We flew to Rome via Air France with a short stopover and change of plane in Paris. Apparently out layover was too short because we arrived in Rome and our baggage was still in Paris. It wasn’t too bad since we arrived at noon and our baggage arrived at our hotel at midnight. Fortunately, we were able to sleep a lot on the way over; so, when we arrived in Rome we were ready to go…and go we did for 10 days.
Several things we wanted to point out about the overall trip. The weather was wonderful. We literally went 10 days without seeing a cloud in the sky and day time temperatures were in the 60s. Wine is a perfectly good substitute for water. There were no lines at the tourist places. Italian people walk a lot. There is no “epidemic” of obesity like there is in the US. Lastly, a lot of Italians smoke. We were particularly amazed at the numbers of young women smoking.
Our Rome hotel was the Serena. It was very nice, breakfast was excellent and the staff was very friendly and helpful. We were close to some restaurants and I always enjoyed opening the window and smelling the fresh bread cooking. Our only problem was we could not find our way back to the hotel at the end of the each day. One evening after a particularly excellent and filling dinner, we decided to take a walk around the block. An hour later we found the hotel. A little disclaimer about our navigation skills; the roads in Rome and the rest of Italy go every which way, most of them do not have signs, hotels are just another door on the block with a small sign over the door and our map only showed main streets. Another evening we had to match up a church that was near our hotel with a picture of that church from our first day. We never thought we’d need a digital camera for navigation.
In Rome and the other cities we did walk a lot; all day most every day. It’s our preferred mode of travel when we are being tourists. The sight were extraordinary and too numerous to mention; however, we will mention some anyway. Zach particularly enjoyed the Colosseum, Palatine and Forum and Castel Sant’ Angelo.
Cathy’s favorite was St Peter’s and the Vatican where we spent an entire day and climbed the steps to the top of St Peter’s Cupola. It was a long climb to the top; but, the view was worth it. We also went to the “romance” spots the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Spanish Steps.
When our time was up in Rome we took a train to Florence. We had a little problem finding our hotel the De La Pace. After that we had no problem navigating through the streets of Florence. Although our hotel was nicer than the one in Rome we did not like it as much. In Rome there were a lot of motorcycles and scooters; in Florence it was bikes. While there we went to the Vecchio Palace and Museum, the Uffizi Palace and Museum the Vecchio Bridge, the Gallery of Achedemia where Michelangelo’s David is displayed. That was the first day. On the second day we went to the Pitti Palace and Gardens and climbed the stairs to the Piazza Michelangelo overlooking the city.
On our last day in Florence we took a bus tour to parts of Tuscany. We walked the streets of Siena, San Gimignamo and Chianti and saw all the countryside in between them including vineyards, monasteries, castles and a lot of narrow winding roads. San Gimignamo was a well-preserved walled city that reminded us a lot of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany. We bought some excellent Chianti wine at ridiculously low prices.
The next day we took the train to Venice except it was the train to Milan. Never did figure out how we got those tracks mixed-up. Fortunately, we were able to change trains in Bologna and get back on track to Venice. The conductor told us it happens all the time. I think he was just being nice to some American tourists. All the Italian people were very nice to us except the gypsies and they probably aren’t Italian. That’s a story for Cathy to tell.
Venice the city on the canals with no cars, scoters or bikes where everyone walks and everything moves by boat and hand cart. It was even interesting to watch how they collect trash. The streets of Venice are more narrow and winding than either Rome or Florence but we had no problem navigating the city. We had a regular map, but learned the secret early; either follow the signs to San Marco or Rialto depending on which way we wanted to go.
Our hotel the Villa Rosa was only two blocks from the train station. It was a hundred yards down the narrowest of streets. Our room was smaller than the other two hotel rooms in Rome and Florence and we had a step up bathroom. The staff was very friendly and helpful and we enjoyed our stay there.
Our first day in Venice we went on a boat excursion to Murano with its glass factories, Burano with its lace factories, leaning tower (and we didn’t have to go to Pisa to see one of those) and colorful houses, and Torcello with its old church and fascinating graveyard.
Our second day took us to the Peggy Guggenheim house and art collection and back to Piazza San Marco. We went there the first day to catch the boat to the islands. We went to the Basilica and all the Museums in the Piazza and Cathy had her encounter with the pigeons. Her story, not mine. That night we had a world class dinner at a real Italian restaurant called Marisa. We were the only tourists in the place. There is no menu. Everyone eats what they cook that day and it was very good and plentiful and so was the wine. It was a two and a half hour dinner. Not what we are accustomed to here.
Our last day there we went on our Gondola Serenade. There were a lot of gondolas on the canal but only ours had a singer and accordion player. They were both excellent and we have some nice video of the ride. All the other gondolas and people on the bridges were taking pictures and video of our boat. Cathy really enjoyed the Serenade.
Unfortunately, our trip was over and it was back to Atlanta via Paris. It was a good flight back with lots of leg room. We stayed awake the entire flight home and adjusted to the time change. That night we arrived home about 10 pm and the next day we were good to go.
Cathy's version
Nov. 8th and 9th 2011
We left Atlanta Tuesday evening and arrived in Paris Wednesday morning; then switched planes to fly to Rome. Out of Atlanta there was no room for our bags in the overhead so our bags had to be checked; however, going from Paris to Rome, our bags were left behind. We were told a courier would bring our bags to the hotel. We checked into the Hotel Serena.
We went to sight see wearing our slept in clothes from the plane. Our first stop was the Coliseum, the Arch of Constantine, and the Roman Forum. We walked for 5 hours. We stopped for some dinner, spinach and cheese pizza (hit the spot), and salads and, of course, wine. We had a little difficulty finding the hotel. Most hotels have the marque going vertical and our hotel had one just with an awning so we walked passed it a couple of times. Our bags arrived about midnight.
Thursday, Nov. 10th
This was a long day. Seems like I said that climbing Kilimanjaro. We left at 8:30 am and didn’t return until 6 pm. We started the day navigating our way to the hop-on hop-off bus station. We hopped off at the Vatican and we were bombarded with “Tour Guides”. We declined. There were hardly any lines to get in. We arrived about 10 am. We first went to St. Peters Basilica. All Popes are buried in St. Peter’s. There we climbed hundreds of steps, all sizes and shapes to climb to the top of the Cupola. Wonderful view!! Then we went to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. I got yelled at for taking a picture inside the Sistine Chapel. Opps!! Everything was a bit overwhelming to say the least. I’m not sure pictures can even do it justice. The Castel Sant’Angelo was our next stop. It used to be the home of the Pope, prison, fortress and etc. We enjoyed a glass of wine overlooking the Vatican. Next we went to the Pantheon. On the inside at the top of the dome is a large opening. I asked what happens when it rains. They just clean it up! No problem! This used to be a Roman Temple. It later was changed to the Basilica of St. Mary the Martyr. Next stop Trevi Fountain. It was very close to dusk. It took some time to navigate- they are not too good with the street signs. Rome does not have signs at every corner. Streets are not on a grid fashion of any sort. Just about every place to eat is called a pizzeria. At dinner time we went to a mom and pop type of place and the food was excellent. The cost was only 10 euro each for an appetizer, entrée, salad, dessert and wine or water. What a deal! You know we went for the wine!
Rome certainly had a lot of smokers! There are also a lot of scooters and motor bikes, smart cars and very small cars. We hardly saw any vans or SUV’s.
Friday, November 11th
Well, we certainly had an interesting morning. We had a nice breakfast (which was included in all our stays in the hotels). We set off to venture on the hop-on hop-off bus. We just about got to the bus when we were, (I would say approached) almost attacked/groped, shoved, touched and etc. by gypsy women with babies and children pulling at our arms. We were almost hit by a car trying to escape from them. We ran for the bus and we were talking about what had just happened. Something clicked and I felt for my money that was in my pants pocket below my knee and fastened by Velcro. The key word in the last sentence “WAS” in my pocket. I could not believe it!! It took me some time to get over that experience. The bus took us to a Forum and Palatino Hill. We spent many hours here. This is where Nero Augustus (not a very nice man) lived. The grounds were very interesting. We hopped back on the bus to a return visit to the Vatican because we somehow missed seeing the “Pieta”, of all things to miss. Seeing the Pieta was very beautiful! We hopped back onto the bus to go to the Spanish Steps. There were a lot of people just hanging out on the steps. At the bottom of the steps there was a huge square with horse and buggy rides and a nice fountain (nothing like the Trevi Fountain). We happened to see a Hard Rock Café so we stopped to get a pin for Alec, our grandson, who collects them. The pins were cheaper in Italy than in the States!
Saturday, November 12th
We left today to board our train to Florence or “Firenze”. It took a while to figure out the train system. The first stop being Firenze so when looking at which train to get on, we needed to get on the train going to “Venice”. The train ride was pleasant with a lot of countryside with vineyards and rolling hills. When we got off the train we noticed bikes lined up everywhere, not quite as much as what we had seen in Amsterdam. There seemed to be fewer people here than in Rome and more scooters. We had a pretty long walk to get to the hotel; dragging our bags through the streets. I was thankful that we packed small bags. The Hotel De La Pace “Firenze” was an older hotel, the room being just a little larger than the one in Rome. We got settled in and left to explore and see how well we could navigate this town and what their signage was like. We went to the Duoma (basilica). Zach wanted to go to the top; I said I would wait for him as it had over 1000 steps, but he decided not to go and leave me to the gypsies. Then it was onto Ponte Vecchio Bridge. To look at this bridge you couldn’t tell it was a bridge. It was just lined with jewelry stores. When we left the bridge we noticed hundreds of padlocks locked together on the walkway posts. Could it be some superstition?
Palazzo Vecciho Palace was our next stop. Beautiful artwork and I’m sure my picture won’t do that justice and, of course, we could not use flash. Fortunately, my camera does take very nice pictures without the flash. There was one piece of art that showed the whole passion of Christ, it was just amazing. All the artwork everywhere was amazing especially in the Cathedrals.
The Galleria Dell Accademia was our last stop for the day which highlighted the display of the statue of “David”. This statue is wired to a monitor so that if any heat to or movement of the marble occur they would know. He’s right leg has cracks in it.
Sunday, November 13th
Our first stop today (and a long walk) was to Pitti Palace. Again the pictures will not do justice to the size of this palace, not to mention the gardens! It was a little overwhelming to say the least. No pictures of the inside; however, we were used to that. We went to the Forte di Belvedere, but it was closed for renovations so back to Pitti Palace and onto Piazzo Michelangelo overlooking the city.
Then our journey took us onward to the San Marco Cathedral. This Cathedral was a very dark inside because it was built in medieval times when very small windows towards the top of the church were common. They had an altar in the back of the church with an ancient box- we think the remains of St Marco are in there. This altar was enclosed by a security fence.
Strolling right along we went to the Uffizi Gallery which is huge; however, not as large as the Pitti Palace. This gallery was interesting but hard to follow the change in time era. There were plenty of busts, statues and artwork.
So far we are not too impressed with the food in Florence. Rome had some great choices. We like to eat inexpensively, so, we did not indulge ourselves in any elaborate food choices.
Monday, November 14th
We went on a guided tour of Sienna and San Gimgnamo (part of Tuscany). It was about an hour and a half bus ride. The tour guide never stopped talking………….first in Italian, then English then French and then in Spanish. Sienna was interesting. Our first stop was Duomo Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. It is made of solid marble and took 200 years to build. The town had plans of enlarging the church; however, the black plague killed most of the population, so, there was no need to expand the size. Today stands the original Cathedral and a facade which is the outlines of the intended church. The floors inside are hand carved in sections with stories and the sections are roped off for protection. There is an altar for a priest who had Michelangelo carve him four statures. He later became a Pope so his body was buried in the Vatican with all the other Popes and not in the intended location. We then went to the downtown district, the heart of Sienna. In the center of the town is a large square that is all bricked. Twice a year the townspeople sand the streets around the center and have a horse race which lasts 75 seconds. Everyone in the town participates. The horse race is similar to the Kentucky Derby that we have in the states. All the people on the tour had an hour and a half to meet back with the group. We could go to lunch or explore on our own. We explored and had a glass of wine. Our next stop was San Gimgnamo. This is a very nice town and more of what I was expecting Tuscany to look like. The streets were clean and quaint and the countryside was beautiful and full of vineyards. Chianti, olive oil, saffron and alabaster are the products that they are most known for producing.
Tuesday, November 15th
We are now headed for three days in Venice! We had an interesting start to that leg of the trip. We boarded our train and about 30 minutes later the conductor came to collect the ticket. We give it to him and he says “you are on the wrong train and are going to Milan”. I could not believe I heard him right. He said it happens all the time, you just need to get off at the next stop and pay 8 euro each and get on the right train. Whew! Just when we thought we were getting better at navigating! We arrived at the Hotel Villa Rosa with no problem - yeah! We needed to drop our bags because we had a boat tour to go on. We got directions and had to speed walk the entire way; to our surprise with no problems. The tour took us to three islands, Murrano was the first, (very well known for glass manufacturing and expensive). We watched them blow glass in the factory and then took a tour of their products. The second island was Torcello – the first center of civilization in the area with an estuary with a Cathedral with beautiful mosaics. The third island was Burrano and is very well known for making lace, and the very brightly colored fisherman’s houses. There is a bell tower that has over the years begun go start sinking on one side, so, it’s like the leaning tower of Pisa. Eventually it will collapse. Venice was very beautiful and romantic city. Going back to the hotel we got turned around several times! Thank goodness Zach WILL ask for directions. Navigating was like a maze with no street signs to speak of. Our dinner tonight was excellent! Very authentic where the tourists usually do not go and the same meal is served to all the tables, Chef’s choice. They serve about 35 people a night. Our first course consisted of cod, polenta, octopus, mussels and sea bass. The second course was pasta with seafood. The third was shrimp and calamari. By dessert time I was really full; however, I did manage to eat custard with cookies. We could only do this once!
Wednesday, November 16
We slept in today (probably from the large meal). Our breakfast was not as plentiful as the other hotels we had stayed in with no fruit; however the pastry they served was wonderful, light and fluffy with powdered sugar on top. Today we walked on the other side of the canal, trying to get our bearings and get a feel for Venice. We went to the Peggy Guggenheim collection museum which was very modern and interesting. Another stop for today was Piazzo San Marco and San Marco House of the Doge’s Residence with the prisons. This palace was huge.
Zach and I happened to notice that in just about every town there are hundreds of stores with very elaborate masks, all shapes, colors, creatures and feathers. We found out that in Italy they use the masks for Carnival, in Germany it’s called Fashing and in New Orleans Mardi Gras, which is a celebration before Ash Wednesday.
We enjoyed a very light dinner, just a wrap and wine. Our gondola serenade will be on our last day! Ciao.
Thursday, November 17th
We stared the day by going to museums (something different), which were Museo Correr, Museo Archeologilo and Sale Monumental Biboloteca Marciana. They all related to the buildings and history of Venice, the wars that they fought, weapons they used for that time period. All very interesting; however, I think I can say that I was officially “Musuemed Out” after that. I have seen enough busts and statues to last a lifetime. From there we sat in San Marco Square and had a snack of trail mix. I decided to throw one half a peanut to a pigeon. The pigeons figured out where it was coming from, and soon, we had pigeons on our arms, legs, shoulders and heads. I was taking pictures of pigeons all over Zach, then he hands me a handful of nuts. Next thing I knew I had pigeons all over me, picking at my scarf, jumping on my camera, and head. When you see the picture Zach took of me you can tell what was going through my head! It was like the movie “The Birds”. They entertained us for a while. Then we went to our “Serenaded Gondola ride”. There was another couple in the gondola with us, the rower, accordion player and the singer. Three boats left at the same time and all had the benefits of the serenade. We never heard anyone else being serenaded on the canals. It was very romantic and special. A lot of people were taking pictures and videos of the serenading, even the people on the bridges as we passed under them stopped to watch. Quite an experience! It was our last night, then back to the USA. It’s funny, in Venice you see a lot of US things, McDonald’s is big, US team sweatshirts, and Hard Rock Cafés. There are no cars in Venice. Everything is by boat. All the garbage is hauled away by boat; all deliveries to stores are done by boat. It’s truly amazing. It is as if you are walking through a water maze; however, easier to understand than Rome and Florence. So many shops it is unbelievable, and a lot of Murrano glass and high end stores. We have had a wonderful experience here! Ciao…….
