Rome & Florence
Apr 19th, 2011, 04:18 PM
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Rome & Florence
We are back from our amazing trip to Rome and Florence. The weather was the best we have ever had on any of our previous trips to Europe, NO rain!!! The flights were all good. Detroit to Boston, Boston to Rome and back home Rome to Amsterdam then Amsterdam to Detroit. Unfortunately for everyone else I travelled with they didn't sleep well on the Boston to Rome flight. Mom and my Aunt were in the seats next to the bathroom, so the door opening and closing all night kept them awake. DH & DS didn't sleep well either. DH made fun of me for the two weeks before we left when I was going to bed early so that I could sleep on the plane. We had a tour group on the plane with us to Rome and when the plane landed they all burst into applause. I'll admit it was one of the best landings I have ever experienced but it wasn't like we had an awful flight and we were all happy to finally be on the ground again, it seemed a little strange to me. We were picked up by Memmo from Rome Shuttle Limousines. He was very funny, he talked the whole way into the city. I mapped the location of the Corso Yellow (from Trip Advisor) and it showed it 4 blocks south of Via Condotti, it was one block north of Piazza Venezia and Via del Plebiscito, this was a great location! Memmo told us that the Prime Minister had an apartment near where we were. On the corner of Via del Plebiscito and the Via degli Astali there were always Carabinieri and sometimes television cameras and reporters, so there was someone in there. We arrived at our apartment around 10am on Friday morning it was probably about 70 degrees F outside. There were police officers directing traffic, I had never actually seen this before except in the movies or on TV. After getting settled in the apartment we headed out to see the city! Our first stop was Campo dei Fiori. We walked through the market then decided to eat lunch. Pizza of course. Naturally we loved our first taste of Roman Pizza. Our next stop was Piazza Navonna and our first gelato! We went to Tartuffi (I think that was the name of it), it was the one closest to St. Agnes in Aggone. Needless to say the gelato was a hit. By the time we left Navonna it was midafternoon so there were a lot of churches that were closed, that we couldn't go into. Next was the Pantheon. We had our first Roman Soldier/Centurion encounter. After we paid for our pictures we went into the Pantheon. The size of the doors was amazing. On our way to Trevi we went into St. Ignazio di Loyola, the ceiling was impressive, but better still was when we noticed the "dome". We stopped to admire the Column of Marcus Aurelius in the Piazza Colonna. We braved the crowds at Trevi and got some pictures. I was so excited just to be in Rome and at Trevi that I didn't even think of throwing any coins in the fountain. While still at Trevi I looked for the "barber shop" where Audrey Hepburn got her hair cut in Roman Holiday, it wasn't there. We headed to the Spanish Steps next. Mom wanted an iced coffee like at home so she went to McDonalds. They didn't have what she gets when she is here at home so she went without. We stopped to rest at the obelisk while she was in the McD's. We climbed halfway up to sit and people watch. Mom stayed on the steps (she was getting tired) while the rest of us climbed the steps to go to the Trinita dei Monti. We sat for a while longer before doing a little window shopping along the Via Condotti. The one store that we actually went into was Ferragamo, that was my one thing to buy in Italy, SHOES! It was only our first day, so I was just making a preliminary look, I planned on going back sometime before heading home. Our last real stop was Piazza del Popolo. We stopped along the way for our second gelato of the day. There was a Michael Jackson impersonator performing. Once we were done with our gelato we went into Santa Maria del Popolo, another location from Angels and Demons. Then we went up the hill to the Pincio. We went back down to the Piazza to people watch again. DS walked over near me and I though he motioned to where he was going, in the end about 20 minutes later he walked over from a totally different direction and said that he was sitting in the shade. Sure he is 17 y.o. but it was our first day in Rome and he isn't the best when it comes to knowing where he. We headed back to the apartment and for dinner. It was an early night, we were all asleep by 9 p.m. There were no English channels in the apartment (not even the BBC). DS did find Fairly Oddparents sure it was in Italian but he has seen them all before anyway. The other show that was on every night was Wipeout. I don't watch the show at home but I watched it every night that we were in Rome! That was our day one.
Apr 20th, 2011, 04:02 PM
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Day 2 - Saturday
I was kinda tired when I started this last night and didn't even notice that it was all one paragraph, sorry.
I made my reservations for the Colosseum hypogeum/third level tour at the beginning of March. I called the Pierreci number and asked for the hypogeum tour she booked me at 10:15, I asked if this was right because the web site said that the English tour was at 9:40, she said yes this is right. Well, it wasn't right. I got to the tour window and he told me that this was not the hypogeum tour but the regular tour. He was able to book us into the 1pm tour for the hypogeum/third level tour, so all was ok again.
We had just bought our Roma Passes so we headed to the Palatine Hill until it was time for our tour. The weather was warm so it was nice just walking around looking at everything. This was also the first time we saw the fountains to refill our water bottles. We decided to just have sandwiches for lunch, we bought them from one of the Panini trucks. After lunch it was time for our tour.
The tour was wonderful. We learned a lot. I would definitely recommend it if you can. Cornelia was our tour guide. She added humor to the story. After the tour she pointed out St. John Lateran as the oldest always Catholic Churches. It was on my list so I decided that was going to be our next stop. We hung around for a while longer to see the first level then headed to St. John. But first we stopped for gelato just outside of the Colosseum. While stopped looking at the Ludus Magnus, the gladiator school across from the Colosseum, we saw two groups of Priests crossing the street the second group of four were all in their cassocks. I know that they are just people, and in Rome there are a lot of them walking the streets, but seeing them in their long cassocks with backpacks and iPods just made me chuckle.
We stopped at San Clemente on the way and went down to the 4th century church then down to the Mithraic Temple. We also saw/heard the underground river that Cornelia, the guide at the Colosseum, said was a possible source of the underground water at the Colosseum. This was a very interesting place and I'm glad that I saw it.
We walked into St. John Lateran at the side entrance by the obelisk. Before we walked in we looked around and noticed two parts of an old (obviously) aqueduct, one section was between two buildings and the other looked like it was part of the building and there was a satellite dish on it. The inside of the church was very impressive. One of the side chapels was kinda baroque with the sculptures/carved angels and cherubs in the dome. I loved that. The bronze main entry doors were rather incredible. I had my DH & DS (both 6' tall) stand in front of the doors for perspective and so far everyone who has seen the picture is impressed by the size of the doors. I wonder how the latch near the top 1/3 of the doors was latched, considering that it is easily 20 feet from the floor. Our next stop is going to be Santa Maria Maggiore.
We made a short detour to Santa Prassede. I forget who mentioned this church on this board but it was well worth the stop. The mosaics were very impressive. DH noticed the box to turn on the lights in the side chapel to light up the mosaic, I was alone in the chapel until he put the money in the box. Once the lights came on the chapel was full. There is also a piece of the Flogging post that Jesus was tied to before his crucifixion. Once the lights went out in the chapel the Priest closed the gates to the Chapel, as mass was about to begin. After leaving the church we needed a snack so we stopped in a bakery this time, no gelato, for pasteries.
We went into Santa Maria Maggiore next but mass had already started so we couldn't really explore the church. The church was very pretty. Although we could have probably followed the mass, even in Italian, we didn't stay. I wanted our next stop to be St. Peter in Chains but Mom's comment was "another church?". So we stopped for dinner. We lingered at dinner until after dark. We walked past the Colosseum on our way back to the apartment, glad we got to see that lit up.
Mom was tired and tired of walking by this time so we left her, my Aunt and DS in the apartment and headed out for our passeggiata. We headed to Trevi. Cliche I know but I had to do it. I threw my coins in the fountain this time. We headed back to our apartment. Note, it was only our second day in the city and I left the map in the apartment. We found the Pantheon before we made it back to the apartment, so we took the scenic tour.
Just a note when I opened my purse the next morning I realized that I had the map in my purse that every tourist had a copy of. We each got a copy of it in the cab from Memmo. Oh well.
I was kinda tired when I started this last night and didn't even notice that it was all one paragraph, sorry.
I made my reservations for the Colosseum hypogeum/third level tour at the beginning of March. I called the Pierreci number and asked for the hypogeum tour she booked me at 10:15, I asked if this was right because the web site said that the English tour was at 9:40, she said yes this is right. Well, it wasn't right. I got to the tour window and he told me that this was not the hypogeum tour but the regular tour. He was able to book us into the 1pm tour for the hypogeum/third level tour, so all was ok again.
We had just bought our Roma Passes so we headed to the Palatine Hill until it was time for our tour. The weather was warm so it was nice just walking around looking at everything. This was also the first time we saw the fountains to refill our water bottles. We decided to just have sandwiches for lunch, we bought them from one of the Panini trucks. After lunch it was time for our tour.
The tour was wonderful. We learned a lot. I would definitely recommend it if you can. Cornelia was our tour guide. She added humor to the story. After the tour she pointed out St. John Lateran as the oldest always Catholic Churches. It was on my list so I decided that was going to be our next stop. We hung around for a while longer to see the first level then headed to St. John. But first we stopped for gelato just outside of the Colosseum. While stopped looking at the Ludus Magnus, the gladiator school across from the Colosseum, we saw two groups of Priests crossing the street the second group of four were all in their cassocks. I know that they are just people, and in Rome there are a lot of them walking the streets, but seeing them in their long cassocks with backpacks and iPods just made me chuckle.
We stopped at San Clemente on the way and went down to the 4th century church then down to the Mithraic Temple. We also saw/heard the underground river that Cornelia, the guide at the Colosseum, said was a possible source of the underground water at the Colosseum. This was a very interesting place and I'm glad that I saw it.
We walked into St. John Lateran at the side entrance by the obelisk. Before we walked in we looked around and noticed two parts of an old (obviously) aqueduct, one section was between two buildings and the other looked like it was part of the building and there was a satellite dish on it. The inside of the church was very impressive. One of the side chapels was kinda baroque with the sculptures/carved angels and cherubs in the dome. I loved that. The bronze main entry doors were rather incredible. I had my DH & DS (both 6' tall) stand in front of the doors for perspective and so far everyone who has seen the picture is impressed by the size of the doors. I wonder how the latch near the top 1/3 of the doors was latched, considering that it is easily 20 feet from the floor. Our next stop is going to be Santa Maria Maggiore.
We made a short detour to Santa Prassede. I forget who mentioned this church on this board but it was well worth the stop. The mosaics were very impressive. DH noticed the box to turn on the lights in the side chapel to light up the mosaic, I was alone in the chapel until he put the money in the box. Once the lights came on the chapel was full. There is also a piece of the Flogging post that Jesus was tied to before his crucifixion. Once the lights went out in the chapel the Priest closed the gates to the Chapel, as mass was about to begin. After leaving the church we needed a snack so we stopped in a bakery this time, no gelato, for pasteries.
We went into Santa Maria Maggiore next but mass had already started so we couldn't really explore the church. The church was very pretty. Although we could have probably followed the mass, even in Italian, we didn't stay. I wanted our next stop to be St. Peter in Chains but Mom's comment was "another church?". So we stopped for dinner. We lingered at dinner until after dark. We walked past the Colosseum on our way back to the apartment, glad we got to see that lit up.
Mom was tired and tired of walking by this time so we left her, my Aunt and DS in the apartment and headed out for our passeggiata. We headed to Trevi. Cliche I know but I had to do it. I threw my coins in the fountain this time. We headed back to our apartment. Note, it was only our second day in the city and I left the map in the apartment. We found the Pantheon before we made it back to the apartment, so we took the scenic tour.
Just a note when I opened my purse the next morning I realized that I had the map in my purse that every tourist had a copy of. We each got a copy of it in the cab from Memmo. Oh well.
Apr 20th, 2011, 04:24 PM
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No need to be sorry. But thank you for the paragraphs. I liked your moms comment "another church?". I had the same feeling about museums when I did the Uffizi and The David back to back in Florence. I felt 'arted out'.
Lokking forward to the next installment.
Tom
Lokking forward to the next installment.
Tom
Apr 20th, 2011, 05:39 PM
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@annhig- don't know when you'll be in Florence, but we recently found out (much to our delight) that the last Tuesday of the month is "Museum Night" in Florence. (7-11pm) We got into the Accademia and the Uffizi for free. And the bonus.. NOBODY was there!!!! Unbelievable. No lines. And only one other person (at 8pm) in the "David" room! Both museums were virtually empty. Reply from museum store clerk on why: "It is not very-well advertised."
It is now!!!
Not only did we save a number of bucks on entrance fees... but it is awesome having the museums pretty much to ourselves!
It is now!!!
Not only did we save a number of bucks on entrance fees... but it is awesome having the museums pretty much to ourselves!
Apr 20th, 2011, 08:24 PM
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jscarbary......I am having such a great time reading your trip posting. I feel as if I am touring along with you. It is so refreshing to hear the impressions and opinions of a "first timer".
Looking forward to more.
And "sarge56" thanks for the tip regarding Museum Night in Florence. I will be there next month with some novice travelers and that will be a nice treat. We will spend the money on more wine!
Looking forward to more.
And "sarge56" thanks for the tip regarding Museum Night in Florence. I will be there next month with some novice travelers and that will be a nice treat. We will spend the money on more wine!
Apr 21st, 2011, 05:20 AM
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Enjoying your report! Keep it coming. We spend months pouring over the reports of others prior to our planned trip and have really learned some interesting things in the process. Best to just ignore snarky comments. We head to Rome in September!
Apr 21st, 2011, 12:07 PM
#13
hi sarge - thanks for the tip. sadly I'm only going to be in florence from sunday 15th to Wednesday 18th May, so I'll miss out on the last tuesday Museum night.
Actually i am more interested in visiting other museums I haven't see before, and I'm considering getting the firenze card, which gives one free admission to all the museums plus free transport for 72 hours. it does seem quite pricey at €50 pp, but I could pack a lot of museums into 2 1/2 days!
anyone else tried using it?
http://www.firenzecard.it/
anyone else going to be in Florence on those dates?
Actually i am more interested in visiting other museums I haven't see before, and I'm considering getting the firenze card, which gives one free admission to all the museums plus free transport for 72 hours. it does seem quite pricey at €50 pp, but I could pack a lot of museums into 2 1/2 days!
anyone else tried using it?
http://www.firenzecard.it/
anyone else going to be in Florence on those dates?
Apr 21st, 2011, 12:26 PM
#14
hi sarge - thanks for the tip. sadly I'm only going to be in florence from sunday 15th to Wednesday 18th May, so I'll miss out on the last tuesday Museum night.
Actually i am more interested in visiting other museums I haven't see before, and I'm considering getting the firenze card, which gives one free admission to all the museums plus free transport for 72 hours. it does seem quite pricey at €50 pp, but I could pack a lot of museums into 2 1/2 days!
anyone else tried using it?
http://www.firenzecard.it/
i have also looked at the amici degli uffizi card too, which at €60 is better value if you are going to be in Florence for longer than 72 hours or intend to visit again during the next 12 months, but as neither apply to me, and it doesn't include transport, the firenze card would suit me better, i think.
anyone else going to be in Florence on the same dates as me?
Actually i am more interested in visiting other museums I haven't see before, and I'm considering getting the firenze card, which gives one free admission to all the museums plus free transport for 72 hours. it does seem quite pricey at €50 pp, but I could pack a lot of museums into 2 1/2 days!
anyone else tried using it?
http://www.firenzecard.it/
i have also looked at the amici degli uffizi card too, which at €60 is better value if you are going to be in Florence for longer than 72 hours or intend to visit again during the next 12 months, but as neither apply to me, and it doesn't include transport, the firenze card would suit me better, i think.
anyone else going to be in Florence on the same dates as me?
Apr 21st, 2011, 03:24 PM
#16
Enjoying your report. You sure pack your days! I think I might have been resting with your mom, aunt and son sometimes.
We saw the Michael Jackson impersonator in Piazza del Popolo a few weeks ago too. And had a very similar experience with the Colosseum underground tour (we reserved we thought an English tour but when we got to the ticket desk he said, "Oh no, that's the Italian. Let me rebook for the next tour in English.") Well worth it, though. Our guide was Christina.
Looking forward to more.
We saw the Michael Jackson impersonator in Piazza del Popolo a few weeks ago too. And had a very similar experience with the Colosseum underground tour (we reserved we thought an English tour but when we got to the ticket desk he said, "Oh no, that's the Italian. Let me rebook for the next tour in English.") Well worth it, though. Our guide was Christina.
Looking forward to more.
Apr 21st, 2011, 04:35 PM
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Day 3 - Sunday
The rest of the trip moved a lot slower.
We had reservations for the Borghese Gallery at 9 a.m. Mom and DS didn't want to go so it was just my Aunt, DH, and me. We walked up Via del Corso to Via del Tritone to the Via Veneto. When we were in Paris we had no idea where the US Embassy was so when we went to Munich we made a point to find out where the Embassy was. We passed it on our way to the Gallery this morning, on the bright side we have never needed to visit any of them. The city was full of early Sunday morning runners as was the park. We didn't spend much time in the park other than to get to the Gallery and then to the bus but it is definitely on my list for our return trip. I loved the Gallery. I have always known that Italian Renaissance painting was not my favorite and this museum proved it. DH wanted to see the sculpture of Pauline Bonaparte, it was nice. I absolutely loved Apollo and Daphne! Everything about it was just WOW. After the Gallery we walked around a little in the gardens immediately around the house.
We took the 116 (I think) back. The bus stopped at the first 4 stops and our stop was next but it didn't stop. Then we realized that we had to press the button to let the driver know to stop, OOPS. Needless to say we are not regular bus riders at home. We did get our first view of the Vatican that morning. Once I figured out where we were on the route I decided that we were going to get off the bus at Campo and we would buy lunch fixin's to take back to the apartment. We bought pasta, sauce, fruit, and a bottle of wine. I bought a huge loaf of bread (I think the lady said it was 3kg) at Il Fornaio, then we stopped at another store around the corner from the apartment for some salame and cheese. It wasn't necessarily cheaper than any of our other lunches but it sure was good.
After lunch the Boca della Verita was next on my list from Roman Holiday. We took the long way around (as we learned two days later) but we all wanted to see the Circo Massimo, too. The line wasn't too long and after our pix with the Boca della Verita we went inside the church.
Our next stop was the Forum. We had our book but it would have been tons better with a guide. By this time in our trip, only day three, but I was a little worried about our daily ATM stops so I really didn't want to pay for a guide. Next time we'll get the guide an have a better idea of what we are seeing. We took our time going through the Forum so by the time we got back to the apartment it was dinner time. We went to dinner and decided for no passeggiata tonight because our Scavi reservations were for 9 a.m. and we were all going so everyone would have to get up and ready in time to get to the Vatican by 8:45.
The rest of the trip moved a lot slower.
We had reservations for the Borghese Gallery at 9 a.m. Mom and DS didn't want to go so it was just my Aunt, DH, and me. We walked up Via del Corso to Via del Tritone to the Via Veneto. When we were in Paris we had no idea where the US Embassy was so when we went to Munich we made a point to find out where the Embassy was. We passed it on our way to the Gallery this morning, on the bright side we have never needed to visit any of them. The city was full of early Sunday morning runners as was the park. We didn't spend much time in the park other than to get to the Gallery and then to the bus but it is definitely on my list for our return trip. I loved the Gallery. I have always known that Italian Renaissance painting was not my favorite and this museum proved it. DH wanted to see the sculpture of Pauline Bonaparte, it was nice. I absolutely loved Apollo and Daphne! Everything about it was just WOW. After the Gallery we walked around a little in the gardens immediately around the house.
We took the 116 (I think) back. The bus stopped at the first 4 stops and our stop was next but it didn't stop. Then we realized that we had to press the button to let the driver know to stop, OOPS. Needless to say we are not regular bus riders at home. We did get our first view of the Vatican that morning. Once I figured out where we were on the route I decided that we were going to get off the bus at Campo and we would buy lunch fixin's to take back to the apartment. We bought pasta, sauce, fruit, and a bottle of wine. I bought a huge loaf of bread (I think the lady said it was 3kg) at Il Fornaio, then we stopped at another store around the corner from the apartment for some salame and cheese. It wasn't necessarily cheaper than any of our other lunches but it sure was good.
After lunch the Boca della Verita was next on my list from Roman Holiday. We took the long way around (as we learned two days later) but we all wanted to see the Circo Massimo, too. The line wasn't too long and after our pix with the Boca della Verita we went inside the church.
Our next stop was the Forum. We had our book but it would have been tons better with a guide. By this time in our trip, only day three, but I was a little worried about our daily ATM stops so I really didn't want to pay for a guide. Next time we'll get the guide an have a better idea of what we are seeing. We took our time going through the Forum so by the time we got back to the apartment it was dinner time. We went to dinner and decided for no passeggiata tonight because our Scavi reservations were for 9 a.m. and we were all going so everyone would have to get up and ready in time to get to the Vatican by 8:45.
Apr 21st, 2011, 04:39 PM
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On Sunday the Via di Fori Imperali was a pedestrian zone. Do they do that every week? It was cool, no cars just people and 4-person bikes. There were also a lot of street performers.
Apr 21st, 2011, 06:52 PM
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Thanks for the tip about the last Tuesday of the month in Florence. We'll actually be there....and are freaking out a little about the crappy exchange rate, getting crappier day by day.
Ok, so anyone reading this that is a many-time visitor to Rome and Florence (this will be our first time), can you share whether we are short changing ourselves if we don't hit all these spots? I'm a little concerned about all the museums and churches. Are we going to miss a lot if we don't do as much? I want to see some of it....but we also want to soak up the culture, meet locals, and leisurely observe things. We will be in Rome, Tuscany and Florence.
Thanks!
Ok, so anyone reading this that is a many-time visitor to Rome and Florence (this will be our first time), can you share whether we are short changing ourselves if we don't hit all these spots? I'm a little concerned about all the museums and churches. Are we going to miss a lot if we don't do as much? I want to see some of it....but we also want to soak up the culture, meet locals, and leisurely observe things. We will be in Rome, Tuscany and Florence.
Thanks!
Apr 22nd, 2011, 11:02 AM
#20
shehof - nice for you to be there, but shame we won't be there at the same time.
dinamia - no of course you won't short-change yourselves if you don't do all or any of these things. Rome in particular is a wonderful place for just wandering and soaking things up - virtually every church has a treasure of two that anywhere else would have people queuing round the corner to see it. and the sights are so richly distributed, that you can happily go in any that you fancy as you come across them. florence too is a lovely place for strolling around, stopping for a drink or a gelato as the mood takes you.
OTOH, there are reasons why some sights are popular - in particular, the colosseum really should not be missed; get a romapass and get in free as one of your two free choices with no queuing, or buy your tickets at the forum or palatine hill, and bypass all the queues.
dinamia - no of course you won't short-change yourselves if you don't do all or any of these things. Rome in particular is a wonderful place for just wandering and soaking things up - virtually every church has a treasure of two that anywhere else would have people queuing round the corner to see it. and the sights are so richly distributed, that you can happily go in any that you fancy as you come across them. florence too is a lovely place for strolling around, stopping for a drink or a gelato as the mood takes you.
OTOH, there are reasons why some sights are popular - in particular, the colosseum really should not be missed; get a romapass and get in free as one of your two free choices with no queuing, or buy your tickets at the forum or palatine hill, and bypass all the queues.
