Trip Report: Rome, Tuscany, CT, Stresa
 

Just back from our 16 day trip to Italy. I will try and write everything in several installments below. Please ignore any typos or misspellings! :) I guess I should tell you first a little bit about our group that traveled together. Our group consisted of 11 people: 7 adults and 4 young adults ranging from 17 to 20....basically two extended families and friends. We went to Italy to visit our former exchange student from Rome and see as much as we could. None of our group had traveled to Italy with the exception of two that had been many years before. I enlisted the help of Bob the Navigator to get us started. Thanks Bob. Here we go.......

Left from Houston on American Airlines. Missed our connection in Chicago and had to be rerouted to Birmingham England and then to Rome. Arrived 4 hours later than expected. Everyone else in our party was on time. We took a shuttle from the airport that our hotel had arranged for in advance. About 60E. Our Rome hotel was Hotel Farnase. We had orginally booked with Residenzia San Pantaleo but after seeing several posts that had been negative, decided not to take a chance on it and booked Hotel Farnese. I am very glad we did. The hotel is more expensive but directly on the Levanto metro stop and very convienent to all the major attractions. 186E Double and 210E Triple per night including a very good breakfast. We got unpacked and took the metro two stops down to the Spanish Steps and the American Express tour office. Made arrangements to take Vatican tour and also Ancient Rome tour the next day.

Rome cont..... Met up with our exchange students family for dinner at a rest. I can't remember the name of...sorry...and then strolled Piazza Navona and got gelato. The first of many, many gelato stops on the trip. We cabbed back to the hotel. Cabs in Rome are very reasonable and worth taking especially if you are tired and not near a metro stop. After a quiet night, we headed for the Am Express office to pick up our tour of the Vatican. We had a good guide and it was nice to skip past the lines everywhere because we were on a tour. After the tour we had about one hour before the start of the next one so we quickly grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the Am. Ex office. I would not recommend taking two tours in one day, but becasue of our late flight we wanted to try and fit in as much as possible since we had lost almost a half of a day. The Ancient Rome tour included the Colesieum, Forum, St. Peter in Chains Church where Michalanglo's "Moses" is kept. It was a good and thorough tour but lots of walking and not much shade along the way. Take a hat. After the tour we rested and joined Alessandra's family at Trattoria Giggetto. We had a wonderful dinner there.

Rome continued...The next day (Saturday) We went back to the Vatican to take the Scavi tour. I had booked this five months in advance over the internet with no problems at all. It was a wonderful tour and measured up to all the other comments on this board concerning this tour. After the tour, the group broke up and decided to meet at the Borghese Museum at 1PM. We had reserved our tickets in advance for a 1:30 entry. I had read much about this ahead of time but was still very surprised at the extensive sculpture collection there. Well worth the time and effort to reserve. We took a taxi to the hotel. That evening we visited with Alessandra's (my former exchange student) family and headed to the ballet. We saw Romeo and Juliet at the National Opera Theater. The facility was gorgeous and the ballet beatifully done. Returned to hotel and packed for our trip to Tuscany the next morning.

To Tuscany...Left the Hotel Farnase for the train station via two 6 passenger cabs that the hotel called for us. We decided to cab instead of take the metro because of our luggage and it was raining lightly. We picked up our rental cars at Avis in the station. I had booked the cars five months earlier through Auto Europe and becasue of this I was given a 20% discount. We had no problems at Avis and they even gave us an extra driver for each car for no extra charge. We booked a 9 passenger van and a intermediate station wagon. The van easily carried ALL the luggage without using any seat space. We used walkie talkies from the US to communicate between the two cars which was fun but at the same time really handy when traveling as a group. We drove from the station around 1 on a Sunday and had no problem getting out of Rome. We drove to Orvieto on the way to our homebase in Tuscany.

Stopped in Orvieto and had lunch across from the Duomo. It was a cafeteria with reasonable prices and great classico wine. We bought tickets to view the smaller chapel (with Apocolypse fresco) inside the Duomo at the museum shop across the street from the church. Church was beautiful and the frescos were lovely. We had some of the best gelato of the trip at the gelateria around the left side of the church. After shopping for pottery, we headed for our home base near Certaldo. We had planned to stay at Il Grande Prato but they were booked so the owner recommended the Mugnano Horse Farm right outside of the Certaldo. We drove without too much problem to the farm. The rate was 30E per person per night and had 6 bedrooms and 4 baths and we stayed 6 nights. We took up the whole restored barn and had a community sitting area. There were TVs and fans in all rooms. (No AC) Had arranged ahead of time a birthday dinner there at the farm. Paris Boschi is the owner and she prepared a wonderful Tuscan meal complete with balloons and special dessert from the baker in Certaldo. (Charged us 22E each but well worth it.) After dinner, we retired to the common area to discuss our wishes and plan for the week ahead.

Siena...Everyone decided to go to Siena together. We drove in about 1 hour or less and parked by the soccer stadium pay lot. Great location. Group split up to see sites. The Duomo and Piazza Del Campo were highlights. I also checked email at the INternet Train across the street from the University of Siena near the square. We all met at Osteria Le Logge for lunch. (we made a reservation that morning before leaving for Siena) On the expensive side but worth it. Very small place and many celebreties have eaten there. It is on the street right off Il Campo Square. We also had a celebrity siting before and during the meal there...Joe Montana was there with his family. After the meal, some decided to climb the tower in the Government building in the square. Others went through the building and viewed the frescos. Shopping was great here also. The crowds on this Monday were not bad at all. We then returned home to regroup and rest.

Pisa/Volterra/San Giamingano.....<BR>Left at 8;30Am for drive to Pisa. Some of our group slept in and headed straight to Volterra. Our group went to Pisa and parked van by the wall on the SE side of town. Pisa is VERY touristy and crowded but seeing the tower for the first time was magical. We did not go up in it, but toured the church and took the pictures that everyone does there. After a couple of hours, we headed to Volterra, the ancient Etruscan city known for its alabaster. Took over an hour to drive there. Went south and then east to reach it. Parked by the soccer stadium. Big mistake. Keep going up to the city for more parking. We had to climb many steps and hills to reach the city walls. Went to the Etruscan Museum. Lots of Alagaster funeral urns...interesting but lots of the same stuff. The shopping for Alabaster was very fun and not expensive at all. The city had an internet cafe but it was closed. Left Volterra at 5 for San Giamingano.

I had heard that San Gim was a great place to visit later in the day when some tourists had gone home and for the sunset there. We took the wrong way out of Volterra and it took us much longer to get there. Should have been less than 30 minutes. Got to San Fim and found a parking place in lot 3. People were leaving and it was not a problem to park close. Went to the Duomo...had great frescos of Life of Jesus on one side of church and the Old Test. story on other side of church. Had a quick pizza and met others. Went behind right side of duomo to area talked about in Rick Steves book. Then retraced to the garden area - went through arch and found old steps to top of small tower. We all took pics and watched the sun set. GREAT VIEW AND PIC opportunity. Drove home to Certaldo in about 20 minutes max.

Notes on the Mugnano Horse Farm - Bring ear plugs. Dogs bark outside all the time at night. Birds in the morning are also very loud. You must keep your windows open because there is no AC. Internet and Internation calling very expensive here but washing and wine is cheap. I would recommend it if you are not allergic to cats and don't mind them roaming around some inside the house. Paris Boschi has lived in Italy 35 years but is from the US and speaks very plain English and is accomadating. Good for the price, especially a big group.

(Sorry for all the postings but I don't want to have to rewrite it if it is too long.) Next day......one group to Assisi and one back to San Gim/Certaldo. The Assisi group drove in about 2.5 hours. They toured everything and enjoyed it thoroughly. If you are Catholic, I think it was an extra meaningful trip. The group toured the church, monestary and other sites. They also saw Joe Montana and family again. The other group went back to San Gim and Certaldo. On second trip to San Gim, the teenage boys went to the Museum of Torture. They loved it. I tried to get through it and left in less than ten minutes. I guess it is a guy thing. We checked the internet in San Gim also. Drove from there to Certaldo and explored. Found Certaldo Alto which is above the city on a mountainside. Had great views, artisans and restaurants there. Dont miss that. Next day...on to Florence.

Florence....decided to take train into Florence instead of driving. Very inexpensive and great thing to do. Round trip 7E and took about an hour. Saw Duomo and some climed the tower adjacent to it. The line was shorter than the dome of the Duomo. We then set out to shop. We bought leather jackets at a great price. Visit the stalls and they will take you back to their stores. BARGAIN with them. They will teach you about what to look for in quality work and what makes a better jacket etc. Ended up getting two jackets for men and a hip length jacket for me for around 500E. The quality was the better type and we feel like we got a great deal. Probablly could have gotten it for even less but wanted to move on. We then had a family lunch and explored the rest of Florence. To train at 5:45 and back to Certaldo for dinner in Certaldo Alto. Next day, drove into Florence to drop off my former student and pick up another former German student at the airport that night. One car parked in the underground parking at the train station and the other used parking at the airport since we would be there that night. We had booked tickets to the Uffizi at 10:30 and the Accademia at 2PM. Glad to have done both. There was a transportation/labor walkout that morning but we got in without too much delay. Michaelanglo's David was breathtaking. I had no idea that it was that big. We picked up our student that evening at the airport and headed back to Certaldo to pack for departure of the Cinque Terre that next morning.

On to the CT via Lucca...... left the Horse Farm for Montorosso via Lucca. Lucca is a very nice walled town. We explored and ate some lunch. Timing was wrong for shopping. Drove on to Monterosso. There are two roads into town. Chose the wrong onea nd ended up in the non car part of town. Went back to first road and came to the Hotel 5 Terre without any problems. The Hotel Cinque Terre was overpriced, but with supply and demand, we had no choice. Had tried to book at the Hotel Villa Steno and the Pasquale five months early but they were full. Once arriving at the Hotel 5 Terre, we found out there was not A/C and that they wanted payment by cash or traveler checks only. 200E triple and 150E double including breakfast. The staff was very nice and helpful and we enjoyed our stay here very much. The side on the left side of the train tunnel is much more quiet and crowded. I would have not enjoyed the Pasquale becasue of their location to the city square and beach etc. We bought a 3 day Cinque Terre card that covered all trains, busses and hikes for about 12E each. Went to Vernazza by train. VERY crowded. It was a festival night. Tried to eat at Il Costello's but it was booked. Made a reservation for Monday night. We trained back to Monterosso and had dinner at Belvedere. It was good but the service was spotty. The white wine from the CT was cheap and very good. I then went to the The Net to check the email. It is up the street from the Belvedere. There were fireworks in Vernazza and we watched them from the waters edge.

first full day in the CT. ATe a good breakfast at the hotel and took out on the hike from Montorooso to Vernazza. It was overcast but I took sunscreen and hat and glad that I did. It took us about 2.5 hours. It was steep and very narrow in places but beautiful. It is very doable.....just pace yourself if you are not a mountain goat. The trail was marked well. We got to Vernazza and ate at Gianni Franzi. Very good roasted fish, pesto etc. Group then decided to continue with second leg of hike from Vernazza to Corneglia. Took us almost 2 hours. First part was VERY steep but the last was downhill and the view coming into Corneglia from Vernazza were the best instead of doing it the opposite way. We liked the first hike the best but both were worth the workout. I used two rolls of film just on the hikes. ATe at Tortuga near the train tunnel for dinner. The fresh local fried fish was very good. Went to check on the internet and to the BAR CENTRALE for more of the best gelato of the trip. It is located just above the children's playground.

Second full day in CT. Bought a day pass for the boat between the towns. Took boat to Riomaggorie and explored. Then took boat to Manarola. Great rock swimming there but no beach. Could climb rocks and jump about 30 feet into the water. Had lunch at Marina Piccola. Food very good and view was nice. REally like this little town and climbed to the top for a great view. Explored the rest of the CT and then headed to dinner in Vernazza at Al Costellos. Had a 7:30 reservation for sunset dinner. High climb and many stairs to the restaurant for those needed to know. We made the 11PM train home. Dinner was good and the view was nice. The waitress was also very friendly and helpful. Had heard the pesto cream lasagne was to die for. Ordered it....it was good but not enough pesto for me and VERY rich. Went back to Montorosso and had amaretto gelato at Bar Centraile and then later had more gelato at the stand on teh west side of the town by the drop down gate for the rhum flavor.

General observations about the CT. Many places wanted cash but aht was not a problem becasue there were ATM's in every town and a bank in Montorosso. July was hot and A/C would have been nice. There are cats everywhere. I happen to love cats so that was no problem for me. One of our group had a first floor room (second level) and had a cat come through her window and perch on her bed at night. I found this very funny. She was not so happy about it. It still think it is very funny! :) Montorosso on the west side is much quieter. If you have kids or youn adults, stay in Montorosso for the night life etc. Once again it would be good to have ear plugs to wipe out background noise when window is open. Satellite TV in all rooms at the 5 Terre and good maid service. The CT is very beautiful and the pictures will not do it justice. Even with all the tourists, I would not have traded it for anything and recommend it highly.

From CT to Stresa.... Drive time was almost 4 hours with one stop for gas and a quick bite to eat. Stayed at Hotel Astoria (150E Double lake view and 156E triple garden view) Lovely hotel but some staff especially in the rest. and breakfast areas were somewhat rude and put out with customers. We found a good place to eat in the town shopping area opposite the boat docks. The fish from the lake was very good. Tried to find an internet cafe and ended up by tram to top of mountain. One computer in a store...went to next town to north. found bar with 2 computers....we all shared one and had a drink and returned home. Lovely rooms with marble baths and many amenities. Nicest rooms of the trip and very spacious. By this point everyone was getting pretty tired. Some went to the Botanical Gardens of Villa Taranto. Can get there by boat or car, but car quicker. 100a's of plants etc. brought from all over the world. Some did other things. Around noon, others took boat to 2 of 3 islands. Stresa shore is lined with long promende and beautiful stately hotels north of the docks. More grass and lawns here than anywhere else on trip. We had considered the day trip to Switzerland from stresa (combo boat and train) but it didn't run on Wednesday. WE took the boat to two of the islands. We were tired but wanted to experience them. First was Isola Dei Pescatori. Nor much to see but a GREAT lunch sopt. We had heard that the rest. at Hotel Verbana was good. We dined in the outdoor terrace overloooking the lake. Had the best fish or maybe even dish of the trip. Had the grilled trout preparked with olive oil, farlick, parsley and oregano. WOW Really wonderful. Caught the next boat to Isola Bella. The gardens at Isola Bella were much nicer than the Villa Taranto according to those who did both. Most of the shopping there was very touristy with only a few worth looking at. A good ceramic shop with crafts from Orvieto area. Shopping for ceramics was best in Orvieto. Filled cars for return to Malpense the next day. Gas stations close early compared to the US. Had a goodbye drink at the grand Hotel B____?. It was used as a setting in Hemingway's Farewell to Arms. We had a drink and listed to the piano in the lobby. Very beautiful. Packed for trip hom.

Left at 6:15 from Stesa for Malpensa airport. Very easy to drive to and less than 45 minutes. Returned the cars with no problems. Signs around airport very easy to read and follow. Everyone split to return home. We had to fly to London and layover there until the next morning. <BR>LONDON........ stayed at the Heathrow Hilton becaseu I thought we would come into Term. 4. We didn't. Took a cab to hotel and then one into town. Since there were four of us, it was cheaper than the Paddington Express. Took a double decker bus tour so the ones that had not been to London could quickly see most of the sites. WE then went to the Hard Rock Cafe (the orginal one) and had a really good dinner....kinda surprising. We then were given tickets to the vault area of the restaurant. Their best memoribilia was there. It was a great surprise and we were able to take pictures with and touch many of the guitars etc. My son got a picture sitting on Jimi Hendricks couch with his guitar......quite cool. took cab back to hotel and left the next morning for home. Missed connection at O'Hare again and finally arrived in Houston late that evening.

End of trip report......I guess this is it. We all thoroughly enjoyed our trip eventhough we had to take it in July due to circumstances beyond our control. In looking back, we would have been best to just skip the lakes and go home after the CT. The trip got a little long towards the end. When we return, we will fly into Milan and visit Venice, the area north of there and then into Austria I would guess. But we had a great time and many thanks to all the posters here on the fodors.com boards. Your insight and information were very valuable and I found that I used it through out the trip. Another big thanks to Bob the Navigator for getting me started in the right direction and being the stabling influence when I began to panic about things. If you have any quesitons or comments, just post them or email me and I will be glad to respond. Ann

ttt