My red wine is calling to me - A long overdue trip report
 

This trip report is long overdue - 9 months to be exact - but I hope that you will find it useful. We were so grateful for all of the information that we learned on this forum, that we wanted to give something back. It’s my first trip report, so here goes...

DH and I made our first trip to Italy in May 2010 - a late 30th birthday celebration for both of us, and an early 5 year anniversary trip. Our itinerary kept us moving, which most thought to be a bit too hectic, but it worked for us. We knew we wouldn’t be able to see everything, but we picked the places we most wanted to see and tried to keep our expectations reasonable. Looking back now, we probably would have made a few changes, but as a whole...the trip was fantastic!

The Itinerary:
Day 0 - Depart Atlanta
Day 1 - Arrive Rome
Day 2 - Rome
Day 3 - Pisa
Day 4 - Cinque Terre
Day 5 - Florence
Day 6 - Chianti Region
Day 7 - Florence/Tuscany
Day 8 - Venice
Day 9 - Venice/Rome
Day 10 - Depart Rome

Day 1 - Rome

We arrived in Rome at 8:00 AM after a long flight from Atlanta and only a few hours sleep. With no checked bags, we cruised though passport control and customs and met our driver who was waiting in the terminal. This was the first time we had packed in carry-ons only and were SO glad we did! Our driver from Rome Cabs (45 E) whisked us into the city, pointing out a few highlights along the way. It still didn't seem real until we had our first glimpse of the Colosseum. I think it was at that moment that we realized we were actually in Rome.

The driver delivered us directly to our hotel, the Casa Montani. The location at the Piazza del Popolo was excellent, with a metro stop and electric bus stop just outside. The area was pretty quiet and the windows it the room kept out any noise. The Casa Montani is a luxury townhouse, with only five rooms. I think two are suites, but we don't spend much time in the room, we had the deluxe room with a King bed. The decor was modern and tasteful, with a comfy bed and excellent shower.

We dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed out to buy our train tickets and grab some lunch. We took the metro to the train station, and found it very easy to use the electronic ticket machines to purchase our train tickets for the rest of the trip. I had looked at the Trenitalia website ahead of time, so I knew which trains we wanted to take. The TI in the train station also had the Roma Pass we were looking for. It seemed too easy! So, three hours after landing, we were in the city and had purchased our train tickets and were out and about using our Roma Pass to explore this ancient city.

First stop...the Spanish Steps. We really just happened upon these when we came off of the metro. The flowers were in full bloom (are they ever not?) and the steps were covered with people. We snapped a few photos and then started down Via del Corso toward the Pantheon. We were both looking forward to seeing this ancient temple for the first time. But, when it finally came into view, I suppose it wasn't what we had expected. Partially covered with scaffolding for restoration, it was difficult to understand what the exterior looked like. So, we followed the masses inside. The dome was spectacular. With all of the rain, we had hoped it might be raining through the opening, but no such luck. We wandered around the inside of the Pantheon for a few minutes and then were off to Piazza Navona and in search of lunch. The Five Rivers Fountain was being restored. They had glass openings in the protective wrap, so you could kind of see, but not really. So far, two places we wanted to see both under restoration...a little disappointing. The other two fountains were operating and were lovely to see.

Lunch - We found a restaurant I had heard much about - Enoteca Cul de Sac near the Pasquino statue, but after reviewing the menu, it wasn't what we were hungry for. We ended up trying the Pizza place across the street. The pizza and salad were good, and relatively inexpensive. One Pizza Margherita and one Salad Rustica, a coke and a water for 20 Euro. Just what we needed. This was our first experience with the gypsies. They wandered by 3 or 4 times during our meal shaking coins and mumbling...but no real bother.

By now, our hotel was ready, so we started back so we could freshen up for the rest of our day. The question became "what is the best way to get back"? I preferred to wander the small alleyways, checking the map to make sure we were pointed the right direction. DH was determined that we should stick to the major roads (along with all of the other people and cars) so we didn't get lost. I was too tired to fight, so I gave in. Big mistake. This 20 minute walk home ended up taking 45 minutes. I'm still not sure how. In retrospect, we should have taken a taxi. Lesson learned. Alas, we made it back - tired, grumpy, wet and cold - and decided we both needed a nap!

Refreshed, we decided to put our Roma Pass to good use, and headed out toward the Castel Sant Angelo. We had watched Angels and Demons and thought this would be an easy place to explore this afternoon without too much overload. We walked along the Tiber towards the museum...a nice walk (and no way to get lost). We entered the museum, exchanged the pass for tickets and read the sign that said "No map, no guidebook, no audioguide". Guess we're on our own. So, up we climbed in search of the beautiful views of Rome we had read about. We were not disappointed. DH also enjoyed seeing the ancient weapons and armor on display. The displays had descriptions in English, so the missing guide wasn't such a big deal. The building interior, history and rooms were fascinating. Definitely a great first place to visit. We crossed back over the Ponte Sant Angelo working our way back toward the hotel to find a place for dinner. We stopped along the way to pick up some postcards and stamps that we could mail the next day.

The hotel had recommended a few places for dinner nearby where we wouldn't need reservations, and we decided to just wander toward that general area and check out the menus outside before settling into one location. This time, we wandered off the beaten path toward our destination...without getting lost (hmm...was it the nap that made it easier or something else?). We found the Otello Alla Concordia and settled in for our first dinner in Rome. The food was very good. We had a bottle of the house wine, liter of water, shared the Bruschetta and each ordered a primi. The meat ravioli was delicious, as was the spaghetti bolognese. The bruschetta was topped with "bacon". This was not bacon like we're used to (I'm of the extra cripsy bacon persuasion). It was super thin, salty lard that melted in our mouths. Interesting. We also shared a tiramisu for dessert. Great meal for 47 Euro....then off to bed.

Day 2 - Rome

We woke up early this morning and had breakfast in our room. The hotel brought in a cart with breads, jams, honey, cheese, orange juice and cappuccino. It was all delicious. DH had his first taste of Nutella. Quite good.

Then, we headed out on the metro to the Colosseum and Forum for our morning tour. There was a small threat of rain, but it was warming up, so we took the umbrellas but no coats. As we walked out of the building into a light mist, I wondered if this was the best choice.

After getting off the metro at the Cavour stop, we turned the wrong way. We quickly realized what we had done, and asked someone on the street to point us the right way. She was Italian and didn't speak English, but gladly pointed to the map and explained to us in Italian which way to go. Luckily, the hand gestures and pointing translated and we were able to make our way to meet Daniella Hunt for our tour, and were only a few minutes late.

The tour was a surprise for DH and he was thrilled with it. We can both be a reserved, but Daniella kept us involved and made the tour very interesting - even for the history challenged (me!). She led us through the ancient ruins of the forum first, explaining each of the excavations in chronological order. We were so glad to have her and that we weren't just wandering around looking at everything going "that's an interesting set of rocks". With the wildflowers blooming and the sun shining, walking along these ancient roads learning about the history behind ancient Rome was a real treat! We would definitely recommend a guide for a visit to the Forum to help put everything in to context. Daniella was very knowledgeable and fun to spend the morning with...a perfect choice.

From the Forum, we headed to the Colosseum. Daniella discussed what used to happen in the stadium, from the outside and the inside and also explained the architecture and history of the building. Fascinating. Apparently it was tour day for Italian elementary school students. They were all wearing matching hats and working their way through the Forum and Colosseum...these kids didn't realize just how lucky they are to be seeing these ruins somewhere besides a textbook.

For lunch, we headed toward the Capitoline Museum cafe. Not the museum - just the cafe. This was a great option. Clean bathrooms and great views. We each had a turkey and cheese panini, fruit salad, and 1/2 liter of water. 20 euro. This was just what we needed and the cool breeze was pleasant. During lunch, the rain shower we had been watching cautiously as we toured the Forum finally arrived...we got so lucky with that one!

After lunch, we walked out onto the patio for the views of the city of Rome. Then, we headed down to the spots to the left of the Capitoline that overlook the Forum. It was interesting to see it from this perspective after exploring it at ground level earlier in the day. We purchased a Past and Present Book to have when we returned home and then walked over to Trajan's column. The carvings scrolling up the column were amazing. We also tried to visit Mammertime prison while were in this area, but it was closed.

We had a tour of the Vatican planned for later tonight, so it was time to head back to the hotel for a quick nap. We were near a bus stop for the mini electric bus so decided to take that back. The ride was enjoyable and we saw some lovely neighborhoods, but the ride took longer than we thought. I guess we got on the loop going the wrong direction. Still, the bus was better than the metro, which was steamy and hot.

After a quick nap and snack, we decided to take a taxi to Vatican City. We mailed a few postcards before going through security. We happened to be inside St. Peter's during mass (around 6 PM). The main altar and other parts of the church were roped off - because it was mass? Still, we were able to walk around as the music played inside the church and get close enough to see many of the statues. Beautiful. Bathrooms at St. Peter’s square were near the Post Office and the first we encountered without seats.

After our short visit, we walked along the city walls to the Vatican Museum for our Night Tour. We had booked a 2 hour tour through the museum website for "Night at the Vatican". Our tour guide was excellent. She walked through each room and explained the history behind each piece of artwork. She spent a good bit of time explaining the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel using diagrams before we entered the Sistine. We thought that not all of the areas of the museum would be open, but they seemed to be. The guide even lost track of time...and we got a little extra long tour. The best part of the tour was that it wasn't crowded. We were able to stand and enjoy each piece of art as she discussed it. And, when we got to the Sistine Chapel, we were able to sit and study the artwork for as long as we wanted and then to move to a different location to find a new seat. After hearing all of the horror stories about not being able to move inside the chapel, this was a pleasant surprise. We aren't huge art fans, but we really enjoyed the tour.

By 10:15 PM, we were starving. Most of the restaurants we walked by had lines and we didn't want to wait. Eventually, we stumbled by a cafeteria that still had some pizza ready to be heated, so we grabbed a few pieces and sat down. The pizza was better than I thought it would be (but isn't anything when you're starving?). Two pieces of sausage and mushroom, one piece of ham and potato, one beer and one glass of wine. 16 euro.

We took the metro to the hotel and packed for our early morning departure to Pisa.

Day 3 - Pisa

6 AM came early this morning, but we were up and out the door around 7. Our trip to Pisa involved our first train ride. We arrived at the station about 30 minutes early and quickly located our track. As luck would have it, the train was already there, so we boarded and found our seats. Easy as pie. It was a Euro*City, pretty comfortable with two seats on each side of a table. There was a snack cart and power outlets on the table. The bathrooms were a little icky. They announced the stops, and we just watched others to know what to do. They did check our tickets.

The train followed a course along the coast for most of the trip, and we arrived in Pisa after about 3 hours. It was a nice ride. At the Pisa train station, we checked our luggage (6E for 2 pieces for 12 hours - left luggage is at the end of the station away from the McDonalds), used the restroom (.60E at the end of the station near McDonalds, reported by DH to be “ok”) and then found a taxi to take to the Leaning Tower (6E).

The crowd seemed manageable at 11:30 in the morning. Stalls lined one side of the square, but they weren't as obtrusive as some had insisted they would be. We found the cash desk in the Museum of Sinopie and picked up our reserved tickets for our 1:00 climb. Then, we spent a few minutes watching the short film in the museum that provided an overview of the Leaning Tower's demise and attempted correction. Very interesting.

With just over an hour left, we headed out to take a few cheesy photos holding up the tower. (Can you really go there and not do this?) And, we walked around the duomo, baptistry and checked out the lions guarding the city walls. This left just enough time to use the restroom (very clean for .30) and check my purse at in the office. No bags are allowed up the tower, but they do allow cameras and an umbrella if it's raining.

At exactly 1:00, our climb began. We were in a group of about 30. We climbed to the top level at our own rate and waited for everyone in the group to make it. 300 steps, and we stopped twice on the way up for a break. Then, we were escorted to the level with the bells and allowed to climb all the way to the top. The steps were pretty manageable, but they did get steeper, narrower, and more windy as you approached the top. The view was amazing, even with the haze that loomed in the horizon. We were allowed plenty of time for photos, and then we worked our way back down. The whole visit was 30 minutes. For us, the experience was worth it.

We retrieved my bag and then headed to the line of cafes nearby for lunch. We selected the Pizzaria Bar L’Europeo. We split a caprese salad, I had a pasta with mushroom sauce and DH had lasagna. He declared it to be the best lasagna ever. Now, I must say that DH has never had lasagna that was made properly with bechamel sauce, so of course it was great. I suppose I should be a better wife and make him real lasagna sometime. With a liter of water and espresso, it was not too pricey and pretty tasty, especially for such a touristy place.

We had just enough time to stop by the gift shop, use the restrooms one more time, and even peruse the stalls with cheesy Leaning Tower items before heading back to the train station. The crowds and tour groups had grown later in the afternoon, so we were glad we were there in the morning. The taxi ride back took a more scenic route and we saw more of the city. Pisa seemed to be a lovely town, with beautiful views as we crossed the Arno. Maybe a place to return to one day.

After retrieving our luggage, we boarded our 5:00 train to the Cinque Terre. We arrived in La Spezia (sp?) on time, and finally found the track for our regional train to take us to Riomaggiore. It was just one stop, so we stood. The regional trains were definitely not as nice as the ES*City trains we had been riding.

We arrived in Riomaggiore 10 minutes late and rode the elevator to the top of town. We were met by Emiliano at the top of the elevator and he showed us to our room at La Baia Di Rio. We had the Abel Tasman room...great views, clean, simple furnishings and private bath.

Emiliano encouraged us to walk to Manarola for dinner, but we thought we were too tired, so we spent some time on our balcony to rest and then headed down the steep stairs outside to the harbor to find some dinner. We chose poorly...the fried calamari appetizer was good, but the rest of dinner was a disappointment. DH had grilled tuna and I had pasta with prawns and zucchini...tasted like it could have been a Bertolli frozen meal. We should have gone to Manarola. Dinner was also expensive for what we had to eat. So, we headed back to the room. There were a lot of turns and steps, but we eventually found our way...now really feeling the jet lag and exhaustion that had been chasing us the past few days.

DH went back out later to get us some gelato...He didn't want to wait in line for the real stuff, so he came back with some in a carton and those flat wooden spoons like we used in kindergarden to eat ice cream. I wasn't about to complain after the trouble he went though, but really...who wants their first gelato in Italy to be from a carton. Turned out to be a great late night snack. We fell asleep early to the sound of the waves crashing against the harbor outside.

Great report so far - keep it coming!!

Agreed, great so far - looking forward to more!

Thanks for sharing your great report! Love the detail, description of food, cost, and all! More, please!

Enjoying your report. It will be good to have such a fast-paced trip available for others to read.

Enjoying your report so far! I'm going myself in May so I'm especially interested.

Jabolla - sounds like you made the most of your time in Rome. I remember Daniella Hunt! She toured us around the forum and the coloseum 4 yrs ago. In fact, other tourists waiting in line were leaning in to hear her comments. I'm glad she is still as enthusiastic as ever. Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Wow, I'm tired already. I'm sure if I would have read your planned itinerary I would have encouraged you to slow down the pace a little (a lot!) but I can see that it is working for you. I am so glad you enjoyed your trip! I am also glad that your first trip to Italy was in your (early) thirties. Maybe (maybe not) I could have kept that pace at that age. My only regret in my travel life (and I don't have many) is that I didn't start about twenty years earlier.

Not only are you more energetic than my DH and I, but you must be smarter, too! You grabbed those metros and trains like you'd done it all your life. No wandering around wondering what the heck do I do now? We have finally learned that we have to allot about 50% more time than expected for getting lost and not knowing what to do! We have learned to laugh at ourselves and enjoy the mistakes.

Looking forward to the rest of the trip report!!

Great report! I am enjoying every detail! Thanks for breaking it into manageable paragraphs and separating the paragraphs with a double space; so many first time trip reports do not do this.

jabolla,

Daniella sounds wonderful, and I am considering hiring her for a tour in May. Would you mind telling me how much she charges per hour?

I think this might be her website and costs are listed:
http://www.rome-tours.com/index.php

Thanks jamikins. I had emailed her last week, but she was traveling and could not reply completely.

Of course she replied right after I posted asking for her rates :)

Glad everyone is enjoying! I have to admit that after I read back through the first three days I thought, wow - I’m exhausted just from reading all of that. I guess it was the excitement of FINALLY being there after planning for several years that kept us going.

abenedek - The website jamikins posted for Daniella is correct, and I’m glad you finally got in touch with her. This was definitely DH’s highlight of the trip.

hanabilly - We’re not quite as smart as I led you to believe - I left out the part about getting on the Metro using our RomaPass. We thought you would just insert them into the ticket slot like the single use tickets, but they don’t fit. After standing there trying over and over (like the size of the pass was going to change suddenly), DH figured out that you had to swipe it over the scanner on top...duh! That’s why there was a barcode.

Also - the restaurant where we ate in Riomaggiore was the Enoteca Dau Cila and the bill was around $60 according to the credit card statement., which wasn’t that expensive I suppose, but the food still wasn’t very good. On to the next few days...

Day 4 - The Cinque Terre

We slept in this morning and awoke to cloudy skies and a light rain. It has rained every day of our trip, but so far we’ve managed to avoid actually having to use our umbrellas. After getting ready, we headed to the tourist office to purchase the CT pass that includes the trails and regional train for 24 hours. We were going to also purchase the ferry pass, but they advised us that the weather would probably close the ferry service in a few hours and we should just buy a one trip ticket to Monterosso. So, we validated our tickets and headed to the harbor to find the ferry ticket office. Our overall plan was just to spend the day wandering, relaxing and enjoying each other.

While we waited for the ferry, we watched a local fisherman standing on the rocks with his puppy fishing. We enjoyed watching him. Riomaggiore is the first of the 5 towns, and Monterroso is the last, so we were able to take the ferry all the way up the coast. It was beautiful, even with the clouds. The buildings really do hang on the edge of he cliffs, and the colorful buildings created a picturesque scene...just what we were hoping to see. The seas weren’t perfectly calm, but the ferry captain slowed at each stop, even the ones that were closed, to let us get a better view and take some photos.

After we got off the ferry, our first stop was the beach. We are beach people, so we had to put our hands in the water. Next, we were looking for a place to eat. After seeing “Rick Steves eats here” outside a few of the restaurants, the most Americans yet, and lots of tour groups, we decided to find a place on our own that wasn’t in his book. We ended up at L’Alta Marea. There seemed to be Italians eating here, and we took that as a good sign. We shared a bruschetta, .75L water, and .5L wine. DH had the spaghetti with seafood and I had the fish ravioli. There was plenty of seafood in his pasta, even a cute, whole little lobster. I also had a caffe macchiato. It was very good and reasonably priced - $54. We stopped by a few of the local shops and the bathrooms near the harbor (there was a charge as expected, but they were clean). Then we took the train to Vernazza.

When we arrived in Vernazza, we went the opposite direction of the tour groups, up the hill, to get a pastry from the Il Piratta. He was very nice and comical, as promised. We purchased 2 chocolate pastries for breakfast the next day and 1 panacotta with strawberries...all for 10E. We had never eaten panacotta before, and didn’t know what to expect, but it was delicious. DH doesn’t even like strawberries and he was fighting me for the last bite. Next, we ventured down to the harbor, stopping at several shops along the way. We took a few photos and then boarded the train to Manarola - deciding to skip the middle town because of time.

In Manarola, we walked up the hill to find Billy’s and to make a reservation for later that night. The vineyard walk looked beautiful, but we were so tired from walking the hills that we decided to head back to the room before dinner. We stopped to admire the view from the top of the hill and several cute bridges in the middle of town. There were kids playing in the square near the harbor. We loved hearing and seeing these everyday scenes from life in this little town.

We took the train back to Riomaggiore and looked around a little more and purchased some local gifts to take home. It really was a cute little town, full of character. We freshened up for a few minutes then decided to take the Via del Amore to Manarola. It was 20 minutes and an easy walk with beautiful views. We made it to Billy’s a few minutes early and our table was waiting on the porch. We watched the sun set over the water. Dinner was great. We started with a complimentary drink that was a little strong for both of us. Not sure what it was. Then, we ordered steamed mussels, the special red pasta with lobster, a bottle of white wine, liter of water. For dessert, we had tiramisu and almond ice cream, grappa (talk about strong!) and espresso. An expensive meal at $107, but well worth every penny. After all of this food, we decided to take the train back to Riomaggiore. We prepacked to leave early in the morning and went to bed.

A few notes about the trains between the 5 towns...our tickets were never checked and we heard several people say they were riding without them...they thought the trains were free. The tour groups used the trains to move between towns too, which made it difficult to get off and on. We found that if you moved into the tunnel, it was less crowded. All of the doors on these trains seemed to open differently (maybe some were broken?) Thankfully, a local was usually there to help, even if they did sigh or laugh at us as they pushed the right button or pulled the right lever. The trains were often late or changed tracks...usually this was announced, but you had to listen and have a basic understanding of Italian to understand the announcements/boards. It often happened at the last minute, sending everyone scrambling.

Day 5 - Florence

After our chocolate pastry breakfast, we headed to the train station to wait for our 9 AM train to Florence, changing trains in Pisa. This was one of those instances where you really had to know your train number and the tracks. Two minutes before our train was to arrive, they changed the track on the board - no announcement. Luckily, someone else waiting said something. I glanced up to check the board too and we all sprinted for the stairs - down, over and back up. The announcement came as the train pulled into the new track. Thankfully we were paying attention, or we all would have missed our train. This was one of those times we were glad we only had the two carry-on sized bags.

We had regional trains all the way to Florence, with a change in Pisa. Not the Pisa Centrale station, but the other one, Pisa-SR. We waited for the train to stop at the door with another couple and our luggage. The other lady got excited and pressed the button to open the door before we had stopped completely, so then it wouldn’t open at all. We all took off running to the next car and made it out just in time.

We had heard this station was a bit “sketchy”, and it was. After all of the announcements telling everyone to stay off the tracks, we were shocked to see everyone get off the train and just walk across the tracks to the main platform or the sidewalk to town. I think alot of them were students. Funny how you are “invincible” when you’re in your 20’s no matter where you live. When a track change or announcement came over the speakers, everyone just trudged across the tracks. I couldn’t resist...our track changed and across the rails DH and I went...I felt like such a rule breaker...totally out of character for me! It was trickier than it looked, the rails were high and I tripped and fell while carrying my suitcase. DH picked me up, took my bag and told me to get on the sidewalk before I got hit by a train. (This was after he took my picture with the “Stay off Tracks” sign in the background to show to our future kids.) Lesson learned - stay off the tracks.

The train to Florence was also a regional train, with no place that we could find for our luggage...no racks at the end of the cars, so we just put it beside us on the floor. It wasn’t crowded, so it didn’t seem like a big deal. At one of the stops near Florence-SMN, gypsies got on the train and walked up and down the aisles passing out pieces of paper, then coming back and asking for money. The train filled up as we approached the final station, and the gypsies got off. We arrived at the main station in Florence and found our way to the taxi stand and our hotel - Hotel Casci, which has received rave reviews on this site.

We were greeted warmly, even though they had trouble locating our reservation. The volcano had caused many cancellations and ours had mistakenly ended up in that pile, but no worries - there was plenty of room. They took our bags to our room and gave us the Accademia reservation they had made for us before showing us to our room. (Until now, I had forgotten completely about that silly volcano.) The room was nice with a desk, private bath with tub and shower and looked out onto a courtyard. We hooked up the wifi to check our phone messages before lunch and there was one - had to be bad news because we told everyone to email us. Turns out that DH’s dear old lab dog was not doing well at the vet and they had been trying to reach us. It was 7AM on the east coast, so we had to wait an hour to call. DH was worried, but decided to head out for lunch and then come back and call. I tried to make a quick stop in the bathroom before we left, but the toilet wouldn’t flush...what a day this was turning out to be!

We went to Nuti and had 2 calzones (sausage and mushroom and ham with mushroom), a liter of water, and a glass of red wine - 23E. It was good, the calzones were big. When we returned to the room, we found that the toilet was fixed, the vet had made a decision on his own about treating the dog (wasn’t that why we left the dog there?), but wasn’t sure he would make it until we got home. Our luck seemed to be getting better, so we turned on the TV to check on the volcano...a few delays still, but not too much trouble. Still feeling a little down, I suggested that we hit the market for a little shopping - isn’t that what every girl does when she needs a pick me up? We strolled along the stalls, purchased some pashminas and strolled around. The Duomo was beautiful and massive. We decided to come back another time to climb.

We happened by the Leonardo museum and decided to venture inside. This was a big disappointment. The exhibits were interesting, but mostly small and there were few that you could actually touch...not really what was advertised. It only took us about 30 minutes to visit the entire exhibit.

Before dinner, I wanted to go to vespers at San Minato al Monte at 5:30, so we took a taxi to get us as close as he could. We arrived just a few minutes before the service started. The gregorian chant was lovely. We were both surprised by how disrespectful others seemed to be, talking and walking in and out during the service. After the service, we walked back to the Piazza Michaelangelo. The view was of Florence from here was amazing and we just wandered around taking it in. We found a taxi to take us back to the city.

We still had some time before our dinner reservations, so pulled together our laundry to send out the next morning. We knew this would be expensive (it was 31E), but we wanted the convenience of carry on bags, so we decided before leaving home that it was worth it.

Dinner was at Trebbio, which the hotel recommended. DH had the florentine steak. It was fabulous...I’m not a red meat eater, but I had a small piece and it was wonderful - tender, juicy and with great flavor. One of his favorite meals. My pasta was also good. All together, we had a buffalo mozarella and tomato salad, pear and pecorini salad, steak with mashed potatoes, risoto with gorgonzolla and radicchio and shared a chocolate giancola for dessert. With a bottle of house red wine and a liter of water, it was $98.

We walked back to the hotel and headed off to dream land.

Day 6 - Chianti

Breakfast this morning at the hotel was a buffet of breads and jams, coffee, oj and cereal. We ate a quick bite and then headed to the Accademia for our 9AM reservation. We probably didn’t need a reservation this early as the line was very short, but when we left, the line was MUCH longer. There were already several groups inside the gallery, so it was hard to move around some areas. But, if you just stood your ground, you could find a spot to look at everything. We saw “David” - who was much bigger in person than we had imagined and enjoyed many of the other paintings for around an hour. Since we aren’t big art people, this was plenty of time for us. I could see how other people could spend much more time.

We returned to the room and it had already been cleaned. We headed downstairs to wait for Lucca Grappa with HIlls and Roads tours to pick us up for the rest of our day. Lucca was fascinating, sharing the history of the region with us as we drove.

Our first stop with Lucca was the American Cemetery. My grandfather had been in Italy in WWII, so I had heard bits and pieces of his stories growing up. I was lucky that he made it home, but a stop here was something that we both felt like we needed to do. The memorial was a peaceful place, a wonderful tribute to those who are remembered there.

Back in Lucca’s van, we headed to Greve. Lucca explained the history of the area as I stared out the window. We had time to shop on our own, wander around the square, and visit the butcher of Greve. We bought some spices to bring home. It’s been fun to cook with them and remember our trip.

Next stop, Montefioralle. This small town was still intact with walls surrounding the town. We walked around the alleys and passageways, with Lucca navigating the way and explaining what we were seeing. We had lunch in town at a small place with only 6 tables. It was delicious. Sharing lunch with Lucca was nice and gave us a chance to ask him some questions about everyday life in Italy. DH and I shared lard (the menu was in Italian, but we knew it was the “bacon” we had earlier that melted in our mouths), Bruscetta, Pasta with sausage and truffles, Pasta with nuts and cheese, a glass of wine and a liter of water. The house white was from San G and was very good. Lucca had the house red wine, which was also very good. Our total was 43E.

After lunch, we drove through the hills to Castellina. We walked around and visited a local enoteca where Lucca explained the process of making wine. The rain that was near Radda looked to have moved on, so we headed there next. The views were breathtaking, and we were glad that Lucca was driving for two reasons - first, we could both look out the windows and second, we would have been completely lost. We tried to visit the Cashmere in Chianti farm, but the owner was out and Lucca had not been able to contact her ahead of time. We did see the goats, lovely animals, before heading to Radda to walk around town. This was another great small town.

Our last stop was a winery for a tasting and cellar tour. The tasting was wonderful - we tried many wines, but picked two that we really enjoyed and ordered some to be shipped home. The wine arrived about a month or six weeks after we returned home - just late enough that I haven’t been able to have any for the past 8 months :-) One day soon that red wine will be mine!

We settled up after arriving back in Florence - 280E for the day. We made dinner reservations at Acqua al 2 for later that evening and headed to the Piazza Signoria to people watch before dinner. It seemed that they were taping something in the area, but we had time to see the sculptures and do a little people watching before heading to the Ponte Vecchio. After a few photos, we made our way to the restaurant. We still weren’t very hungry, so we shared a sampler of cheese, bottle of house wine, liter of water, sampler of primi, and sampler of dessert. I also had an espresso. Total was 45E. The tables were shared with other people...the couple at our table also had the sampler of secondi, which looked very good.

We walked back to our hotel, stopping by the Duomo at night to see it beautifully lit. The hotel really was in a wonderful location to walk where ever we wanted. Our clean clothes were on our bed, so we repacked so we would be ready to go in the morning.

Day 7 - Tuscany

DH woke up this morning and decided he was going to climb the Duomo. I didn’t think I could handle any more towers, domes or stairs without my legs falling off, so he went out alone...arriving just as they opened. He really enjoyed the climb, but said it was challenging, so he was glad I decided not to go. He was also glad he arrived at 8:30 because when he came back down at 9, there was a long line.

We had breakfast and finished packing, then left our bags at the front desk while we headed out for the day. We stopped first at the Mercato Centrale. I thought DH might want a sandwich from Nerbone for lunch, but he said no. So, we wandered around looking at the meats and cheeses with me being jealous that we don’t have such wonderful items where we live. A few purchases later, we stopped again by the hotel to let them know we wouldn’t be back until later in the evening. The folks at Hotel Casci were really gracious hosts, and we now know why the hotel gets such wonderful reviews here.

We walked over to the meeting place for the Accidental Tourist Cooking Class - taking in a few more views of the Ponte Vecchio along the way. Right on time, a van arrived to wisk us into the Tuscan hillside. The class was at a lovely farmhouse in an idyllic setting. We made ravioli from scratch, spaghetti and some other pasta. Then, we cooked the pasta upstairs and shared a meal with our classmates. DH thought the cooking class might be lame, but he later admitted that it was fun - and I have the photos to prove it. The pasta was really yummy, with a simple olive oil sauce. Our hosts had also prepared a yummy pizza and dessert for us to try. Delicious! The class was only about 5 hours long, but that was perfect for our busy schedule and for DH’s interest level in a cooking class.

We arrived back in Florence around 5:00 and walked back across the Ponte Vecchio to our hotel. After a quick stop by the restroom, we took our luggage, said our good byes and went to the train station. The two hour train ride to Venice Mastre was uneventful, but we were greeted with the threat of rain again as we pulled into the station. Ughh! We quickly found the track for our next train to Santa Lucia and boarded just in time. As we stepped out of the Santa Lucia station into the drizzle and headed to buy our tickets for the vaparetto, a calmness settled over me. I was finally in Venice.

We purchased our tickets, boarded the next boat and found a seat at the front. Even with the darkness and rain, I was instantly in love...it was beautiful, magical, breathtaking. Everything I had imagined and more. Yes, Venice had captured my heart.

When we arrived at the vaparetto stop, our directions took us across St. Marks Square to the hotel. But, there was a problem...it was flooded. I thought we could take off our shoes and trudge through, but DH (who hadn’t looked at a map ever) insisted there would be another way. He took my map and asked a policeman who was happy to point out another way - with like 7 extra turns (did I mention it was dark and raining?). Again, I decided to pick my battles and followed DH into the darkness. Eventually, we arrived at our hotel - the Locana Orseolo. The hotel was wonderful...worth every penny. We had a room with a view of the canal. The furnishings were really nice, just as pictured, and the bath was fantastic.

Hungry, we headed out in the rain to find a quick meal. We wandered into a small place that was still serving. I should have written down the name. I remember that the food was warm and hearty - I had a bean soup. The total was 56E. Drenched and ready for bed, we headed back to the hotel.

Day 8 - Wonderful Venice

I awoke early the next morning, still deeply in love and ready to see the city by day. After convincing DH to get out of the bed, we made our way to St. Marks square. It was as if the city was ours...just a few other people out and about. We wandered around for a few minutes and then made our way over the Rialto bridge...the stores were closed and no one else was on the bridge, so we set up the camera and timer for a few wonderful photos. Next we headed to the fish market. This was my real reason for getting up early...the fish and produce were fabulous. DH is a big fisherman, so he enjoyed seeing the fish come right off the boats.

We wandered back to the hotel and they were serving breakfast. I had heard about the crepes at the Orseolo, and all the rumors were true! They were delicious! I think DH had an omelet or something...I was too consumed with the fluffy chocolaty goodness on my plate that I didn’t notice.

After breakfast, we freshened up and then headed back out. I had mapped out several general “walks” to guide us, but we really didn’t have any plans other than just walking and exploring. We started toward St. Marks...now covered with people and made our way out to walk along the water. We were heading in the opposite direction of the cruise ship crowds. Wow - it was a lot of people! DH was stunned and glad I made him get up early.

The first area we explored was the Arsenale...we stopped at the top of the bridge in front to peek inside at the shipyard and then turned around and headed back in the direction of Via Garibialdi. A few turns later and we were in what seemed to be the center of real Venetian life...clothes hanging out to dry, a floating vegetable market, dogs swimming in the water, and gardens. This was the Venice that I wanted to see. DH wasn’t as interested, but he could tell I was loving every little turn and every hidden little corridor that I could find, so he went along. Rain was quickly approaching, so we headed to the Museo Storico Navale to see some of the historical vessels and weapons on display (I like to plan a few things for DH to enjoy even on days that are geared more toward my interests). The museum had lots on display and was an interesting place to spend an hour or so out of the rain.

Next stop - lunch. We headed back toward St. Marks, following the “back roads” instead of the main tourist trail. If you’re willing to get a little lost, this was definitely a much better way to see the city! We passed a workshop where they make oars for the gondolas and then found Trattoria Rivetta. I had heard that the gondoliers ate here (and in fact they did). It was a boisterous and packed place. The food was pretty good, mostly fried. The tables were packed inside the small establishment, and it seemed to be filled with mostly locals, with a few tourists. Lunch totaled 49E.

After lunch, the weather was a little nicer, so we decided to take a vaparetto and loop around the city. We ended up getting off in the Dorsoduro district and wandered up to Nico for a gelato. This is what that yummy Italian ice cream was supposed to taste like! Much better than the stuff in a carton! We ate our snack while standing outside the gondola workshop nearby. A few gondolas floated past, one with a gondolier on a cell phone. Hilarious! All in all, a lovely afternoon.

Before dinner, we wandered up to San Croce, across the bridge of fists, and to the workshop of Mauro Vianello. I wanted to find one souvenir on this trip for myself and I LOVE glass. Mauro was happy to make a little animal for us, and then we looked around his workshop. We ended up purchasing a green flower shaped dish with gold flecks. I have the pleasure of remembering our wonderful trip every afternoon when I come home and put my keys in the beautiful dish...

Back at the hotel, we asked for recommendations for dinner. They made reservations for us somewhere in the Cannaregio district. We went, but after looking at the menu, there wasn’t much that we wanted. We were already there and hungry, so we had a first course - which was horrible, paid and decided to try to find something else. We walked and walked, looked at lots of menus, trying to stay off of the main thoroughfares and hoping to avoid tourist places. Eventually, we came upon something that we could both agree on. I really wish I had written down the name of this place or a few more details, we were just so tired and hungry I wasn’t thinking straight. I do remember that we had walked almost all the way to the train station. It was truly filled with locals, the menu only in Italian. The food was wonderful - I ordered prawns and polenta. When it came, DH looked and said - “You got shrimp and grits?”. Yep, I did and it was yummy! He had another fish dish, which was also good.

We stopped for a gelato on the way back to the hotel, and then decided to walk over to St. Marks to see if the orchestras were playing. They were...and people were dancing. We joined in and had a great time. No one seemed to mind that the square had flooded again.

Day 9 - Goodbye Venice, Back to Rome

We awoke this morning to the sounds of cargo unloading outside our window. It was fun to see boats for the delivery services we see at home as vans - Fed Ex, UPS. It really makes you stop and think...everything here is delivered by boat. We got ready and headed down for breakfast...more crepes! YUM!

We went back upstairs to finish packing and DH decided to take my picture looking out the window, so he went outside to the bridge across from our window. He snapped a few pictures of me smiling and waving. He had no idea that there was a guy standing behind him holding up bunny ears the entire time. :-) Back upstairs, we finished packing as the swarms of gondolas prepared for their daily cruise ship riders. Beware...don’t start a gondola ride in this area. We kept saying it was like “It’s a Small World” at Disney...back to back boats, bumping into each other, two and three wide. Not our idea of a romantic gondola ride.

Since it was our first trip to Venice, we did want to go on a gondola ride, but we had decided to venture to the area near the Bridge of Fists where we saw several gondolas the day before. This was a much more enjoyable. We found a couple of gondoliers right as they were preparing for the day and we had a quiet ride through the canals.

After a little more shopping and wandering through some of the neighborhoods, it was time to gather our luggage and head toward the train station. We stopped by Mr. Sandwich for a quick lunch - two warm pressed sandwiches and drinks for 8.5E...DH was surprised at the price...I was shocked that they were actually edible. The Mr. Sandwich was right beside the Rialto vaparetto stop. You just never know!

I was sad to say goodbye. DH never could understand why I was so enthralled with Venice. The train ride back to Rome was long, with lots of people getting on and of at different stops. I can’t for the life of me remember why we didn’t start in Venice and end in Rome, but I’m sure I had some reason.

In Rome, we took a taxi to our hotel - Roma Boutique Hotel. The room was modern and very nice. We asked about dinner reservations and they suggested Crispi 19, which I had seen on Trip Advisor and wanted to try, so we made reservations for later that evening.

We headed out in the rain with a few sights that we still wanted to see. First stop, Trevi fountain. With the rain, the crowds were less, so we made it down front to toss our coins in. We took turns holding the umbrella as the other person tossed the coin over their shoulder. We will be back!

As we walked along the sidewalks, we found it easier to just put our hoods up and not use the umbrellas. There were just too many other people on the sidewalks using umbrellas. Of course, on every corner someone was trying to sell us a umbrella. We had them in our hands, but that didn’t stop anyone. I thought my DH was going to use his umbrella to punch the next person that asked him. It’s turned into our little joke now every time that it rains at home...”Umbrella?”

We ducked into a few gift shops along the way to pick up some t-shirts for our niece and nephew then started walking to the restaurant. This turned out to be our favorite meal of the trip. Looking at the menu on-line, this is what I remember that we had: the tuna tartare starter to share (but it turned out to be so good that we ordered a second), the ravioli with shellfish and zucchini flowers, the seabass, the amberjack, a bottle of white wine, a liter of water, and the chocolate lava cake. The total was $156 according to the credit card statement and worth every cent! I still crave that tuna tartare.

After dinner, we wanted to see the forum and coliseum illuminated at night, so walked toward a taxi stand we had seen nearby. We were stopped by a gentleman asking for directions to the Trevi fountain. We pointed him in the right direction on his map as his wife walked over. He was shaking his head and laughing as she approached...”They’re Americans”. They were Italian. I guess we at least looked like we knew where we were. They headed off and we found a taxi and went on ours. This evening, the Coliseum was lit, but not the forum. We walked around, still in the rain and splashed and had a great time...we must have looked like crazy tourists, but we didn’t care.

Eventually, we made our way back to the hotel and packed for our flight home the next morning. Rome Cabs picked us up on time the next day, and we arrived at the airport 3 hours before our flight. We needed every minute to get through the check-in, security and buses...and we only had carry-ons. Chaos would be the only way to describe the Rome airport...we were thrilled to touch down in Atlanta where at least the frantic pace was a familiar one.

Next up if I can find the time...The Things we Learned...

jabolla - Thanks for the great report. Can I ask how far in advanced you book your Accidental Tourist Cooking Class and how much the Class was? We are planning a trip in September and a cooking class was on my list of things to do.

I've really enjoyed your report, especially since we will be in Rome and Venice soon and have also chosen Locanda Orseolo. (I have been a little worried about that gondola craziness outside the window; too noisy??)

I hope you can find the time, jabolla! I've really enjoyed your report as well. It's getting me very excited for our trip!

Great trip report! I really enjoyed it. Thank you for including so many details, they will be quite helpful for my upcoming trip in May :)

Jabolla, loving your report!! Oh to be "30's" and have your energy ;) We learned to love red wine through travels to Italy. This September we will go to Rome & Sardinia, can't wait! Both my hubby & I were simply enchanted by Venice when we traveled there a few years ago. Did you pre-order your Rome cab? Looking forward to reading the rest....

Loving your report! I hope to go to Italy this September with dh. Your schedule is a little ambitious for me, but I am enjoying your enthusiasm.
One question if you don't mind.....you said you had your laundry done. What type of clothes did you take that were machine washable and dryable? I'd be happy to pay to have some clothes washed, but I don't own any pants, besides jeans, that can be dryed! And most of my shirts too. I do a lot of hand washing on trips and that's fine for some things, but doesn't work so well for pants.

Great report. I think that your itinerary worked because you were so well planned.

question - if you were doing it again, would you try to cram so much in, or would you take things a little/lot slower?

Enjoyed your trip report

We are heading to Italy late September visiting many of the same places as you. I found your details very informative.

Thank you

Good report. Yes, I wish I had your energy! But you certainly used your time well, and you really enjoyed Italy, and had the right attitude. Keep it up.

Will we see any photos?? I hope so!

Hi, all...thanks for your patience...I’m happy to report that our baby girl was born happy and healthy 2 weeks ago today and mom finally has time to get back on the computer and is looking forward to having some red wine very soon.

First, I’ll try to answer your questions...

@ Dickens87 - I booked the Accidental Tourist Cooking Class probably 9 months in advance, but I plan things WAY far in advance. We had to change our date a few months out and it wasn’t a problem. Here’s the website with pricing (70 euro per person): http://www.accidentaltourist.com/act...?activemenu=00

@ elnap29 - the Locanda Orseolo was wonderful...everything that everyone on this board had described. With the windows closed, we didn’t hear a thing...but I did open them as soon as I got up every morning. The gondolas didn’t start running until after about 9 or 10 in the morning, so not a problem. I’m not sure how late they would run at night or if the noise would be a problem because it rained every night we were there and the gondolas stopped when the rain started. But, the number of tourists decreased significantly around dinnertime, so I wouldn’t worry about the noise at night.

@LuvToRoam - we did arrange for the Rome cab ahead of time, and they were waiting for us at the airport with our name on a sign and were right on time to take us to the airport the morning of departure as well. I would certainly use them again.

@ Cpelk - We had simple cotton pants and jeans. May was warm, so the cotton felt nicer, but we are both more comfortable in jeans...and for those who are wondering...jeans were just fine for anything we did during the day. DH had some khaki’s that could be dried in the drier (and also screamed tourist, but he wouldn’t get a pair in black). I had wide leg cotton pants that looked like linen in grey and black. I think I found them at Kohl’s, but probably any department store would have something.

@ annhig - next time i think we will slow it down a bit. DH said he would have liked 3 nights in each location instead of 2 because he felt like we were moving all the time. We would probably pick two or three locations for 10 days.

That seems like a good lead in to “The Things We Learned” or “What we Would do the Same/Different”. This isn’t really in any sort of order, just a rambling of thoughts...

Carry-on Only is way to go! Still not sure how we did it, but SO glad we did. We each still had a couple of shirts too many. Packing cubes kept everything organized and made it easy to unpack/repack so many times.

Go to the bathroom every time you have the chance...you never know when you might have the chance again, or what the conditions will be the next time.

The CT wouldn’t make our “must do” list. Sorrento and a visit to Pompeii are on the list for next time.

An extra day or two in each location would have been nice. If we could just manage more vacation time at work...

Cabs in Rome were worth the money (not too expensive during the day) to save our legs and avoid arguments.

Get up early in Venice. So worth it! Actually, get up early everywhere and take a nap after lunch when everyone else is out.

Get to the Rome airport 3 hours early...you do need the time.

It was helpful to know a few basic phrases in Italian. I had learned a few but DH had not. He said this was the one thing he would do before our next trip.

Don’t be afraid to try something new or that you don’t normally eat at home. I haven’t touched a tomato since we got back, but I ate them in Italy and they were wonderful. I also still order my bacon extra crispy, but will always remember the way that “bacon” melted in my mouth our first night in Rome.

You don’t need to be at the train station too early (30 minutes was too much)

Coffee is better in Italy.

Stay off the train tracks.

The real Venice is not where the tourists are.

Plan ahead, prioritize and be willing to adapt.

Blisters happen...moleskin is your friend.

Jeans would have been ok to wear every day, maybe with a pair of black pants for dinner at night.

Keep a positive attitude and have fun!

Congratulations!!!

I'm so impressed that you found the time to finish your report with a newborn in the house!

Thanks so much for the reply. We want to do the cooking and wine class. Congratulations on your baby girl. Mine is 23 and just a cute as the day she was born.

Thanks so much for the reply. We want to do the cooking and wine class. Congratulations on your baby girl. Mine is 23 and just a cute as the day she was born.

Great report! Thank oyu for tkaing hte time to list all the details and impressions.Good for you, for seeing what you did in limited time. You will return!
And best wishes on new parenthood with your little bambina!