photo: pixabay
It’s been a quiet summer. I’ve been landlocked for a variety of reasons, mainly family-related. I haven’t been on a plane since April and I’m going wacky. But YAY, FINALLY I’m going to Italy in a few weeks.
The last time I went to Rome and Florence was over 20 years ago. It was a girlfriend trip to Italy and France and we stayed in small inexpensive hotels or pensions – I don’t remember the names or locations, but we had a blast! I really loved Florence. I recall the beauty of the Pitti Palace and also discovering a restaurant we liked so much that we stayed an extra day. I also remember being stung by a yellow jacket bee. And shopping a lot. A LOT.
What I don’t remember is long lines at attractions and museums. Apparently, that has all changed now.
Well, I’m going back to Rome and Florence and I’m psyched. Dave (aka Won’t Run) has never been to Italy and is excited about the trip, but true to form, he has not helped one bit (see, 10 Tips When Your Boyfriend is a Reluctant Traveler).
Flights
We are flying on British Airways to Rome (FCO) via London (LHR). The price for the round trip ticket from New York JFK to FCO was only $335 per person (using the AARP discount).
Trains
Directly from Rome Airport we will take a train to Florence.
There is a non-stop train to Florence, but it is less than an hour after we arrive in Rome, and it is simply too close to call. After that there are plenty of trains that go, with a change of trains at one of the Rome stations. Any tips other than that? I’ve already purchased the ticket for Florence to Rome three days later.
Hotels
We are staying at cute boutique hotels this trip. The one in Florence has a historic edge – something to do with the Medici family. I found the hotels via TripAdvisor and a lot of research and am optimistic about each one. (Nevertheless, I keep doing what I do best and that’s continuing to look at prices or award availability for some of the larger named hotels. Why do we keep doing that?).
We will be in Florence for 3 nights (but essentially only 2 full days), and in Rome for 5 nights.
Tours
Walking Tours – I understand that there are good free walking tours in both Rome and Florence. If you have suggestions, I’d appreciate it.
Food Tours – Bitemojo has invited me to take a self-guided food tour in Rome.
Running Tour – Livitaly invited me to go on this morning running tour in Rome. It sounds fabulous as long as they don’t mind a slowpoke.
HELP
Most of my questions relate to day-to-day matters. I’d be grateful to receive pointers on what to do or not to do and on where to go and where not to go.
Some of the topics that come to mind are getting around cities, transportation, restaurants, activities, safety, bargains, deals, etc.
Obviously, some of the museums and sights I must visit, even if I’ve been there before. However, I don’t typically feel a need to go to every single museum or visit every single sight (I do like Unesco World Heritage sights though). I like exploring and walking around and I like seeing local life. I like parks. I like art, but tire of religious art after a while. I love public art and street art. I like food and wine and I like both restaurants and food markets. I like shopping – the whole gamut from Prada and Gucci to flea markets.
Day Trip Suggestions –
As we will only be in Florence for 2 full days, I doubt that we’ll be taking any day trips. Accordingly, I’ll have to save places like Pisa and Siena for another trip.
We will be in Rome for 5 nights, so an organized tour or a self-planned train ride somewhere one day would be perfect. Where do you suggest? Someone mentioned Orvieto?
Thank you so much for your help – I can’t wait!!
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
Check out Rick Stevens audio tours that you can download for free:
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/italy
Check out Omniakit.org and rometoolkit.org . I also like romewalks but I’m not sure the site is still up. You might be able to still see the videos on YouTube. Also book Vatican tickets online before you go there. It may be too late to book borghese gallery tickets. Both cities will be super crowded this time of year I’d imagine. It sounds fun.
We also booked a similar deal, but are flying Newark to Milan in a couple of weeks. Then spending some time in bellagio, after which we travel to Florence for a family wedding.
We are staying outside of Florence (30 to 40 mins south) at a castle, as the wedding party is staying there.
Hoping you get some good suggestions, as we are also finalizing our plans for the city. We may only get a day there.
Last time I was there was in 1995, so it will be interesting to see the changes
Make sure to check out All’ Antico Vinaio in Florncene its right next to the Uffizi, it has the best Panini in Italy I studied abroad in Florence and would go there at least 3 times a week and wait in the long line because it was that good, also Piazza Michaelangelo is a must as well
Make sure to check out All Antico Vinaio its right next to the Uffizi it has the best paninis in all of Florence when I studied in Florence I would go there 3 times a week, the lines are long but well worth the wait,
Also Piazza Michaelangelo has the best views of the city
From Florence take the train to Lucca(about an hour) and rent a bike to ride around the walled city. It’s fabulous. Back in FLR be sure to hike to the top of the Piazza Michaelangelo. It’s a decent climb, but the view is excellent.
Also, we have local friends whose cousin is a licensed Roma guide. Ex Carabinieri(sic?), knows everyone. We jumped EVERY line, Vatican included. We’ve used him twice and we swear by him. Email me if you’d like his contact info.
We considered Orvieto, but did Napoli instead. I think we might have enjoyed Orvieto more but Napoli was fun. Frankly, the 300 KPH high-speed train was a blast too, though not cheap.
BTW, everything in Florence is Medici related. They still pretty much run it:)
You might have to endure some crowds in each city. And if you go in August many places off the beaten path(i.e.more authentic) might be closed.