleasantly decorated. The balcony view of the Tuscan countryside was gorgeous. This is a nice little hotel a short walk outside the Porta Romana. The hotel had a lovely courtyard with views. Breakfast (a substantial buffet with cheeses, meats, cereals, fruit, yogurt, pastries, coffee) was served here. We had a light dinner at a small restaurant in the city – I don’t remember the name of it.
Venice:
We drove from Siena to Venice. Again, 4 to 5 hours of driving on a winding road until you got to Bologna. We decided to drop our car off at the airport and take a water taxi to our hotel. This was the easiest way – expensive (90 euro) – but quick and easy. We were dropped off at just a short walk from our hotel, the Al Ponte Mocenigo which is near the San Stae vaporetto stop.
This is a nice hotel. Walter, one of the owners, is very helpful as is other help at the desk. The rooms (good size) are decorated in an ornate décor. Our room for 2 nights was #6 – serene green and gold décor – overlooked the narrow San Stae canal. It was a spacious, pleasant, bright room. Our room for one night (#8) was dark red and gold – too dark and ornate for my taste – with a window which faced a stone wall. Room #5 is decorated in the serene green and has a little balcony overlooking the canal. Breakfast is served in a little courtyard – good coffee, cheese, croissants, rolls, cereal, yogurt, fruit. The lady who serves the breakfast is lovely.
We had dinner in La Zucca, a restaurant near the hotel. We had a table outside, near a canal and a bridge. It was a lovely evening, food was good and reasonably priced, and we enjoyed watching the boats and people pass by. After dinner we walked a short distance and sat on a bench under trees and enjoyed listening to bands performing for a festa. They were roasting chickens outside. People sat on benches at tables which we had seen being set up earlier in the day. Adults and children were dancing and everyone was having a great time!
Lunches, snacks, pastry and coffee and other meals were mostly eaten at places we found as we walked around Venice. We did buy prepared food at a place called or at Bissa which was near the hotel and the Rialto Bridge. It was all delcious. They packed it up for us to go and we bought pastry, wine and bread as we walked back to the hotel. We dined in the courtyard. The front desk gentlemen gave us plates, utensils, napkins and wine glasses. It was very pleasant – quiet, enjoyable, restful.
I didn’t get lost here, but I did have a bit of a medical emergency on our first night. I won’t go into details, but I thought it was related to a larger medical issue (it was not) so I called my local doctor and was advised to go to a hospital for tests. What an adventure! We decided to take a water taxi and Giovanni called one for us and actually walked down to the San Stae stop to wait with us and speak to the driver. We arrived at the “First Aid” (ER) and completed a brief form. There were 4 or 5 men (doctors or staff) behind a desk. They spoke to me in Italian which I do understand. However, I couldn’t explain the problem in Italian since I speak little Italian and, as in the Sistine Chapel, I was nervous. Anyway, when it became apparent that I did indeed have a problem, I was immediately taken upstairs to an English speaking doctor who gave me his diagnosis and a prescription for 2 doses. I was told to return the next day for another test and to get a prescription for a week’s dosage.
So, my advice here is: If you have an existing medical condition and do not speak Italian, try to get it written down in Italian so you can show it in case of an emergency. Alternately, if you have an emergency situation and need medical care, ask someone at your hotel to write down your concerns to show at the hospital or ask the hospital to call the hotel to translate. Sometimes, privacy needs to be thrown to the wind!
Finally, Alitalia: Good News to Report
We were pleasantly surprised with Alitalia. When we checked in at Boston for our departure, a nice young man gave my husband and me window/aisle seats in row 20. We were previously assigned to aisle/center in row 28 which was a change from our initial assignement. We were also able to get window/aisle seats in row 30 for our son and girlfriend. Returning from Rome, we were assigned window/aisle row 18 and were happy.
The kids’ plane from Naples was late so they had quite a dash to make the Rome connection to Boston. They were the last to board with only a few minutes to spare. They said that landings in Rome and Boston were scary – something about the plane seeming to slide across the runway. I noticed something similar when landing in Boston, too.
All in all, flights were good, food was better than in the past, attendants were happy, smiling, and pleasant!
I may have left out some important things about our trip, but that’s all I can think of right now. We had a great time and are thankful for all the wonderful information and help from all of you here!
Jul 20th, 2006, 07:04 AM
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Thanks for your detailed report, Marianna!
Good suggestion for always having a pre-arranged meeting place when traveling. How scary that must have been for you. Also, a great idea of having a medical condition written down in the specific language of the country you are traveling to in case of an emergency.
These are two suggestions that are vitally important and something one does not think about on a regular basis. Thank you.
Welcome home, happy to read you had such a great time!
Good suggestion for always having a pre-arranged meeting place when traveling. How scary that must have been for you. Also, a great idea of having a medical condition written down in the specific language of the country you are traveling to in case of an emergency.
These are two suggestions that are vitally important and something one does not think about on a regular basis. Thank you.
Welcome home, happy to read you had such a great time!
Jul 21st, 2006, 07:36 AM
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Marianna -
I was just able to scan your report but I wanted to comment that you have given some very important advise that is not usually mentioned. Thank you for that.
I look forward to reading this more carefully this weekend in order to savor your trip with you.
Linda
I was just able to scan your report but I wanted to comment that you have given some very important advise that is not usually mentioned. Thank you for that.
I look forward to reading this more carefully this weekend in order to savor your trip with you.
Linda
Jul 21st, 2006, 04:28 PM
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Those two experiences were quite frightening to me. I'm sure that some people do make arrangements for meeting places and have a plan in place for an emergency hospital visit. But, sometimes, in our enthusiasm for the vacation or visit to a museum, church, etc. we forget to think beyond the pleasures of traveling and we neglect to think of the "what if's".
Jul 21st, 2006, 04:44 PM
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Marianna, welcome back! It sounds as though, despite the medical emergency, this was a very lovely trip, and I've enjoyed reading your synopsis of highlights. Thanks for letting us know how it all went.
BC
BC
Jul 21st, 2006, 05:38 PM
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Nice report, Marianna-I believe your hotel in Venice, al Ponte Mocenigo, is #2 on the tripadvisor.com hit parade for Venice-people rave about it- I looked it up, it looks to have lovely rooms and a very nice ambience. I was thinking it was a bit further north than San Stae-but it is ideally located.
And La Zucca (the pumpkin) is great, isn't it? People think it's all vegetarian, but it isn't. It's one of the hottest tables in Venice, for good reason.
Re your medical emergency, just curious, did you go to the Ospedale Civile (with the magnficent facade by Mauro Codussi) there on Campo San Giovanni e Paolo, or did they take you to a first-aid center set up somewhere else? I'm wondering since I'll be back there soon, and was thinking if everyone with a medical issue is taken to the hospital emergency room or are there other places that I don't know about set up for that purpose.
And La Zucca (the pumpkin) is great, isn't it? People think it's all vegetarian, but it isn't. It's one of the hottest tables in Venice, for good reason.
Re your medical emergency, just curious, did you go to the Ospedale Civile (with the magnficent facade by Mauro Codussi) there on Campo San Giovanni e Paolo, or did they take you to a first-aid center set up somewhere else? I'm wondering since I'll be back there soon, and was thinking if everyone with a medical issue is taken to the hospital emergency room or are there other places that I don't know about set up for that purpose.
Jul 22nd, 2006, 01:04 AM
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Hi Gypsytravel,
When we found the hotel and booked it, it was #1. We enjoyed staying there. La Zucca was recommended here on Fodors and also by Walter, one of the hotel owners. We were out in the afternoon taking a walk and saw the restaurant so we made a reservation for dinner that evening. The restaurant was fully booked for dinner and we noticed many people being turned away.
Yes, the hospital we went to was the Ospidale Civile with the beautiful facade which we saw the next day. The water taxi (we thought about the ambulance and now wonder if it would have been a free transport to the hospital - does anyone here know?)dropped us at the First Aid side dock and that entry looked almost like a prison - all cement. It was about 10 at night and the hospital was very dark inside as you went to the First Aid section. Lighting was very dim. Even when I went upstairs to see the doctor, it was dark and dreary. When we went the next day, we were in another section and it was brighter - white walls, more pleasant surroundings. It was a bit easier to communicate the next day since I had the discharge papers from the night before and the information was all written in Italian but I could read it and knew it identified the problem.
Enjoy your next visit to Venice and hope you won't have to go to the hospital!
You are welcome, Bookchick - it was a great trip and I am glad we went since we were considering a postponement. I especially enjoyed the Rome (I just love Rome - when I go back, I want to stay a week in Rome!)/Sorrento(always #1 on my Italy list)part since we took such pleasure in seeing the sheer delight on the faces of our son and his girlfriend. It was fun traveling with them. Now, I move on to other things.
When we found the hotel and booked it, it was #1. We enjoyed staying there. La Zucca was recommended here on Fodors and also by Walter, one of the hotel owners. We were out in the afternoon taking a walk and saw the restaurant so we made a reservation for dinner that evening. The restaurant was fully booked for dinner and we noticed many people being turned away.
Yes, the hospital we went to was the Ospidale Civile with the beautiful facade which we saw the next day. The water taxi (we thought about the ambulance and now wonder if it would have been a free transport to the hospital - does anyone here know?)dropped us at the First Aid side dock and that entry looked almost like a prison - all cement. It was about 10 at night and the hospital was very dark inside as you went to the First Aid section. Lighting was very dim. Even when I went upstairs to see the doctor, it was dark and dreary. When we went the next day, we were in another section and it was brighter - white walls, more pleasant surroundings. It was a bit easier to communicate the next day since I had the discharge papers from the night before and the information was all written in Italian but I could read it and knew it identified the problem.
Enjoy your next visit to Venice and hope you won't have to go to the hospital!
You are welcome, Bookchick - it was a great trip and I am glad we went since we were considering a postponement. I especially enjoyed the Rome (I just love Rome - when I go back, I want to stay a week in Rome!)/Sorrento(always #1 on my Italy list)part since we took such pleasure in seeing the sheer delight on the faces of our son and his girlfriend. It was fun traveling with them. Now, I move on to other things.
Jul 22nd, 2006, 04:00 AM
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Swell report. Good advice. Having just had to cancel a trip due to husband's kidney stones, your tip on having info about conditions in country language is especially timely. Glad you enjoyed yourself.
Jul 22nd, 2006, 04:29 AM
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Marianna,
Enjoyed youre report. I, too, got separated from my husband in St. Peter's - not anything like your experience though...and it was really unsettling. We're going to Sorrento for the first time in September and would love restaurant recommendations. We were in Rome in May and ate on our last evening at Armando al Pantheon...we were customers of the night and they gave us two bottles of wine when we left as gifts. It was a hoot!
Enjoyed youre report. I, too, got separated from my husband in St. Peter's - not anything like your experience though...and it was really unsettling. We're going to Sorrento for the first time in September and would love restaurant recommendations. We were in Rome in May and ate on our last evening at Armando al Pantheon...we were customers of the night and they gave us two bottles of wine when we left as gifts. It was a hoot!
Aug 15th, 2006, 10:37 AM
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Mrianna:
Great report. As you may recall, you are the reason we spent a week in Massa Lubrense -- glad you liked our trip reports. When you return to Italy, I highly recommend Hotel la Scalinata in Rome.. just on top of the Spanish steps.. incredible. Also, we really loved Hotel Casa Verardo in Venice.. great location, beautiful rooms. Luciana Monda, owner of Villa San Montano was a delight to us and helped us arrange cooks, boat trips,etc... the children had the trip of a lifetime. Thanks to you and all fodorites for great suggestions. Ciao, Lisamarc
Great report. As you may recall, you are the reason we spent a week in Massa Lubrense -- glad you liked our trip reports. When you return to Italy, I highly recommend Hotel la Scalinata in Rome.. just on top of the Spanish steps.. incredible. Also, we really loved Hotel Casa Verardo in Venice.. great location, beautiful rooms. Luciana Monda, owner of Villa San Montano was a delight to us and helped us arrange cooks, boat trips,etc... the children had the trip of a lifetime. Thanks to you and all fodorites for great suggestions. Ciao, Lisamarc
Aug 16th, 2006, 02:27 AM
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Lisamarc, thanks for the tips for future travels to Italy. We have a few other destinations planned before returning to Italy in two years. Yes, the owners of the two villas (Bouganville and San Montano)are very kind, helpful, and gracious. I am delighted that you and your family had a great time in Massa Lubrense and that your entire trip was so enjoyable.
There's a lot I left out when I wrote this since I wanted to quickly make some notes before I got involved in other things. We also visited Capri and walked for what seemed to be miles to make sure we didn't leave anything out. We ended the day with an elegant and delicious late lunch on the terrace of La Palma.
Welcome back here to you, Mimi! Yes, even with a few surprise events, it was a fabulous trip! The "kids" just loved it and we actually missed their company on the Siena/ Venice end of the trip. They are easy to travel with and are a pleasure to have around - even when we are not in beautiful Italy!
There's a lot I left out when I wrote this since I wanted to quickly make some notes before I got involved in other things. We also visited Capri and walked for what seemed to be miles to make sure we didn't leave anything out. We ended the day with an elegant and delicious late lunch on the terrace of La Palma.
Welcome back here to you, Mimi! Yes, even with a few surprise events, it was a fabulous trip! The "kids" just loved it and we actually missed their company on the Siena/ Venice end of the trip. They are easy to travel with and are a pleasure to have around - even when we are not in beautiful Italy!
