In November of 2022, we attended a charity auction with some of our neighbors. It was a great event with both silent and live auction items. One of the items up for bid was a week in a villa in Tuscany. No one was bidding on it. We kind of all looked at each and decided what the hell, why not? So we put in a bid and we won! Wow. I'm not sure if what we bid would be equal to what we could just rent the villa for directly, but it was for a good cause so we all felt good about it.
We had up to 2 years to book and use the villa, which seems like a long time, but finding a week around graduations, work and other family commitments for 8 people is challenging. We found a couple of weeks that would work and settled on 4/20/2024 through 4/27/2024, Saturday to Saturday. It was so far out into the future it did not seem real, but once January 2024 came around, we kicked it into gear and started planning. We got together several times to discuss details and logistics, as well as sample Amy's home made pasta dish along with some Italian wine of course as we dreamed, researched and planned!
Our group would consist of 4 couples, all from our neighborhood. Myself and Lynn, Brent and Amy, Mike and Michelle, and Josh and Jen. Four of us, Brent, Amy, Mike, and Michelle would be traveling to Italy the week before and spending some time on their own prior to arriving at the villa. Myself, Lynn, Josh, and Jen would arrive on 4/20 and then stay an additional week to tour the country separately after checking out of the villa on 4/27.
For the days in the villa, each of us chose a day to plan for the group. This way one person or couple was not burdened with coming up with activities for the group. I will share our itinerary at the end of this page but for now I will post each day, starting with day 1, which is actually 4/19/2024.
Day 1 Friday, April 19 - flight to Rome:
Our flight from Charlotte was an overnight flight leaving Friday evening at 6:05pm and arriving in Rome 9:15 am local time on Saturday. As I mentioned before, Brent, Amy, Mike, and Michelle were already in Italy and had been in different parts of the country all week. Josh and Jen were on the flight with us. Coincidentally, even though we booked this flight at different times the 4 of us were all seated together in the center section!
Our ride to the airport was picking us up at 3:00 pm on Friday. Lynn made it a point to show that she was 100% ready and waiting for the car at 2:52 pm, with a full eight minutes to spare!
Ready to board!
Lynn had to put up with Josh and I on each side of her for 9 hours. I feel for her on that one...
Day 2 Saturday, April 20 - Rome for the day and then on to the villa
We landed on Saturday morning. Since we would be driving to the villa as well as visiting other parts of the country later, we had rental cars reserved. The villa is located about 14 kilometers from Cortona in Tuscany, which you can get a train to, but from the train to the villa requires a car or driver so the car made sense. Fun fact - Cortona is where "Under the Tuscan Sun" was filmed!
First order of business after getting the rental cars was to park near the Colosseum as we had a colosseum tour booked for that afternoon. Parking in Rome can be challenging to say the least, so I had done a little research on this and found that by using Parkimeter.com (a parking web site that let's you reserve parking), we could reserve parking in a secured garage only 2 blocks from the Colosseum. There is a companion app for Parkimeter, but it does not support United States based phones. The website is easy to use, however. We had 2 spots reserved and GPS took us right to the garage with no issues.
A few comments on driving in Italy and in Rome or any other large Italian city in particular. The roads are narrow. Very narrow. If you rent a car, we recommend you get the smallest car possible that will hold you and your luggage. Also, there are ZTL zones (Zone Traffic Limited) that you need to be aware of. If you inadvertently drive into one of these zones - you WILL get a hefty fine. Other than that no worries. Scooters are everywhere just as in any European city and yes drivers are crazy.
Once we got the cars parked, we set out on foot. We had timed it so that we would have time to get lunch before showing up for the Colosseum Tour. Our flight had some delays, however, so at this point we went straight to the meet point. The website we used to book the tour is Viator.com. You can book all types of tours throughout all of Europe and there is a phone app that keeps track of your bookings and tickets. We had a 3 hour small group VIP tour that included the underground, the main part of the Colosseum, and other ancient Rome sites.
The scale of the Colosseum is hard to comprehend until you see it in person. This place would accommodate up to 60,000 spectators and could be completely emptied in 6 minutes. What an ingenious design! I have had to wait over an hour to get out of Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and it holds about the same amount of spectators.
Some views of The Colosseum:
After entering the Colosseum, we first went into the underground, which is the area underneath the floor where all of the gladiators and animals waited their turn. At the appropriate time, one of 8 primitive elevators would bring the participants up and onto the Colosseum floor.
This is a section of floor that was reconstructed using the original methods so you can get a better visual of how this looked from below:
This is one of the 8 elevators up to the floor and was also reconstructed just as it was originally:
Fascinating. Just thinking of all of the people and animals that entered these tunnels never to return. Losing their lives for the pleasure of the spectators. Brutal. They also were able to flood this and create a simulated ocean for war games at sea. Amazing engineering to say the least.
After seeing the underground, we went above to the floor level and walked the circumference of the interior. Each seat and entrance were numbered. Tickets to the Colosseum shows were distributed for free to citizens of all classes of society. Each ticket was already assigned a seat number according to your position in society. The top tier was the emperor's box, which provided the best view of the arena. Other members of the Roman political and social elite also sat in the highest tier. On the second tier sat the Roman upper class, made up of government officials and business men. The lowest level was reserved for ordinary Roman citizens (plebeians) and was divided into two sections - the immum for wealthy citizens and the summum for poor citizens.
Josh... 😂
After the tour, we were famished so first thing was to find a restaurant, relax, and have our first Italian meal. It is recommended to not patronize restaurants near tourist attractions as they tend to be over priced and do not necessarily offer an authentic Italian dining experience. This is true, but we did not care. There would be plenty of time for that later. After an all night flight and walking most of the day we just wanted to sit, eat, and drink. Could have been fast food for all we cared at that point, but Lynn forbids eating any type of chain food on vacation (really any time, but especially vacation), even though there ARE McDonald's in Italy!
We found a restaurant that suited us just fine. Yes, we were to have much better food during our trip, but this fit the need of the moment quite nicely.
Lynn and Jen had their first taste of a Negroni, which is a common Italian cocktail made with gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. Some bars also add Prosecco which cuts the bitterness a bit. They were not impressed...
.jpg)
After dinner we visited the Domus Flavia since our tickets from the Colosseum tour were good there also. The Flavian Palace, normally known as the Domus Flavia, is part of the vast Palace of Domitian on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It was completed in 92 AD by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus, and attributed to his master architect, Rabirius. As with all of ancient Rome, this was impressive.
Some views of ancient Rome from the Domus Flavia and views of the city of Rome:
We were having a great time when I glanced at my watch and realized it was almost 7:00 pm. Oh Shit!! We had our parking reserved until 7:00 pm. Since I did not really know what would happen if we were late or if the garage closed, I took off running to get that sorted out while the rest followed behind (Jen and Lynn stopping to take pictures even then)!!! The garage was not far and I got there a couple of minutes before 7:00 and all was good. I informed the attendant that the rest of the group would be late he said the only consequence is having to pay for an extra hour. Whew! No worries but I was not taking any chances. I went ahead and paid the additional hour for Josh and Jen's car so we could get out quickly as soon as they got there. It was only about 10 minutes later when they arrived and we were soon on the road to the villa.
Due to the aforementioned crazy traffic and narrow roads, we got separated from Josh & Jen almost immediately after leaving the garage. We kept in touch via text to make sure we all got out of the city OK.
The villa is located on a mountain top about 14 kilometers north of Cortona. It would be a 3 hour drive. Fortunately the weather was good and the highways are pristine. We pointed north out of Rome and put the hammer down, so to speak.
We arrived at the villa around 10:00 pm. Brent was waiting for us at the end of the driveway to open the gate, and they had a fire, wine, food, and a Limoncello welcome toast ready for us. Got to love good friends!
The villa turned out to be better than the photos we had seen. Each couple had their own suite (bedroom and private bath) and the common areas were large and comfortable. This was turning out to be an epic trip and we had only been in the country for 15 hours at this point!
Lynn and I were exhausted so we headed off to bed. We had been up for basically 36 hours since neither of us sleep very well on a plane. We were looking forward to seeing the grounds and surrounding scenery in the daylight come morning. We were also looking forward to exploring the area.
Day 3 Sunday, April 21 - Cortona
Day 3 started out with sleeping in and a leisurely breakfast of cold meat and cheese at the villa. This place was beautiful and the scenery was also quite gorgeous. We walked the grounds and enjoyed the gorgeous flowers and amazing beds of rosemary that clearly have been growing for a VERY long time.
Around noon we all headed down to Cortona to spend the afternoon. The prevailing character of Cortona's architecture is medieval with steep narrow streets situated on a hillside (much like every walled city in Italy) at an elevation of 600 meters (2,000 ft) that embraces a view of the whole of the Valdichiana. Cortona has many myths and legends regarding the founding of the city including being founded by Crano, Noah's son 273 years after the great flood. That obviously could not be true but what we do know is that the walls were built in the 4th century BC. Throughout the town's history it has been ruled by Romans, became a city state in the 13th century, was bought and ruled by the Medici family from the 15th to 18th centuries, and then became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
The entire city inside the walls is designated as ZTL, meaning you have to park outside the walls and walk in. Getting to the main courtyard is a long steep walk from outside the walls. Once in the courtyard you are greeted by medieval era buildings occupied by shops, restaurants, and apartments.
We did some shopping and exploring the town. Lynn met a new friend who owns a jewelry store there. Isabella is also an actress and has been in a few movies!
For lunch we stopped in at Cafe Degli Artisti. There was a slight language gap but we were able to work through it. Now this was an authentic Italian meal!
We spent the rest of the day walking the town, shopping, drinking (there are cafes/bars everywhere), and exploring. There are churches everywhere, but this one in particular drew us all in. Chiesa di San Domenico, at the east end of town was built in 1438 which is considered new relative to the history of the town.
We had reservations for dinner at La Logetta which overlooks the main square in Cortona. This is highly rated restaurant and is popular with locals as well as tourists. We all had excellent meals and the service was impeccable. I was really starting to get into the Italian way of dining. Multiple courses over multiple hours with plenty of wine. Yes, please!
Perfect ending to a wonderful day!
Day 4 Monday, April 22 - eBike Wine Tasting Tour
The next day would be an eBike wine tasting tour that Jen had put together for us with EpicBike.it. None of us were sure of what to expect as we had never ridden eBikes before but we were looking forward to the experience. Waking up to 33 degrees and off and on rain was NOT what we planned - but we bundled up and soldiered on!
Our start point was Azienda Agraria Poggio Sorbello, which is a small family owned vineyard and winery that produces Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as olive oil. You can learn more about it here: poggiosorbello.it/it/ It is located about 30 kilometers from the villa so we had a scenic drive getting there. There were 6 of us on this tour as Mike and Michelle had opted out.
We arrived, met our guide, and got suited up. We were ready to ride by 9:00 am. It wasn't raining when we left so we were hopeful!
So we rode in the other direction for a while before turning into La Braccesca. Brent had fallen a little behind and totally missed the turn. Once we stopped we could see him going on down the road trying to catch up not knowing that he had already passed us. Our guide chuckled about losing one and then took off to go get him. It had started to rain a little so we went on inside to enjoy some wine. Since this was not a scheduled stop the winery was not expecting us, but our guide is friends with staff and was able to arrange for us to be accommodated. Even met two sisters seated at the table next to us from Australia who were traveling for 4 weeks together!
We got inside just in time. Just as we settled in to sample some wine and cheese, the skies opened up!
La Braccesca vineyard has been producing wine for over 1300 years and has been owned by the Antinori family since the early 1900s. The Antinori family has been making wine for over 600 years and own over 20 wine estates. It is unique in the sense that geographically is straddles the border of two wine areas, Cortona and Montepulciano, as you can see in the picture below. The different regions meet at the bottom of the hill about halfway up the drive to the vineyards. This allows them to specialize in both the Nobile di Montepulciano and the Syrah of Cortona wine traditions. Each area has its own processes and wine varieties. You can learn more about this vineyard here: antinori.it/it/tenuta/tenute-italia/la-braccesca/ .
The wine and cheese pairings were excellent. We had a fantastic time learning about the winery and waiting out the rain.
Eventually the rain let up and we regrouped to head back out to ride. We really enjoyed the scenery along the way.
Our guides and co-owners of EpicBike, Valentine and Marco:
We left Poggio Sorbello around 3:00 pm and decided to drive down to Castiglione del Lago, which is a walled city on the shores of Lake Trasimeno in the Province of Perugia. The town dates back to the 2nd century BC and has been ruled by Romans and the Papal State of Pope Julius III under the Baglioni family.
We had a great time exploring the city on foot. The castle / museum was closed when we were there, but we got a good view from the outside. It did not take long for Josh and I to find a cold beer. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy!
This is one of 3 churches within the old part of the city:
After exploring Castiglione del Lago we headed back to Cortona with the intent of meeting up with Mike & Michelle, doing a little shopping, and getting dinner. Monday is typically a day for local restaurants to be closed, but we did find a local restaurant open - B&B Dolce Maria. Mike (a second generation immigrant from Italy) in particular enjoyed this restaurant as it reminded him of Sunday dinners of leisurely eating and story telling for hours around the family table.
We got back to the villa a little after 10:00 pm that night. From the bike rides & exploring Castiglione del Lago, to dinner in Cortona, it was a day packed with fun and adventure! Tuesday we would ride the train into Florence for a museum and cathedral tour.
Day 5 Tuesday, April 23 - Florence: Accademia, Brunelleschi's Dome, and Cathedral Tour
This was my contribution for the group. I booked this tour for the 8 of us along with train tickets to Florence. I used GetYourGuide.com for the tour. There is a companion app for your phone that tracks all of your bookings, tickets, and itinerary. Excellent experience. I used ItaliaRail.com to purchase the train tickets. There is no app that supports United States based phones, but the website is easy to navigate and very efficient.
We would be catching the 9:15 am train to Florence (Camuccia-Cortona to Firenze Santa Maria Novella). We would arrive in Florence around 11:00 am and our tour meet time was 2:00 pm. This would give us plenty of time to get some lunch and to do a little scouting. Our tour would meet at Piazza San Marco and include the Accademia Gallery, Michelangelo's Statue of David, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, and Brunelleschi's Dome. About 3 hours in all.
We left the villa about 8:00 am to arrive at the station at 8:30. This would be my first experience with the Italian rail system. Lynn had been to Italy before so she was familiar with the train system. It is very efficient and can get you to just about any city in the country, and is the mode of transportation most tourists use. The train was on time and left promptly at 9:15 am. The train was clean, modern, and comfortable. I was impressed. We arrived in Florence just before 11:00 am. Firenze Santa Maria Novella station is in the heart of the old city and just about everything we were going to do is walkable from there.
The conductor comes through checking tickets after the train has left the station. Diego was very polite and had spent some time in the States so he spoke fluent English and we enjoyed a great conversation with him. He was very apologetic when he had to inform me that I had not checked us in. When you get e-tickets online you have to check in on the website before boarding the train. This ensures that you cannot use the tickets multiple times. I had read this but totally forgot about it in our rush to get going. Since we did not check in, he would scan our tickets and there would be an additional €5 fine for each person. Ouch. Not bad, though, considering the fine had just been lowered from €60! I imagine that they had so many "stupid Americans" (like us) threatening all kinds of ugly things in loud voices when told they owed a fine 6x what the ticket costs that they backed it down to avoid the hassle. The train system is very big on fines and gaining revenue anyway they can outside of actual ticket sales so just keep that in mind. More on that later.
From there we walked through the old part of the city taking in the sites and shopping along the way. We made our way over to Ponte Vecchio, which is a medieval era pedestrian bridge lined with shops and cafes.
At this point it was around 1:00 pm so we decided to stop into one of these cafes for some wine (and restroom break) before going to the tour meeting point. We ducked into the first cafe we found right at the end of Ponte Vecchio. Josh was seated first and promptly ordered 2 bottles of the "house red" wine for the 8 of us. Now this is common as the wine everywhere is good and inexpensive. I think we had not paid more that €20 for restaurant wine the whole time being there so far. The waiter/owner was very nice and brought us out some rum cakes to go with the wine also. When it was time to leave to get to the tour, for efficiency sake, I said I would get this one and went up to pay the bill. Just 2 bottles of wine, couldn't be much, right? Ouch! The bill was €232 for 2 bottles and what we thought were complimentary rum cakes. We had been there for only 20 minutes. I turned to Josh and said "what the hell kind of wine did you order?" He replied "the house red, why?" I showed him the bill and we both chuckled and acknowledged we had been victims of the typical tourist trap scenario you need to watch out for. Fortunately the other folks agreed we should split it 4 ways to lessen the burden and the embarrassment of being scammed. We chalked it up to lessons learned and moved on. I looked the wine up after we got home and you can get it in the States for about $50 so it is not a cheap house wine but even so, it wasn't our best purchase!
There is a lot to see between where we were and where the meeting point was and it was crowded. Needless to say we were not making good time. I went on ahead to meet the guide and make sure she did not leave without us. Doubtful that would happen since the 8 of us were the majority of our tour group, but we wanted to make sure. I got to Piazza San Marco a little after 2:00 pm, which was our designated time to meet, with the tour to start at 2:30 pm. I assured our guide that the rest of the crew was on the way. Amy had "herded them" along to get there, and we were all assembled by 2:15. She is a teacher and she said she would rather have a group 15 school kids over 6 adults any day. "It's like herding cats" she said!
So, time for the main event! We were looking forward to seeing all of the art and the architecture. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and her English was excellent. Our entrance into Accademia Gallery was delayed so she took us over to learn about the architecture of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The colors that appear to be painted are actually different colors of stone used in the exterior surfaces. The construction of this Cathedral was begun in 1296 and completed in 1436, replacing the original Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze that was consecrated in 393 and was in disrepair and crumbling. The dome was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and was the last part of the Cathedral to be completed. Due to the complexity of constructing such a large dome, no one was able to undertake the challenge so it remained open to the air for 120 years. The Dome itself took 16 years to complete.
After that, into the Accademia Gallery:
The Statue of David was originally designed to be installed atop the Cathedral and viewed from afar and below, hence the disproportionate hands and feet.
And from there into the Dome:
Views of Florence from the top:
And the descent back down:
The frescos in the dome were stunning! Painted by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari between 1572 and 1579. It is the largest painted surface in fresco in the world. These frescoes depict scenes of the Last Judgement. The 8 stained glass windows were made between 1434 and 1445 by the great glass artists of the Florentine Renaissance (Donatello, Ghiberti, Andrea del Castagno and Paolo Uccello) and depict stories of Mary & Christ.
After the tour we went back to Mercato Centrale. There is a restaurant upstairs that was giving samples of steak earlier and it was so good we decided to go there for dinner and get the full experience. It was fantastic and let's just say that if you do not eat meat, this is not the place for you...
We had not purchased return train tickets since we did not know when we would be going back or if we would all be going on the same train. During dinner Mike took the lead on getting us tickets back on the 8:15 pm train. Thanks, Mike! After dinner we made the short walk back to the station and were able to board right away. Most of the train cars were really full, so we just kept going forward through cars until we found empty seats together.
All was good until the conductor came by to scan our eTickets. He wasn't as pleasant as Diego and informed us we were in the first class car although we had purchased 2nd class tickets. Well, Ok. We didn't want to move so we just paid the difference and stayed right there. Not much difference between 1st and 2nd class seats except a small tray at your seat!
We got back to the villa around 10:00 pm. The history of Florence is a bit overwhelming when you think of some of the landmarks and how long they have been there. Beautiful! I have much more of an appreciation of the history after that tour. On to the next adventure!
Day 6 Wednesday, April 24 - Wine Tour
For Wednesday, Amy had arranged a wine tour. This would be much more comprehensive than the eBike wine tasting tour because we would, well, not be riding eBikes. We would have a private driver and that would allow us to just sit back and enjoy the ride!
Our driver, Lucca, arrived at the villa about 9:45 am and we were on the road by 10:00 am. The scenery along the way to our first stop was fantastic.
Our first stop was Villa S. Anna in Montepulciano. It is owned by Simona Fabroni and her two daughters, Anna and Margherita, making it a woman owned operation which is unusual for the area. The family has been making wine for 200 years and Simona is carrying on that tradition. You can learn more about this winery here: villasantanna.it/
I would venture to say that this was Lynn's favorite winery of our entire trip. I say this for many reasons, not the least of which was being greeted by what looked to be hundred year old Wisteria vines as soon as we got out of the car.
We of course visited the cellars before entering the tasting room.
On to the tasting!
We were fortunate enough to have Simona Fabroni herself hosting our tasting with assistance from one of her daughters. Lynn had an immediate connection and deep respect for this woman. Another reason this is her favorite.
Our first wine would be the Chianti Colli Senesi. She explained that she is not a fan of white wine so she wanted to cultivate a red wine that was delicate enough to pair with fish, white meat, and cheeses. Like white wines, this one is served cold.
Next up was the Rosso di Montepulciano. Good to be paired with first and second courses.
Then we had the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Good with red meats, game and seasoned cheeses.
The last offering was the Poldo Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. This is the heaviest of the reds and for me, the best. Good paired with red meats, venison, or as a meditation wine.
We had been told that they also have a Vin Santo that is a minimum of 10 years aged and can be kept much longer. It is made in very limited quantities. This is definitely a dessert wine or meditation wine. Simona would recommend no food with this wine but rather enjoy it alone to enjoy the unique and deep flavor. You know that Lynn has never been shy and asked Simona if we could sample that one. Simona graciously agreed.
This wine literally brought Lynn to tears. Her immediate connection to Simona, respect for what she has accomplished, the story behind this Vin Santo and then the tasting of it really moved her.
~2.jpg)
Needless to say we bought some of the Vin Santo for her and some of the Poldo for me and had it shipped home. What a special moment and experience that was.
Now it was time to be off to our next stop, which would be Talosa in the town of Montepulciano. This winery is unique in the sense that it ages its wine in cellars that are underneath the town. These cellars are historical as they have been used for many things including a chapel and bunker during war times. Here we would also be served lunch.
A much "younger" winery, the wines we tasted here were good, but not to the point that we were motivated to have some shipped home. The lunch was really good as well. Unfortunately our host / guide here had a heavy accent and with the room being large with echoing properties, we missed a lot of the details on each wine.
All of the wines here are designated as Nobile de Montepulciano and as far as I can remember we tasted a Rosso, Alboreto, Filai Lunghi, and Reserva. Of course, I reserve the right to be totally wrong on that. You can learn more about this winery here: talosa.it/historical-cellar-montepulciano/
Our next and final stop would be, ironically, La Braccesca. This is the winery that we ducked into spontaneously to avoid rain on our eBike tour. We only got a small sample of wine and no tour then so we were looking forward to learning more about this winery. I will post the link here again in case you want to check it out yourself: antinori.it/it/tenuta/tenute-italia/la-braccesca/
The grounds here are beautiful and seeing it in good weather really enhanced the experience. We tasted 4 wines here and were given a tour of the cellars. As mentioned before, this winery has been producing for 1300 years even though the current owner only acquired it in the early 1900s. The Antinori family that owns it have been producing wine for over 600 years.
.heic)
These wines were all very good, but we did not purchase any to send home. With the wine tour ending, we would be able to enjoy the ride back to the villa and enjoy the evening. Our driver was gracious enough to stop by the market for us to pick up items we would need for the rest of the evening.
We got back to the villa around 6:30 pm. This is where you might expect me to say we had a chill evening in the villa and retired early for the night. Yeah, no. Not with this crowd. We get together often and there is usually some drinking and cards or games and definitely some shenanigans in the neighborhood. Why should this location be any different? No photos in order to protect the innocent. Enough said! On to the next adventure.
Day 7 Thursday, April 25 - More of Cortona and a Private Chef
For Thursday, Amy had arranged for a private chef to come to the villa and offer an authentic local Italian cuisine experience (THANK YOU Amy). This meant that during the day on Thursday we all were left to our own preferences as long as we were back at the villa in time for dinner. We all had interest in visiting a cemetery just outside of the walled city of Cortona and spending more time in old Cortona shopping, eating, and drinking because that is, well, what we do.
Lynn and I partnered with Brent and Amy for the car ride into Cortona. With 8 of us 2 cars is the minimum when driving into town. The scenery on the road from the villa to Cortona is really awesome. It is similar to the North Carolina mountains both visually and geographically as the latitude is almost the same. Of course, we don't have the villas by the road in the NC mountains...
Our first stop of the day was the local cemetery just outside of Cortona, Cimitero di Cortona. Seeing family plots that were hundreds of years old was so intriguing to us. What were their lives like in this beautiful old city??
From there we went into the old town of Cortona and spent the afternoon shopping, eating, and drinking. Shocking, I know, but this is what we do.
We found a craft brewery, which is unusual within the walled cities. We ordered beer (which was very good), wine and some appetizers. At the end of our stay at this bar Mike an Michelle had some wine left over as they had ordered a bottle. Mike asked if he could get a "take away" cup for the leftover wine and the owner poured the remainder of the bottle into a glass. Wait, what? No plastic? Mike emphasized the point, "I can take this with me?" "Of course" she said. "We don't like plastic". I can't imagine that happening at home.
Cortona Craft Brewery:
We arrived back at the villa just in time for chef Claudia and sous chef Maritsa to get started! We were looking forward to a local cuisine experience and a relaxing evening.
We had purchased some wine for the occasion...
Claudia and Maritsa at work:
As the meal was being prepared we stepped outside to enjoy what was shaping up to be a spectacular sunset.
The typical Italian meal consists of 5 courses with an aperitivo, or before dinner drink, at the beginning and a digestivo, or after dinner drink, at the end. Our aperitivo was wine we were enjoying while the cooking was being done.
First to be served was the antipasto, or appetizer. This was bread baked with a local Italian sausage and cheeses, accompanied by bread with olive oil and a sprig of rosemary. This rosemary was growing wild on the grounds of the villa. It was delicious!
Next was the primo, or first course. This was homemade pasta with a light tomato sauce.
Then the secondo, or second course, which is considered the main course. We had a choice between a beef dish, or a chicken dish. Lynn and I got one of each so we could share and taste both dishes.
After the main course comes dolce, or dessert. This was home made tiramisu. I had never been a fan of tiramisu until I tried this one. I suppose I never had the real thing before!
After dessert comes the digestivo, which for us was Limoncello. What a fabulous meal! As Lynn would say, "I could get used to this"! Many thanks to Amy for arranging this and to Claudia and Maritsa for the experience.
And another wonderful day comes to an end.
Day 8 Friday, April 26 - Olive Oil Press and surprise waterfall
The plan for Friday was to travel to the town of Sarteano where we would have an olive oil press tour and tasting. We rode with Brent and Amy so thanks to Brent for driving that day! Mike and Michelle were headed off that morning to visit another small town before their Saturday flight home, so it would be 6 of us for the morning. Josh and Jen were leaving that afternoon for Rome.
As per usual the scenery along the way was beautiful. Lynn was fascinated by the tropical flowers and even made us turn around in places so she could snap some photos of beautiful gardens!
We arrived at the olive oil producer, Frantoio Tistarelli, a little before 11:00 am. Not only do they produce olive oil, but they also have a comprehensive wine shop offering a lot of local wines, cheeses, honey, jams, and cured meats. Our kind of place! You can learn more about it here: tistarelli.it/en/index.html
We were given a comprehensive tour and were taught all about the process from the harvesting of olives in the fall all the way through to bottling the final product. I never really knew what "extra virgin" referred to. We learned that this means the olives were in the press less than 24 hours from being harvested. There are very strict rules about what can and cannot be labeled as extra virgin. Not the case in the US. Here we have oils labeled as extra virgin that in reality are not.
After touring the press it was on to the tasting. Olive oils - like wine - have specific properties and are to be paired with certain types of dishes and have specific uses. We also sampled some of the local wines and had different appetizers for each tasting.
After the olive oil tasting, we headed out to explore the town of Sarteano. There was a fellow trying to get his utility cart started. This is a cross between a 3 wheel motorcycle and delivery truck with a small 2 stroke motor. He needed a bump start so we gave him a hand...
Sarteano is located in the Province of Siena within the Region of Tuscany. This area has been inhabited for thousands of years and has a rich history.
We set off to visit the castle, which dates back to 1038. Like almost every walled city we visit, this one was once owned and occupied by the Medici family in the 16th century. That family owned just about everything for 3 centuries.
It was a short scenic walk to get to the castle. It even had a working moat!
We had been told that there was a waterfall close by and had seen a photo of it at the olive oil mill. We had some pretty poor directions but set out to find it anyway.
On our first attempt the GPS took us down a road that got more narrow and wooded the further we went. We turned around for fear of getting stuck. That was not the right way for sure!
Then we saw this. Looks like we were on the right track after all...
A fellow on the grounds pointed us in the right direction with directions that were basically "go down there a bit and then turn right". Ok. Long story short, we walked in circles a bit but eventually did find it. As it turns out, we could have driven right up to it. It is on a creek that runs through an olive grove and there is a dirt road right beside it.
Anyway, it was definitely worth the trouble.
That night back in Cortona it was just the two of us and Brent and Amy. We had dinner reservations at Trattoria Dardano in the old part of the city. We had been trying to get reservations there all week and finally got them for the 4 of us! It was traditional local Italian cuisine and was excellent! Of course we ran into the sisters from Australia again - great minds think alike! :)
This would be our last night in the villa as we would have to check out in the morning. Brent and Amy would be headed home and Lynn and myself would be heading north to Cinque Terre.
Day 9 Saturday, April 27 - Vernazza in Cinque Terre
The next morning we packed up and said our goodbyes to Brent and Amy. What a wonderful week it had been! Amy & Brent had been to Sicily and Capri in the south of Italy and we were off to the north for our next adventure! Our day would consist of traveling into Cinque Terre (5 terraces) where we would be staying at an Airbnb in the town of Vernazza for 2 nights.
Cinque Terre is a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline of the Ligurian Sea. In each of the 5 towns, colorful houses and vineyards cling to steep terraces, harbors are filled with fishing boats and trattorias turn out seafood specialties along with the Liguria region’s famous sauce, pesto. The Sentiero Azzurro cliffside hiking trail links the villages and offers sweeping sea vistas.
I had done quite a bit of planning for this leg of the journey and it turns out I got some things right and some things wrong. The first order of business was parking. This I got right. I knew before hand that there would be no parking in the town of Vernazza. Driving into Vernazza is not recommended and there is no guaranteed parking available. We would be parking in La Spezia and taking the train into Vernazza. In searching, I also found that the parking website I used for Rome, Parkimeter.com, offered no parking in La Spezia. There is parking available at the train station in an underground garage but you can't be guaranteed that a space will be available. I found another resource for parking called PrivateParking. You can find them here: book.octorate.com/octobook/site/reservation/description.xhtml?codice=16657. This company leases spaces in private garages and in this case it is a hotel garage located just around the corner from the train station in La Spezia. I booked a space for 3 days. I was not sure what time we would get back and since you have be out of your spot by 10:00 am, I booked the extra day so we wouldn't have to worry about it.
We were packed up, on the road, and pointed toward La Spezia by 8:30 am.
Some final views along the road between the villa and Cortona:
It would be about a 3.5 hour drive to La Spezia. Since we got an early start we were in no hurry and took time to enjoy things along the way.
This monument in Castiglion Fiorentino is a tribute to Francesco Meoni. He was born here and was considered one of the greatest rally champions of all time. He won the Paris/Dakar in 2001 and again in 2002. Tragically he died at the age of 47 in a crash in the 2005 Paris/Dakar during the 11th stage near Kiffa, Mauritania.
Never ones to fight spontaneity, we spotted a walled city on our way. Lynn looked it up and we decided to stop since it was getting close to lunch time anyway. San Miniato, a town in the Province of Pisa, dates back to the 8th century. So much history in this beautiful little town if that sort of stuff interests you. In current times it is known for the rare white truffle that can be harvested in and around the city. A white truffle festival is hosted here every year in November.
.jpeg)
Caffe Bistrot Bonaparte was a wonderful cafe in the town square. The food was amazing, but no one is in a huge hurry in Italy, and the cook took frequent breaks from the kitchen to check on her husband and granddaughter who had come in to visit her while she worked!
The drive to La Spezia was equally stunning with views of the Apennines - one of the Italian Alps mountain ranges.
We arrived in La Spezia around 3:00 pm and were able to catch the next train to Vernazza. Our Airbnb in Vernazza is on the Blue Trail - which is a hiking trail running between all 5 towns in Cinque Terre. The views and proximity to the main part of town in Vernazza without being in the middle of everything was what drew me in to this villa and why I booked it. Secluded and quiet. So I got that right!!
Now here is where I need to talk about what I got wrong. The details on Airbnb described this villa as being 500m from the train station in Vernazza. That's roughly .3 miles. We walk those types of distances all the time. It was also described as a lot of steps up the hill to get to the villa. I looked at maps and Google Earth photos. Looked pretty straight forward. The description also stated that porter service from the station could be arranged but may not be reliable at this time of year. No worries - we could carry our luggage.
500m is about 1500 steps. In reality this was 1500 actual steps, meaning every step was a stair step up the cliff. Whew!! What is normally a 15 minute walk took us about an hour. Lynn was biting her lip because she knew I had already stated we should leave the luggage and consolidate what we need for 2 nights into the backpack. She and I both underestimated this one. At one point about halfway up, I told Lynn to take my backpack (which was heavy enough), and head on up to find "the green door, address 1961, with a Madonna on it", and I would follow with both of our suitcases. About 30 minutes later I arrived at "the door", but Lynn was no where to be seen. Calling her I realized that she kept walking (only a mile ahead!!) because as she replied on the phone "THAT DOOR IS BLUE AND THERE IS NO 1961 AND THERE IS A MADONNA ON EVERY DOOR"!!! I waited the extra 15 minutes for her to walk back to me and we proceeded through "the door" with still about 150 steeps steps straight up the mountain to the villa!! You be the judge...........
That story will live on in infamy!!!
This might give you a little perspective...
Ok, enough on that. We hauled our luggage up and made it to the villa. The walk up had breath taking views and the villa exceeded our expectations. First order of business after checking in was opening a bottle of wine and commissioning a porter for the return trip!
After getting settled in and enjoying some wine, it was time to seek out dinner. There is a restaurant on the Blue Trail about halfway between the villa and the main part of Vernazza called Ristorante La Torre. We passed it on the way and the views looked sensational as it is above the city on the cliff face. Our Airbnb host, Marco, also recommended it so we were all in.
Umm... we took wine with us for the walk down (and the door is STILL blue)! :)
The weather was perfect that evening and our view from our table was stunning ...
The meal was excellent and we met some folks from the US in the restaurant. Seems to be a lot of Americans over here!
Now THAT is some delicious tiramisu.......
The view from trail as we started our way back up to the villa...
What a wonderful day! Luggage and steps aside (we logged 22k steps that day and the number didn't do them justice) - we really hit a home run with our choice of a place to stay for 2 nights. The veranda overlooks the town and the ocean and the gardens were impressive. Lemon trees and all kinds of other stuff that Lynn was excited about (insert Lynn's commentary here - if you are seeing this it means she never added her comments 😂!). Marco is a retired attorney in Italy and his comment to Lynn was "I was just done with being a lawyer - I just want to tend to my flowers". Man did this hit home with Lynn, who equally loves gardening and had recently retired from a career with law firms! (I was having "garden envy" as I watched Marco stroll around his property both mornings and evenings as I'm still trying to wrap my head around how they can grow cool/wet weather flowers like irises & geraniums, as well as tropical things like cactus & bougainvillea! Lynn)
We were anxious to see what awaited us in Vernazza the next day. With no schedule, we were open to see where the day led us.
Day 10 Sunday April 28 - Vernazza
The next morning, breakfast was served on the lower level that also had a veranda although we opted for indoors. Our host, Angela, was very gracious and an excellent cook as well. She made sure I had my "Cafe Americano" instead of the usual espresso. Truth be told I have espresso at home a lot but the fact that she wanted the American to have a big hot cup of coffee was thoughtful.
Our host on the job...
After breakfast we headed down into the town of Vernazza. It really is only a 15 minute walk if you are not hauling luggage up hill!
Vernazza was first fortified in the 11th century and the castle is the prominent structure overlooking the Ligurian Sea. As late as the 19th century the economy was revitalized with re-entry into wine production and the creation of new terraced hillsides for the cultivation of grapes. It is mainly known for white wines due to the climate and type of grapes that thrive here.
We spent most of the morning shopping, looking at the historical sites, drinking, and eating. As mentioned before, this is what we do.
We visited the castle and climbed the tower. The views were fantastic and on the way we passed a restaurant within the castle walls, Ristorante Belforte. That looked like it was right up our alley with outdoor ocean view seating, so we made reservations for dinner that night.
Amazing that we were overlooking residential "backyards" from atop the castle.
In this picture the red circle in the upper right is showing where the overlook sitting area on the Airbnb property is.
.jpg)
We had lunch at Ananasso on the recommendation of our host. The pizza was awesome and one of the things we love most about European travel is all of the outdoor seating. After lunch we decided to take an impromptu boat tour over to Monterosso. You can buy tickets and leave from the dock right there almost on demand. The woman working the stand for the boat tours made it a point to set us up with her favorite captain, her father.
Laura and her father, Vincenzo.
We had great weather for a boat outing! Vincenzo's boat was beautiful. I am a boating fan myself so obviously I had questions about his vessel. There was a bit of a language barrier but from what I understood the boat was over 40 years old, maybe 30', and was powered by what we Americans would consider a very small 4 cylinder inboard diesel. Vincenzo shared that he is a 5th generation boat captain! This vessel was perfect for what it was intended to do and he was an excellent captain.
"If these walls could talk" came to mind as we headed into Monterosso as Vincenzo pointed out the WWII bunker on the cliff bank.
After spending the rest of the afternoon in town we headed up to Ristorante Belforte for dinner. I was looking forward to some authentic seafood and the views that this restaurant offers would make dining a pleasure. We were not disappointed!
This meal was a great ending to an equally great day. We really needed a day with no agenda and spending time in Vernazza is a fantastic way to do just that. We highly recommend Vernazza to anyone thinking of visiting Cinque Terre. At this point we were ready for our next adventure. The following day would be in Florence.
Day 11 Monday, April 29 - Florence
The next morning we begrudgingly said farewell to Marco and Angela. We could have happily stayed here longer, but we had other places to see. We highly recommend this place if you ever want to stay in Vernazza. It can be found on Airbnb and is listed as L' Eremo B&B (but also highly recommend packing as light as possible if you go or take them up on the porter)!
The plan was to meet the porter at the train station to get our luggage so we leisurely walked down the Blue Trail enjoying the views on our way. The porter was waiting for us with our luggage so that worked out well! On to La Spezia to get our car.
Still blue (but I digress)............ :)
Train travel is always an adventure for Lynn (who will talk to anyone), and this was no exception. We had a lovely chat with 4 ladies from Michigan on our way. After arriving in La Spezia, we picked up the car and were on the road by 10:00 am. Our route to Florence would include a stop in Pisa, because well, you have to see the leaning tower of Pisa if you are anywhere near the area.
~2.jpg)
Ok so we checked that box. Not a place you want to spend much time in unless you really like hanging out in crowds, (and this was April! Can't imagine how crowded it gets in the summer months). We stopped in at Ristoro La Bottega del Parco for lunch before heading out for Florence. An open air restaurant that is popular with the local business crowd was pretty cool. The service was what we would consider slow, but the food more than made up for that.
From there it was on to Florence. We had reservations at Hotel Balestri, which is located on the Arno River waterfront in the historic district. It is also located within a ZTL zone but when I made reservations I was told that there is paid parking available and that this would not be an issue.
We arrived in Florence around 2:30 pm. As we got within a block of the hotel, the ZTL sign was lit up red and closed. I took a leap of faith and turned right on in there anyway. At the hotel I could not see any clearly marked spots designated for guests checking in, so Lynn jumped out and went in to get the details. My plan was to circle the block back while she went in as I could not sit idle in the plaza blocking other traffic (the only vehicles permitted within the ZTL zones were taxis and tour vans). I found myself on one way alleys and driving on pedestrian only areas! I had to wait for people to get out of the way in order to move forward. Whew! Thinking I was going to get hit with some hefty fines or thrown in an Italian jail was NOT making my day, but I was "committed to this course of action", so it was going to be what it was.
When I made my way back around to the hotel, Lynn was waiting and had identified the dedicated spot for check in that was now available. At check in we were told the valet would park the car in their garage and would take care of any issues related to driving in the ZTL zone. Alrighty then! Problem solved.
Hotel Balestri is a little more costly than we would normally pay, but we chose it strictly for the location for our tour the next day. This place was beautiful! We highly recommend it and you can learn more about it here: hotel-balestri.it/utm_source=gbp&utm_medium=organic.
What an incredible view of the Arno River......
We thought the Disney characters were a bit odd, but apparently they are part of the owner's private collection as he is a big fan. His wife, however, apparently is not!!!
Our room had 2 large windows. One overlooking the river and the Ponte alle Grazie and other overlooking Piazza Mentana with a view of Ponte Vecchio. This was perfect for us. The weather was finally warming up, and this is the perfect location for a stroll across the bridge to find a local restaurant, and of course some shopping. Lynn likes to find a special bracelet from a special location when she travels, and she found an estate jewelry store and found a unique piece that will always remind her of our time in Florence.
What we see standing in Via Calimala is a modern copy and a popular tourist attraction. The legend is that you rub the snout with a coin and make a wish, then drop the coin from the mouth of the boar. If the coin falls into the grate, it means your wish will come true. Of course, Lynn had a go at it and her coin drop was successful!
After making some purchases of clothes, jewelry and souvenirs - we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We both had purchased some new clothes and this night was a perfect evening to wear them (AND we were kind of tired of wearing our rain/cold suitable attire)! We had reservations at La Buchetta, which had been recommended to us and was just around the corner from our hotel.
The meal was fabulous, after which we strolled the riverfront and took in some of the night time scenery.
Italian cheesecake with berry torte is very different than in the States (delicious)!
We really packed a lot into this day and we fell in love with Florence all over again. What a great city!
Each day we wondered if anything could top that day, but Italy is so full of beauty and history, that each day rivaled the last and looking back, it is still hard to say which day or city was our favorite.
Day 12 Tuesday, April 30 - Vespa Tour and Wine Tasting
We booked a vespa tour and wine tasting for Tuesday. We enjoyed a breakfast buffet then packed up and checked out. The hotel staff were gracious enough to store our luggage for us and to let us leave the car as long as we needed. I can't say enough good things about this hotel. We love it.
The plan for the day was to meet our tour group in the Piazza Mentana. We would then board a shuttle that would take us to the starting point for the vespa tour. That would be followed by a wine tasting and lunch. After this we would be returned via shuttle back to Piazza Mentana where we would retrieve our luggage and the car. The weather was perfect for this kind of activity so we were excited to get started.
We arrived at the starting point around 9:30 am, after a 30 minute shuttle ride from Florence. There we were fitted with helmets and given the "test" to make sure we were competent to drive these things. Through an oversight on my part, we were booked for 2 up riding on one scooter rather than individual. This is OK as we ride together on the motorcycle all of the time. This was a bit smaller for sure, however!
It was time to hit the road and see the countryside! Ever wonder what it would be like to ride a sewing machine? Yep, this would be it. Very small 2 stroke motor that buzzes. These things are so slow you sometimes feel like you might fall over. I think we hit 40kph once going down hill! Woohoo! Actually these things are a blast and we recommend it if you are feeling adventurous.
I had no idea where we were going. We were just following the guide and enjoying the ride.
Our first stop was in the village of Greve. This was great because we would be back this way that night and this gave us a preview of what to expect. We parked the scooters and went into the square where we could shop and get refreshments. Wine for passengers only, please! No wine for the drivers!
Soon it was time to get back on the road and see more of the countryside.
Our next stop was Chiesa di Mugnana, which is a Catholic Church in the Chianti country side. The views were awesome and this afforded us some time for photos.
Then it was back to the starting point and over to the wine tasting and lunch at Relais Villa Olmo which was right next door. We did not buy any of the wine but the olive oil, however, was excellent! We bought a bottle to bring home. They have no distribution for their olive oil, so the ONLY place you can buy it at this winery. It was interesting to find out that local families with small olive groves who don't have their own press can bring their olive harvest here and use the press to make their own family oils. Our guide, Carlotta, stated that her family does that every year.
After lunch the shuttle van took us back to Piazza Mentana. We relaxed at the hotel bar with an Aperol Hugo before heading out. Our reservations for the night were at Castello Vicchiomaggio in the area of Greve. We had passed the entrance to it on the vespa tour so we kind of knew where we were going and it wasn't a long drive.
We collected our luggage and car and set off. I put the castle in Google maps and just relied on that to get us there. Our first stop along the way was just up the hill on the other side of the river. Piazzale Michelangelo overlooks Florence and has wonderful views of the city. It was so crowded we couldn't park so Lynn got out to get some photos and I just circled around until she was done.
One of the landmarks along the way not far from Piazzale Michelangelo is the Villa del Poggio Imperiale. This villa was originally owned by the Baroncelli of Florence. It was later seized by the Medici and used as a private residence. It was later given to Napoleon's sister. Today it is a prestigious girls' school.
At some point I realized that we were not following the same route that we had taken earlier on the vespa tour. As I mentioned we went right by the entrance to Castello Vicchiomaggio earlier in the day. The road did not look like this! Even though I was following GPS guidance I'm pretty sure we were off the beaten path.
This is about where I realized we were not where we should be... This passage was so narrow I almost scraped the mirrors on both sides.
We kept going as the scenery was beautiful and this is how you see things you would not have found otherwise. On some parts of this route I really had no idea what I would have done if we had met traffic from the opposite direction, however.
This route eventually met back up with the main road that we were familiar with.
Castello Vicchiomaggio, the castle on the hill!
During the Middle Ages, Castello Vicchiomaggio played a crucial role in the defense of Florence during conflicts with Siena, demonstrating the strategic importance of its location. Subsequently transformed into a sumptuous Renaissance villa, the castle reached its peak. It dates back to the 12th century and today is a winery, B&B, and event venue. Learn more about it here: vicchiomaggio.it/
We got checked in and looked around a bit. Our accommodations were excellent. Unfortunately we were there on a Tuesday, and the on site restaurant wasn't open on Tuesdays. We drove into Greve for dinner, where we had the best pizza we have ever had!
After dinner we walked the grounds of the castle a bit. Beautiful at night. It started to rain a bit so we called it a night.
The next day, Wednesday, would see us back to Rome for 2 nights and more adventure!
Day 13 Wednesday, May 1 - Rome
The next morning we took advantage of the breakfast buffet, which we found to be excellent. Took a few more photos and then loaded up for the road back to Rome.
These roses at the end of the vine rows is similar to the canary in the coal mine. In medieval times this was used to alert the growers of any issues with the vines. If anything attacked the vines the roses would be the first thing to show distress. Today it is used as a decorative tradition.
We got on the road heading for Rome about 9:30 am. It would be about a 3 hour drive to our destination in Rome. Once again we were in no hurry.
The weather was off and on rain and quite cool so we weren't really motivated to make a lot of stops. We did see the town of Orte from the highway sitting high on a ridge. It looked interesting so we turned in to check it out.
The area around Orte has been inhabited since the 6th century BC. It wasn't until Roman domination in 283 BC that Orte was made into a municipality and received multiple public works. What a quaint little town!
We had lunch at a little cafe in the main plaza and then continued on to Rome. We got into Rome about 2:30 pm and parked the car in the same garage we had used previously using Parkimeter.com to reserve ahead of time. We had booked an apartment through Airbnb that was on the same block as the parking we had used previously and a short distance from the Colosseum.
Some views from the apartment:
We had made dinner reservations at Naumachia on the recommendation of our Airbnb host. Our plan was to see a little more of ancient Rome both before and after dinner. It was raining on and off and a bit cool so we bundled up and headed out.
Dinner is often followed by a complimentary Limoncello shot......
We enjoyed seeing the Colosseum from our apartment, especially after the rain at night.
The next day, Thursday, would be our last full day in Italy. We would be flying home on Friday. We were looking forward to seeing more of the sites in Rome and we had booked a Vatican tour for the afternoon.
Day 14 Thursday, May 2 - Rome and The Vatican
Our plan for the day was to see some of the sites in ancient Rome on our way to the Vatican. Our tour would include Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, and Saint Peter's Square.
Around 11:30 am the rain started to let up. We had quite a few sites we wanted to see and Vatican City was still a long walk from where we were. Our street vendor umbrellas were not the highest quality to say the least. No worries, we only needed them to last a few hours.
Trevi Fountain:
Lynn ducked into a shop and picked up a ballcap!
The Pantheon:
Chiesa di S. Luigi de Francesi:
Some scenes along the walk to the meet point:
We met up with our tour group around 2:00 pm and got set up with the headsets and met our guide. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and had a passion for Italian art, architecture, and in particular, Michelangelo.
So we set out to enter the Vatican City, only a few blocks away. Although the Vatican City is a country (the smallest in the world), there isn't a passport or customs requirement. There is literally a line in the road. Once you cross that line, you are now in Vatican City.
Despite the torrential downpour earlier, it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. Good thing - since even with a tour group and a time slot, we had to wait in a line to get into the Vatican.
Our first stop within the Vatican was in the entrance to the museums and courtyards. On display was this model of the Vatican City that accurately represents the entire 190 acres of the city. The history that is represented here is overwhelming. Thousands of years of history of the Catholic Church and the power that it wielded throughout Europe and other parts of the world are all contained here in a mere 190 acres. Amazing to see.
From there it was on to the courtyards:
After the courtyards we visited 3 museums. The history is really overwhelming and the depth of the art housed within the Vatican is difficult to comprehend. It is something you really have to experience to appreciate fully.
The Tapestry Hall:
The Sistine Chapel:
Piazza San Pietro and the Basilica di San Pietro:
What a fantastic tour! We really enjoyed the beauty and history. Our guide was so knowledgeable and passionate about every detail. After the Vatican tour we stopped at a streetside cafe for drinks and appetizers, then started making our way back to the colosseum area.
The Spanish Steps:
As this would be our final night in Italy we wanted to have one last authentic dining experience, preferably with sidewalk seating. On our way back from the Vatican we spotted Osteria del Gusto located jus up the hill on Via Rasella. The restaurant looked quaint and the street going up the hill was lined with apartments and window sill gardens. It looked perfect so we stopped in and were seated streetside. The meal was delicious and the service was impeccable. Exactly what were looking for.
From there we walked the remaining way back to our apartment, enjoying the scenery along the way.
Day 15, Friday May 3rd - The Trip Back Home
We wanted to get an early start the next morning. Our flight was at 1:00pm but we were not sure how long it would take us to return the car, get through security, etc. The drive to the airport would be a bout 45 minutes so we got up and out around 8:00am.
Returning the car was a bit more involved than it is in the States as you have to be checked out after a thorough inspection of the vehicle. We were able to return the car and get through security with enough time left for a leisurely lunch prior to boarding the plane.
We arrived home around 5:00pm local time and immediately headed back out to attend a dear friend's retirement party that evening. No rest for the weary!
This was a fantastic trip in every way. So many thanks to our friends for putting up with us at the Villa and for planning such awesome activities. We are so fortunate to be able to travel and to be able to share those experiences with close friends.
If Italy is on your wish list our recommendation is to do it! Such a wonderful country and wonderful people as well.
"TRAVELING - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller."
lbn Batutta
No comments:
Post a Comment