Take an unforgettable Italy vacation

by Fah | Mar 1, 2017 | Europe, Italy

Take an unforgettable Italy vacation

Going to Italy for vacation is always one of the top destinations on any traveler’s bucket list. And with good reason. There are endless things to do, see, eat and shop for in Italy. It’s an art, food and fashion mecca. There are many cities and regions in Italy — all offering its own flavor and distinction. With Italian trains receiving a facelift in recent years, travel around the country is even more accessible.

I took this 10 day vacation with my family in May/Spring. We started in Rome and ended in Venice. However, you could easily do the reverse or even start in the middle at Florence and pick up either leg.

Below is my recap of each place with links to my blog posts that have more detailed information about sights, getting around and maps to help you out.

Take a walking tour of Rome

Rome wasn’t built in a day but you can do a pretty good job of covering major sights around town. Start with the most iconic, The Colloseum, and take a walk through history. Don’t forget to stop for gelato or get a café. The many squares are great places to people watch.

Check out my Walking Tour post of Rome for more information.

Explore a Roman Villa in Tivoli

Consider taking a day trip from Rome to get out in the countryside. Visit the small town of Tivoli where you have access to a few Roman villas.

My suggested Roman villa is Villa D’Este which has a beautifully frescoed villa and expansive gardens.

Seek inspiration in Vatican City

Seeing Michaelangelo’s masterpieces is a must do for any traveler and Vatican City doesn’t disappoint. Although small in size, the art and history of the Vatican overwhelms.

Get the inside scoop on how to make the most of your time in the Vatican.

Eat, Shop & Stroll in Florence

Appease your senses in Florence with a stroll through the city. Gardens, retail therapy, gelato, David and incredible art await. Make sure to take in the view of it all from the hilltop, Piazza Michaelangelo.

Read more about the many ways to enjoy your time in Florence.

Discover Siena in the heart of Tuscany

Explore the Tuscan medieval city of Siena for a look at Florence’s rival city. Stroll the winding cobblestone streets and enjoy a café at the Campo in the center of town.

Check out my post on what this beautiful, red city has to offer.

Snap your pic@Pisa

Get swept away in the craziest, cheesiest photo taking session at Pisa. Don’t fight it — just join the fun.

Read more on this fun and funny tourist attraction.

From Verona with Love

No where is eternal love more cherished and celebrated than Verona. Come explore this sweet and lovely city with its cobblestone streets, Romeo & Juliet balcony and heart shaped confections and pasta.

View all the loveliness of Verona.

A Doge in Venice

Visit this unique and beautiful floating city in all its splendor, starting with San Marco’s square and the Doge’s Palace. Ride the Grand Canal, see a glass blowing demo on Murano Island and explore the connecting bridges and neighborhoods.

Take to the water and discover Venice.

*Featured photo by Federico Beccari.

Where to stay in Italy? My Hotel Reviews…

Crowne Plaza Rome

Hilton Garden Inn Florence

Crowne Plaza Verona

Hilton Garden Inn Venice

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Hotel Review: Crowne Plaza Rome, Italy

by Fah | Feb 26, 2017 | Hotel Review, Italy

Below is my hotel review for the Crowne Plaza Rome (IHG brand of hotels). I stayed at American hotels because I wanted to use points for award reservations and for more modern conveniences. These hotels are not found in the city center (as most American International brands are not usually in the center of town) but they were all easily accessible, modern, clean and luxurious. I booked award reservations 4-6 months out from my arrival and found availability. The toughest was Rome which makes sense given that it’s a large and visited city.

Featured photo by Jason Briscoe.

Crowne Plaza Rome / St Peter’s

Via Aurelia Antica 415 P.O.Box 9076, Rome – 00165, Italy; Email: cpstpeters@hotel-invest.com

Hotel Review:

My stay was in early May. This hotel was very clean, modern and everything you would expect from a Crowne Plaza. It’s not in the heart of Rome but the city is very easily accessible.

I stayed here using points and was upgraded at check-in to a suite. This meant an additional, attached room. My room was a double queen bed layout and the additional room had a couch, extremely huge wooden table (maybe for breakfast or meals), a tv, a walk-out balcony and an extra bathroom (very helpful).

There was always complimentary coffee and tea. The coffee was Nescafe and I have no idea if it was a distinct roast for Italy but it may be the best instant coffee I’ve ever had. I had this same one serving package at several other Italian hotels and same deal – really tasty coffee.

This hotel doesn’t have an executive lounge which is a bummer since most Crowne Plazas’ do have them (or is that only in the US?). In lieu of that, the hotel gave me more points and the suite.

From my rooms’ balcony, I could see a very large Olympic size swimming pool. Unfortunately, I never made it down to the pool but it was in use by many kids, parents and adults. I also didn’t get a chance to try out the hotel restaurant. There is also complimentary wi-fi.

One night we got pizza in the neighborhood near the hotel. It was an interesting process – the pizza is baked in a giant rectangle which is cut into squares. There are many options (ie. Different squares with different toppings like potato or mushroom or mozzarella & balsamic, etc). Then they weigh it and charge by the weight. The experience was as fun as the pizza was delicious.

Getting to/from:

From FCO airport to the Crowne Plaza Rome was $40 euros for 4 people with 4 carry on bags. Not sure if that is the going rate or if it’s a seasonal rate but that’s what we paid. It was a 20-25 minute ride. Another option is to take a train or bus from FCO to the center of Rome and then take the metro&bus back to this hotel. I recommend the taxi but if you have the time and want to save the $$, then the bus/train/metro is an option.

If you buy a bus ticket from the front desk (1-2euros), then wait in front of the hotel on Via Aurelia Antica (street). Take the local city bus (98, 98F, 889 – double check your route) and get off at the metro (stop: Cornelia). From there, you may access any part of Rome that you want. If you’re on the bus, you can also see the neighborhood near the hotel which has many shops and food options. There are supermarkets, pizza places, etc. In other words, the hotel isn’t isolated as some other American hotels can be in Europe.

Prior to arriving, I emailed the hotel to ask about transportation. They shared the following document: Crowne Plaza Rome/St. Peter’s Shuttle

Other:

One thing I do want to mention that pertains to all the hotels I stayed at in Italy – hotels charge you a city tax per person for staying there. This is similar to the resort tax that many hotels charge in Hawaii or other islands. This appeared to be a tax on anyone who can afford to stay at an American hotel. Does anyone have a different take on this? For my 3 night stay, I paid $80 euros which I thought was much considering I got no extra value for that charge. City tax is $6 euros per person per night.

Recommend (Y/N): Yes

I would recommend this hotel to anyone wanting to stay in/near Rome, use points for a free hotel night, looking for a more modern hotel or just wondering what this particular hotel is like. It was so nice that I kind of feel guilty that I didn’t spend more time there – I was out early and back late exploring Rome (which is how I spent most of my trip to Italy).

Crowne Plaza St. Peter's Rome

Metro Station - Cornelia

Why Villa D’Este is the perfect day trip from Rome

by Fah | Feb 3, 2017 | Europe, Italy

Explore the Roman countryside via Villa D’Este in Tivoli. This town is on the outskirts of Rome and makes for the perfect day trip. Tivoli is easily accessible. Once there, you have a choice of several sights: Villa D’Este, Villa Gregoriana or Villa Adriana.

Villa D’Este:

During my visit (in May), the citrus trees, irises and roses were in full bloom. The smell was heavenly.

Admission: $8 euro Nov-Apr / $11 euro otherwise.

Once you enter, view the hand painted walls of main villa. In some cases, you can’t tell if there is an actual door, window or painting there or if it is a painting.

Descend down sloped steps into the garden. There are numerous fountains throughout the garden with jets of water gushing.

Below are square pools of water and the premises are lined with citrus trees, irises and roses.

The best part of this experience was that there weren’t swarms of tourists. I felt like I had the garden to myself. My arrival was more in the afternoon – around 3pm – so maybe that’s why.

There is also a musical component to the water in the fountains but for some reason, I don’t recall it. I’m sure that would be wonderful.

Villa D’este closes 1 hour before sunset (6:30pm in May). When we left the villa, many of the souvenir shops had also closed. So make sure that you plan your sights according to close times in order to give yourself enough time to enjoy wandering and souvenir shopping.

Getting to/from Villa D’este:

Take the metro Line B to Ponte Mammolo. Exit the station and locate the blue Cortal bus to Tivoli. Round trip is $4.4 euro. Buy a ticket in the snack shop. There is frequent departures with both an express bus and a local bus. I missed the express and ended up taking the local which took 45-60 minutes.

Upon arrival, walk toward the sight you are planning to see first or towards the center of town. There are cafes, souvenir shops, etc. Villa D’Este (and Villa Gregoriana) are both in Tivoli within walking distance. There are signs pointing to the various sights’ direction.

To get to Villa Adriana, a bus change is needed (orange bus #4).

Villa Gregoriana

Villa D'Este

Rome’s top 6 attractions – A walking tour

by Fah | Jan 26, 2017 | Europe, Italy

Take a walking tour of Rome’s top 6 attractions.

Rome is overflowing with art, architecture, incredible food & people and wonderful neighborhoods with their own distinct flair. You could spend weeks here and still have things on your list to see and do. You could also spend weeks here café-hopping and people watching and be perfectly content and wanting more time to linger.

I came to Rome when I was a study abroad student in Strasbourg, France during the spring holidays and all these years later Rome is still one of my favorite cities. This time I returned with my family and since I was the only one here before, I became the guide. We started with a walking (& bus) tour through the heart of Rome to capture the city’s best highlights.

The Colloseum

The Colloseum is Rome’s most iconic attraction with good reason. Join the queue to purchase a ticket or buy one online beforehand. There are a lot of ticket agents so the line moves fairly quickly but in summer I would buy this ticket online to not waste time.

This ticket costs $12 euro and gets you in to see the Colloseum’s inside structure (as well as the Forum and Palantine Hill) and is valid for 2 days. There are daily guided tours in English to see the inside structure at set times. To see the underneath you will have to buy a special tour/ticket (from the same ticket office or online) that also has set times. Metro: Colloseo

The Roman Forum

The Forum is a roman city that was unearthed near the Colloseum but which rests below ground (ie. below street level). You can glimpse parts of the remnants of the old city (Forum) by walking on the streets (near the Colloseum). If you are a history buff you may want to explore more thoroughly but know that appreciation can be had at the street level as well.

For a panoramic view, head to the Piazza del Campidoglio (terrace) where you can get a beautiful view of the Forum and the Colloseum.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon was an ancient temple for the gods but is now used as a church. It’s considered an architectural wonder as the open air dome is the largest unsupported concrete dome in the world. This is a very “open” building with the 16 massive columns at the entrance leading inside where the dome is open and provides the light source.

Yes, when it rains it does fall through into the middle. Lined with statues, there’s also a church altar and the tomb of Raphael (artist) here. I was here during the day but I’ve heard that it’s lit up nicely at night and the effect is beautiful.

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona is a bustling plaza with the beautiful Four Rivers fountain sculpted by artist Bernini as well as the Fountain of Neptune. Lots of shops, artists and restaurants around the plaza. Good spot to get café, lunch or some gelato and people watch.

Trevi Fountain

The Trevi fountain is quite large and memorable from the movie, Roman Holiday. Made from travertine – it’s the same material that’s used in the Colloseum. In 2013, Italian fashion brand, Fendi, committed $2+ million to refurbish the fountain. Then, in the fall of 2016, Gucci had a runway show on top of the fountain’s pool of water to celebrate its revamp.

Linger here, toss a coin over your shoulder and wish for something special. If possible, view this fountain during day and also at night for two different perspectives.

Spanish Steps

These 135 steps are more like a grand staircase that lead to a square. Set with bourgeanvilla up and down, this makes for a great photo (if you can get people out of your shot). Lots of shopping and gelato. Also, a good spot to people watch. Metro stop: Spagna

Of course this is just a sampling of Rome – there are neighborhoods, restaurants, sculptures, churches, gardens and more but this walking tour will hit the highlights.

To get psyched for a trip to Rome, check out these movies that feature this great city: Roman Holiday, Inferno, Angels and Demons.

Some Rome books that you can check out: Fodor’s and Lonely Planet.

Getting to/from/around Rome:

Rome’s main airport is Fiumicino International Airport (FCO). From the airport, you can take a taxi, bus or train into the heart of Rome (Metro stop: Termini). For example, a taxi from FCO to Crowne Plaza Rome (where I stayed) cost $40 euro for 4 people. I approximate this ride to be 16 miles and 20-25 minutes.

In Rome, buses abound all over. Ask a local or bus driver where the bus is heading. You can hop on/off when you see someplace interesting. There’s also the Metro/subway – you can buy a 3 day pass which I did for $16.5 euro. A ticket for metro, bus or costs $1.5 euro and is good for 75 minutes after initial stamp.

You can use ticket initially for the metro then take the bus but not vice versa (bus to metro). The metro will help you cover large areas and avoid street traffic if you’re going from one end of Rome to another but the bus is more scenic as it is above ground.
And of course, you can walk which is the best way to discover hidden gems. Secure a map and “roam” around.