First Time to Italy

Wow! Two nights in Rome, four in Florence, followed by a week in Assisi and then three more nights in Rome. What a cool way to vacation!

We saw more wonderful art and sculpture in two weeks than I've seen in my lifetime up to now. And it just made me hungry for more. Each gallery has something to offer.

In Florence, The Galeria dell'Academia possesses Michelangelo's David and displays it in the most perfect setting I've ever seen. The Bargello offers more work by the master, along with a David by Donatello that some people prefer to "the big guy". Then you have the extraordinary collection of paintings and sculptures at the Uffizi (perhaps the headquarter gallery for Renaissance art).

Move on to Rome, where you'll be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work in the Vatican Museums. Or glory in the fantastic collection of Imperial Roman statuary at the Capitoline Museums, or just go gaga over the beauties to be found at the Galleria Borghese!

In between museums, there is the countryside, the shopping and the gelato!

Quick Tips:

Italy has too many things to see in one vacation, so plan what you want to see and do. Prioritize! And be prepared that if something goes wrong, you can move on to the next plan without suffering.

We start with each of us compiling a list of the sites we want to visit. The ones that are on both become the "gotta do's". From there on it's a matter of negotiation and planning. Don't put yourself in the position of leaving without seeing the things that matter most to you, whether it's Michelangelo's David, the Colosseum, the Vatican or the Ponte Vecchio.

Best Way To Get Around:

Use the trains to get between the major cities, the rail system is excellent (especially with a Eurail Pass). If you just want to see the countryside, renting a car is a good option as well. Just don't expect to be able to park it close to where you want to go.

In Rome, the public transportation is excellent. The subway is extremely fast, and there are bus routes all over town. If you want, you can also take any one of a number of different hop on/hop off tours that offer English language (and other languages) narration along with rides to the major sights in town. All within a 24 hour period. If you're short on time, that's the way to go!

Last but not least, wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to walk. You'll see more...experience more...taste more... and enjoy your Italian visit far more on foot!

To be honest, I liked just the view from our front door. Anything else was either minimally acceptable or bothersome in the extreme!

Don't believe the "just outside the city walls" nonsense that some descriptions of Carpe Diem Assisi will offer. This was a thirty euro cab ride from the train station, with the town of Assisi squarely in the middle. Yes, it sits in a lovely valley and the countryside is fantastic. If all you want to do is to just sit and soak up the sun, listen to the church bells and reflect on life, nature and philosophy, this is a wonderful place to do it.

But if you stay the full week here (and that's the way it works) plan on renting a car or saving your money for a number of cab rides. The resort does provide a shuttle into Assisi, but that is at limited times and there are limited seats (it's a minivan/cab). And you're definitely on your own with regard to getting to the train station.

What grated on me more than anything else was the plethora of extra charges. If you pop for the thirty euro "service card" these charges are reduced somewhat (the shuttle becomes free, and discounts are offered on other services). But come on! Three euros to rent a sun chair by the pool? That's nuts, especially when you can't just lay a towel down there. And the four euro token necessary to wash a load of laundry, followed by another four euro token to dry it, will have you keeping your receipts to get reimbursed by the airline that's still delayed in getting your luggage to you (yeah... I had issues).

The staff's command of the English language was minimal, not that I minded that (hey... it's their country), but just be aware. It's just basic courtesy to learn a phrase or two of the host country's language anyway. It's amazing how appreciated a simple "grazie" can be.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but conversations with various friends reinforce my notion that I should qualify my hotel thoughts based on American-style vs. European-style. American hotels are just different from European hotels. I don't know that I really prefer one over the other actually. So for people that insist on American-style amenities, perhaps you should look elsewhere. But for the rest of us, I loved this place!

The staff could not be more gracious! They treated us like visiting VIPs, even when I stunned the guy at breakfast by requesting a Diet Coke with my croissant (that was the first time he'd been asked for that apparently).

Great location! You don't need a cab to get to the hotel from the train station, you can simply walk through a tunnel that let's you out right across the street. The Duomo is only a couple blocks away as are the Cathedral of Santa Croce, the Ponte Vechio, the Uffizi, Bargello, della Academia, and other galleries.

Quite literally, we walked almost everywhere. The room is spacious, even by American standards, although it's not going to win any major awards for decoration. And yeah, the shower is a little "quirky" in its size. But we loved it.

We spent four nights at the Hotel Lombardia and I could have stayed there for the entire 17 day trip. I hope we return there someday.

Okay... this is more my style for traveling in Europe. No echos of a Holiday Inn or Hilton here, and that's the way I like it!

Hotel Milo shares a building with three other hotels, each on different non-contiguous floors. Not a lot of rooms, and each one is probably different. But its primary selling point is location, location, location... less than two blocks from Roma Termini. You can walk, bus, train or cab almost anywhere in the city from here, and we did (all four).

It's a leisurely walk to the Forum and the Colosseum. From Termini station we took a bus to the Boboli Gardens and the Galleria Borghese, and the train back to the airport. The 11 euro train fare was the most we had to spend on transportation during this stay.

Restaurants are everywhere in this neighborhood, and I particularly recommend the gelateria at the corner of Via Principe Amadeo and Via Gioberti, just a few steps to the left as you exit the hotel's entry courtyard. Who am I kidding? I would recommend every gelateria that I visited during the 17 day vacation!

But then I digress. Okay, so the air-conditioning system was essentially a rotating fan and an open window. We didn't care, we were in Rome! And the staff were incredibly helpful. One desk clerk showed unlimited patience trying to find a restaurant for us, based on a very poorly spelled name provided by a friend.

The room was a fairly good size, although my American-sized body might have enjoyed a larger shower. But that's the way life is sometime. I'll admit, we had some misgivings when we first went down the street, Roman glitz it isn't. But things were safe, the neighborhood is about as quiet as you might expect for a city neighborhood, and you're close to everything - okay, the Vatican's a little farther away, but there are buses for that.

It just might be worth it for the view! The Hilton occupies the high ground across the Tiber from central Rome and the view is incredible. As the first destination on our vacation it was a nice introduction to Rome.

Shortly after checking in, we unpacked and headed for the rooftop. Even my little digital camera captured some cool shots of the Vatican, the Colosseum and other sites.

For travellers that prefer an American-style hotel, this will impress. The decor reflects the pricey nature of the hotel with plenty of sculpture and art. And yes the air-conditioning will keep you comfortable on the hottest of Roman summer days.

Having said all that, I have to qualify the remainder of this opinion. I don't travel to other countries to stay in an American-style hotel! I like a little more "local" to my surroundings. And my definition of local does not exactly include designer label shops in the lobby. Nor does it include outrageous charges for simple phone calls necessitated by airline baggage handling misadventures.

The staff are warm and friendly, but they were of little help... especially the concierge (gee, I thought that's why they were there, to help).

Did we enjoy our two night stay? It was okay, but I'm glad it was only two nights. The Hilton provides a free shuttle from the hotel to Barberini Square at the end of the Via Veneto shopping district, but that's about the only amenity provided at no cost. And when you think about it, it's a not cost amenity to put you closer to high cost shopping. So where's the benefit.

If your budget can handle it, and you want the security of staying at a large hotel with an international staff that is well-stocked with English language speakers, book the Rome Cavalieri. Just don't try to tell your friends that you had the full "Italian experience" staying there. My advice would be to find a smaller hotel or albergo in the city, and come over some evening right before sunset - for dinner and photos.

We were only able to see part of it, but what a wonderful museum this is!

With an emphasis on Imperial Roman art, as well as that of the Renaissance, it can appeal to both the historian and the art lover. And for the neophyte like me, it's very camera friendly as well (just no flash photography).

Of the three main buildings, we visited the Palazzo dei Conservatori, which features the original bronze of Marcus Aurelius in a fantastic new modern gallery (there is a copy outside in Michelangelo's piazza, where the original once stood) and the colossal bronze head of Constantine. Quite simply, there are too many pieces here to list them all without omitting something that is surely someone's favorite. So when planning your visit, it might not be a bad idea to visit the Capitoline's web site (http://en.museicapitolini.org) to take the virtual tour and plan your route!

It is at the center of Florence in so many ways...artistically, architecturally, socially, and spiritually.

The door to the Baptistry by Ghiberti is amazing, even with the copies of the panels that were put in place after the '66 flood damaged the originals. Those originals have been restored and can be seen at the museum behind the Duomo.

If you're up to it, climb to the top of Brunelleschi's dome for the best view of the city and surrounding countryside. It's not for the weak of foot or the claustrophobic...or anyone challenged by heights. But it's magnificent! (www.duomofirenze.it/index-eng.htm)

The Boboli Gardens are a special place, even on a very hot day, large and expansive. So expansive that I find it difficult to imagine them crowded. You could wander all day long, and never pass the same lush place twice.

It’s all a marriage of artists, both in stone and in plants that was arranged by the Medici. One lake features a statue of Neptune working his trident. Another has an ornate gate with goats atop. And then there is the Palazzo Pitti, the Medici Palace itself, crammed full of art (which sadly we didn’t have time to visit on this trip). (www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/musei/boboli)

Of all the sights in Rome, I think the one that most impressed me was the Pantheon. This has to be one of the great spiritual buildings I’ve ever encountered. It was built as a Roman temple, and later became a Catholic Church (Chiesa di Santa Maria ad Martyres). There are a lot of different theories regarding why it was did not suffer the fate of so many pagan temples (demolished for their marble or just collapsed from disuse). But no one can truly explain how it escaped the looting and neglect. We can be sure however that its evolution into a church guaranteed its preservation for perhaps all time.

It’s believed that it was originally built by Agrippa at about 27 BC, then later rebuilt after 118 AD by Hadrian. The name Pantheon comes from the fact that it was to be a temple honoring the pantheon of the gods, a multi-use temple if you will.

You enter through huge bronze doors into a great circular room. Almost immediately, your eyes are drawn up to the inside of the concrete dome and the open oculus at the top that provides natural light to the building. Yes, the dome is concrete. Didn’t know that they could use concrete 2000 years ago, right? Now consider this, experts today believe that were they to try to duplicate the size and breadth of the dome using today’s concrete construction, it would likely collapse under its own weight! Yet the Pantheon endures.

At night the plaza in front of the building is a popular site for vendors, musicians and people-watchers.

Don’t miss it! The Pantheon is open from 8:30am to 7:30pm Monday to Saturday, from 9am to 6pm on Sunday, and 9am to 1pm on holidays that fall on weekdays except for Christmas Day, New Year's Day and May 1, when it is closed.

There is no charge for admission.

If you’re curious, there is even a live web cam perched on a building looking down on the portico and the plaza in front: http://81.208.34.15/dynamicindex/camera.html

For Catholics it's a pilgrimage. But the beauty of St. Peter's transcends Catholicism, with art and sculpture by the likes of Michelangelo, Bernini, and countless others.

As a "non-affiliated" Protestant, I'll sidestep the theological aspect and just dwell on the beauty of this building, which is beyond belief. The cynical or disrespectful among us might deride the opulence of this facility, but compare it to almost any other building or work dedicated to a major faith could suffer from unfair assertions such as "why the expense? Why couldn't they...?"

The art work is spectacular! Michelangelo's Pieta is almost worth the trip to Rome all by itself. But the space itself has a certain communion about it. People of faith, curiosity seekers, art lovers and gawking tourists mingle (sometimes shoulder to shoulder) within the confines of one of the most significant pieces of architecture on the planet.

Don't miss it!

For more information, The Vatican has an excellent website: www.vatican.va/phome_en.htm

As the song goes: Money, money, money…Always sunny…In a rich man's world.

Traveling through Italy (and probably the rest of Europe as well), you’re going to need varying amounts of it. It just depends on what you want to do to determine how much you need.

A previous trip to London provided us with one of the most defining “naïve American” moments in our travels, when a passenger on a tour bus to Stratford-upon-Avon saw fit to ask the guide “will we need any English money when we get there?” The very polite (and very British response was “only if you wish to purchase something, Sir.”

First…not everyone accepts credit cards! Sure the hotels will, and the major retail stores will also. But if you want to eat in that cozy little sidewalk café, or pick up the little replica Vespa scooter to take home as a souvenir, you might be foiled if you don’t have some Euros to part with. There’s no shame in asking up front…Visa? MasterCard? So get some cash.

Second…how do you get that cash? The quick answer is at the ATM. Yes, there are a lot of them throughout Europe. All secure, and ridiculously free of extra charges. There was only a $1.75 service charge on each ATM withdrawal that we did in Rome and Florence, and at a fair rate of exchange as well. Compare that with the exchange rates and service charges at the plethora of money exchange locations (not to mention the time it takes for them to do the paperwork!) and you’ll never visit the moneychangers again. Traveler’s checks are okay, but to tell you the truth, next time I’ll just make periodic trips to the ATM instead of loading up on checks before I leave. Many places will charge a substantial fee for just cashing your check.

Just be careful. Carry a copy of your passport, leave the original in your room safe and make periodic withdrawals from the ATM. You’ll have less to lose, with more peace of mind.

The Italians invented ice cream, and as far as I can tell no one, not even my beloved Ted Drewes's Frozen Custard in St. Louis can surpass the gelato in Italy. It's difficult to walk more than a block or two through any city without encountering a gelato store, each with at least a dozen or more enticing flavors. IT'S ALL GOOD!

If you're in Florence, I particularly recommend Il Gelato Vivoli. Try the rice gelato, it's like nothing you've ever tasted!

(www.vivoli.it/vivoli-en.html)

Take your pick…trains, cabs, rental cars, and good old fashioned feet.

I love the Italian trains, even the older dirty ones. The flexibility of options makes it simple to get from city to city. Check out the Eurail web site to evaluate what you need (www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/italy_index.htm). I particularly like the Italy Saver Pass, which gives you an additional discount for couples and families traveling together.

If you don’t have the time or desire to walk, most cities have open air hop on/hop off buses provided by different companies. The cost is about $30 USD (depending upon current rate fluctuations of course), which compares very favorably with the cost of a cab. Each bus provides earphone narration of the route in your choice of seven languages (Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Japanese). Simply buy a ticket and ride around listening to the music and the information, or get off at each stop and catch the next bus. Your ticket is good for 24 hours. (www.city-sightseeing.it/eng/index_italy.htm)

And for hardcore American drivers, Italy is fun. Just don’t drive in Rome, I’m told it’s illegal for non-residents for one thing. For another, you’d have to be crazy to brave that traffic without proper acclimatization. In any case, they drive on the right (right) side of the road, and with a small Fiat or other rental car you can still navigate the narrow streets with aplomb.

Cabs are fine, but pricey. We got stung 12 euros for basically a two block ride from train station to hotel in Florence, but that was a standard "from the station" charge that would have applied almost anywhere in the city. But if you need to get from one place to another late at night, like say from the Via Veneto near the Spanish Steps to your hotel near Roma Termini at 1am, a 5 euro cab ride isn’t bad.

Then there are is the metro system of buses and subways in Rome. Fantastic! 4 Euros buys you a ticket for the whole day, city wide, on the entire system. That’s tough to beat.

I wonder sometimes about those isolated moments that create a cascade of events.

It actually started in Assisi, where we met Janet and Diane. They were sharing the condo next door to ours, and I first encountered Janet as she was receiving some extra hangers from the Carpe Diem resort staff. I actually noticed this because not five minutes earlier, my wife Sue had been bemoaning the dearth of adequate hangers in our unit.

After requesting that the gentleman bring us some additional hangers as well, I struck up a conversation with Janet. We were soon joined on the porch by Sue and later by Janet’s friend and traveling companion, Diane. Commiseration over lost baggage and other minor traveling travails led to the decision for the four of us to have dinner in that evening. Janet had read a newspaper article about restaurant recommendations in Italy just a week or two before, and we decided to find Il Falchetti in Perugia (definitely a place worth visiting!). Getting there was half the fun as none of us really speaks any adequate Italian, nor were we shy about asking (or pantomiming) for directions. That evening was enjoyable on its own merits, but this about dinner in Rome.

During the course of the week in Assisi we’d run into one or both of our neighbors, comparing notes and recommendations; then bade them adieu as we took the train to Rome and they drove there. In all honesty, we didn’t expect to see them again.

Then arriving at the appointed time for our entry reservation at the Gallerie Borghese (don’t try to go there without one!), we encountered our new friends quite unexpectedly. We toured the gallery together, and then agreed to meet for dinner that night at a restaurant that Janet had visited on a previous trip to Rome, La Sacrestia, just around the corner from the Pantheon.

Sue and I were the first to arrive, followed shortly thereafter by Janet. Diane had begged off due to a headache…oh well. In any case, the three of us had a marvelous three hour, multi-course dinner augmented by a bottle of chianti and some complimentary limoncellos delivered after we’d already settled the bill. The dinner and conversation would have been enough to make for an enjoyable evening, but then the adventure began.

Janet had the idea that she would simply walk back to their hotel, The Jolly, near Villa Borghese. Somehow Sue and I didn’t see the wisdom of a woman walking through Rome alone after 11pm, so we decided to accompany her. Remember our lack of Italian proficiency?

One thing I’ve learned, is that there is no shame in admitting you don’t speak the language and that it never hurts to ask for directions from multiple sources. Thanks to that mutual awareness on the part of all three of us, we managed to get Janet back to the Jolly Hotel in one piece, however not without meeting a number of friendly people. We literally asked for directions at every other block, basically going through Barberini Square and up the Via Veneto. Somewhere along the way, we encountered the Italian Parliament building as well.

During the course of that late night walk, we met a number of wonderful locals, a group of tourists from Oslo, a family from upstate New York, some policemen, a group of American students. And then there was the travel magazine publisher from Chicago, Stone Seigel (the magazine is called, Stone). Noting the chai on Sue’s neck chain, he also discovered that Janet was Jewish as well and pondered on the significance of three Jews from America having a chance meeting “in the most pervasively Christian city on Earth.” When we got to his hotel, he asked his assistant to run upstairs and get a copy of the magazine for us. Suffice to say, our subscription order will be in the mail shortly. So what could have been a brief ten minute cab ride, turned into an hour and a half stroll; meeting new and fascinating people and exposure to a new magazine!

It almost makes me wonder how things might have played out, if the Carpe Diem condo had contained enough hangers to begin with. We might not have made some new friends, found at least two wonderful restaurants and experienced the Via Veneto late at night. That’s the type of thing that can spell the difference between a “trip” and a memorable vacation.

Firenze (the real name for Florence) is now firmly ensconced on my list of favorite cities to return to (along with London, San Francisco, Boston and Honolulu). The galleries, the public art, the restaurants and the surrounding area make it an experience to savor.

You can walk almost everywhere. But if you don’t have the time or desire to walk, the open air buses of CitySightseeing Firenze are a great value. The cost is about $30 USD (depending upon current rate fluctuations of course), which compares very favorably with the cost of a cab. Each bus provides earphone narration of the route in your choice of seven languages (Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Japanese). Simply buy a ticket and ride around listening to the music and the information, or get off at each stop and catch the next bus. Your ticket is good for 24 hours. (www.firenze.city-sightseeing.it/eng)


As for the museums, during our four day stay we barely scratched the surface so what follows should not be considered a comprehensive list, just one that is reflective of our particular artistic priorities.

The Bargello: A former prison, with a great collection of sculpture. You can take photographs of the pieces in the courtyard, but the best pieces are housed in a "cameras forbidden" gallery. I liked Michelangelo’s bust of Brutus. And a friend of ours insists that Donatello’s David here is superior to Michelangelo’s, although it is currently undergoing some restoration work (which you can watch) so I won’t agree or disagree with her assessment. An added plus, we happened to visit on one of the free admission days, so check into that (www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/musei/bargello/)

Gallerie dell'Accademia: Michelangelo’s David is the star of this gallery, but there are still other reasons to visit. I enjoyed seeing the unfinished pieces that the master was crafting for the tomb of Pope Julius (the guy that brow beat him into painting the Sistine Chapel). You can get a feel for the process of sculpture from gazing at them. Still, go to the Academia to see David. Aside from its singular merits as a work of art, it just might be the most perfect presentation of a sculpture that I’ve ever seen. One piece of advice, make reservations in advance or be prepared to wait in a long, long line. (www.gallerieaccademia.org/) Sadly, photography of any kind is forbidden.

The Uffizi: I don’t know, but the size of this collection may be second only to that of the Vatican Museums. In any case, it’s an awesome array of Renaissance paintings and sculptures. Again, make reservations in advance, the time you save will be substantial. You’re not allowed to take photographs…darn it. (www.virtualuffizi.com/uffizi/)

Basilica di Santa Croce: If there is an Italian equivalent of London’s Westminster Abbey, with tombs and monuments of the most prominent Italians, this is it. Included here are the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Gioacchino Rossini along with memorials to Enrico Fermi and Antonio Meucci (who might have a more legitimate claim as inventor of the telephone than Alexander Graham Bell), and Florence Nightingale. Cameras are welcome. (www.santacroce.firenze.it/english)

And if time and money is an issue, stop by the Piazza della Signoria. There you'll find worthy copies of David, The Rape of the Sabines, Perseus with the Head of Medusa, and other pieces.

We ran out of time and weren’t able to visit the Medici Galleries at the Palazzo Pitt, otherwise it might have been included here.