Italia 🇮🇹
- Lauren Coon
- Jun 5, 2016
- 9 min read
We just got back from our 10 day trip to Italy and man am I tired! We started planning our trip in January when we found fairly decently priced tickets ($987 a person) and it was more wonderful than I could have imagined it!
We flew round trip through Milan via Delta, this seemed like the best option for us as we planned on doing somewhat of a loop around Italy and tickets through Milan were significantly cheaper than roundtrip out of any other city or choosing 2 places to fly in and out of. Looking back it would have been ideal to fly into Venice and out of Rome but we were trying to stay in a specific budget so Milan it was. Our trip was as follows:
Milan > Venice > Florence > Positano > Rome > Milan
We flew ATL>>JKF>>MSP which is about 10-11hours of total flight time.
We landed in Milan at 8:35 AM CEST. We took the Malpensa Express to Milano Centrale to catch our express train to the Venice train station Veneza S Lucia.
VENICE:
Once arriving to the train station, you walk out to immediately see beautiful views of the Grand Canal and a million tourists scrambling with their luggage to either board a ferry or take a private water taxi to their hotels. We opted for the private water taxi at 60 Euros since the ferry was 8.50 Euros per person and wouldn't take us directly to our hotel, we also would have had to stand in a very long line and were just plain tired of lugging our bags around at this point.
We found an apartment to stay at in Venice as we were trying to find more 'authentic' places to stay and to avoid big name hotels and doing anything too touristy or Americanized. We found Hotel Palazzo Paruta which offers apartments, 1 or 2 bedroom, at reasonable rates. We checked in at the main hotel and then had a bellman escort us to our own little apartment right off the square. The location was great and it was nice to have a little kitchen with a washing machine and refrigerator. We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment with friends and it was great aside from the very very tiny shower!
(TIP: There is little to no counter space in most everywhere we stayed in Italy. Don't pack fragile makeup or compacts- I learned the hard way)
Once we unpacked we immediately headed to get gelato and explore as much of Venice by foot as possible!
We stayed up as late as possible the first night to try and get ourselves on Italy time and it worked pretty well. We went to dinner around 8pm and were in bed by 11pm. We woke up the next morning around 7am to find some coffee and breakfast and found the best Americano on a roof top terrace here. We learned quickly that the Italians don't really do breakfast and espresso and croissants are what hold them over until about 1pm.
Italians don't tip! When you get your bill the total is what you pay which seems odd not having to figure out 20%. Be careful to look on menus or the front door when picking a place as some restaurants will add a 'cover charge' to your bill. We found this in places that were a little more crowded and considered touristy! Lots will also advertise 'FREE WIFI' and you must just ask for the password!
We walked around Venice to look at shops, we discovered you will find the same 5 shops on every corner: brightly colored purses, glass blown figurines, scarves, gelato and pizza. We eventually stumbled upon St Mark's Campanile bell tower, it's about 8 Euros a person to go to the top. You can book ahead on TripAdvisor or buy when you get there. It took us about 20 minutes in line to get to the elevator to the top so not sure buying a skip the line ticket is worth it.
Next on our bucket list was a gondola ride before dinner. I really wanted to go at sunset and the views were beautiful. It was less crowded than during the day and very relaxing. The gondola rides are anywhere from 80-100 Euros and about 45 minutes. We researched and found that most gondoliers make 90,000 euros a year! CRAZY! You can also book a ride with the ONLY female gondolier in the world! Her site >> here!
We ate at Bistrot de Venise that evening, the food was very good although the GF and Vegetarian options were limited.
FLORENCE:
The next morning we took a train from Veneza S. Lucia to Firenze S. M. Novella.
The trains getting around were so efficient and quick, we were in Florence in a couple hours which would have taken 9 hours by car!
When we arrived in Florence it was rainy and chilly which I wasn't anticipating so I was happy I had packed one pair of jeans and one jacket!
We stayed at the Continentale hotel which had a great location and was very nice!
When we got in we were on a mission to find their famous sandwiches and some GF pizza. We found a place called Starbene. They had amazing pizza, sandwiches and baked goods and I was in heaven!
Afterwards we toured the Uffizi Gallery and walked around the square in Florence looking at all the interesting fountains, churches and monuments.
I am not big into art and really have more of an appreciation for older architecture or natural wonders so this was not my forte. My tip here would be to research ahead of time the pieces you MUST see and skip the rest.
There are over 45 exhibit halls and the crowds are abundant. I wanted to see the Leonardo but it was at the VERY end and after 3 hours of walking around, I was exhausted. I also dressed warm thinking there would be AC blasting, however, they keep the museum pretty warm for the paintings so dress modest but for higher temps.
AMALFI COAST
We only stayed one night in Florence as we added it to our trip itinerary towards the end. So in the morning we took a train from Firenze S. M. Novella to Napoli Centrale and then had a driver from Naples to Positano. We had been warned that the roads were crazy to drive on and decided against trying it on our own. I highly recommend a driver between navigating the roads, avoiding the tour buses and not getting car sick.... DIY might be a nightmare!
We stayed at La Casa Di Peppe in the London Suite, which was amazing and probably my favorite part of our trip! The owner of the hotel, Peppe, was so accommodating and nice and made sure we had everything we needed from restaurant reservations to private drivers. The property is immaculate and only 12 guests are allowed to stay at any given time so its very private. It is about 400 steps down to their private beach, but there are some great beachy restaurants and spectacular views to be seen. Getting UP those steps will work off all that pasta! :)
Our first night in Positano we had reservations at La Sponda for Heather's 40th Birthday and it didn't disappoint. The wait staff was amazingly attentive and helpful and the restaurant was all candlelit with ivy adorning the walls... beautiful ambiance!
We had a true Italian 4 course meal so we were in the restaurant from 9pm until midnight! Not sure if Island time or Italian time is slower! :)
I am more of a cheap cuisine kinda girl but if I have to get all fancy, this was the place to do it!
CAPRI:
The next morning we took a private boat to the Isle of Capri with Gianni's Boat Tours on a SuperGrozzo. If I said the trip was perfect I'd be lying because I got extremely sea sick on the ride out to Capri as the waves were very choppy. (take 2-4 dramamine for real) Once hitting land it was all good from then on! We met at the dock at 10am to be picked up and got dropped off at the bottom of the island with the morning and early afternoon to explore.
Our view from lunch was beautiful and there really isn't a bad view from anywhere on the island. You can see the Faraglioni rocks in the background. According to our guide they are now famous due to a Dolce & Gabbana ad!
After lunch we took a 'taxi' to drive us to the top of Anacapri so we could shop, explore and take a chairlift to the very top of the island.
This is what their taxis look like:
The long convertible cars have no top but a tarp over them so you can get amazing views, the open air and no sunburn! One thing I noticed everywhere we went in Italy was that all of the drivers, boat or car, were very knowledgeable of their areas and had wonderful suggestions on what to do and where to eat... you just have to ask!
When we got to Anacapri we took a 12 Euro chair lift to the top for some great views and pictures.
TIP: Bring coins with you. In Capri and other touristy areas you may be charged .50 euros to use the restroom or be required to buy something in a shop. They do not take credit cards and do not care how much you have to pee. :(
After touring the island, our boat driver picked us up and took us around to all of the Grottos.. the water was freezing but amazing! The Blue Grotto was closed due to the choppy water but we managed to see the white grotto, green grotto, a grotto cave and the octopus grotto.
That evening we checked out a place recommended by a friend and the owner of our hotel, Il Fornilla, which is a local pizza place that has great GF pizza! The restaurant is very good, very laid back and has wonderful views!
Doing the "Path of the Gods" was one of the things I was most looking forward to during our Italy trip.
The Sentiero degli Dei starts in Agerola and ends in Nocelle which is just steps from Positano. The entire hike has spectacular views and is not very strenuous so it's perfect for beginners to avid hikers. If you take the path from Agerola to Nocele you avoid doing the route uphill. If you start in Nocele there are 1700 steps to start out your hike. (Yikes!)
After hiking all day we decided to get cleaned up and take some pictures at sunset since it was our last night in Positano. Then we went to dinner at Chez Black which is on the beach, has amazing views, food and millions of pictures on the wall of all the celebs that have eaten there.
ROME:
Our driver, Joseph, picked us up at 9am on Thursday morning to take us to Rome. We decided on a driver since we would have had to use a driver to the Naples station and then taken a train and another driver or taxi from the station to get to our hotel, so one driver seemed like a more direct and easy option. Joseph was recommended to us by Heather's family who had used him numerous times in Italy. He was also highly rated on TripAdvisor.
Joseph dropped us off at our hotel, The Orange Hotel, and planned to pick us up the next morning for a full tour of Rome. He gave us some suggestions on where to eat and what to check out that evening and so we ended up at The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo and the Vatican. We also found an entirely gluten free (also some dairy free) restaurant called Mama Frites that had pizza, donuts and calzones... it was amazing!
The next morning Joseph picked us up with Tina, a licensed tour guide who took us on a full tour of Vatican City and the Colosseum. Her knowledge and enthusiasm was wonderful and made everything more interesting. We would have been lost without her knowledge and honestly we would have wandered around looking at old stuff with no context all afternoon which wouldn't have been nearly as fun!
After touring Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel, the Roman Colosseum and the Roman Forum, we stopped off at the Trevi Fountain where I managed to MISS when throwing a coin in! Hopefully this isn't too much bad luck! ;) I tried again and thankfully made it... I hope to return to Rome and Italy someday!
After a long day of touring the city, Joseph dropped us at the Roma Termini station to catch our train to Milan to fly out the next morning. We stayed at a little hotel called Antica Locanda Leonardo which was 600 meters from the Malpensa Express train station that we took the next morning to Malpensa airport to fly out back to Atlanta!
Happy to be home next to this little guy>>>
who was SO tired after playing with his brother all week! :)
Time to start planning our next adventure...
[Things I was worried about/planned for before leaving]
Random ID checks. I was told you could be stopped and asked for your passport at any time... we didn't have that happen once!
I bought this just in case but hardly used it.
Mosquitos! I read they are terrible in Venice and Florence and I was super thrilled I had These as the natural stuff didn't work for me.
Adapters... You can buy a simple one Here or Here but some hotels even provided them to you
Pickpockets/Gypsies/Thieves: With all of the extra police presence right now we didn't see or hear of any issues. Still it is smart to use a shoulder bag with a zipper and not just a snap but you really just need to be careful in crowded areas of the city.
Hair dryer!!! I was so nervous about this as I NEED one for my hair but I didn't want to have to bring a converter and adapter as it would take up too much room. All the hotels had hair dryers but some weren't very powerful and looked like this>>>
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