Italy with Best Friends – September / October 2007
When you think of touring around Italy for two weeks, by train and by car I would imagine you would have to think twice about whom you want to spend that much time with. I mean we are talking spending every waking moment with them so you would have to be selective. We’ll we have the kind of friends who are easy to be with, never complaining, except maybe when we spent too long reading another description of a Renaissance masterpiece or deciding just one more museum.
We began our adventure with a flight to Milan and then took a train into Venice. We had been to Italy many times before but this was the first time for our friends, Paul & Sheryl, and it was fun for us to watch their excitement as they made each new discovery. A stay in Venice must include a gondola ride through the narrow canals and a walk over the Rialto Bridge. We ate wonderful Italian food and wandered the tiny streets filled mostly now with tourists. We toured St. Mark’s Church, Doge’s Palace and the Accademia Gallery. Our rooftop restaurant at our hotel, the Danieli, offers one of the best views in all of Venice. If you decide to venture out to Murano Island to see the Venetian Glassworks understand that your trip is only free one direction and you’ll have to get back on your own, either by water taxi or local water bus.
Our next stop was Florence, another Italian town best visited on foot. We took in the usual sights, the Duomo, the Accademia D'Arte to see Michelangelo’s David (an advance reservation is highly recommended otherwise you could be waiting in very long lines), the Ufucci Palace and the famous Arno Bridge lined mostly now with jewelry shops. If you want a breathtaking view of the city be sure and take a short taxi ride up to Piazza Michelangelo and if you have some time visit the nearby church with its old cemetery before heading back across the river to the middle of Florence’s older district.
Our next adventure we were off towards Tuscany and the Mediterranean coastline. We rented a car (in advance) and drove out (on a Sunday the traffic was much lighter) to a little seaside town where we dined on different kinds of fish. We were the only Americans there and, while I’m not a fish eater, I made the best of it and even tried the fried anchovies.
That night we stayed at a Relais & Chateau Hotel right outside San Gimignano, a magical town perched on a hilltop filled with towers and featured in the movie, “Tea With Mussolini”. The narrow streets and pedestrian only streets make it a great place to visit and the surrounding areas of Tuscany are also lovely but you definitely need a car.
Our entrance into the ancient city of Rome by car was an adventure in itself. If you can handle the stress the best way to enter a major city is to hire a taxi to lead you to your hotel or car drop off.
A visit requires no less than 4nights, but 5 is preferable. The city has melded the new with the old and it seems that around every corner another piece of history looms against the skyline. Our top picks here would be the Colosseum, The Roman Forum, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, The Spanish Steps and of course a visit to the Vatican and it’s museums and St. Peter’s Cathedral. This visit we hired, in advance, a driver and tour guide for the day and I have to tell you it was worth every penny. If you want to maximize your time this is a great way and since we were traveling in his car we weren’t exhausted at the end of the day.
Italy is the top destination for Americans in Europe and its well worth a visit. English is spoken everywhere, history abounds at every turn and the food is familiar and it’s easy traveling with young children; what more could you want!
Joyce Dentt
