Ten day tour of Italy
Jul 11th, 2008, 07:37 AM
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Ten day tour of Italy
My wife and I spent ten glorious (and expensive) days in central Italy last week. Thought we would share some likes and dislikes.
Florence: we got advance tickets through www.selectitaly.com for many of the key attractions (palazzos and galleries). These were expensive and found we could have done the same thing for less through the hotel concierge.
Stayed at the Grand Hotel (Starwood chain): pricey but worth it. Of the major galleries and palazzos, the Galleria dell'Academia was a bit disappointing. Yes, the original David by Michelangelo is there, but not a lot of additional masterpieces. And you can see a good, full scale reproduction of the David in the Piazza della Signoria.
Don't miss the Palazzo Vecchio and ask about the hidden Leonardo Da Vinci mural hidden behind the Vasari painting in the Salone dei Cinquecento. See if you can find the "cerca,trova" clue that Vasari hid in his painting to hint that he had covered over the Leonardo mural.
Restaurants: Fodors recommends Oliviero near the city center. In our opinion over-rated and over-priced. Try Il Profeta instead - close to the Hotel Grand. A husband and wife team cook great Tuscan food at more reasonable prices and cater to tourists with some great stories and very friendly attitude.
Siena: we were the for the Palio, the annual horse-race in the middle of the downtown piazza. Wow! More Italians than foreigners and a great bash. Even if you go at another time, Siena is a medium-sized city but you feel like you are back in the Renaissance.
Stayed at the Grand Hotel Continental: smaller hotel with world-class service. Of course you do have to pay world-class prices but it is right on the main "drag" - Bianchi di Sopra. Ate at Da Guido, a Fodors recommendation. Noticed a lot of Italians eating there, too. Great food, great service and reasonable prices. Wholeheartedly recommend it.
San Gimignano. Fodors calls it the Manhattan of Italy and we agree. The most charming small city we visited. The Ristorante Belsogiorno in the hotel by the same name has a breath-taking view of the Tuscan countryside. Make a reservation and ask for a window table. We saw darkness fall over the countryside and it was like living a Renaissance painting. The food was extraordinary and, unless you are a wine snob, the house wine was to die for.
We stayed at the hotel Relais Santa Chiara and wish we hadn't, despite Fodors favorable evaluation. It is a short walk into town. However, we experienced an air conditioner that was not working, a front desk staff who could not arrange a timely repair or room change, long hair from the previous guest decorating the shower walls and the American owner in the front desk who was not accommodating. The rating: a resounding thumbs down.
Driving in Italy: we rented a Hertz car in downtown Florence to explore Tuscany and return it in downtown Rome. If you are an aggressive driver, it can be a lot of fun. If not, take the train. The smaller roads in Tuscany require you to keep a vigilant lookout for the small signs that show you how a main road meanders through a small town. On the other hand, the Autostrada which runs from Bologna to Rome is a blast. At 120 kilometers (60 mph) you get passed by even the school buses. With wide lanes, drivers who signal and get out of the left lanes, 180 kilometers per hour was comfortable and we were definitely not the fastest car on the road.
Rome: stayed at another Starwood property: the Westin Excelsior. Pricey but very elegant and very well located. The Vatican is very impressive but the crowds are terrible. if we had to do it over, we would hire a private guide. But it is a must-see. Bring your binoculars so you can see the details in the Sistine Chapel and the Pieta. Your normal viewpoint is very distant. While you are there, take a short walk to the Castel Sant' Angelo. It is like the sacred and the profane next door to each other. It is built on a Roman structure and was a fortress in the Middle Ages. The views from the top are spectacular.
The ruins of ancient Rome are incredible. The Colosseum is very impressive and another must-see. However the ruins of ancient Rome are extremely poorly marked. You have to keep asking where the major sites are because the signage is few and far between. To find the major attractions around the Roman forum bring a map and your best broken Italian.
Finally, yes, you have to see the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. Since the American Express office is right at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, we used the opportunity to yell out among the crowds of young people, "Canceloni our credit cardos".
Italy is one of the wonders of the world. We hope you enjoy it, too.
Florence: we got advance tickets through www.selectitaly.com for many of the key attractions (palazzos and galleries). These were expensive and found we could have done the same thing for less through the hotel concierge.
Stayed at the Grand Hotel (Starwood chain): pricey but worth it. Of the major galleries and palazzos, the Galleria dell'Academia was a bit disappointing. Yes, the original David by Michelangelo is there, but not a lot of additional masterpieces. And you can see a good, full scale reproduction of the David in the Piazza della Signoria.
Don't miss the Palazzo Vecchio and ask about the hidden Leonardo Da Vinci mural hidden behind the Vasari painting in the Salone dei Cinquecento. See if you can find the "cerca,trova" clue that Vasari hid in his painting to hint that he had covered over the Leonardo mural.
Restaurants: Fodors recommends Oliviero near the city center. In our opinion over-rated and over-priced. Try Il Profeta instead - close to the Hotel Grand. A husband and wife team cook great Tuscan food at more reasonable prices and cater to tourists with some great stories and very friendly attitude.
Siena: we were the for the Palio, the annual horse-race in the middle of the downtown piazza. Wow! More Italians than foreigners and a great bash. Even if you go at another time, Siena is a medium-sized city but you feel like you are back in the Renaissance.
Stayed at the Grand Hotel Continental: smaller hotel with world-class service. Of course you do have to pay world-class prices but it is right on the main "drag" - Bianchi di Sopra. Ate at Da Guido, a Fodors recommendation. Noticed a lot of Italians eating there, too. Great food, great service and reasonable prices. Wholeheartedly recommend it.
San Gimignano. Fodors calls it the Manhattan of Italy and we agree. The most charming small city we visited. The Ristorante Belsogiorno in the hotel by the same name has a breath-taking view of the Tuscan countryside. Make a reservation and ask for a window table. We saw darkness fall over the countryside and it was like living a Renaissance painting. The food was extraordinary and, unless you are a wine snob, the house wine was to die for.
We stayed at the hotel Relais Santa Chiara and wish we hadn't, despite Fodors favorable evaluation. It is a short walk into town. However, we experienced an air conditioner that was not working, a front desk staff who could not arrange a timely repair or room change, long hair from the previous guest decorating the shower walls and the American owner in the front desk who was not accommodating. The rating: a resounding thumbs down.
Driving in Italy: we rented a Hertz car in downtown Florence to explore Tuscany and return it in downtown Rome. If you are an aggressive driver, it can be a lot of fun. If not, take the train. The smaller roads in Tuscany require you to keep a vigilant lookout for the small signs that show you how a main road meanders through a small town. On the other hand, the Autostrada which runs from Bologna to Rome is a blast. At 120 kilometers (60 mph) you get passed by even the school buses. With wide lanes, drivers who signal and get out of the left lanes, 180 kilometers per hour was comfortable and we were definitely not the fastest car on the road.
Rome: stayed at another Starwood property: the Westin Excelsior. Pricey but very elegant and very well located. The Vatican is very impressive but the crowds are terrible. if we had to do it over, we would hire a private guide. But it is a must-see. Bring your binoculars so you can see the details in the Sistine Chapel and the Pieta. Your normal viewpoint is very distant. While you are there, take a short walk to the Castel Sant' Angelo. It is like the sacred and the profane next door to each other. It is built on a Roman structure and was a fortress in the Middle Ages. The views from the top are spectacular.
The ruins of ancient Rome are incredible. The Colosseum is very impressive and another must-see. However the ruins of ancient Rome are extremely poorly marked. You have to keep asking where the major sites are because the signage is few and far between. To find the major attractions around the Roman forum bring a map and your best broken Italian.
Finally, yes, you have to see the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. Since the American Express office is right at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, we used the opportunity to yell out among the crowds of young people, "Canceloni our credit cardos".
Italy is one of the wonders of the world. We hope you enjoy it, too.
Jul 12th, 2008, 03:19 AM
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Please don't yell at me but here is a Rick Steve tip. We both have ipods and before we left for Italy and France my HB downloaded podcasts for almost all of the sites we were going to visit. Yes, Rick a bit corny at times, but his info is as good as most audio guides. His podcast of the Forum in Rome was particularly good. I get fed up with paying for entry and then having to fork out more euros for an audio guide. We could also listen in advance to the commentary if we felt like it.
Jul 12th, 2008, 11:38 AM
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The IPOD idea from "cathies" is excelent. Thanks for the tip and I imagine it works well for most destinations - Italian or not. And you are right, on top of the admission charge, the average audio guide is another 3 or 4 Euros...
In reply to nysmom, we tried to do simple lunches on the go - say pizzas or paninis and found 7 to 10 Euros per person was about as low as it got. You can get a small panini for 2 or 3 Euros, a water for 1 or 1.5, the pizzas for 5-7 etc. And don't forget the 2-3 Euro gelato.
The hardest meal to plan for was breakfast unless you are wiling to do with a shot of espresso/capuccino and a sweet roll on the go. Then you pay the price of the sugar headache a couple of hours later. We suggest staying at hotels with breakfast plans since their offerings (like cereal) are a little closer to US tastes.
If you want to do an occasional splurge: Osteria de Giovanni in Florence close to the Piazza de la Republica was good and about 50 Euros for two with a bottle of wine.
One lunch in Siena we paid cash (so don't remember the name) but it is a little place at the corner of the Duomo with a small terrace looking down the hill on which the cathedral is built. They had very good inexpensive lunch menu coupled with the good people-watching vista.
In Rome a Fodor's recommendation, Cesarina (close to the Piazza Barberini), had some great tasting pasta dishes for 10 Euros at dinner time. They had pricier stuff (seafood in the 18-25 Euro range) but the pasta servings were more than adequate for a satisfying meal.
Enjoy your trip.
In reply to nysmom, we tried to do simple lunches on the go - say pizzas or paninis and found 7 to 10 Euros per person was about as low as it got. You can get a small panini for 2 or 3 Euros, a water for 1 or 1.5, the pizzas for 5-7 etc. And don't forget the 2-3 Euro gelato.
The hardest meal to plan for was breakfast unless you are wiling to do with a shot of espresso/capuccino and a sweet roll on the go. Then you pay the price of the sugar headache a couple of hours later. We suggest staying at hotels with breakfast plans since their offerings (like cereal) are a little closer to US tastes.
If you want to do an occasional splurge: Osteria de Giovanni in Florence close to the Piazza de la Republica was good and about 50 Euros for two with a bottle of wine.
One lunch in Siena we paid cash (so don't remember the name) but it is a little place at the corner of the Duomo with a small terrace looking down the hill on which the cathedral is built. They had very good inexpensive lunch menu coupled with the good people-watching vista.
In Rome a Fodor's recommendation, Cesarina (close to the Piazza Barberini), had some great tasting pasta dishes for 10 Euros at dinner time. They had pricier stuff (seafood in the 18-25 Euro range) but the pasta servings were more than adequate for a satisfying meal.
Enjoy your trip.
Jul 12th, 2008, 12:52 PM
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I always love Da Francesco, eat with Rome's locals at long tables, freshest seasonal food, house wine, etc. at reasonable price. See video here:
http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=187
Another nice family -run trattoria in the same Piazza Navona neighborhood, Ristorante Virginiae, close by Cafe della Pace and Da Francesco:
http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=252
Buon appetito!
http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=187
Another nice family -run trattoria in the same Piazza Navona neighborhood, Ristorante Virginiae, close by Cafe della Pace and Da Francesco:
http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=252
Buon appetito!
Jul 12th, 2008, 01:38 PM
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BTW, the best cheap snack in Florence, 5 Euros for panini and glass of wine.
http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=200
Hit the Uffizi early, walk over to I Fratellini to meet the two brothers and then avoid the afternoon heat!
http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=200
Hit the Uffizi early, walk over to I Fratellini to meet the two brothers and then avoid the afternoon heat!
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