Review of our Italy Trip!

[chicago]

What a trip! H and I got back last week from 16 nights in Italy. Not sure what everyone would like to know, so feel free to ask questions!

General Impressions/Comments

- it was HOT. Not really warm...HOT, in the high 90's every.single.day. And humid. Almost unbearable. It really ruined my ability to drink as much wine as I had hoped to!

- I know this can happen anywhere, but be sure to bring a few cards (atm/credit) when traveling abroad. On our first night in Florence, H was on his phone checking our bank account and found $2500 in fraudulent charges. There must have been a skimmer on the ATM at the airport in Venice, which a lot of people had been using. We called Chase immediately and they took care of it, but we had to cancel our atm card. We had brought two credit cards but only one atm, so we had to take a cash advance on our cc in order to have cash for the rest of the trip.

- We felt like food prices were pretty fair. Breakfasts were included (except for Rome). We typically spent around 30 Euro for lunch and between 60-90 Euro for dinner. Bottles of water were 1 Euro each.


Venice - 2 nights at the Canal Grande

I know people tend to be pretty polarized on Venice, and this was true in our case. I thought it was really picturesque and fun, but my H was not a fan. Our hotel was near the train station, which was good for a short stay but not centralized in the least. Make sure to purchase an ACTV pass for unlimited rides on the vaporetto.

Didn't have any meals to rave about...the food in Venice was the worst we had in Italy.

With only one and a half days here, we played it by ear - did a lot of aimless wandering, visited St. Mark's, took the elevator up the Campanile. We went back and forth about taking a gondola ride, which we did end up doing in the evening of our last night. We enjoyed it and were glad we did it. Glad we didn't book that ahead of time since we would have had to share the gondola with others. Loved St. Mark's Square in the evening to watch the dueling orchestras.

Florence - 3 nights at Hotel Bernini Palace

Great hotel - amazing location, just off the Piazza della Signora. Nice room, helpful staff though perhaps a bit formal. Our first night, they sent us up a bottle of prosecco and we're not sure why - we had mentioned we were celebrating our anniversary...

Did a Florence bike tour booked on Florencetown.com (google for the Rick Steves promo code). Super fun and a great way to spend your first afternoon since you'll get an orientation to the city. A bit dangerous at times - there were a LOT of people and cars, and we had a few close calls, mostly due to the other bike riders.

Dinners - La Giostra and Il Latini were two recommendations we had received. Il Latini was, by far, our favorite. Such a fun meal, tons of food, good energy, lots of wine. We left this dinner quite tipsy...we had grappa for the first time here and enjoyed that a few more times throughout the rest of the trip.

Climbed the Duomo (amazing!), went to the Uffizi and Accademia (booked tickets online and downloaded Rick Steves tours for our ipods...definitely sufficed), ate tons of gelato, walked the Ponte Vecchio (especially fun at night when they have live music)

Montepulciano - 4 nights at Villa Cicolina

I am *so* glad we spent time in the Tuscan hilltowns, as this ended up being one of our favorite places. We rented a car to drive from Florence to Montepulciano...an adventure for sure but not too bad! Villa Cicolina is a storybook paradise - amazing villa with beautiful rooms, gorgeously landscaped and impeccably cared for every day, an amazing infinity pool right on the edge of the hill, overlooking the Tuscan landscape, amazing dinners in the garden. I had searched forever for the quintessential Tuscan villa and knew exactly what I wanted but couldn't find it anywhere - this was most definitely it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this place to anyone - definitely need a car though.

While in Montepulciano, we did day trips to Perugia and Montalcino. We did two wine tours (brunello at Ciacci Piccolomini and vino nobile at Boscarelli) - both were excellent, though we slightly preferred Ciacci Piccolomini. Looking forward to receiving our shipment of wine! Spent a good amount of time lazing by the pool, admiring the views on our drives - the drive from Montepulciano to Montalcino was gorgeous, as you get to drive through the center of the Val d'Orcia.

The ZTLs were a bit scary - we think we may have driven through one or two...guess we'll find out in a few months. A GPS is a must, though oftentimes the addresses/locations were incorrect. Still, it was insanely helpful in an area where things tend to look the same, it's easy to get turned around, and there aren't a lot of street signs.

Food - Overall, the best we had on our trip. Villa Cicolina does an amazing prix fixe dinner in the evening that was consistently delicious. Osteria Aquacheta was a must do - excellent bistecca fiorentina and a great atmosphere. We also had a ridiculously fun lunch at A Gambe di Gato. It's a tiny restaurant with a husband and wife team - she cooks, he does front of house. The food was as good as some of the best restaurants we have visited in Chicago - simple but sophisticated and really well prepared. We got to try 5 or so wines before choosing our glass, plus we got to sample tons of olive oils. We didn't really order here - we told them to prepare us whatever they felt like making that day (we were the only customers there bc we arrived right when they opened) and nothing disappointed.

The only thing I didn't like about Tuscany was the lack of gelaterias! So much for eating gelato every day!

Positano - 4 nights at Marincanto

Highly recommend a stop in Positano and a stay at the Marincanto. I am convinced our room (224) had THE best balcony in all of Positano. I'll post some pictures and you'll see what I mean. H and I both say that our stays in Positano and Montepulciano were our favorite of this trip.

Took the ferry over to Capri one day and did a 3 hour tour with Gianni's Boats - excellent. We were able to spend some time on the island afterward and explore. Overall, I preferred Positano's energy, atmosphere, and landscape and we were glad we stayed there, as I had considered Capri.

Dinner - Next2 was our favorite meal. Not the best views from the restaurant, but the food was excellent. We had dinner at the "famous" La Tagliata - tons of food, beautiful views, but it was a pretty unimpressive experience overall. Service wasn't great, the food wasn't great, and a bit too crowded for my liking.

Bought some ceramic plates from one of the many shops. Looking forward to receiving them!

Rome - 3 nights at the Rome Cavalieri, Waldorf Astoria

Loved Rome but super disappointed in this hotel. Super snotty, snobby service - my blood boils just thinking about it now. We were made to wait nearly 2 hours in the lobby because they didn't have a room ready for us. We booked a room with a Rome city view, but the room barely had a peekaboo view. $10 for a can of coke from the mini-bar, dirty floors in the bathroom. I was really hoping for a special room for our anniversary - this was not it. Not to mention, this hotel isn't in the city center, so you need to take a shuttle that leaves once an hour or take a taxi for 15-20Euro. We knew that going in but really wanted a luxury experience and beautiful view - hotel fail. They charge for everything - a seat at the pool, wifi, 75 Euro pp for brunch. BLAH. If I were going back, I'd stay at Albergo del Senato.

I won't go into every detail of what we did in Rome - we hit all the basics. We felt like 3 nights was enough for us, particularly since Rome is so hectic and busy in contrast to our previous 8 nights in relaxing Positano/Tuscany.

Had a fabulous lunch at an enoteca called Cul de Sac, just off the Piazza Navona.

Did a tour of the Vatican with Dark Rome - glad we did a tour for sure.

Booked transportation back to the airport with Rome Cabs - $50 well spent, as we didn't want to take a taxi, which would have cost around the same price.

I'm sure I'm missing some stuff. I'll add as I think of it!

[cransplash]

Thanks girlinchicago! Great review. If you do not mind sharing, how much was your total trip? Food vs shopping vs excursions, etc.

[chicago]

I'll pm you!

[scout8]

Sounds like a great trip!

[cransplash]

Jul 15, 2012 2:33:32 GMT -5 chicago said:

I'll pm you!

Thanks Looking forward to it!

[tricolore]

Yeah this heat is ridiculous for July! Glad you had fun though-- some of my favorite picks (Boscarelli, Cicolina, etc).

I'm sorry to hear that the service was so disappointing at the Cavalliere. I've only stayed during the off-season (and had a great time). H and I were thinking about going up next weekend, but will modify our plans accordingly. Not really worth the splurge if they're overwhelmed and/or not on their A game!

[marytini]

Glad you had a good time.
I am always surprised to hear people day they disliked Venice. My sister and I likedd it alot when we were there. Rome was our least favorite.
That's a bummer about the Rome hotel.

[chicago]

Jul 16, 2012 0:44:48 GMT -5 @sfgal530 said:

girlinchicago - sounds like I just missed you in Venice! How was the Canal Grande? I had considered staying there but my travel agent said she hadn't heard the best things about it so we relocated.

Bummer to hear about the hotel in Rome. Did you complain to the management at all or anything like that? You may be able to get some of your money back. I just contested a charge for one of our hotels in Spain with AmEx, and they decided to refund the entire amount (even though the hotel only refunded half of it). So, you might try contacting the hotel, and then if that doesn't work you can see if you have other options.

Trip sounds really amazing, though!

The Hotel Canal Grande was just ok. We didn't love it, but it was definitely nice, comfortable, etc. I don't know if we'd stay there again. It was nice to be able to walk to the hotel from Piazzale Roma and then to the train station after our stay - saved us a lot of money on a water taxi.

I didn't bother saying anything to a manager in Rome. I've seen how the management responds to negative reviews on TripAdvisor, plus I saw how the staff treated other guests while we were there. I was pretty convinced that it wouldn't get us anywhere. At the end of the day, we paid for a Rome view, but it said it could be on the 3rd/4th floors...they put us on the 3rd floor in a really bad location. Since we had waited 2+ hours, we just wanted to get on the shuttle and get out of there. I knew they'd be like, "You got what you paid for." I just feel like it was a huge letdown. We are Hilton Honors members, and in my correspondence with the hotel, they said they would consider our status and our special occasion (wedding anniversary,) and they'd try to get us a complimentary upgrade to the next highest room category...I feel like they were just blowing smoke up my ass. They didn't acknowledge any of that when we checked in.

I'm just pouting. It was a good trip.

[natsnow]

what were your favorite meals in rome and venice?

[natsnow]

oh also, did you use a money belt? if so, what kind ? Did you feel safe?

[chicago]

No favorites in Venice. We didn't research any restaurants and went in with low expectations. We did consider going to this place - venissa.it/ - but with such a short trip, it didn't seem to make much sense to take up so much time just for dinner.

In Rome, we had an excellent lunch at Enoteca Cul de Sac. Great wine selection (obviously) and food was well priced and delicious. It's near Piazza Navona.

By far, H's and my favorite in Rome was Dar Poeta. Misoangry recommended it and I had read about it a bunch online - it did NOT disappoint. Best pizza I've ever had, fairly priced, plus they had a dessert calzone with ricotta and chocolate that was sinfully delicious. It's a bit tough to find but worth the hunt.

Loved the gelato from San Crispino - really true to life flavors. Everyone talks about this place. We also really liked Giolitti.

[chicago]

Jul 16, 2012 13:08:47 GMT -5 natsnow said:

oh also, did you use a money belt? if so, what kind ? Did you feel safe?

Nope. I carry a small cross body bag and H carries his wallet in the snapped pocket of his cargo shorts. We also carry a Lowepro bag with our DSLR, but we just turn that around so it's in the front when we're walking through crowded areas. We've never had any problems, but we have a system that works for us and we regularly check on our items/each other.

We do know people who have been pickpocketed in Italy - either they were on crowded public transportation and not taking proper precautions or they were just plain careless.

I wouldn't stress about it too much. Common sense and keep your eyes open. Like I said, we still wound up getting screwed bc of the atm H used. Stuff can happen anywhere, even when you're careful.

[chicago]

Also, here's a picture that shows the view from our balcony at the Marincanto. It was huge, with a table/2 chairs and two large sunloungers. We had breakfast every morning (you could eat in the restaurant or get room service for no extra charge), plus we had a lunch and a dinner out here. It was heaven.

[catsarecute]

Jul 16, 2012 13:29:14 GMT -5 chicago said:

Also, here's a picture that shows the view from our balcony at the Marincanto. It was huge, with a table/2 chairs and two large sunloungers. We had breakfast every morning (you could eat in the restaurant or get room service for no extra charge), plus we had a lunch and a dinner out here. It was heaven.

Stunning. I would have a hard time leaving that balcony. I'm glad you had a great time, despite some hiccups. Italy is magical!

[natsnow]

Jul 16, 2012 13:16:05 GMT -5 chicago said:

No favorites in Venice. We didn't research any restaurants and went in with low expectations. We did consider going to this place - venissa.it/ - but with such a short trip, it didn't seem to make much sense to take up so much time just for dinner.

In Rome, we had an excellent lunch at Enoteca Cul de Sac. Great wine selection (obviously) and food was well priced and delicious. It's near Piazza Navona.

By far, H's and my favorite in Rome was Dar Poeta. Misoangry recommended it and I had read about it a bunch online - it did NOT disappoint. Best pizza I've ever had, fairly priced, plus they had a dessert calzone with ricotta and chocolate that was sinfully delicious. It's a bit tough to find but worth the hunt.

Loved the gelato from San Crispino - really true to life flavors. Everyone talks about this place. We also really liked Giolitti.

thanks I'm now realizing you commented on my other post. I'm heading to rome in venice in about a month and trying to get some good ideas