Italy: a 30,000-Foot View

Past midnight, we are zipping through Rome in the back of a cab, street lights flying by, windows down. It has taken 4 flights to get us to this point, and, after all that time in planes and airport terminals, the outside air feels delicious.

In about an hour, we will have checked into our hotel. We will sleep like logs (or maybe like a pair of felled Corinthian columns) our first night in Italy. And that will be even more delicious.

Over the next two weeks, Phillip and I would be traveling from Rome to Venice to the central Italian countryside to Florence and back to Rome. Here’s some of the stuff we were up to.

Rome I

Arrived by: plane – Delta + Ryanair | Lodging: Hotel Roma Room | Food / drinks: Hotel Roma Room + Lettrere Caffè + Locanda Del Gelato

Our first day in Rome, we took a Colosseum tour and visited the Forum and Palatine Hills archaelogical sites.

From there, we walked the length of the Circus Maximus into the Trastevere neighborhood, ate enough apertifs to equal dinner, and then were irresistibly drawn into the gleaming gelato shop across the street.

The next morning we were on a train to Venice.

Venice

Arrived by: train – Italo Treno | Lodging: Couzy House in Venice (Airbnb) | Food / drinks: Un Mondo DiVino + Gelato Di Natura (at San Giacomo dall’Orio)

From Venice’s Santa Lucia train station, we lugged our rolling suitcases over stairs and bridges and bridges with stairs to get to the quiet street where our Airbnb apartment was.

We had timed our visit so we could see both the annual Regata Storica gondola parade and race AND the premiere of the opera “L’Occasione fa il ladro” at Teatro La Fenice.

Of course, we saw some of the city’s more permanent sights, as well.

At the Doge’s Palace, we wound our way through the ornate apartments, stuffy prison cells, and across the Bridge of Sighs. Afterwards, we went to the Basilica San Marco, craning our necks to marvel at the detail of its ceilings covered in gold mosaics.

We rode a water bus down the Grand Canal but mostly did a lot of walking and got lost so, so many times.

When we were just starting to maybe get the slightest grasp on getting around, it was time to retrace our path back over stepped bridges towards the edge of Venice – and into a car rental office.

Le Marche

Getting there: car rental – Auto Europe | Lodging: La Tavola Marche | Food / drinks: La Tavola Marche + Crazy Bar

We were already behind schedule when we picked up our cute two-seater Smart car and began the (supposedly) 4-hour drive toward our next stop in the countryside of the Le Marche region.

Of course, it took us longer.

Winding through mountain roads well after dark, we finally arrived at La Tavola Marche, the inn/cooking school/agriturismo where we’d be staying. It’s run by a pair of American expats, chef Jason and marketing-genius Ashley, who have spent the last 10 years immersing themselves in the local culture and cuisine.

The “agriturismo” classification means all the food they serve must come from their own property or the local area. So they have fruit trees, chickens, and a big vegetable garden. We got to check it out the next afternoon, picking tomatoes for our cooking class.

Our last full day there we hiked a bit, and then got to sit back and enjoy a five-course dinner Chef Jason prepared just for two other guests, Phillip, and I.

At checkout time, we packed up our rental car, stopped briefly in the nearby town of Piobocco for postcards and an espresso, and then drove on to Florence.

Florence

Getting there: car rental – Auto Europe | Lodging: Hotel Ferretti | Food / drinks: Gelateria Vivoli + cafeteria in the Uffizi

Arriving in the city to a tangle of traffic, we were glad to leave our rental car behind and head to the Hotel Ferretti, walking distance from all the sights we were planning to cram into our single-night stay.

We visited the Piazza del Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery, and (lesser-known) Vivoli, a gelateria that’s a contender for having the world’s best gelato.

We were also a short walk from the train station, where Italo Treno would take us back to Rome.

Rome II

Getting there: Italo Treno | Lodging: Mallory’s Guest House (Airbnb) | Food / drinks: Trattoria Sora Lella

This time, we stayed in an apartment building built by our Airbnb host’s great grandfather. It was a lovely place to hang out when we stayed in to rest one rainy morning.

The day before we had wandered through the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. We managed to make into the Vatican Post Office before closing time, so Phillip could check out the stamps.

At some point, we crossed the invisible borderline from Vatican City back into Italy. Instead of going straight to the Metro, we opted to walk by Castel Sant’Angelo (Hadrian’s Tomb) and hop on at the Spanish Steps.

Our final evening in Rome, we went to dinner on an island in the Tiber River. A couple different locals had recommended Trattoria Sora Lella for authentically Roman food, so we got the tasting menu and savored every forkful.

The next morning we were back in a cab, zipping through city streets on a circuitous route to the airport, grateful for our time in Italy.

We received media passes from Teatro La Fenice and Italo Treno.

September 18, 2017

A Hike in Le Marche

At about the halfway point in our Italy trip, we took a break from museums and city streets and headed to the country.

We went to Le Marche, a region east of Tuscany that stretches to the Adriatic Sea.

One morning, we hiked up a hillside to some ruins of a city that had been abandoned there hundreds of years ago.

Coming over one ridge, we spotted a pair of horses grazing. One had a bell around its neck (like a cowbell – apparently it keeps porcupines away).

They seemed as curious about us as we were about them, both parties making our way cautiously toward each other bit by bit.

We stared at each other awhile until, finally, Phillip and I turned to scramble up the next hill to see the crumbling stone houses there. The horses continued to mosey down their path.

September 4, 2017September 18, 2017

A Glimpse of Venice

Venice is very beautiful, crowded, and easy to get lost in.

And I hope we find our way back here again.

August 31, 2017August 25, 2017

Itineraries Meet Reality

We had to cut David.

I know! I know! I know.

Past Me (i.e. me several months ago, before we got into the trip planning nitty gritty) would be saying the same thing you are right now. “You’re not going to see David?!! You’re going all the way to Italy, all the way to Florence, you’re probably going to walk by the building that Michelangelo’s most famous statue is inside of – but not go in?!!”

I KNOW.

It’s not that I’m not interested in art. Or Renaissance art specifically. (I am.) It’s not that I don’t want to see it. (I do.)

The thing is this: You don’t just pop in to see The David. The sculpture is housed in La Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, along with small collections of other artwork and molds and models for sculptures. I’d actually be interested in seeing all that.

But David is a very popular guy. To the point that, getting inside l’Accademia usually means either (a) waiting in line for a couple hours to buy a ticket on-site or (b) buying a timed ticket online that allows you to skip the line that you cannot make changes to once purchased. You pick the time, buy the ticket, and then it’s set. No changes. No refunds. No mercy.

It’s the same deal at the Uffizi Gallery, which is a large musuem full of some of the most important art of the Renaissance (just not David). Either wait in line or be tied to a time.

We had considered doing both during our morning in Florence. And in a guidebook-itinerary perfect world, that’s totally possible. But, in reality, it became clear that attempting to do both in one morning was not a good plan for us.

So that meant choosing between l’Accademia (David) or Uffizi (tons of art). You might’ve made a different choice. Or might’ve been willing to rush around and cram both in. Or maybe you’re not that into art and would’ve skipped both.

The point is there’s the trip you would plan in a vacuum, based solely on your interests and preferences. And then there’s the real-world itinerary (both planned and unplanned) that is limited by time and money and energy and weather and who you are traveling with and when things are open and whether your feet hurt and what else is happening in the town/the world/your life that day.

In the real world, you make trade-offs, try to be flexible, and do your best to enjoy the story as it unfolds.

Photo credits:

1+5 Petar Milošević • CC BY-SA 4.0

2 Me

3 La Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze

August 28, 2017August 28, 2017

Virtually Visit Italy

If you can’t take a plane to Italy, there are still ways to see the sights from where you are.

Museums and monuments sometimes have “virtual tours” that allow you to see 3D views of a place and (usually) click to navigate through it – like Google Street View but inside.

A group of Russian photographers has taken incredible 360-degree photographs around the world. You can probably get lost in their site, AirPano, for days. I’ve linked to some of the AirPano pages for Italian cities (below).

Skyline Webcams allows you to search for live camera feeds of public places by country or category (city views, landscapes, etc.) I’ve included a few live cams from Italy in the lists below, but there are lots more on their site.