cherylac

As a fellow Fodorite said previously, about 95% of our trip to Italy was planned with information gleaned from this board. I would like to repay all of the helpful people and posts by writing a trip report (you can decide if it?s repayment or torture). Before starting, I would make a few points up front.
I was a little hesitant to write this, because there have been a few very negative comments made recently to some of the posts I have read. I am not on the payroll of any establishment I mention; I do not get commissions. All the opinions and amateur ratings expressed are just that ? my feelings and thoughts. It may be helpful to some; others may take exception. Constructive, polite criticism is helpful. Nasty comments are hurtful. I welcome the former and would prefer to not read the latter. This is my first trip report, so it may be a little rough and long. I am a teacher. I am used to speaking all day (sometimes to myself) and writing ad nauseum.
OK, enjoy!
Airport/Flight
After almost a year of planning, we finally left from New York early Friday evening, July 30 (this was our second trip to Italy, and a 25th anniversary present to ourselves). My computer had crashed earlier in the week, so I missed my usual Fodor?s fix the final few days. Talk about withdrawal! I also couldn?t visit the seatguru.com site and write down the preferred seat numbers. That teaches me to leave anything to the last minute!
We live near upper Westchester, and it usually takes about an hour and a half to reach JFK. We were so paranoid about Friday afternoon traffic that we had the limo pick us up at 2:30 for a 7:45 flight. It turned out pretty well, though. We were all checked through by 5:15 (hit some traffic and lines at the airport). We killed more time having a relatively decent meal at Chili?s (I don?t know about you, but I find airline food to have gotten downright awful over the years and would rather eat fast food). So, all told, we only had to wait 15 minutes to board.
At first we thought the seats were great. We had asked for ones in an emergency exit upon check-in. Phil wanted extra legroom and said he didn?t care if the seats reclined or not (some do, ours didn?t). Well, he started to care when he couldn?t find a position ?comfortable? enough to allow a few hours? nap time. I cared more about the fact that the middle armrest didn?t go up, so I could drape my legs on Phil and ?stretch out?. I also cared that the woman across the aisle talked nonstop, loudly for about six out of the eight-hour flight and that seemingly everyone around us kept pushing their annoying little dinging call buttons. I get very crabby when I?m tired. I made a note to get regular seats for the return flight.

Venice

Day 1 (7/31): We landed in Venice a little after 10:00 am. It was a gloriously sunny day. We had arranged for the hotel to send a water taxi to pick us up (we opt for comfort and convenience on our trips ? yes, we pay for it, but we?d rather economize at home and splurge on vacation ? just our choice). OOPS - I had forgotten to find out how to get to the water taxi! I seemed to recall reading something about taking a shuttle bus or walking a short distance. No problem. Right outside the building there?s a bus stop with an easy to understand sign. No bus in sight and quite a few people lined up with lots of luggage. Ok, we?ll walk. Again, easy to find and an easy 10 minute walk (turn left out of the airport and follow the sidewalk to the water). There was the ?driver? holding a little sign with our name. We were in our glory!
I made sure Phil kept a death grip on each piece of luggage until it was safely on the boat. A friend of mine had had an incident where one of her bags fell in the water during the transfer. Luckily they got it out before it sank. I had visions of my bag rapidly sinking out of sight. It was rather heavy, containing an outfit for each of our 11 day trip, plus a little extra, just in case. I really do envy people who can travel light. For myself, I don?t like to wash clothes using a washing machine, let alone hand washing. I also like wearing cotton fabrics in the summer, and I can?t stand wearing an outfit more than one day. If that means I have to wheel a large bag around and wait at the luggage area in the airport, I am more than willing to pay the price. Phil?s worse than I am. He traditionally leaks over into my bag.
How can you describe approaching Venice?! Boats everywhere, sun sparkling on the water and glinting off the tiled roofs, the tang of the sea on the breeze, buildings with water lapping gently at (in?) their doors, people strolling alongside the canals ? a feast for the senses! We stood up in the back of the taxi and took a lot of pictures (well, Phil did). Of all the places we visited this trip, Venice is the best documented. Phil?s the cameraman, and since he missed Venice and Florence last time, he had to make up for my sorry attempt at it. I?m just so busy looking at everything that I forget to use the cameras!
Arriving by taxi is very nice, and I would definitely do it again for the extreme convenience of it, but this way the Venetian scenery slowly unfolds before you. For sheer impact I personally think there?s nothing like stepping out of the train station and having your first canal experience literally hit you in the eyes.
We were dropped off a few feet from the entrance to our hotel, the Antico Doge in the Cannaregio district. I chose this hotel more for the room pictures featured on the veniceby.com site than for anything else, although it did get a few good right-ups (no negatives). I also wanted to stay somewhere a little closer to everything than the Dorsoduro district, which is where I stayed last time (very nice, quiet area, just a little too far away for Phil). I had booked the Falier Suite. It?s the room with red fabric walls, canopy bed, balcony on the canal, and a little sitting area featuring a red chaise lounge ? very decadent looking. It?s a fabulous room, although a little more than I had originally planned. Oh well, I wanted to start this anniversary trip off in a very romantic setting. The room wouldn?t be ready until 2:00, so we dropped off the suitcases and sallied forth.
We explored the area from the hotel to the train station. As we walked through the hot, bright sunshine (funny, I don?t remember the sun being quite so strong the last time!) Phil realized that he had forgotten to pack his sunglasses. No biggie, since they are at least twelve years old and lopsided. He picked up another pair in one of the shops along the way. Same make, very close to the same style, despite all the designer ones lining the display shelves. Phil?s tastes don?t change too much, and he?s loyal to what he likes (for which I am grateful, lol).
Even though we had said we weren?t going to eat the airplane food, we couldn?t resist having some just to reassure ourselves that it was still awful. It was. As a result, we weren?t hungry enough to have anything, but we saw some impressive items at a shop a couple of blocks from the train station. Bread was displayed in the window, and one particular grouping caught our eyes. The loaves were cut in half to expose the filling, which was crammed with olives. You could just imagine them bursting in your mouth. We promised ourselves that we would come back and get some for the train trip to Florence.
We reached the train station, admired the panorama, and hopped on the slow vaporetto, #1, for a trip down the Grand Canal. We got off at the Accademia stop. I wanted to show Phil the hotel I stayed at the last time (the American) and the bridge. From there we slowly window-shopped our way to San Marco. I had to catch my breath walking into the piazza. It is so big, and there?s so much going on (pigeons, people, music, shops, dining, art), that I needed to stop a few moments to take it all in. I know I was grinning and swiveling around like a typical tourist, but I was just that and having a glorious time!
By now it was 2:00, and we were starting to drag. The hotel was near the Rialto Bridge, so we headed in that direction. I read somewhere that there are no straight ?roads? in Venice. Too true. We had to back track a few times before we were solidly on our way. I kept telling Phil to follow the crowd, but he didn?t listen. To be fair, I didn?t listen to him when he insisted that a narrow ?alley? was the ?road? we wanted (well, he?s not always right!).
There is no elevator at the hotel, but it?s only one flight up, so not too bad. I don?t know if they usually have a porter or not. The receptionist took one large bag, Phil took the other, and I brought up the rear with the carry-on. The room was huge! The view was fabulous (a long, narrow balcony and large windows that would be wonderful to open in cooler weather), and I loved the little sitting area. The bed was a true king-size, not two twins pushed together. I always have to plump on the bed when I get into a room. While it felt very firm (oh, no), it was actually quite comfortable to sleep on. One curious thing - the canopy was open at the top. I thought the tops of canopy beds were covered!
The receptionists were extremely helpful. They made dinner reservations, mapped our routes, booked tickets to the Secret Itinerary tour at the Doge?s Palace, checked our train tickets, and called our water taxis. They were sweet, always friendly, full of helpful information, and graciously put up with my horrible Italian (their English is fine, I just wanted to practice).
All in all, the Antico Doge is a wonderful small hotel. The only thing that was a little inconvenient was the shower. Our room had a Jacuzzi tub. The shower hose is mounted low on the long wall. You have to hold it in one hand and soap up with the other, if you want to stand up and take a shower. I thought it was part of the adventure and sat down in the tub to wash my hair and get wet, but Phil would have preferred a regular shower! Oh, I also could have done without the rather large picture of a very dour-looking Doge. I felt he was scowling at me the whole time. I think he was beheaded or something ? some scandal about his wife, I believe (like I said, my Italian is pretty bad, so I probably messed up the whole story). That would explain his expression. I got used to him after a while and took a photo of ?my friend? the morning we left.
After a shower and a nap (Phil slept for 3 hours!!!!), we went to hit the Bancomat and stroll around. Dinner was at the Vecio Bragosso. This restaurant had been recommended by the hotel. It wasn?t bad. My spider crab appetizer and the seafood risotto (second plate) were pretty good. Phil?s tuna with ?rocket sauce? was excellent. However, the scallop appetizer was tough and rather yucky, and the mixed grilled seafood was too charred. Not a repeat. We had a very nice conversation with the family next to us. They were staying, guess where, at the Antico Doge!

Day 2 (8/1): Breakfast was your typical hotel fare. The coffee was horrible, so I switched to tea. Phil soldiered on. We had the hotel arrange for their boat to take us to Murano. I like going on the factory tours. It was hot, so the glass-blowing demonstration was understandably short. Still, it was very interesting. The guide/salesman through the store was also interesting and informative about the different styles and periods of Murano glass. There was absolutely no pressure to buy anything.
I was on a mission to get those little glass candies that everyone mentions. I picked up some that were very reasonable and figured I would add more as we walked around. I didn?t realize just how big Murano is! The last time I went we stayed in one little section, and I thought that was all there was. This trip we wandered over bridges and along canals for a couple of hours! I didn?t see any other glass candies that looked more interesting than in the first section we visited. They were also more expensive. I wished I had written down where we had started (as reference for the next trip)! We had to stop to get water. Did I mention how strong the sun was?! We also had to share a very interesting and delicious panino (egg and eggplant I think).
Now we faced the challenge of getting a vaporetto back to Venice. The route maps looked simple enough, but we got the coming and going entry points confused. We ended up taking a vaporetto one stop in the opposite direction of where we wanted to go, got off, walked around to the stop displaying the correct destination, and got on a vaporetto headed to the train station (Phil wanted to walk through the area again and go to the hotel for a shower). Since there didn?t seem to be any place to buy tickets close by, we figured we?d pay on the vaporetta (that?s what I did last trip). No one came to check for tickets or ask for money (although we did try when we first got on both times). I am still confused as to the payment system for the Murano vaporetti.
Nice, leisurely walk back to the hotel. Drooled over the bread again. Reinforced our mental promise to buy some. We were getting kind of hungry, so we stopped in a piazza for pizza. The couple next to us had gnocchi. That looked interesting, so we ordered one with meat sauce and one with gorgonzola sauce. We also got two mixed salads. The salads were iceberg lettuce and unripe tomatoes ? exactly what you would get from the A & P (I didn?t even know they had iceberg lettuce in Italy!). The gnocchi were chewy and, separately, the sauces were bland and boring (the gorgonzola was very liquidy). Put together they weren?t too bad. Not a repeat. The beer was nice and cold!!
No time for a shower; we had to visit St. Mark?s Basilica. The line was long, so I was glad I had reserved a time for us (www.alata.it). I didn?t know exactly where to go, so we went in the exit and asked a guard. He took my printed confirmation and walked us up to the entrance. I felt kind of funny bumping the line, but not enough to stop me from going in! To think of all the time, effort and talent that went into creating those beautiful, glittering murals! We climbed the steps up to the top, toured the museum, and got some beautiful shots from the outside ?balcony.? Those are some steep and dangerous steps to come down!
We stopped for a drink at one of the ?posh? hotels just off St. Mark?s Square at the beginning of the Grand Canal. Of course it was very expensive (10 euro for a Bellini), but the view and entertainment were great. We had a very enjoyable hour watching the gondola parade and the beautiful people as they arrived at their hotel (they pack more than we do!).
Time for a visit to the Rialto Bridge, and a quick shower and nap before dinner. Tonight we had reservations for Al Bacco. We actually didn?t need reservations for either of the restaurants we visited in Venice ? we?re just so used to doing that here, I guess. I chose this place based on the write-up in Fodor?s. We love seafood. If you like seafood, too, don?t bother with this place. The octopus was slimy, the seafood salad fishy, the pasta with seafood was like an oil slick (a tomato sauce ? this was the best of the lot), the mixed fried seafood was also saturated, gummy, and heavy with grease (the paper towels placed under it were dripping), and the tuna steak tough and tasteless. The house wine was ok, though. Definitely not a repeat!!! Got an espresso and sambuca to top off the night ? someplace else!

Day 3: We had a 9:55 Secret Itinerary Tour at the Doge?s Palace, so we packed up, checked out, and left our bags at the front desk. Got breakfast at a little coffee shop on the way. Great coffee and a wonderful place to people watch. I highly recommend the Secret Tour. Our tour guide was a little Gestapo-like, but she knew her stuff. She checked each of us over before we started. The first guy got a ?Step over here. You have to check that bag.? I quaked a little, with my large bag filled with maps, water, phrase and guide books, and assorted other necessities. It passed inspection. I was glad, since the water came in very handy on the tour.
After our warnings (don?t touch, don?t lean, no pictures ? the usual, sensible stuff) we headed into the upper regions of the Doge?s Palace. I felt very important as we went past the ?regular tourists? and through a closed door (?if you are not a part of this group, please stay out?). It was VERY hot in some of the rooms, especially the small ones. I was glad my water had not been confiscated. The tour-guide didn?t SAY no water, and she was carrying a bottle of some kind of beverage and a cup, but I have to confess I hid in the corners to surreptitiously sip. The tour was fascinating and well worth it. I especially liked the story about Casanova?s incarceration.
We went through the rest of the Palace after the tour was over. We probably should have gotten an audio guide, but we were too lazy to walk back to the entrance. My brain was just about saturated with information from the tour, anyway. The prisons are haunting. We stood on the Bridge of Sighs and thought about all the poor souls who crossed over it. Fascinating, but we were glad to come out into the sunshine! We tried to walk along the Grand Canal, but it was sooooo crowded, we had to give up. I have never seen so many people in my life! It was worse than being at the Macy?s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We found out later that there were 4 cruise ships in port.
By now we had just enough time to pick up some wine, grab a few panini (but not enough time to go fetch the promised olive bread!), and get back to the hotel to catch our taxi to the train station to make the 2:32 train (I had a travel agent in Rome purchase our tickets and send them to us in the US). On our ride to the station, Phil got a wonderful shot of the post office boats!
We only had to wait 15 minutes for the train to pull in. Car number 1 was right up front ? yea! We settled into our window seats and said goodbye to Venice. We pretty much had the car to ourselves and enjoyed a delicious lunch of chianti and panini (forgot to take pictures, though!). On to Florence.

ira

What an enthusiastic report, cheryl.

Statia

Great trip report, Cheryl! I can relate to it being long since my writing style is similar and my reports are rather long, as well.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane in Venice. Looking forward to doing the same in Florence!

cherylac

Thanks - I had fun writing it. Flroence will be VEY short, since we were only there for one day.
Ira - you'll be mentioned in the Positano stretch with a plug for Renato Cuomo!!
I just noticed something I find very annoying. I typed the report in Word, then copied and pasted onto this board. The dashes and apostrophies all came out as question marks! I'll try to edit the rest more carefully - sorry!

almesq

Great report Cheryl. My wife and I are off to Rome and Venice (my first trip to Italy!) next month, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Statia

Cheryl, that frequenly happens when trip reports are cut and pasted from Word. Try doing it in an email program. I did mine in Outlook Express and didn't have a problem.

Fairhope

My hotel this fall is close to the train station. So a leisurely walk to the Rialto is how many minutes?

awbaker

Thanks for the description of Venice, cherylac! I also live in northern Westchester, and I'll be making the trek down to JFK this Friday to fly to Venice. I'm anxious to hear your Positano & Rome reports as well, since we will be staying there as well. Hope you post them before Friday!

ira

Hi cheryl,

Save your report as a "text" file, not a word document. That usually helps.

cherylac

Statia - Thanks, I will do that for the rest.
Fairhope - It took us about 20 minutes from the train station to the Rialto. We were not moving very fast!

Question _ should I just continue the trip report on this thread, or start a new one?

ec

Great report, Cheryl. Now when I want to return to Venice all I have to do is reread your report and I will feel as though I am reliving Venice.

Thank you.

maitaitom

"should I just continue the trip report on this thread, or start a new one?"

Continue on this thread. Great report.

Fairhope

Thanks Cherylac. We'll be going to Florence and Rome too. So we await your additional reports.
To Cheryl or others --Is south of the canal anymore or less interesting than the north side for a walk to San Marco from the train station

cherylac

We only did the straight line from the Hotel to the train station both times, so I can't say. It was very beautiful. We did wander through the Ghetto and off the main drag down little Calles and over quaint bridges in the district. VERY "Kodak worthy!" We have 6 roles of regular film, one hour of digital stills (about 1/2 of Venice) and an hour of movies!

ira

Hi Fairhope

>Is south of the canal anymore or less interesting than the north side for a walk to San Marco from the train station?<

The North side is more direct.

If you won't have luggage to schlep, get a "Streetwise Guide" and follow the yellow line from the train station to the Campo de Salute and take the traghetto across to San Marco.

diversityjobber

Really enjoyed your report - part 1. We are taking the same flight from JFK to Venice on 9/26 and staying in Italy until 10/16/04.. Aside from renting an apartment (Casa Andre) in Rome from 10/9-10/16, we still have to select a hotel in Venice and apartment in Tuscany. So many choices ... so little time.. We are looking forward to reading future segments.

cherylac

Florence
Monday, Aug 2 - We got into Florence about 5:30 PM and took a taxi from the station to our hotel (you could walk it, but you know my comfort level by now). I chose to stay at the Golden Tulip Kraft again. I figured I knew the area, so that would cut down "hunting" time. It also has a great roof-top terrace. We got a pretty good deal on a double superior facing the front (with a balcony - although the only time I used it was while waiting for Phil to finish showering), through our Italian travel agent. Last time I stayed in a matchbox-sized double (single occupant) facing the back and was kept awake all night by vespas roaring up and down the street outside. The front is nice and quiet!

This hotel has elevators and porters! Our room was a decent size. The décor was kind of tired, but clean. The bathroom was marvelous; with a good, high shower (Phil was thankful - I just love the Italian bathrooms!!! I want to take out a home equity and redo mine!). The air-conditioning has a preset level, so you can't control it (same thing at the Antico Doge in Venice). It was just cool enough to be acceptable (you know Americans and their AC!), but then again, the nights were not too hot. After prowling the room, plumping the beds (comfortable twins pushed together), and taking a shower, we headed for the terrace.

What a marvelous view!!! There was a nice breeze, and it was a clear afternoon. You could see all the red-tiled roofs of Florence and into the countryside. We peered through the camera on zoom to get a closer look. I could look at the hillside dotted with villas and cypresses all day long!

Aside from one other gentleman, we had the place to ourselves. I ordered a bottle of local white, and it came with great ceremony. There was much flourishing of the glasses, pouring and swirling a touch of the wine into one glass and then into another, which was whisked away. Finally, the taste test for the "waiter," and then for me. Ah, liquid heaven (Phil had a gin and tonic). There was no way I was going to drink the whole bottle by myself and walk to dinner. No problem, another glass for Phil, which was promptly placed in the ice water to keep cool for when he was ready (I probably had 3 glasses to his one, anyway, lol!). I was reluctant to move at 8:30, but the restaurant beckoned.

We had stumbled across Trattoria La Carabaccia (Via Palazzuolo, 190n, 055.21.47.82, about 2 blocks from the hotel) two years ago. Actually, a friend and his kids lucked onto it while his wife and I were busy drinking white wine and chatting with the patrons on the Kraft's rooftop terrace (do I spot a trend here?). We all returned the next night! It ranked as the best restaurant of that trip. Phil got so tired of hearing, "Oh, but not as good as Florence!" I am glad to say it is still excellent. The vegetable risotto was to die for, and the chicken Diablo was a feast for the tongue (I hardly ever order chicken out, but I have this recipe and wanted to try it, having been too lazy to make it? maybe I?ll try now!). Great espresso and sambuca, says Phil. I never make it to that stage.

We walked to the Ponte Vecchio and back, and then returned to the Kraft's roof to enjoy the ambience and the stars for a while before turning in. This was the only hotel that had stations other than CNN in English (I have the bad habit of needing to fall asleep to TV, although with all the wine and walking, I did OK!).


Aug 3 - Had breakfast, which was pretty comprehensive (try the cheese, rolls, hard-boiled eggs and cappuccino - YUM), checked-out, left the bags in the "bag room," and went to shop. I had asked Phil if he wanted to see the usual sights - Duomo, Uffizi (the line was very long when we passed it - definitely get reservations!), and Accademia - but he opted out. I had already done them, so that was okay by me. We went one way up the Ponte Vecchio and down the other. That's a LOT of jewelry! Phil got so caught up in it, he offered to buy a diamond necklace to commemorate our 25th and my up-coming birthday. If it had been in yellow gold, I might have accepted! Nah, my heart was set on fake marble fruit (Rome)!

The Ponte Vecchio was crammed with people, with big herds at the middle points taking pictures up and down the Arno. We joined them. The jewelry pieces start out being pretty "simple" in the first shops, then seem to get more gaudy (no offense, if you like huge pieces that you would need some kind of support to wear) as you progress to the far side of the bridge. I can't even imagine what they must cost!

We visited the "fake" David on the way to the leather shops. Definitely not as impressive a setting as the real one (plus part of it was covered with scaffolding)! I wanted to get a black leather winter jacket, but only the lighter-weight ones were out. Oh, well, I guess I have to come back for a shopping expedition in the winter! Actually, with the dollar so low, there were no great bargains to be had, anyway.

We stopped for a pizza and caprese salad on the way to the Duomo. They were both wonderful. Another patron was presented with a HUGE calzone. It must have been a good 6 inches high! I just had to be nosy and asked the waitress what it was; an aptly named Brunelleschi Calzone (think Duomo). What fun!

When Phil saw the Duomo face to face, he regretted his previous decision and bemoaned the fact that we didn't have time to go in. Oh, well, another trip. But, we have a lot of pictures of the outside! Isn't it amazing the beauty that can be created with using different colored marble?! That has to be the most gorgeous building I have ever seen. We also spent some time gazing at, and snapping, the baptistery doors. We wandered down the beautiful streets in the "old" section, in search of olive oil, wine, panini (train trip), and balsamic vinegar. I think Florence has the most picturesque streets of all the places I have been to - the muted earth tones of the houses, the flowers cascading out of planters and window boxes, the narrow, cobble stoned streets - a beautiful experience!

We passed by a salumeria that looked very interesting. We asked for a good olive oil, to use on bread. At least that's what I think we asked for. I really have to take Italian lessons (not everyone speaks English, nor do I expect them to - after all, I don?t speak any other languages!). We also got a balsamic vinegar that looked pretty good and another 2 bottles of Tuscan wine (a Barolo and a Chianti Reserva). We remembered seeing good panini near the hotel, so we didn't have this nice gentleman make up any. Big mistake! We wandered around looking for those sandwiches until the last possible moment, but couldn't find the store.

Retrieved our bags, had the hotel call a taxi, and got to the train station about half an hour before the train was due to depart. You definitely don't want to spend any more time there than that! We picked up some panini there, found our track, and lugged our bags. This time the car was all the way down toward the end. Thank you, whoever invented suitcases with wheels!!!

The train was full, so I was glad we had reserved seats. We sat next to an Italian couple. We rolled through the Tuscan countryside for about an hour, positively gushing over the scenery ("Wow, look at that!" "Look over there!" "See if you can get a picture!&quot. There was field upon field of bright yellow sunflowers, grape vines, olive groves, small oasis of villas surrounded by tall trees. I would love to rent a car sometime in the future and drive through it!

I guess the Italian gentleman took some pity on us (either that or he got tired of listening to our squeals) and tried to explain what we were seeing. The only problem was he didn't speak English, and you know how well we speak Italian. I pulled out my two phrase books, and between those, and the little we know, we all had a great, although strenuous conversation covering a surprising number of topics for the rest of the trip. Even his wife, who had been diligently trying to nap, joined in at times. I'll bet she kicked him after we got off the train!

As we were talking about vineyards and wine, Chianti came up. That was Phil's cue - let's have some wine! He pulled out the bottle from the carryon and I whipped out the opener from my bag. The Italian guy started to laugh. Well, he just about fell on the floor when Phil produced the plastic wine glasses we had brought along for the trip (I hate plastic cups, these are at least a step up). I don't know what he said to the stranger sitting across the aisle, but I caught "vino," and the other guy started laughing. Probably something about crazy Americans. After that there was NO way I was going to yank out the panini!

We rolled into the Naples train station about 8:30 PM. We had arranged for Renato Cuomo (www.cumonet.it) to pick us up and take us to Positano based on glowing recommendations from Ira and others on this board. I had emailed a confirmation before we left (totally unnecessary, but as I told Renato, I am a little anal). My computer crashed, so I couldn't retrieve his reply. Phil was nervous and envisioned being stranded in Naples at night with nowhere to go. I had faith in Ira and Renato, so I was not concerned. I heard Phil give out a hearty sigh, and, sure enough, there was Renato at the head of the tracks holding a sign with our name. He is an extremely nice man and his van has the most comfortable leather seats!! I highly recommend him (and his quote was the cheapest of four places I researched).

On to Positano!

nicegirl512

Loving your travelogue! Very helpful. Can you tell me how to make reservations to see the Uffizi? I'm sure everybody else knows this, but I just started planning my trip...for next month. I have a lot of catching up to do!

cherylac

You can have your hotel make reservations for you (which is what I did last time, although they may charge a slight fee) or you can call direct 011 - 39 - 055 - 294 - 883 (from the US). There are online agencies that will also do it for you for a fee. A search on this baord will probably turn up a few.

hawaiihoneymoon

Cheryl: Great Trip report! We will be leaving in 2 weeks and your trip report is a great preview of what is to come! Quick question - I noticed you said, you made reservation for St. Mark's Basilica from alata.it. That site is all in Italian and I had such a hard time figuring out what everything said. Is there a charge for the reservations or is it as simple as putting down your name on a list? Because I know the Basilica is free otherwise, so I was just wondering. Thanks and I'm looking forward to the rest of your trip report!