Rome
Italy
"Rome - the city of visible history." - George Eliot
Florence
Venice
Day 0. Sunday. 9/21 Day Before Tour
My journey started with a two hour flight from Paris to Rome. I had just moved to Paris a couple of weeks before the tour, so I didn’t have far to go to get to the starting point. I arrived a day before the tour began and I got to do a couple of things beforehand. The Borghese Gallery had been highly recommended. I’m so glad I went. It was spectacular! The art and the sculptures were phenomenal. In fact one of my taxi drivers told me it was his favorite museum in Rome. I was beat at the end of this travel day, but I did need dinner so I went around the corner to a restaurant, Osteria delle Commari, and got a spaghetti dish with sea bass and zucchini. It was a very good first meal and first day in Italy. And this was just a warm-up for what was to come!
First meal in Italy - Deliziosa
Day 1. Monday. 9/22. Buongiorno Roma
Made it just in the nick of time for the hotel breakfast on the fourth floor Terrace. What a nice setting, the view was pretty. We were right across the street from the Vatican. I fueled up, then headed off for a preview of the Colosseum and the Pantheon The taxi driver was friendly and we chatted the whole way. There were protests going on so all the buses, metro and trains on strike made for a crazy ride but we did get there. The Pantheon was crowded. I didn’t think I would have time to get in, but I found the shortest line and made it in, took pictures and then headed off on foot for the Colosseum. The Colosseum was impressive and so was the Roman Forum which I wandered through, knowing I would be seeing it again tomorrow with the group. Then back to the hotel. I grabbed lunch and had my eye on some cannoli but did not order any - yet. We met back at the hotel for our first Rick Steves tour meeting at 3:00. Nice group of 29. Our tour guide's name is Joe. He's British and I loved listening to him talk. We chatted about the tour, then headed off to the metro and went to see some of the sights of Rome in the rain…the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, which was just as magnificent as I had imagined… and yes, my designated “buddy”, Kim and I did throw a coin in over our left shoulders. lol We made our way through the streets of Rome to a classic Italian restaurant for a group dinner…Santapupa Trattoria Romano. It was great. So many courses and they were all good. Started with a charcuterie-type plate, followed by this delicious round pasta or potato dish stuffed with cheese and topped with a marinara sauce, then two types of pasta, an excellent Italian red wine and a glass of limoncello. There was a beautiful fountain in front of the restaurant, the Four Rivers Fountain, and at night when it was all lit up, it was just gorgeous. Joe treated us to a special dessert after dinner…gelato….yay! I got stracciatella and caramel. So so good!
First Group Meal
More
Than
2,000
Fountains
in
Rome
Spanish Steps
Four Rivers Fountain
Day 2. Tuesday. 9/23. The Heart of Roma
We started our morning with a group trip, by way of the metro, to the Colosseum. It looked just as spectacular as it did yesterday when I came on my own. lol We met our local guide and walked around the outside as she explained the history, etc. We also toured the Roman Forum and she gave us quite a history lesson. She pointed out the statues of vestal virgins, which had an interesting backstory. All but one was headless. I tried not to take too many pictures, since I was just here yesterday. And by not too many, I mean less than 50. Ha. It’s so mind boggling to think that these ruins have been here for 3,000 years! Next, we walked to the Pantheon, passing the massive and fabulous white building I was so intrigued with yesterday, I now know it is informally called “The Wedding Cake” because of its fanciness and that locals frowned upon how fancy it was. But it sure is beautiful. While touring the Pantheon today, our guide talked about the hole in the ceiling and the marvel the dome was in its day. After this stop, we were on our own for the afternoon. I had tickets to two big sites coming up. First was St. Peter’s Basilica. Holy Mother of All Things Holy! It was spectacular! So much gold everywhere. And the ceilings were incredible. It will be a miracle if I don’t break my neck with all the looking up on this trip. My son had mentioned to me I must enter through the Holy Door, since it was open during this Year of the Jubilee. Usually it's closed. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t find it. Turns out it is because I checked in for an audio tour and it led me to a different entrance through a vault area. I walked around the basilica for quite a while, marveling at its wonderfulness. Before I left, I asked a guard about the Holy Door. He told me where it was and how to walk through it, so I exited and went back in through the actual Holy Door. Salvation. The next ticket was for the Vatican and I was running out of time to get there. I tried to follow my map and take shortcut, but the road it directed me to was private, so I had to backtrack and barely made it in time. It was also crowded and the line was long. But I waited it out. I was a couple of minutes late but was still able to join the tour. Again, amazing paintings and sculptures and ceilings! Incredible detail. After all the walking, I was ready for dinner. I went to the restaurant around the corner from the hotel again, Osteria delle Commari, and had a seafood pasta dish. It was really good. And some kind of raspberry pudding dish for dessert. Then lights out. Early day tomorrow.
The
"Wedding
Cake"
Pantheon
Roman Forum
Statues of Vestal Virgins
Vatican Museum
St. Peter's Basilica
Holy Door
Much Needed Dinner
Day 3. Wednesday. 9/24. Orvieto
Arrivederci Roma. We left Rome in the rear view this morning and headed out to explore more of Italy. I was very surprised at how amazing our first stop would be. We went to the Umbrian hilltop town of Orvieto. It was literally on top of a big hill and you get to it by taking a funicular. We met up with our local guide, Elena, and she took us to the most spectacular place…the Orvieto Cathedral. This was another take my breath away moment. It was so beautiful! It was built in the 14th century and it is beyond belief how something like this could have been built that long ago and still be as incredible as it is. The cathedral’s facade featured golden mosaics and depicted biblical scenes with angels and various religious figures through paintings and very detailed bas relief carvings. The inside was also stunning, with large wall sized frescos by famous Italian painters. The duomo is said to be one of the most beautiful in Italy. One of the artists that painted part of the ceiling inspired Michelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel. The city of Orvieto is 3,000 years old and is older than Rome. We had a couple of free hours to roam around and have lunch. First place I went was a viewpoint that overlooked the valley and the view was spectacular! So green and just postcard perfect. For lunch, I stopped in a place called Caffè Montanucci and got a salad with black olives, tomatoes and pieces of bruschetta. After more walking, I couldn’t resist the gelato shops. Got more stracciatella, my fav, and it was delicious! The town was completely charming! Wonder how much apartments go for? It was mid-afternoon and time to ride the funicular back down to the bottom of the hill to our waiting bus. Off through more beautiful countryside we went as we approached Tuscany. Our hotel was off the beaten path in a bit of a rural area. It was called Hotel Tenuta il Burchio. Very old and pretty impressive. My room as a single was off the dining room, behind the kitchen, probably where staff sometimes stayed. It was roomy and had a big bathroom. We had a little happy hour out on the patio and that was followed by a pasta making demonstration by Italian chef Claudio. He showed us how to make traditional homemade pasta and pesto from scratch. Only a few ingredients needed. He also prepared our dinner…Pappardelle with Wild Boar and Panzanella and Mascarpone and Raspberry Mousse for dessert. Delizioso!
Could not get enough of
this view!
Finally...cannoli
Chef Claudio's Demo
Our Brand New Bus
Joe's Itlalian Eatery Cheat Sheet
Day 4. Thursday. 9/25. Firenze
Today was all about Florence. We rode through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to the outskirts of Florence, where we switched from our bus to a tram and rode that into the city. There we met our local guide, Martina, and she showed us some of the highlights, including a wine window (they originated in Florence back in the 1500s) and the amazing Florence Cathedral. The architecture here was noticeably different... more boxy and symmetrical with striped elements, among other things. There was a big square lined with all these centuries old buildings and in the middle of the square was a bronze giant statue of a modern girl on her phone. Pretty funny. We toured the Uffizi Gallery. Very impressive works, including famous paintings, like Primavera and The Birth of Venus (I think they said this was the most famous) by Sandro Botticelli, Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci, Doni Tondo by Michelangelo and Madonna of the Goldfinch by Raphael. From the upstairs windows, we could see a view of Florence and the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. I had a ticket next for the Accademia Gallery. Also very impressive. So many great pieces of art and a large room full of white sculptures and busts. And of course the most famous sculpture, Michelangelo’s very large Statue of David. Next, time to grab a bite to eat. I stopped in a little place and had a ham sandwich and finally got my cannoli! They didn’t have the traditional kind, these had shells that were covered with candy. Mine had vanilla filling one end and chocolate on the other. I would have preferred a traditional one, but this one satisfied my cannoli craving just fine. Next we boarded the tram and went back to the bus. Back to the hotel for a group dinner. It was BBQ night, which was a surprising thing to have in Italy. We had pasta with pesto, so something Italian, BBQ chicken, eggplant, and then biscotti, which we dipped in some kind of alcohol drink. Another good meal!
Florence American Cemetery
The Birth of Venus
Day 5. Friday. 9/26. Venezia!!!
Venezia!!! Time to move on this morning, from our rural hotel in Tuscany outside of Florence to a much more lively place. Our first stop though, was much more solemn, the Florence American Cemetery. It was very similar to the American Cemetery in Normandy. Row after row after row of white crosses marking the final resting place of so many young American soldiers who did not survive WWII., more than 4,000 of them are here. There was a memorial wall with huge plaques full of the names of lost soldiers along with their regimen and the state they were from. It seemed a majority of them served on bomb squadrons. A very sobering sight to see. By mid-morning, we were back on the bus and continuing our drive through the beautiful hills of Tuscany, getting schooled by Joe on Italian coffee orders, different flavors of gelato and the Italian version of tapas called Cicchetti. We arrived in Venice mid-afternoon. The bus couldn’t drive to the hotel so we had to unload our luggage and walk in the rain to the docks. Joe made sure we would really arrive the Italian way... in water taxis! These were small boats that could hold maybe 6-8 people. Me not being the most nautical person, getting on the boat was a little tricky. The docks were wet and we had our luggage. And I did not realize the dock would actually be moving since it was on water. When I let go of my suitcase, it started rolling and I had visions of it… and me… going straight into the water. But the Italian boat driver assisted and all was well. Getting my first glimpse of Venice from a boat on a canal was just magical. Venice is like no place I have ever seen. Gave me flashbacks of having similar feelings when I saw Cinque Terre for the first time. Just unreal. We unloaded or disembarked in nautical terms? right on the Grand Canal, the granddaddy of canals. We checked into our hotel and had a short time to unpack and rest. The view from my room was of a typical and very pretty old Italian courtyard surrounded by hotels and apartment buildings, each a different color. Next, we headed off to get our first look at St. Mark’s Square. It was much bigger than I had pictured. The main attraction was St. Mark’s Basilica, very impressive and there were all kinds of restaurants and shops lining the square. We also got to squeeze in a gondola ride. We were possibly going to have to skip it because of the on and off rain, but we were able to fit it in during a break in the weather. Four people in each boat equaled a total of seven boats for our group. What a great way to see things from the water. We got a close up view of the watermarks and corrosion and barnacles on the old but very impressive buildings. We floated along the narrow canals out to the big one where we got a view of the Rialto Bridge before turning around. We had a moment of slight chaos when our gondolier slipped off the boat and fell into the water. We heard a loud splash and turned around and saw him flailing around in the water, trying to make his way back to the boat. He was fine and he actually thought it was funny. He climbed back on the boat and wrangled in his oar. Then he would laugh and tell his gondolier buddies that we passed what happened. They all laughed and pointed to a body part that they hit when the same thing happened to them Haha. It was pretty funny. After this aquatic adventure it was dinner time. We had a group dinner at a great Italian restaurant, Ostaria al Milion. Joe knew the owners. I had black squid ink pasta and it was delicious. And that was just the starter. The main course was a white fish with a tomato sauce and polenta. It had a fancy name but I don’t recall it. Dessert was a pudding/creme brûlée dish with a raspberry sauce, also tiramisu. It was all very good. And of course, like all good Italians, we ended the meal with limoncello shots. It was dark when we walked back to our hotel, so it was nice seeing Venice glowing in lights at night. What an unforgettable day!
Magical Venice
Mask Making Demo
St. Mark's Cathedral
Doge's Palace
Memorial Candles
Bridge of Sighs
Day 6. Saturday. 9/27. Venice In All Its Glory
We started the morning with a very nice breakfast spread at our hotel. We needed some good fuel for the long day ahead seeing all the sights of Venice. Our local guide took us past the impressive canals, of course, with lots of little bridges over them and the big Rialto Bridge, She told us how more and more local people are moving out of Venice, due in part to tourism and the crowds. In one of the shop windows, there was an electronic counter showing the population drop. It went from 60,000+ in 2008 to 47,000 today. Back in the 16th century, Venice was one of the most populated cities in the world with 140,000 Venetians. Another interesting thing the guide pointed out, the small square gold plaques embedded in the doorsteps of some the homes. They were engraved with the names of the Jewish people that who lived there and the date they were dragged out of their homes by the Nazis in WWII. Quite something to see. We stopped at a Venetian mask shop and watched a mask making demonstration. The mask maker was very Italian looking...a black beret, vintage thick mustache, glasses and a white frock splattered with paint. In heavy Italian (translation provided by our local guide), he explained each step of the process. A lot of work goes into each mask. The guys in our group each got to try one out. Pretty funny. At the end, we walked through the mask shop and the masks were pretty impressive, some of them very elaborate. After this demo, the guide walked us over to St. Mark’s Square, a huge open space in front of St. Mark’s Basilica, with a lot of restaurants and shops lining the square. After the guide told us a bit about the square, she turned us loose for the rest of the day and off we went to explore. There were some musicians playing in the square and it was so enjoyable. I had a ticket for St. Mark’s. It was gorgeous! Not quite as big or fancy at St. Peter’s in Rome, but still very striking. There was a beautiful memorial area inside with candles. I lit one for a good friend's granddaughter who had just recently left this world at 7 months old. So very sad. She now has a candle and an angel watching over her at St. Mark’s. After this stop, I had one more ticket for Doge’s Palace next door. It was also very impressive. One section of the palace was a prison. I walked across the Bridge of Sighs, where prisoners would walk with their last chance to see daylight and the river and sights of Venice before being locked away. They would let out a sigh when they caught a glimpse of the view, thus the name. As I walked through the palace, I marvelled at the paintings, the elaborate decor, and the ceilings, especially the ceilings. I have never seen so many great ceilings as I have on this trip. Incredible. It was now getting close to dinner time and we were still free to do what we wanted. Joe told us about the Italian cicchetti, basically like tapas or appetizers and he said they were very good. I went looking for a cicchetti bar and found something that was close. I got a couple of Italian meatballs, a piece of bruschetta with cheese and veggies and a piece of salmon. It hit the spot. Then I walked over by the Grand Canal to try to catch it at sunset. Being Saturday evening, it was very busy, boats up and down the canal, big crowds, restaurants were buzzing. I captured some church balls ringing, love that sound. And while I didn’t really get the sunset I was hoping for because there were quite a few clouds, when the sun did break through it cast a golden glow on all the old colorful buildings and the water and docks. That will suffice. It was about time to go back to the hotel, but I had one more mission…to get more gelato since this was our last night in Italy. I knew there was a place right across from our hotel so I made my way there down the narrow windy cobblestone streets in the near-dark only to find that what the place serves is not really gelato, it’s something else. And that just wasn’t going to do. So back to the map on my phone and back through the alleys to find the real deal. I did find a genuine gelato shop, got a Stracciatella cone and my night …and my tour of this fabulous country...was complete. Well done, Italy! Grazie!!
Final Italian
Gelato
ARRIVEDERCI ITALY!
