First of all a very big thank you to the Slow Travel board and all who have helped me plan my upcomming trip. We leave in a few days and I thought I'd share my itinerary and get any last minute feedback, suggestions or tips that you might have.
Mon 5/16 - fly LAX to FCO We changed our minds last week and decided to fly Swiss Air instead of relying on a Delta buddy pass. After checking the flight loads it was looking far too risky.... so no business class or first class, but maybe they'll give us chocolates?
Tues 5/17 - arrive in Roma (4 nights) We found an inexpensive apartment right near the Campo de Fiori through Real Rome (thanks for the tip Geralyn!). It doesn't look fancy, but we'll only be there 4 nights and the location and the fact that it was available made it an easy decision. I am so looking forward to my first meal in Rome... will it be an old favorite like Der Pallaro or Lucifer or something new... Da Baffetto sounds perfect for pizza or Osteria dell'Ingegno sounds intriguing.... decisions, decisions. As for sightseeing beyond food, (if there is such a thing!) we have no fixed plans... it's our 3rd trip to Rome, so we'll just enjoy wandering and discovering new places.
Sat 5/21 - pick up car and drive to Tuscany (1 week) We plan to pick the car up at the Tiburtina rental car office and make our way out of Rome as best we can without too much swearing and wrong turns. We'll stop at Villa Lante and see the garden and continue to Tuscany to Sant' Antonio, just outside of Montepulciano. This will be our relaxing week.... the slow part of the trip. I know we'll want to visit some of the places we've been before like Pienza, San Quirico d’ Orcia and Montalcino. And I would like to make one big long day trip to the Tarot Gardens. But most of all, I'd like to just enjoy Sant' Antonio, which so many on this site have raved about.
Sat 5/28 - drive to Lucca, drop car (3 nights) This will be our first time in Lucca. If we have the time and inclination, we may day trip to Pisa one of the days. We won't have the car, so anything we do has to be with public transporation. I'm sure there will be plenty to do.
Tue 5/31 - train to Ligurian Coast (4 nights) This is the flexible part of the trip. We will end up in Camogli, but we may stop in Vernazza and see if it is still like we remember.... but in any case we'll spend some time in Camogli, which will be new to us. I'm looking forward to some hikes and lots of great seafood.
Sat 6/4 - train to Milan (1 night) Our night in Milan is scheduled more as a convenience to flying out of Linate the next day. But I would like to fit in a little sightseeing... the duomo and the Last Supper, if possible.
Sun 6/5 - fly to Paris (4 nights) And we spend the last 4 nights in Paris in an apartment in the Marais district. We are meeting friends in Paris and have lots of museums to see and endless lists of places to eat.
Thur 6/9 - fly home (sigh)
I am going to try to keep a blog during the trip (a first for me) and, of course, I promise to write a detailed trip report and lots of reviews when I get back!
-Krista
Posts: 1684 | Location: Santa Barbara, California | Registered: 21 May 2004
Krista, Have a wonderful time. I'm looking forward to hearing more about Camogli. We 'blew' through the village when we hiked the main Cinque Terre hike and I've been curious about what we missed.
Why don't you post a link to your blog so we can follow your travels.
Krista, I se that from Lucca you go on to Liguria. Now, you may work in the daytrip to Pisa with the transfer to Liguria. Instead of going through Viareggio (which is the fastest route) you may take a train to Pisa, check your luggage at the station, visit Pisa for a few hours, retun to the station, collect your luggage and continue to Liguria.
You might want to figure out how to stop there enroute from Rome--perhaps combine it with your visit to Villa Lante. It will be more convenient than making a long day trip from Montepulciano.
>>Last Supper<<
Unless things have changed recently, making reservations by phone for the Last Supper is not an easy task. The Milan tourist office runs a bus tour of Milan which includes a visit to the Last Supper. You might investigate that if the Last Supper is a must see.
Krista, I second Alice's idea of going to Pisa and she offers a good way to do it. Despite the throngs of tourists and chotchka vendors, it's quite something to be there!
>>Now, you may work in the daytrip to Pisa with the transfer to Liguria.<<
If you want to climb the tower while in Pisa, you shold make reservations in advance. My experience has been that spaces are not usually available for walkups...but usually they are available for later the same day.
Jim Thanks for the link to the Tower reservation service. I hadn't run across it previously and expected that we would spend much of the day waiting for our reservation time, once we arrive in Pisa.
Wow, some great tips.... I will look into reservations for the Last Supper and the Pisa tower, although I'm not altogether sure I want to climb the tower - how strenous is it? I did survive the climb the cupola of St. Peter's dome, but those last claustrophobic steps were a bit of a strain. Is the Pisa climb easier or harder?
And I like the idea of seeing the Tarot Garden on the way to Tuscany, but will there be enough time? I guess we'll have to play it by ear and see how quickly we get out of Rome. I'll have all the maps and directions handy in case we can squeeze it in.
Kim, the little 2 door Punto that you see driving 3 or 4 times around in the traffic circles - that will be us!
As for why no Florence.... ah well, it does hurt, but I had to cut somewhere. We've been to Florence three times before and while that in no way implies that that's enough, we felt that we could wait to see Florence again on another trip.
For those that are interested, my blog link: Italy Paris 05 I was hesitant to post the link, because I haven't been writing much yet, but this will force me to get going!
Grazie, -Krista
Posts: 1684 | Location: Santa Barbara, California | Registered: 21 May 2004
KHB - Is the Lucifer restaurant you mentioned on Via dei Cappellari near the Campo dei Fiori? I think it was the restaurant right across from our apartment. We thought about eating there several times but never did. Can you tell me a little about it? We did eat at Der Pallaro - FANTASTIC! There are also a couple great restaurants between the Campo and Piazza Farnese. I think our favorite is called La Galleto (fantastic roasted lamb) and the other is Osteria Farnese (excellent Mont Blanc dessert).
Have a fantastic trip!
Posts: 928 | Location: North of Seattle | Registered: 28 February 2003
Ann, yes that's the one. We had a great time at Lucifer's - we met a priest there while we were standing outside looking at the menu. It's funny you ask about it, I wrote about it in the last entry on my blog. Anyway, they specialize in fondue, though for some reason we didn't order the fondue. But we had a fabulous meal and plan to go back so we can have some fondue.
-Krista
Posts: 1684 | Location: Santa Barbara, California | Registered: 21 May 2004
Topic Closed
there while we were standing outside looking at the menu. It's funny you ask about it, I wrote about it in the last entry on my blog. Anyway, they specialize in fondue, though for some reason we didn't order the fondue. But we had a fabulous meal and plan to go back so we can have some fondue.
