Italy with my daughter 2009
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:21 pm
October 2009 Journey with my youngest daughter.
LAX to Rome, via Chicago on American Flight was long, but pretty uneventful. Arrive in Rome at 9:30 a.m. Check our bags at the St. Regis Grand where we stayed 3 nights for free and had 50% off food and beverages, including adult beverages! Freshened up and heading out to see the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain.
After a quick bite to eat, we headed back to the St. Regis to check in and freshen up. But wait…these comfy beds are calling to us.
No…don’t do it says the guy on my left shoulder, just lay down for a quick moment says the guy on my right shoulder. We lay down for a “quick” nap for an hour and wake up feeling drugged. Never should have done that…big no-no. A shower wakes us up again and we head across the street to the tobacco shop for an international calling card. 10/EU for 400 minutes. Then we walked to Tutolli for dinner. Great atmosphere, wonderful food. Grabbed a glass of wine at the bar in the St. Regis and head up to room.
Tuesday, room service breakfast and off to see the Collosseum in the a.m. and Vatican City in the p.m. Since we’re pretty independent travelers, this was recommended to us by the hotel to avoid crowds. Boy, did they call that right. Most tours go to the Vatican in the a.m. and the Collosseum in the p.m. By doing our tour opposite we had hardly any wait at all…max 15 minutes at both. Cost to get into the Collosseum was 7/EU and info phone rental was 4/EU for two. Be sure to have either your passport or driver’s license to rent info phone (recommend driver’s license). The Collosseum was my personal favorite.
8.50/EU for taxi from Collosseum to Vatican City. Met up with daughter’s friend that is living there for a semester studying art. Tour cathedral, and Sistine chapel with no wait.
Took taxi back to hotel and enjoyed 50% off wine and appetizers. Daughter went out to dinner with her friend and I enjoyed room service dinner and a nice hot bath. The first day of mega walking was a killer.
Wednesday we enjoyed a light breakfast at a cute café across the street from the hotel and hit the streets walking to the Patheon, Foro and a cute farmer’s market. The market was so local and fun and lunch at the Mozerella Bar was just what we needed to do some serious people watching.
The ancient grounds around the Foro were indescribable. They are still unearthing artifacts. It was rather warm today with temps in the mid 80’s. I cannot imagine touring this place in the heat of a summer’s day.
Took a cab back to our hotel paradise for 15/EU. That seemed a bit higher than the previous day when it was 8.50/EU. Lesson learned: negotiate your cab fare before getting in the cab. Ate dinner at Sautapadre, a family style restaurant with great food! Must have a reservation to eat here. We watched them turn several people away. It’s like you are eating in their home.
Watched a movie in the room and slept like babies.
Thursday was a train ride to LeSpezia and then the “milk run” train up to Cinque Terra. Arrived in Vernazza at noon. As per instructed by our B&B owner, Toninio Basso, we walked to the wine store to the left of the train station and had the owner call him to come and meet us. He was there in 10 minutes and walked us up the hill from the train station to his hotel and our room. Nice room, small, but had a laptop in the room with free wireless internet access. The only down side was that his check out time was 10 a.m. We wanted to hike a trail and didn’t think we’d be back by 10. Oh well. We walk down to the pier and have wine and snacks.
We go up to the castle and climb the tower.
Took the train back to Riomaggiore and take the very easy walk up to Manarola. The trail is known as “lover’s lane”.
There is a café half way on the walk and we stop for a glass of wine and a great view with the sun setting. Couples put “locks” on the fence by the kissing faces...known as “locks of love”. Took train from Manarola back to Vernazza and had a mediocre dinner in town. Later we learn that the restaurant just below our room has great fresh homemade pasta. It’s called the Pirate Bar.
Friday, daughter wakes up at daybreak and heads for a hike from Vernazza to Corniglia. Pretty heavy duty climbing, etc. I get ready and head downstairs to the Pirate Bar for cappacinio and pastry. As I’m walking around town, I get a text from daughter that she missed the 9:20 a.m. train back and now won’t be back until 10:37. She left instructions to pack up her backpack and meet her at the Pirate Bar. Being the good Mom, I do as I’m told. She had a great hike and freshens up in the restroom at the Pirate Bar.
The train that we are taking back to LeSpezia and then onto Pisa is late by 30 minutes. We’re also hearing rumor of a train strike on Sunday. This has to put a damper on travel in Italy. In Pisa we take a taxi to the downtown Hertz car rental and wait for someone to return from siesta around 3 pm. Nice man gives us maps, directions, calls our hotel in Lucca to make sure we can park within the walled city at the hotel. Great guy! With GPS in my daughter’s hand and me driving, we’re off to Lucca.
Beautiful drive through the countryside. Arrived in Lucca at our hotel. Hotel Ilaria. Highly recommend it, even though it’s a bit pricey at 180/EU per night. Room is great, location is perfect and breakfast on the terrace or in the sunroom is a huge spread of pastries, fresh fruit, smokes salmon, meats, cheeses, cereal, and more. Had dinner that night at Ristorante Giglio. Great lamb chops. The light rain added to the medieval feeling of Lucca.
Saturday, heard on CNN that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. After a great breakfast, walked around Lucca with umbrellas in hand. Soon the rain stopped, the sun came out and we were on our free bikes riding the wall around Lucca. (3 miles).
Later I phoned home only to find out that we had 6 inches of snow in CO! Dinner that night was at the “American Bar”.
Sunday, packed up and after another delicious breakfast headed for our drive to Greve in Chianti. Beautiful drive through winding roads through the Tuscany area. We even had to pull over for a bike race.
Arrived at our hotel in Greve, Albergo Chianti. Checked into our room and headed out into the square for a farmer’s market.
Tasted 25 and 30 year old balsamic vinegar and great homemade wines. Found a restaurant and ordered noche with gorgonzola sauce. Bought olive oil, vinegar, etc. Discovered a wine tasting place called LeCantine di Grevein. Purchased two cards for 20/EU each and started tasting. It has been written up in Wine Spectator. Great place with over 100 wines to taste.
Monday, first thing is to see if the Broncos won. Yes! Then down to breakfast. It’s okay, nothing like the hotel in Lucca. The man at the front desk makes reservations for us to go on a wine tour at Verrazzano at 11 a.m. The castle of Verrazzano is situated on the top of a splendid hill in the heart of Chianti Classico wine production area. It was originally an Etruscan settlement. It became the Verrazzano family winery in the VIIth century. Giovanni da Verrazzano discovered the bay of New York where there is a suspension bridge bearing his name. He was born in Chianti in 1485. Divinci stayed there for 7 years. Mona Lisa lived just on the next hill. It is speculated that is when he painted the famous painting of her.
The tour was conducted by a great British lady and finished with a wonderful food and wine lunch.
Later we drove up narrow winding road to LaMole at the top of a hill overlooking all of the area. We had wine and enjoyed a great sunset.
Tuesday, after breakfast we repacked and started driving to Siena to return our rental car. Hertz kept our bags stored for free and we took a taxi into the main square and had lunch and toured a bit of Siena. Gorgeous! Picked up our bags around 3:30 pm (after siesta) and took taxi to the train station to catch our train to Florence.
Arrived in Florence around 6:30 p.m. and taxied to Hotel Goldonini. Quaint B&B in great location. Newly renovated and great owners. Hostess was marvelous. Room was very comfortable, breakfast very good. Saw the Ponte Vecchio bridge that night, ate and headed to bead.
Wednesday, breakfast and owner made reservations for us for 12:30 p.m. at Uffizi. They also recommended Trattoria 13 Gobbi for dinner and made reservations for 7:30 p.m.
Walked to the Duomo, no line and no charge to tour. Duomo was left unbuilt until technology caught up with itself. Burnelleschi was the artist that built the cathedral’s claim to fame. Magnifico! Toured the Santa Croce, also known as the “black and white” church.
Stopped in Uffizi square for a glass of wine and a snack. Spent 3 hours in the Uffizi. Standing in the same room with such famous paintings sort of takes your breath away.
The hotel’s hostess, Francesca, made a great recommendation with Trattoria 13 Gobbi restaurant. Amazing food. The owner waited on us and took his time explaining an Italian menu to us in English. The location was in a dark alley that we never would have found if not for Francesca. Lot’s of locals eating here and the place was packed.
Thursday, checked our email on hotel’s computer. Off to view the “David”. Tickets were 8/EU to get in. Waited in line for 30 mins and bought a scarf from a vendor while in line. If the vendors were able, they should be selling coffees and wines while in line!
The David was quite remarkable.
Walked around the Florence more and had dinner at Il Profeta. A high priced restaurant with good food located near the Westin. Nightcap at the Westin bar and home to repack and get ready to head out on Friday to Rome.
Took the Eurostar to Rome. Well worth the extra cost. Quiet and quick. Arrive in Rome around 3 p.m. and took cab to Ostia Antica on the coast. Cab fare was high due to unbelievable traffic on a Friday evening….61/EU. Well worth it when we arrive at our hotel, Hotel Belvedere across the street from the beach. Check in, drop our bags and head across the street to a cute restaurant on Salv’s beach for wine and food during sunset. This was a great ending night to an amazing journey with my daughter.
Flight back was long and AA took 2 hours longer from Rome to JFK so we missed our flight to LAX. 17 hours later we arrive in LAX and shuttle to Hilton where we parked our car for two weeks. Getting in at 8:30 p.m. and exhausted, we inquire about rates and end up booking a room there for the night for $90. Showered and ordered room service with a half bottle of wine. Couldn’t even finish the half bottle before we fell into a deep comfy sleep.
Room service for breakfast and my daughter dropped me off at John Wayne airport on her way home. My 1.5 hour flight back to CO felt like 5 minutes!
Loved Italy. Loved the people. Loved the food. Missing it already.
LAX to Rome, via Chicago on American Flight was long, but pretty uneventful. Arrive in Rome at 9:30 a.m. Check our bags at the St. Regis Grand where we stayed 3 nights for free and had 50% off food and beverages, including adult beverages! Freshened up and heading out to see the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain.
After a quick bite to eat, we headed back to the St. Regis to check in and freshen up. But wait…these comfy beds are calling to us.
No…don’t do it says the guy on my left shoulder, just lay down for a quick moment says the guy on my right shoulder. We lay down for a “quick” nap for an hour and wake up feeling drugged. Never should have done that…big no-no. A shower wakes us up again and we head across the street to the tobacco shop for an international calling card. 10/EU for 400 minutes. Then we walked to Tutolli for dinner. Great atmosphere, wonderful food. Grabbed a glass of wine at the bar in the St. Regis and head up to room.
Tuesday, room service breakfast and off to see the Collosseum in the a.m. and Vatican City in the p.m. Since we’re pretty independent travelers, this was recommended to us by the hotel to avoid crowds. Boy, did they call that right. Most tours go to the Vatican in the a.m. and the Collosseum in the p.m. By doing our tour opposite we had hardly any wait at all…max 15 minutes at both. Cost to get into the Collosseum was 7/EU and info phone rental was 4/EU for two. Be sure to have either your passport or driver’s license to rent info phone (recommend driver’s license). The Collosseum was my personal favorite.
8.50/EU for taxi from Collosseum to Vatican City. Met up with daughter’s friend that is living there for a semester studying art. Tour cathedral, and Sistine chapel with no wait.
Took taxi back to hotel and enjoyed 50% off wine and appetizers. Daughter went out to dinner with her friend and I enjoyed room service dinner and a nice hot bath. The first day of mega walking was a killer.
Wednesday we enjoyed a light breakfast at a cute café across the street from the hotel and hit the streets walking to the Patheon, Foro and a cute farmer’s market. The market was so local and fun and lunch at the Mozerella Bar was just what we needed to do some serious people watching.
The ancient grounds around the Foro were indescribable. They are still unearthing artifacts. It was rather warm today with temps in the mid 80’s. I cannot imagine touring this place in the heat of a summer’s day.
Took a cab back to our hotel paradise for 15/EU. That seemed a bit higher than the previous day when it was 8.50/EU. Lesson learned: negotiate your cab fare before getting in the cab. Ate dinner at Sautapadre, a family style restaurant with great food! Must have a reservation to eat here. We watched them turn several people away. It’s like you are eating in their home.
Watched a movie in the room and slept like babies.
Thursday was a train ride to LeSpezia and then the “milk run” train up to Cinque Terra. Arrived in Vernazza at noon. As per instructed by our B&B owner, Toninio Basso, we walked to the wine store to the left of the train station and had the owner call him to come and meet us. He was there in 10 minutes and walked us up the hill from the train station to his hotel and our room. Nice room, small, but had a laptop in the room with free wireless internet access. The only down side was that his check out time was 10 a.m. We wanted to hike a trail and didn’t think we’d be back by 10. Oh well. We walk down to the pier and have wine and snacks.
We go up to the castle and climb the tower.
Took the train back to Riomaggiore and take the very easy walk up to Manarola. The trail is known as “lover’s lane”.
There is a café half way on the walk and we stop for a glass of wine and a great view with the sun setting. Couples put “locks” on the fence by the kissing faces...known as “locks of love”. Took train from Manarola back to Vernazza and had a mediocre dinner in town. Later we learn that the restaurant just below our room has great fresh homemade pasta. It’s called the Pirate Bar.
Friday, daughter wakes up at daybreak and heads for a hike from Vernazza to Corniglia. Pretty heavy duty climbing, etc. I get ready and head downstairs to the Pirate Bar for cappacinio and pastry. As I’m walking around town, I get a text from daughter that she missed the 9:20 a.m. train back and now won’t be back until 10:37. She left instructions to pack up her backpack and meet her at the Pirate Bar. Being the good Mom, I do as I’m told. She had a great hike and freshens up in the restroom at the Pirate Bar.
The train that we are taking back to LeSpezia and then onto Pisa is late by 30 minutes. We’re also hearing rumor of a train strike on Sunday. This has to put a damper on travel in Italy. In Pisa we take a taxi to the downtown Hertz car rental and wait for someone to return from siesta around 3 pm. Nice man gives us maps, directions, calls our hotel in Lucca to make sure we can park within the walled city at the hotel. Great guy! With GPS in my daughter’s hand and me driving, we’re off to Lucca.
Beautiful drive through the countryside. Arrived in Lucca at our hotel. Hotel Ilaria. Highly recommend it, even though it’s a bit pricey at 180/EU per night. Room is great, location is perfect and breakfast on the terrace or in the sunroom is a huge spread of pastries, fresh fruit, smokes salmon, meats, cheeses, cereal, and more. Had dinner that night at Ristorante Giglio. Great lamb chops. The light rain added to the medieval feeling of Lucca.
Saturday, heard on CNN that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. After a great breakfast, walked around Lucca with umbrellas in hand. Soon the rain stopped, the sun came out and we were on our free bikes riding the wall around Lucca. (3 miles).
Later I phoned home only to find out that we had 6 inches of snow in CO! Dinner that night was at the “American Bar”.
Sunday, packed up and after another delicious breakfast headed for our drive to Greve in Chianti. Beautiful drive through winding roads through the Tuscany area. We even had to pull over for a bike race.
Arrived at our hotel in Greve, Albergo Chianti. Checked into our room and headed out into the square for a farmer’s market.
Tasted 25 and 30 year old balsamic vinegar and great homemade wines. Found a restaurant and ordered noche with gorgonzola sauce. Bought olive oil, vinegar, etc. Discovered a wine tasting place called LeCantine di Grevein. Purchased two cards for 20/EU each and started tasting. It has been written up in Wine Spectator. Great place with over 100 wines to taste.
Monday, first thing is to see if the Broncos won. Yes! Then down to breakfast. It’s okay, nothing like the hotel in Lucca. The man at the front desk makes reservations for us to go on a wine tour at Verrazzano at 11 a.m. The castle of Verrazzano is situated on the top of a splendid hill in the heart of Chianti Classico wine production area. It was originally an Etruscan settlement. It became the Verrazzano family winery in the VIIth century. Giovanni da Verrazzano discovered the bay of New York where there is a suspension bridge bearing his name. He was born in Chianti in 1485. Divinci stayed there for 7 years. Mona Lisa lived just on the next hill. It is speculated that is when he painted the famous painting of her.
The tour was conducted by a great British lady and finished with a wonderful food and wine lunch.
Later we drove up narrow winding road to LaMole at the top of a hill overlooking all of the area. We had wine and enjoyed a great sunset.
Tuesday, after breakfast we repacked and started driving to Siena to return our rental car. Hertz kept our bags stored for free and we took a taxi into the main square and had lunch and toured a bit of Siena. Gorgeous! Picked up our bags around 3:30 pm (after siesta) and took taxi to the train station to catch our train to Florence.
Arrived in Florence around 6:30 p.m. and taxied to Hotel Goldonini. Quaint B&B in great location. Newly renovated and great owners. Hostess was marvelous. Room was very comfortable, breakfast very good. Saw the Ponte Vecchio bridge that night, ate and headed to bead.
Wednesday, breakfast and owner made reservations for us for 12:30 p.m. at Uffizi. They also recommended Trattoria 13 Gobbi for dinner and made reservations for 7:30 p.m.
Walked to the Duomo, no line and no charge to tour. Duomo was left unbuilt until technology caught up with itself. Burnelleschi was the artist that built the cathedral’s claim to fame. Magnifico! Toured the Santa Croce, also known as the “black and white” church.
Stopped in Uffizi square for a glass of wine and a snack. Spent 3 hours in the Uffizi. Standing in the same room with such famous paintings sort of takes your breath away.
The hotel’s hostess, Francesca, made a great recommendation with Trattoria 13 Gobbi restaurant. Amazing food. The owner waited on us and took his time explaining an Italian menu to us in English. The location was in a dark alley that we never would have found if not for Francesca. Lot’s of locals eating here and the place was packed.
Thursday, checked our email on hotel’s computer. Off to view the “David”. Tickets were 8/EU to get in. Waited in line for 30 mins and bought a scarf from a vendor while in line. If the vendors were able, they should be selling coffees and wines while in line!
The David was quite remarkable.
Walked around the Florence more and had dinner at Il Profeta. A high priced restaurant with good food located near the Westin. Nightcap at the Westin bar and home to repack and get ready to head out on Friday to Rome.
Took the Eurostar to Rome. Well worth the extra cost. Quiet and quick. Arrive in Rome around 3 p.m. and took cab to Ostia Antica on the coast. Cab fare was high due to unbelievable traffic on a Friday evening….61/EU. Well worth it when we arrive at our hotel, Hotel Belvedere across the street from the beach. Check in, drop our bags and head across the street to a cute restaurant on Salv’s beach for wine and food during sunset. This was a great ending night to an amazing journey with my daughter.
Flight back was long and AA took 2 hours longer from Rome to JFK so we missed our flight to LAX. 17 hours later we arrive in LAX and shuttle to Hilton where we parked our car for two weeks. Getting in at 8:30 p.m. and exhausted, we inquire about rates and end up booking a room there for the night for $90. Showered and ordered room service with a half bottle of wine. Couldn’t even finish the half bottle before we fell into a deep comfy sleep.
Room service for breakfast and my daughter dropped me off at John Wayne airport on her way home. My 1.5 hour flight back to CO felt like 5 minutes!
Loved Italy. Loved the people. Loved the food. Missing it already.
Thank you Terry for the wonderful report...totally enjoyed the pictures and your trip report! Would love to someday do a trip like that with my daughter! Super!!! The beds at the St Regis looked great and the food was out of this world in all of the pictures! 
What a beautiful trip! Thanks so much for posting all the pics and info.