Jed

Glad that you are back and posted this great report. Where are you going next?

plafield

Lynnied: the 250 pp cost was for an after hours Vatican tour. If you're willing to pay that much and are in Rome when this is offered, you get to go into the Vaticam museums and the Sistine chapel after it is closed to the public so you can see all the amazing art and the chapel when there aren't hordes of people making noise and blocking your view.

We were all set to pay for this amazing experience because I've read that the crowds are totally out of control in the Vatican and can make it a very unpleasnat experience. Unfortunately, this private after-hours tour isn't being offred the week we will be in Rome.

We seriously thought about skipping the Vatican museums all together because of long lines and rediculous crowds. The thought was that there is so much art all around the city, why deal with such craziness? But I couldn't stand to be in Rome and not see the Sistine chapel.

We've decided to do the 3 hour VIP tour (140 euro PP) with Vatican Tours inc. This is a private tour of the museum, Sistine chapel and St Peter's for just my husband and myself. They pick us up at out hotel early in the morning, we don't have to wait in line and we get in before the Vatican opens to the general public. We'll still be there with a ton of people from other tour companies that get in before the general public so it'll still be crowded, but we won't have to deal with the rediculous line and we'll get to design our own tour and see what we're really interested in and actually hear our guide as opposed to be herded along with a tour of 10-20 people, straining to hear or wearing a head-set.

To us, this felt like a comprimise we could live with. It's expensive, although not as expensve as an after hours tour. And I just couldn't see us trying to wander around in the huge crowds on our own, after spending 2 or more hours in line, to try to save money on a trip to the eternal city.

Tim_and_Liz

Thanks, all!

I am in Denver for Easter but will finish the report next week.

plafield- I made the reservations probably two weeks in advance.

LynnieD- yes, 250 Euro per person. Very expensive. plafield has described it for me (thanks!)

oggoogie- I hope you have a great trip! The directions are posted under the "Tuesday, March 13th" post.

Hi Jed! I am working on two different trips right now. One to Munich, Salzburg and Venice with my in-laws over Christmas (their first time to Europe!) and another to Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Thailand for Tim and I next March (our first time to Asia!) How about you? Any plans to return to NZ soon? I think we will probably wait a few years for that...

OK that's all for now. It's snowing here in Denver!

cls2paris

I'm enjoying your report, it sounds like a perfect trip! I've done a cooking class in Italy also, but the people came to the villa we were renting in Umbria. It was a very fun experience.

I've never had Aperol, but I've found other appertifs at the Buon Giorgno (sp) Market in Mendota. There is also a new wine shop nearby that seems to have a lot of wine from Italy and they might have it - it is the Wine Market in Mendota Heights. I'm curious to try it now - what is in the spritz besides the Aperol? Thanks!

Tim_and_Liz

cls2paris--

Thank you for your suggestions. I did find Aperol-- I called Surdyk's in Mpls and they ordered some for me! We bought 2 bottles and there are still more on the shelf if you want to head over there

The recipe for a spritz is on the bottle, but I don't have it with me. (You could also probably google it...) The other ingredients are sparkling white wine, mineral water, and a slice of orange. Happy spritzing!

cls2paris

Tim_and_Liz - That was quick,thanks! I'll have to cross the river and pick some up! It sounds delicious!

ljc4creb

Such travelers!! I was wondering if you brought wine home in your luggage and how you handled that. It seems too expensive to ship. Also, as you travel so much, besides photos, what do you like to bring back as souvenirs.

fun4all4

So glad I came across this excellent report! Thanks so much. I love Italy! The Bernini's at the Borghese blew me away, too!

Our family stayed at Locanda Orseolo last summer and also thought it was fab. AND, we ate at Antico Dolo and LOVED it - it is so small and charming with delicious food, I almost hate to call attention to it.;-)

I have clients going to Florence in August and they want to do a cooking class - the Accidental Tourist class sounds like the perfect day for them!

Thanks again for an great and informative report.

LCBoniti

Hello Liz -
I have taken a break from this board for a while and just now caught your trip report. It is wonderful!

I'm so happy that you enjoyed the Accidental Tourist cooking class as much as we did last year. I really feel it is a tremendous value and highly recommend it every chance I get. Christiana is a lovely person - in fact, all the people we dealt with in making the arrangements and giving the different aspects of the tour were lots of fun and very responsive to our needs.

Thank you so much for the website for the private Vatican Museums tour. That is the only way I will ever visit the Vatican again.

I also loved the Galleria Borghese.

Well, thanks for reviving my bad case of "Romesickness"!
Linda

pineisl

Hi Tim and Liz,
What a wonderful trip report. My sister and I are going to Italy the middle of Oct and also are doing Rome, Venice, and Florence. After reading your report I have just booked us into the accidental tourist cooking class and I am very close to booking the private after hour vatican tour you took. There is a tour on the last day we are in Rome and space is available. It would be a very BIG splurge for me, but after reading so much on the travel boards about the crowds at the vatican, this tour sounds heavenly. I had almost decided we would just bypass the vatican this trip since it seem so overwhelming to me until I read your trip report. I'm going to sleep on it for a night or two and try not to convert 250 euros into american dollars in my head. You report had some wonderful information in it that I will use in planning our trip. Sounds like you had a great trip, thanks again for posting your report, even if it is going to cost me big bucks

Tim_and_Liz

ljc4creb- No, we didn't bring any wine home. My parents have bought a case of wine in Italy and had it shipped to Florida, however. We could have brought a bottle or two home each... but we already had Grandma's Safari liqueur and not a lot of space left!

We don't purchase very many items for ourselves or even gifts while traveling. On this trip our main purchases were leather bags-- also items from the SMN boutique in Florence. We try to only buy things we can't get at home! We'd rather spend our money on activities while traveling.... plus we have a small home (mainly so we can afford our vacations LOL) and not a lot of room for more "stuff"!

fun4all4- I am glad you had a fun trip too! I just love Italy. So you understand why we ate at Antico Dolo twice in three nights... Your clients should love the Accidental Tourist classes. If not the cooking class, please encourage them to take ANY of the classes!

LCBoniti- Thank you for writing about the Accidental Tourist class. I don't know if we would have found it without you! You must try the private Vatican tour next time you're in Rome. We plan to-- and also revisit the Bernini sculptures in the Galleria Borghese.

pineisl- I hope that you and your sister enjoy your time in Italy! I am sure you will love the cooking class. After having visited the Vatican with the crowds, the private tour was just magical. If you can find a way to afford it, I promise you will not regret it. Good luck with the decision. It was so hard for me to decide-- both my sister and my mom pushed me to go for it. I am glad they did!

Liz

Tim_and_Liz

<b>Wednesday, March 14</b>

We woke up and had a fabulous breakfast cooked by Matteo and accompanied by a cappuccino and a double espresso made by Barbara. We asked the staff to make us a dinner reservation at Vini da Gigio.

I forgot to include the Locanda Orseolo's contact information above:

Locanda Orseolo
Corte Zorzi
San Marco 1083 - 30124
Venice, Italy
Ph. +39 041.5204827
http://www.locandaorseolo.com/en/

We reserved a standard double room with canal view for 180 Euro/night. Note: prices are higher in peak season.

The Locanda's staff had booked us the Secret Itineraries tour of the Doge's Palace at 10:45am. We very much enjoyed the tour and highly recommend it. In the gift shop we found a children's book written in English and entitled &quot;Lizzie goes to Venice.&quot; I purchased one for my friend who is pregnant and another for myself. It's a cute book and not only does the main character share my name, but I also once looked very much like her! We also purchased a book describing the Secret Itineraries tour since photos were not allowed.

After the tour, we wandered the streets and came upon Osteria San Marco, which fodorite Tiff had recommended (I believe).

We had the following: scallops on polenta topped with fried zucchini strips, king prawns in saffron and star anise sauce with zucchini, tagliattelle with spicy meat sauce, and packet of seabass with red onion, orange and caper berries. All courses were very good. The total with wine and water came to 108.8 Euro.

We did enjoy lunch, but would probably save this restaurant for a dinner next time. The food was fairly formal.

We wandered the streets of Venice again for awhile, loosely heading toward Vini da Gigio so we would know our way to dinner. We enjoyed the walk. On the way back, we saw tables set out on the sunny side of the Rialto bridge, right next to the water. It was at least 75 degrees that day, not a cloud in the sky. We had the best table, in the sun, and enjoyed a few spritzes. We had a lovely time and took some great photos. Drinks were somewhat pricey but not crazy expensive. Let's guess 5-8 Euros each?

Barbara recommended a small bar across from Vini da Gigio for our pre-dinner spritz. I believe it was called &quot;Cantina&quot; and there are wine barrels outside for tables. Recommended.

Our dinner at Vini da Gigio (another Franco recommendation) was maybe our favorite meal of the trip. This restaurant is also Barbara's (of the Locanda Orseolo) favorite restaurant.

We had scallops Venetian style (3 scallops in a butter sauce served in a sea shell), beef carpaccio with Arugula and parmesan, seafood risotto for two, fried mixed fish (calamari, shrimp, cuttlefish, and a whole fish), grilled fresh squid (very simple yet soooo excellent-- recommended by Barbara). Dessert was lemon sorbet shaken with vodka and prosecco and &quot;unidentified ice cream like chocolate nougat and cookie dough with berry sauce&quot; (Tim's note, LOL). Total with wine, water, and cafes: 135.50.

I think this may have been our favorite meal of the trip. (Do I say that every time?) The only thing we didn't love was the mixed fried fish because it wasn't unlike something we could get here. The seafood risotto was the best dish of the trip. The squid was a close second for me. I can still taste it.... Oh and the lemon/vodka/prosecco dessert was very good too! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Vini da Gigio
Cannaregio 3628 - Venezia
phone +39 041 5285140
http://www.vinidagigio.com/index_eng.html
*reservations REQUIRED-- and make them a few days in advance if possible!*

Tim_and_Liz

<b>Thursday, March 15th </b>

We woke up and enjoyed our breakfast and coffee prepared by Matteo and Barbara. We consulted the staff on visiting Murano and also taking a gondola ride. The staff encouraged us to continue on to Burano, and we are glad we did!

They drew a map for us and we walked to the Fondamenta Nove water bus stop. From there, we took the water bus to Murano. We followed the crowd to a glass blowing show. It took Tim 5 minutes until he was satisfied. (I had seen a show on my previous trip.) We walked across Murano and boarded the ferry to Burano. We loved Burano and the weather was gorgeous-- again 75-80 degrees with full sun.

We had a wonderful lunch at Ristorante Riva Rosa. We stumbled across it and saw it was recommended on SlowTrav. The menu looked expensive, but good. At this point on our last day, we figured one more $150 lunch wouldn't make much difference!

We had seafood risotto for two, scampi (crayfish), and the cheese plate. With two large bottles of water and four glasses of chardonnay, the total was 114 Euro. The food was very good, although the risotto was not AS good as Vini da Gigio. Recommended.

Ristorante Riva Rosa
Burano (easy to find)
Phone: 041.730.850

We bought a cute dress with Burano lace trim (18 Euro) for my friend's future daughter and boarded the ferry back to Venice. We returned to &quot;our spot&quot; near the Rialto Bridge for an afternoon spritz. This time we had to wait for approximately 15 minutes for a table but were glad we did.

We then walked over to the gondola station near the Locanda Orseolo. We weren't sure if we should take a ride because we were starting to calculate how much we'd spent this trip... I had taken a gondola ride on my previous trip to Venice and was leaving this decision up to Tim. Then Chris, a Brazilian guy around our ages, asked us if we'd be willing to split the cost of a ride with him. He was traveling alone and did not want to spend the 80 Euro himself. We agreed. We had the best of both worlds-- a discounted ride AND a personal photographer! We took some great photos around dusk. We paid 60 Euro and Chris paid 30 Euro. (The gondolier received a 10 Euro tip.)

We returned to the hotel to freshen up, then repeated Tuesday night. We visited Naranzaria and Antico Dolo and had the set menu again. No regrets! It was our last night...


<b>Friday, March 16th </b>

Time to go home...

At breakfast (yummy again) we found that a British couple was departing for the airport at the same time we were. We decided to split the cost of a water taxi-- 50 Euros each. What a great way to leave Venice, if one has to leave at all.

The Venice airport was very nice, and we connected in Amsterdam without any problems.


<b> Last thoughts </b>

Since getting married four years ago, we've been lucky enough to travel to many places... but we have never had such an enjoyable, fantastic trip as we did to Italy. Thank you SO much to all of you who answered my detailed (picky?) questions and humored me during the planning process. It definitely paid off.

We are already planning our return trip to Venice this December with Tim's family, who have not yet been to Europe. We know they will love it!

Thanks again, truly.

Liz (and Tim)

Tim_and_Liz

ljc4creb-

I thought of one other item we always purchase:

If you enjoy a musuem, purchase a book at the museum giftshop that has photographs and descriptions of the most famous works. Since
photographs are not allowed inside most museums, it is otherwise difficult to remember what you've seen! These books run 8-15 Euro usually.

This trip, we purchased books at the Galleria Borghese, the Mamertine Prison, the Doge's Palace, and probably some other places I am forgetting...

Liz

flygirl

Osteria San Marco was my favorite in Venice!

LCBoniti

Liz -

Thanks for sharing a lovely trip report. I feel the same as you - Italy was my best trip ever and I can't wait to go back!

I will save your info re Venice since I will definitely make that one of my stops next time.

Good idea about the museum books.

annabelle2

I remember you guys! You wanted to eat gnocchi in Rome, and it looks as if you found it (I have to admit it is not my favorite, but my travel companions were on a mission to eat it in Rome, too).

Great report; you are killing me with the food descriptions. My stomach is growling.

I am sure you are going to have a very interesting time on your upcoming first Asia adventure. I love Asia as much as Europe, but in different ways, of course. You have picked three diverse places to visit. How long in each?

Quiz

bookmark

Tim_and_Liz

Quiz- I hope you find this useful.

annabelle2- Thanks also to you for helping me during the planning process!

Our trip to Asia will be a whirlwind trip to 3-4 places. We were able to use FF miles to fly into Hong Kong (with a free stopover in Tokyo) and out of Bangkok. Only 60,000 FF miles and $58pp! We are spending two short days in Tokyo. The remainder of the trip is open, but I am considering 3 days in Hong Kong, 3 in Koh Samui, Thailand, and 4 in Bangkok. Any recommendations? We imagine that Asia will be very different from the other places we've visited. The more I read about it, the more excited I am!

Liz

ljc4creb

Thank you so much Liz for all your info. I have to survive until October anticipating my trip. Every detail trip reports give makes it more real and exciting. My husband's name is Tim and I am Lisa so your names catch my eye. I liked your idea of buying the books. I will have a very hard time trying not to shop too much.