ITALY, I WANT and NEED to go back!!!!..................................our trip with suggestions and helpful hints.
Written: May 07 '03 (Updated Jan 02 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful Country, Great art, history and architecture.
Cons: Some cities are a bit busy.
The Bottom Line: Traveling Italy was one of the best experience I have ever had in my life.
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Italy |
As a thirtieth anniversary gift, my wife and I treated ourselves to a three week trip to Italy. We did all the research, planning, and booking ourselves. We never even thought about a tour. We used Frommer's and Foder's Guides for most of our information. I had plenty of American Express points saved too. This steered us to the hotels we stayed at in Rome and Venice. The other hotels and places to stay were from books and the internet.
This was the vacation of our lives!
With our limited time we toured central Italy and a small part of northern Italy.
We divided our trip into sections and cities.
Rome with a side trip to Assisi and Orvieto
Tuscany Area of Hill Top Towns
Florence with a side trip to Pisa
and finally Venice
ROME
We flew the red, white and green Alitalia into Rome from New York and spent a week there in a fine five star hotel just outside the main part of the city. We stayed at the Cavalieri Hilton. It is on a hill overlooking the city with glorious views. This is not too far from the Vatican area.
In Rome we experienced as much as we could by planning our days while at the same time mixing it with relaxing and romantic time.
Rome is a busy city, lots of traffic and people everywhere. We were there in the summer. It is hot, but not overbearing. Do remember that some of the churches and the Vatican area do not allow shorts or sleeveless shirts. Dress appropriately for your planned day.
Except for trying to get our way back to the hotel after a late night touring Trastevere, a section in Rome known to be the most Roman, it was very easy to get transportation.
Most of Rome is walkable. You can only experience so much in a day. Find a section with sites that interest you. We would cab it from our hotel to an area. The prices were reasonable. Most of the cab drivers did not understand English. We had taken some Italian language courses before going on the trip. Ha, that was a joke for me. My Italian was adding an a to the end of my words in English. We were, however, able to communicate enough by telling the name of our destination. My wife was much better than I was at this. I didn't find any cabbys trying to rip us off with their prices.
Rome does have a two line subway system that takes in most of the tourist sites. I have more detail of transportation in my review of Rome.
In our days there we saw
St Peter's Square
The Vatican and Sistine Chapel
The Roman Forum
The Colosseum
Palentine Hill
Capitoline Hill
The Pantheon
The Spanish Steps
and so many of it's churches, fountains, and so many other sites.
Our days were full. We did try a couple of places to eat that were recommended in the guide books but honestly, just find a place on the streets. The food is wonderful everywhere.
One night we found a place that put on a small traditional show with some Opera and Italian Folk music. It was attended by mostly Italians celebrating birthdays and the like. After the stage show, we watched while dining, the actors came out to the tables and sang for us there. It was funny because they wanted to sing us American songs in English while we enjoyed Italian songs. It was a great party!
One day we took a tour that was set up by our concierge. Up at seven we boarded a mini bus and headed for the Umbrian countryside. We met a couple with their two children from Australia and hit it off with them. Wonderful people. We met them again by chance in Florence. We then made arrangements to have dinner together in Venice.
Assisi was a wonderful tour. At the same time it showed my wife and me just how fortunate we were to be on our own for the rest of the vacation. On the tour we kept finding ourselves starting to explore Assisi and then the guide would get our attention and have us follow the group again. We learned much information with the tour guide but being free was perfect for us.
Orvieto was wonderful too. We happened on the Duomo as a wedding was starting. The Limo in front of the church was a VW decked out in flowers.
Orvieto was also where I got my first taste of Gelato. After that I had it every day and in just about every town. These colourful shops are sure to get you taking pictures.
We enjoyed the rest of the side trip and then a couple more days in Rome. Then we rented a car. Major rental dealers are easy to find. We did our reservation from home before we left to Italy and had the hotel finish up when we found they had a rental office on the premises.
TUSCANY'S HILL TOP TOWNS
Getting used to driving on the Italian roads wasn't much of a chore for this daring driver. Italians don't hesitate while driving. If there is an opening, they take it. This was not a problem for me. Once out of Rome driving got even easier.
I had purchased an International License before arriving. I had never needed it but was told it was a wise idea to have one. I used my NY State license as ID for renting the car.
Some of the roads were extremely winding. Driving was fun but nothing like discovering the Hill Top Towns. One town was more beautiful and charming than the next. Sienna was the largest and busiest. We also had trouble finding nearby parking. We loved the smaller towns of San Gimignano, known as the Manhattan of Tuscany, Montepulciano, and others.
A friend told us upon leaving not to bother looking at wine lists. He said, "Whenever in a restaurant in Italy just ask for the house wine. They are the best," and they were!
Walking these ancient towns high up on a mountain, walled in for protection, and with narrow streets is a fantastic experience. No restaurant guides here. You can smell the food as you are walking. Just go up to a place and sit down at an outside table, enjoy the food, drink the wine, and watch the Italian world slowly go by. I believe my wife enjoyed watching the bicyclers wearing their spandex gear.
We stayed in a Villa in Rhada in Chianti. This was the best. From our room we had a fantastic view of the vineyards in the fields well below us. We took a walk in town the first night and found the best pizza we have ever had.
The Villa gave us breakfast out under a pergola. Again we were overlooking the countryside from the other side of the mountain. You could not get a more gorgeous and romantic looking spot. The Villa also had a beautiful outdoor pool, with the same view. All old stone walls surrounded it with lovely flowers growing everywhere. It was just perfect for lounging after a hard day of touring. You have to understand that going to vineyards and castles is hard work.
FLORENCE and a side trip to PISA
After driving through many small towns, searching for and touring castles, and enjoying the countryside we went to Florence. It was a culture shock. After the quiet roads of southern Tuscany we were back in a motor scooter ridden city.
Everything that Rome had, Florence tried to better. This is the place of the birth of the Renaissance. It has amazing art museums and palaces with works and architecture by great artists like Raphael, Titian, Donatello, Ghiberti, da Vinci,and of course Michelangelo. His David is in the Academy Gallery. I enjoyed studying the people's reactions to David almost more than the sculpture itself.
The Uffizi Gallery is amazing! Don't miss the Pitti Palace on the other side of the Arno.
The Duomo and Baptistry are awesome and actually can't be missed. They dominate the middle of the city. Lines, though long, moved very quickly.
I strongly recommend two things when it comes to the major sites in Italy and particularly in Florence.
First, make reservations for the museums and palaces that have restricted entry times. The days and hours they are open are not constant and tickets do sell out.
Second, if on a self guided tour spend a few bucks and rent the tapes that explain to you what you are seeing. I have looked at many churches and paintings. If you don't have an artistic background or eye, I don't, they can all "look the same". When you have commentary it brings out a whole new world that is so interesting.
We stayed at a small hotel right on the Arno across the street from the famous Ponte Vecchio with its vendor lined jewelry shops. I have never seen so much gold!! You can get better deals elsewhere though. Another highlight of the hotel was that right downstairs was a Gelato stand. This hotel also had a rooftop garden and sitting area overlooking the river and the city. How romantic is that? We spent some wonderful hours up there with people we met. I did write about it in my Florence review.
Also at the foot of our hotel was an ATM machine. I found I received the best exchange rates through them. They were also very convenient.
Just a note here, when traveling abroad it's a good idea to have photo copies of your passport, drivers license and your credit card numbers too. Keep them in a separate secure place from the originals. Ya, never know what may happen. We were on guard for pick pockets and the like as suggested in our tour books, however, like any busy city, use common sense on where you go and what you do.
One afternoon we decided to take a train ride to Pisa. It was a couple of few hours ride. I just don't remember exactly how long. Pisa was better than I ever imagined! We got off the train, you can walk to the tower but I had a bad knee at the time, and we took a cab. The site of the leaning tower was one I will never forget! The sun was low in the sky and there were wonderful shadows playing with the designs of the the structure. We took some wonderful photographs.
It seems many people are disappointed at how busy and consumerist the area is around the Leaning Tower, Baptistery, and Duomo. Getting there late in the day we saw the last of tourist buses leaving. We didn't have hoards of people. We did have plenty of time to look around. They just reopened the tower to tourists again. We didn't opt for the walk up. Pisa was the perfect place for a late dinner and then a ride back on the train to Florence.
Be sure to purchase tickets before boarding. You can't do it on the train and you will be fined if without a proper ticket while traveling. It seems they don't always come around checking tickets, but when they do, you must have one. Ha, we didn't know and never paid for a ticket going to Pisa. We were lucky we were told by some Italians. We did purchase a ticket from an automated machine for our return. We had also purchased tickets well ahead of time for a train ride to Venice. We did it through our concierge in Rome.
VENICE
One thing that struck me was that, except for a couple of cab drivers and some people in the Tuscany area, many Italians spoke English. Of course this was in the more touristy areas, but, it sure made communication easy.
One place it didn't was when we were boarding the train to Venice. Not knowing what kind of ticket we had, we showed it, and were told to go to one of the last cars. This was unreserved and by the time we arrived with my slow gimpy knee all seats were taken. We had a long ride to Venice. Fortunately after riding about half an hour a gentleman told us the tickets we had should be for a reserved seat further up front in the train. Well what do you know? Two seats were reserved.
Once in Venice the thought of trains, planes, cars, and scooters all fade away. This is the city of water and walkways. The Vaporetti is the way you get around on the canals. These are like buses that transport masses of people. It's also a good way to get to see the city. There are local and express vaporetti. Do some homework about this way of traveling before arriving. There are little things to know and learn.
Of course the most popular way of getting around or at least possibly the most romantic way would be in a Gondola. The prices are sky high and you have to negotiate and know exactly what you are paying for before stepping in. We never made it on one of them. The proper time, mood, and deal never clicked. I will say though that with all the romantic corners you turn on the canals and alleys you won't miss the ride.
In Venice we stayed at the Danielli Hotel. This was once a Doges Palace. The place was unbelievable. The entrance is out of a Disney movie set or rather, I suppose, this is what the Disney artists were trying to depict in it's regal romantic tales.
The hotel had us just steps from St Mark's Square. I loved this place. It is an open area and full of people, pigeons, places to eat, and peddlers, with grand Basilicas, towers, Campanile, and Palaces closing it in.
We enjoyed walking the back alleys of Venice. It is a place to get lost, and you will. You must have a few days here. One or two is not enough to get to know the city. Every turn brought some new wonder, romantic spot, or place of historic or artistic interest.
My wife and I love beaches so we took a boat ride to Lido, an island right on the Adriatic Sea. It was wonderful. We didn't opt for the glass on the island of Murano.
We did spend time walking the alleys and checking out the markets. We went from shops to restaurants and piazzas to canals. There is a change of scenery around every corner. There are so many picturesque bridges you may have trouble knowing when to stop taking photos. One evening there was a small church that had Chamber Music playing music by candle light. Just sitting there listening to the echoing sounds of the instruments and the flickering light was mesmerizing.
We both absolutely loved Venice. It was our favorite city.
Finally we had to depart from this fairyland. A water taxi picked us up at our hotel. How cool is stepping out of a grand lobby into a waiting boat just outside the door?
The taxi took us right to the Marco Polo airport where we started our way home.
Italy, we must go back!
Other reviews in Italy by popsrocks
Florence
A side trip to Pisa
Tuscany
Venice
The Danielli, a five star Hotel in Venice
Rome
The Colosseum
The Pantheon
Spanish Steps
Cavellieri Hilton, a five star resort in Rome
Two other great cities!
London
New York City
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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