VENICE cont'd.<BR><BR>With the orchestra playing, this was a perfect spot to take in the activity of St. Mark's Square.<BR><BR>One thing that struck me in Venice more so than any other city was the contrast between th number of people during the day and at night. I had read about all the daytrippers in Venice ... but I had no idea how many! We found Venice to be extremely peaceful and quiet at night ... more than any other city ... but during the day it was quite crowded. <BR><BR>Anyway, we decided to head back to our room to get ready for our dinner at Da Fiore ... which we were SO looking forward to!<BR><BR>I had read good things about it on this board ... as well as in a recent Wine Spectator which mentioned that the New York times called it the 5th best restaurant in Europe. Quite a reputation to live up to!<BR><BR>I had read that it is hard to find, so I asked our concierge to draw the path we should take on my map.<BR><BR>We set out on our adventure to find it ... it truly is tucked away on a tiny street and is very unassuming from the outside. My husband and I actually walked right past it before coming to the end of the street and realizing we had to turn around.<BR><BR>Inside is a small but cozy space. We were seated at a table for two ... and the host pointed to a small stool next to my seat for me to put my purse on! I love that!<BR><BR>The menu is all in Italian ... so at first we did not know what most of the choices where. But our waiter was very gracious in describing each selection in detail to us.<BR><BR>We also found it humorous that my menu didn't have any prices on it!<BR><BR>First our waiter brought each of us a small plate of lightly fried shriimp and zucchini over a delicious, creamy polenta.<BR><BR>We started with a carpaccio of sea bream, shrimp and tuna with a pumpkin garnish and olive crostini. <BR><BR>Next we shared a very generous sized bowl of pumpkin soup with wild mushrooms. (It should be generous for 20 Euro!)<BR><BR>Then we split an order of ravioli de pesce that was stuffed with a mix of fresh local fish and served with a very delicate sauce.<BR><BR>Finally my husband had the grilled tuna and I, the seabass baked with apples and a balsamic vinagarette reduction. <BR><BR>Everything was outstanding.<BR><BR>Depsite the publicity Da Fiore has had here in the States ... it was filled mostly with Italians. We loved it.

Hi Amy<BR> Love your posts.<BR><BR> The reason your menu did not have any prices is because a lady shouldn't know how much her escort is spending.<BR><BR> One orders from &quot;the middle of the menu&quot;.

Hi Amy<BR> Love your posts.<BR><BR> The reason your menu did not have any prices is because a lady shouldn't know how much her escort is spending.<BR><BR> One orders from &quot;the middle of the menu&quot;.

This report was delightful and helpful. It's like day and night compared to Jade's report. Don't get me wrong I found Jade's report extremely entertaining and a good lesson and reminder about last minute travel arrangements. I have my own tale of woe about a Christmas spent in Paris that was planned a week before we left. We laugh about it now. <BR><BR>Anyway, thank you Amy for your excellent reportage. I feel re-strenthened to start planning a January getaway to Rome. I must admit Jade's report scared me off a bit. But I'm back on track now.

Amy, we are still waiting for your comments on Florence! Please post so we can hear about what you and your husband experienced over there. Thanks!<BR>

Amy: I have enjoyed all of your report; thanks for the time you spent posting it. <BR><BR>We will be spending one week in Venice in the spring; we want to go to Da Fiore for my b'day, so that part was great. Do you mind telling me what you spent on the meal? Thanks, Sally

Hi everyone ... I'm back! Sorry that it's been awhile ... this has been my first chance to get on in 3 days ...<BR><BR>ANYWAY ... Sally, to answer your question ... I think we spent about $250 at Da Fiore for the two of us. We ended up splitting the appetizer course, soup/salad course and the pasta course however, so if we had each gotten our own it would have been considerably more. I think we had a $60 bottle of wine. But very worth it ... especially for a special occasion! They make you feel very special!<BR>

Amy- Would da Fiore be a good choice for New Year's Eve? Any other thoughts? Did you happen to see the Hotel Ca D'Oro when you were staying in the Cannareggio? We're booked there &amp; have not seen anyone else mention it. Thanks for any info you can provide.

FLORENCE<BR><BR>Okay, now I'll move on to Florence. What a beautiful city! We arrived in Florence about 9 am from Rome ... in order to avoid the transportation strike ... we had to catch a 7 am train!<BR><BR>From the train station we took a cab to our hotel, Hotel De La Ville ... a very charming and elegant hotel right on Via del Tournaboni ... which is considered Florence's most &quot;exclusive&quot; shopping street ... Prada, Gucci, Tod's, Louis Vuitton ... they're all there. Despite all that, we found it to be a quiet, pretty street ... a great location.<BR><BR>After checking into our room we decided to get some breakfast ... they were still serving breakfast at our hotel ... in a cute liittle breakfast room with red walls.<BR><BR>Feeling fortified ... we hit the streets of Florence. Florence just has such a different feel than Rome ... I don't know exactly how to describe it ... bu the two cities are just so different ... considering they are only an hour and a half apart by train.<BR><BR>Florence is smaller ... everyrhing is just a short walk away ... in that respect, I don't think there is a &quot;bad&quot; area to stay in. <BR><BR>Also, all of the buildings are just gorgeous ... a byproduct of Florence's Renaissance heyday ... no doubt.<BR><BR>Anyway, we spent the day walking all over the town, checking out the Duomo, the Palazzo Vecchio, Santa Croce from the outside. We also did some shopping ... Via Roma has some great little shops on it.<BR><BR>We decided to head towards the Santa Croce area, where I had read that a lot of the good leather factories are. We were both looking to get a new leather jacket. On our way we stopped at a little outdoor street stand. My husband was casually looking through the leather jackets that were hanging there when the owner told us that he had a store about a block away with a much bigger and better selection. The guy seemed genuinely nice ... not your typical pushy salesman ... young, attractive, spoke good english ... so we agreed to follow him down to his store, an attractive two-story shop on Via De'Leoni ... behind the Palazzo Vecchio. The shop was called Pelletteria De' Leoni. He took us upstairs to a room lined with men's and women's jackets in all styles and colors. We both told him what we were looking for ... a short black leather jacket for my husband and a hip-length, camel-colored leather jacket for me. He was very helpful in showing us several different styles. When the first one he showed us were a little out of our price range ($650) ... he quickly showed us others that were more reasonable ... and just as nice. The one I fell in love with he said was desingned after a style currently seen in Prada. When both my husband and I said we need a different size, he sent someone from the store down to run down the street to their other store to get our sizes.

Laurie,<BR><BR>I would think that Da Fiore would be a good place for New Year's Eve ... but I suppose it depends what you are looking for ... and what they do at the restaurant to celebrate.<BR><BR>The place is cozy, quiet and intimate ... so if you are looking for more of a party atmosphere ... it might not be the place. But perhaps they do something special on New Year's Eve that would make it festive. There is a cute little wine/cigar bar when you first enter the restaurant ... could be fun for celebratory drinks?<BR><BR>When we were there the was a somewhat large party of Italians dining at a long table ... maybe 8 or 10 people. They all seemed to be having a good time ... so I could see perhaps, there being some bigger groups there to celebrate on New Year's ... the restaurant in itself is not that big though ... so I don' t think it could ever get too loud or crowded.<BR><BR>As for your hotel ... I do not recall seeing it ... although if it is next to or near the Ca D'Oro ... it is in a great location. Right on the Grand Canal with Strada Nuova running behind it ... a great shopping street with tons of little sidewalk cafes.<BR><BR>Which reminds me ... in my effort to move onto Florence, I didn't follow up with our last morning in VENICE.<BR><BR>We woke up the next morning after our meal at Da Fiore to sunshine. It was bittersweet because it was the last day of our trip ... we would have to leave for the airport around noon ... but we were happy to have one more glorious morning in Venice. Just outside our hotel was Strada Nuova ... the street I mentioned above ... which runs parallel to the Grand Canal from the near the train station all the way through Carneggio to the little campo right outside our hotel. <BR><BR>We spent the morning walking all along it for quite a distance ... stopping in little shops and enjoying Venice's morning busyness. Unlike our first afternoon where things felt crowded and overrun by tourists ... this morning it felt as though we were seeing a typical morning through a Venetian's eyes. Italian women met and hugged outside the bakeries. Italian men met and chatted over coffee at a sidewalk table. <BR><BR>The sun was out, yet the morning fog had not yet cleared ... creating a beautiful and mystical atmosphere.<BR><BR>We agreed that we needed to have one more caprese salad before getting on the plane ... although because it was only 11 am ... a lot of the little cafes were not serving lunch yet ... finally we found one, right on Strada Nuova and we walked in and asked the man behind the counter if he could make us a caprese! He laughed and said &quot;Of Course!&quot; So we sat outside at a little table, watching the world go by and enjoying our last huge platter of fresh tomatoes and mozzerella.<BR><BR>Sadly, it was time to go back to our hotel, where a water taxi was going to pick us up to take us to the airport. <BR><BR>The taxi cost $85 Euro ... but we determined that it was our best option if we didn't want to spend the entire morning getting to the airport.<BR><BR>As it turned out, the ride was kind of interesting. How many times have you taken a boat to the airport. After maneuvering through the canals of Venice, we reached the sea ... which was covered by such a thick fog, we couldn't see ten feet in front of us! A little scary ... but also eerily exciting. Finally we reached the airport where we would head home to Chicago.<BR><BR>We didn't want to leave!<BR>(Next post, I'll continue with Florence and our leather buying experience.)

FLORENCE cont'd.<BR><BR>Finally my husband and I settled on two leather jackets that were really nice lambskin ... extra soft. Of course, you pay extra for lambskin ... but it really is worth it. The guy in the store let us compare lambskin to some other leathers ... and it really is just so much softer and nicer looking.<BR><BR>Anyway ... I still feel like we got a great deal ... $450 Euro for both jackets. And we didn't have to mess around with the VAT tax. He deducted it from the price. <BR><BR>We walked out of there so happy ... wearing our new leather jackets!<BR><BR>At this point we decided that we wanted to try to find an Internet cafe so we could check in at home via email.<BR><BR>We were really surprised to see that there are not that many internet cafes in Italy ... we were already a week into our trip and had not had the opportunity to get online yet. (Although this is probably a good thing ... we were on vaction after all!)<BR><BR>We had seen one Internet cafe in Rome ... but at the time we were on our way to a tour ... and we couldn't find it again later. The one our concierge in Rome told us about was quite a distance from the hotel, and we never made it over there.<BR><BR>In Florence, the two that our concierge told us about were closed! As we stopped in front of one of the closed storefronts, a nice Italian woman could see our dismay and told us there was one over by the Pitti Palace on the other side of the river.<BR><BR>So off we went and found it ... on the street that faces the Pitti Palace ... which is massive. I hadn't imagined it to be so big! It totally puts the Medici family's dominance and power into perspective.<BR><BR>Anyway, after checking our email we were ready to leave reality behind again and get a bite to eat.<BR><BR>We found a little cafe back on the other side of the river ( from the Pitti) just a block or so down from the Ponte Vecchio. There we had a simple, but delightful lunch of three different pasta salads. We pointed to the ones we wanted inside in their glass case and they brought us out a huge plate with all three. They were delicious!<BR><BR>We walked around a little more before deciding to take a break back at the hotel before we got ready for our dinner that night. We had a reservation at Osteria de Macci ... which I had read about on epicurious.com.<BR><BR>It was outstanding!!!!! One of our best meals of the trip ... and not the most expensive.<BR><BR>I will write more about it in my next post ... but in the meantime, if you want to read more about it, check out:<BR><BR>http://eat.epicurious.com/restaurant/erg/index.ssf?/restaurant/erg/florence/osteria.html<BR><BR>In any case ... if you have the opportunity ... GO! We just loved it. It's just down the street from the famous Cibreo ... but we had heard mixed reviews on that and decided on this instead. Boy, am I happy we did!

Amy: I've only come across your trip report today-it was excellent and very detailed. Normally, I'm on the Caribbean or Mexico boards, but I'm planning my first trip to Italy in May-you've touched on all the towns/cities I would like to see! Thanks again and if I have additional questions, I'll post.

Amy you are a gem! Thank you for your report &amp; your quick reply. Unfortunately, since I posted this morning, I've discovered Da Fiore will be closed the whole time we are in Venice. I will check out the website you suggested for other ideas. In the meantime, if anyone reading has a suggestion for New Year's Eve in Venice, I'd love it! Thanks.

Amy, Thanks so much for the great report. I must say that every day I have looked forward to reading a new posting on your trip during my lunch break. I am planning my trip for April and will be sure to post a report like yours when I return back. Thanks again.

Thanks everyone for the kinds words. I am glad people are enjoying this post! I apologize for not being very prolific lately ... I've been so busy at work ... but I do enjoy taking a few moments everyday to relive my trip with all of you!<BR><BR>Anyway ... back to Osteria de Macci in Florence. <BR><BR>It's tucked away on a side street back beyond Santa Croce. It is very unassuming from the outside ... but inside it is very warm and cozy ... lots of dark wood and golden yellow walls. <BR><BR>We had a fabulous antipasti of &quot;pear carpaccio&quot; sliced pears topped with thin shavings of delicious parmesan ... it sounds so simple ... but it was wonderful.<BR><BR>THEN ... we split a bowl of tomato bread soup .... which gets my mouthwatering everytime I think about it! I would LOVE to get my hands on this recipe ... I am considering writing to them to see if they will give it to me ... I would even pay for it!<BR><BR>Anyway, it had a thick, stewlike consistency ... the most luscious diced tomatoes, chunks of bread ... FRESH, delicious basil and (lots) of olive oil. Oh ... it was heaven!<BR><BR>For entrees my husband ordered their filet which was huge and topped with a HUGE mushroom cap that was so yummy and meaty ... it almost rivaled the filet!<BR><BR>I had their chicken marsala ... two huge chicken breasts smothered with tons of mushrooms ... the best I've mushrooms I've ever had. <BR><BR>We later found out that we were in the height of mushroom season ... it's no wonder. The mushrooms we had there were outstanding.<BR><BR>We were SO stuffed by the time we left there, we took a long walk through the city back to our hotel. I just loved the streets of Florence at night ... so many people, so much energy ... without being crowded or frustrating.

Hi Amy,<BR><BR>I have been to Italy many times and I am reliving my journeys through you. This is a delightful report and such a pleasure to read on a cold rainy November day. Thank you.<BR><BR>Sue

I'm enjoying your report. I'm glad you love your new leather jackets, however... and maybe I'm alone on this... I personally have found shopping for leather in Florence to be an unpleasant experience. Akin to shopping in a market of a middle eastern third world country. They attack as soon as you make eye contact with the shop window. They ask your name, where you're from, compliment you on this and that. Say my brother has another store down the street. The showroom is often upstairs so you are a captive audience. I just think most of the salespeople are a bit on the slimy side. <BR>

FLORENCE cont'd.<BR><BR>Several months before our trip ... I had reserved a driver/guide through a company called Tours Around Tuscany. Gianni was going to pick us up at 8:45 am for a full day in the Chianti area ... visiting castles, wineries and small villages ... dropping us back in Florence around 7:30 pm. We were so excited!<BR><BR>Unfortunately, he called us Friday the night before at our hotel to say he had the flu! He was very apologetic ... and said that he if he was feeling better the following day, he might be able to do it ... but from the way he sounded on the phone, I wasn't very hopeful. Unfortunately again, all of their other guides were already booked for the weekend ... so there was no one else who could take us. <BR><BR>I must admitt, I was very disappointed. I had done so much research on the web to book this well in advance ... and we really wanted to get out and see a little bit of the countryside ... and most importantly ... taste some wines!<BR><BR>Anyway, we decided to get up the next morning and see if there was anything else we could find that would at least take us to a couple wineries or something. As it turned out, our only feasible option was with CAF tours ... their &quot;Afternoon in Chianti Excursion&quot; that left at 2 pm that afternoon and returned us to Florence at 6:30.<BR><BR>Still I was disappointed ... instead of having the whole day to explore in the luxury of our own private car ... we would now be part of a busload of people and only get to visit one winery.<BR><BR>So .. we spent the morning doing a little more shopping, then enjoying a bite to eat and a little reading time at a cafe in the Piazza della Republica. While the cafe and the atmophere were quite grand ... (there are several large historic cafes on this square ... this one was called Pazwikoski's or something ... a Polish sounding name!) we were charged $7 Euro EACH for our &quot;Coca Cola Lights&quot;! I guess we should just stick with wine!<BR><BR>Anyway, finally it was time for us to make our way over to the train station where we would get on the CAF tour bus. Like I said, I had very low expectations for this tour ... but it ended up being an extremely enjoyable afternoon!<BR><BR>We drove through the countryside for about 45 minutes (absolutely gorgeous ... the leaves were changing ... the sun was shining!) and then came to a tiny village called Santa Brigitta that offered incredible views out over the rolling hills and a peek inside a tiny Tuscan church. Next we rode another 10 minutes or so to the Trebbio castle ... a working winery and olive oil producer with a fascinating story to tell!<BR><BR>(Which I will tell in my next post!)

Amy. I like reading your report (as usual). Is there a website for the CAF tours you are mentioning? Where did they start from?<BR><BR>

Oh I'm so sorry! I have not been on all week ... I did not mean to leave you hanging!<BR><BR>Eye Spy ... the website for the CAF tours is www.caftours.com.<BR><BR>Anyway, to continue on about the castle ... it was a quaint stone castle nestled in the countryside. In the 1960's a husband and wife bought the castle and moved in with their 6 kids ... turning it into a winery and also producing olive oil. (The husband handled the wine ... the wife handled the oil.) Tragically ... 25 or so years later ... when all of the children were grown ... the husband died of a heart attack ... and then two weeks later the wife was killed in a car accident as she was traveling in Europe. Instead of selling the castle, one of the daughters took it over with her family. She currently lives there with her small children.<BR><BR>We were given a tour of the castle ... so interesting. Yes, it is dark and cold ... but there was also something completely charming about it. We also got to go below the castle to the wine cellars, and learned more about the wines they make there. Finally we ended at a little stone cottage that was set up with tables for wine tastings and also a as a store. There we enjoyed 3 different wines ... an assortment of crostini with various spreads , tapenades and pates ... as well as some bread drizzled with their olive oil. What an outstanding &quot;snack&quot;!<BR><BR>After all of this ... we headed back in to Florence ... about an hour's drive ... and suddenly we were back in the hustle and bustle of the city. We walked back to our hotel to relax a bit before dinner. We decided to go to Baldovino's ... we had seen it on our way back from Osteria de Macci the night before ... right by Santa Croce ... and I had read about it on this board.<BR><BR>It was FABULOUS! And so cheap. A great cozy little space. We had planned on going for pizza, because I had read that's what they are known for ... but we were so tempted by the pastas too ... very interesting combinations. In the end we stuck with pizza (incredible)... after a huge plate of seafood carpaccio. Mmmm.<BR><BR>It was definitely one of those places I could have seen us going multiple times if we were staying in Florence longer.<BR><BR>On our way back to the hotel we stopped for gelato ... just some little shop on one of the sidestreets ... but it was outstanding. I had tiramisu and hazelnut in a waffle cone ... by husband had mint chocolate chip and tiramisu. We were in heaven. (Again!)