2024 Italy – Day 12 of 12 – Milan

Sunday, June 6, 2024

This would be our last full day of the trip. We left Como that morning and went to Milan to catch a train back to Rome, where we would fly out the next day. However, since we were going to be in Milan, we may as well see some things.

The first on the list was The Last Supper, in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. I had tried for months to get tickets, but the website had always shown sold-out. So I figured we would walk up and try to buy the tickets on site. Unfortunately, this is not an option, and they turned us away and would not let us in. We did however get to walk through the church sanctuary, just couldn’t go next door to see the painting.

We then walked down to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, which is a library and museum. There are several interesting art installations here, including Da Vinci’s drawings. Tickets are purchased easily at the front desk, so no need to buy in advance.

Just outside the library, we grabbed a quick lunch at Caffee Spadari before heading over to the Duomo and shopping streets. The Duomo area was packed and we didn’t have much time before the train departed, so we admired the outside and went on to the shopping streets. But on the way, why not some more gelato!

We walked in and out of the shops for a few minutes before heading back toward the car. We still had to return the rentals prior to getting on the train. Our car drop point was at the train station, and I made the poor assumption that it would be obvious where the cars needed returned (some signage maybe?). No signs, nothing on the website and they wouldn’t answer the phone. So after driving in circles around the train station in heavy traffic, one of us had to go inside and ask directions, which were to a random parking garage almost a mile away.

Luckily we had enough time, dropped the cars and headed to the train station. This was also not in the best area of town, so we walked quickly to get inside. We grabbed some sandwiches for dinner and boarded the train for Rome, essentially ending the trip. What a blast! Can’t wait to do it again!

Logistics

  • Last Supper – didn’t get in without pre-purchased tickets
  • Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
  • Duomo di Milano
  • 5:35p – Train to Rome – Arriving at 9:37p

Restaurants

  • Milan – Caffe Spadari

2024 Italy – Day 11 of 12 – Lugano

Saturday, June 8, 2024

This was our last day in the Lake Como area, so we decided to enjoy a relaxing morning again at the place before heading out. We really wanted to experience the Switzerland version of the northern lakes, so we headed out to Lugano for the day.

Lugano definitely has a different feel than Como. It was not nearly as busy, parking was no issue, and it was still a beautiful lake. We started with a walk around Parco Ciani. Very relaxing park along the water, with a large playground and some art installations spread around the park.

There was a market in the old city square, so we headed that way and grabbed some lunch at Ristorante Trattoria Galleria along the way. There were also a couple shopping streets nearby, one with high end luxury (not for us) and the other with affordable items, so we went this way.

After a quick shop, we went back down the waterfront and rented paddle boats, which was a great experience just paddling out on the water for 30 mins. Afterward, Cohen bought himself a cool hat at a nearby stand, we grabbed gelato and headed back toward the car. We enjoyed our last dinner at the place, since we headed out the next morning.

Logistics

  • Lugano
  • Parco Ciani

Restaurants

  • Lugano – Ristorante Trattoria Galleria

2024 Italy – Day 10 of 12 – Zermatt

Friday, June 7, 2024

This was another one of those early days, as we were in the car by 5 am and on our way to Stressa train station, which was a 2-hour drive. Stressa is located West of Lake Como, on Lake Maggiore.

The station is very small and we saw several kids that seemed to be on their way to school that morning. The train system in Italy and Switzerland are very easy to navigate and run like clockwork (most of the time). Once on the train, everyone was able to take a good nap on the way to Zermatt. Myself however, stared out the window the entire time admiring the view.

When we transferred trains at Visp, we were placed on a cog-wheel train, that actually uses a gear system underneath that locks into the track to help pull the train up the steep climb, very cool.

Zermatt is a beautiful mountain town, similar to the others in Switzerland. There is a main road that goes through the city with restaurants and shopping, surrounded by the alps on all sides. The kids were starving and I’m embarrassed to say that we gave in and grabbed a quick plate of fries at McDonalds before heading to the Sunnegga lift.

The Matterhorn can be seen from the valley, but we wanted a better view up the mountain. The original plan was to take two lifts up to Blauherd, then hike around the lake. However, we were one week too early, as the Blauherd lift (and Mountaincarts) wouldn’t be open for season until a week later. So instead, we settled on the single lift up to Sunnegga.

This lift was a funicular up to Sunnegga. We weren’t sure how cold it was going to be, so we all came prepared with long sleeves and jackets, but probably would have been OK without it. The views of the Matterhorn and surrounding alps from here were worth the trip up. It also seemed to be a popular location to mountain bike.

At Sunnegga, there is also a small lake with a childrens play area. Would be a great spot to have a picnic, if we had come prepared. Instead, we just let the kids play around with the water features and the tiny fish in the lake. I believe during the peak summer, kids will also get into the lake and swim, but it was not quite warm enough for us that day.

Once we had soaked in enough of Sunnegga, it was time to head back toward the valley. A few of us chose to take the kickbikes down the mountain, while the rest took the funicular back down. Kickbiking was amazing and highly suggested. At the top we were worried it may be too steep, but Cohen (10 yr old) had no issues and had never rode on a kickbike before. Most of the way down, you could cruise easily, just riding the handle brake, but there were a couple areas we had to kick the bike to get it going. Of course, the views were amazing all the way down.

Once back in the valley, we shopped around a bit and went to grab our train. During the connection in Brig, we grabbed a quick dinner and ate on the train ride back to Stressa. We did run into a little trouble at one of the connecting stops. The local police stopped the train and checked the passports of everyone on board. I don’t always carry my passport 100% of the time, but today we did. Not sure what would have happened if we didn’t have them. After about 30 mins, the police exited the train, not finding whomever they were looking for, and we went on our way.

Once back in Stressa, it was late and we still had a 2 hour drive ahead of us, so we didn’t stop to see the town and instead drove back to the place.

Logistics

  • 8:11a – Train from Stressa to Brig to Visp to Zermatt – arrive at 11:14a
  • Sunnegga lift
  • Blauherd lift – was still closed for season
  • Blauherd Mountaincarts – still closed for season
  • Sunnegga kickbiking
  • 7:37p – Train from Zermatt to Brig to Stressa – arrive at 9:39p

Restaurants

2024 Italy – Day 9 of 12 – Lake Como

Thursday, June 6, 2024

This day was purposefully planned with no activities, so that we could choose to relax at our place, or drive around a bit, depending on how we felt.

We ended up taking the morning very slow, waking up late and cooking a simple breakfast. Around lunchtime we drove down to Mennagio and grabbed a ferry ride over to Varenna. I highly recommend using the ferries to get around Lake Como. It was a challenge to find parking at any of the towns, so only parking once and grabbing the ferry was definitely worth it. The ferries run frequently and you didn’t need reservations far in advance, just show up at the booth and buy the ticket you want.

Once off the ferry in Varenna, we walked south toward the main part of the town looking for lunch and settled on Bistro Varenna. Afterward, we did a little shopping around Varenna before grabbing the ferry back to Mennagio.

In Varenna, there is a small villa up the mountain with great views of the lake, but our group was too exhausted to make the climb.

Once back in Mennagio, we walked around the town for about an hour, going in and out of the shops, then continued the rest of our relaxing day back at the place, with a homemade pasta dinner.

Logistics

  • Mennagio
  • Varenna

Restaurants

  • Varenna – Bistro Varenna

2024 Italy – Day 8 of 12 – Lake Como

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

We made minimal plans for this day, to get a break from the busy agenda. A private boat tour of Lake Como was scheduled for 9am.

The boat took off from Tremezzina. We found some free parking, up the hill from the city, near a graveyard, and walked back down to the pier.

Once on the boat, we had 4 hours scheduled to just travel around the lake, seeing several of the Villas and hearing stories of which celebrities owned or visited them. At Bellagio, we chose to get off the boat for a while and enjoy the city since this would have been either a far drive from the Airbnb or a ferry ride, if we chose to do this later in the week.

We hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, so first we stopped at Bar Sanremo, which had a covered seating area out near the lake. After breakfast, we spent 30 minutes just walking around Bellagio and going in and out of the shops before getting back on the boat.

For the next few hours, we cruised around and enjoyed the sun and sights. The kids even laid out on the back of the boat for a quick nap. The tour ended at 1pm and we stopped at Ristorante Giglio for lunch. Afterward we took a quick trip to the grocery store just up the hill from our place, grabbing some essentials for the next day’s breakfast, before heading back to our place, where we rested out on the patio overlooking the lake, read and played games until dinner.

For dinner that night, we wanted something quick and easy, so we drove down to Dongo and ate at Bierreria Tre Pievi. Typical pub style food, nothing fancy, but was good enough and quick, so we could hit the sack early.

Logistics

  • 9am – Private boat tour – Cantiere Cadenazzi
  • Bellagio
  • Nesso waterfall
  • Menaggio

Restaurants

  • Tremezzina – Ristorante Giglio
  • Dongo – Birreria Tre Pievi

2024 Italy – Day 7 of 12 – Drive from Bologna to Como

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Checked out of the Airbnb and got on the road around 8am. We had planned to stop, or at least drive through Mantua. However, there was road construction and a lane split that caused us to miss the exit and would have to re-route 30 mins, so we skipped Mantua and went straight on to Borghetto.

This put us into Borghetto earlier than expected, so none of the restaurants were open for lunch yet. Borghetto is the birthplace of the Tortelinni, so I really wanted to try the dish. We strolled around the very small town for an hour, waiting for the restaurants to start service lunch.

The town sits directly on the Mincio river, which empties from the alps and flows all the way to Rome. The river literally bends through and around the town, some of the restaurants sitting directly in the middle of the rushing water. There’s also a fun legend about the town and the origin of the tortelinni that is worth reading.

Osteria al Volto Bistrot was the first restaurant to open and serve pasta, so we grabbed a quick lunch before getting back on the road. But before we drove off, we noticed a walking trail going down by the river near the parking lot, so we strolled down to see some of the raging rapids.

Next stop was Spiazzi, a small town at the top of the mountain. It was the perfect place to park and walk down to the Santuario Madonna della Corona, a church built literally into the side of the mountain. There were a couple different trails to access the church, but the first one was closed, so we went further North to the 2nd entrance. Here, along the walking trail, there were small art installations to mark the path and tell the story of Christ to resurrection.

The church is beautiful, with plenty of opportunities for photos. It is free to enter and beautiful inside, as one side of the church is made from the mountain itself. The view out into the valley is breathtaking as well. On the way back to the top, we didn’t have the energy to climb, so luckily there was a shuttle bus.

We still had several hours of driving ahead to make Como. Our next stop was for dinner in Bergamo. I had travelled to Bergamo once before and already had a restaurant picked out, since it was so good the first time, I had to experience it again.

The driving and parking in Bergamo city center is limited, so we parked in the lower area of the city and took the funicular up to the top. Da Mimmo Bergamo Alta had some of the best pasta we had tasted in Italy. This is where Connor found his favorite dish of spicy pasta. Afterward, we grabbed a quick gelato and headed back to the car. It seems I accidentally only purchased a one-way funicular trip, so we ended up walking back down the city below instead, which was really no issue.

Back to the car and a few hours later we arrive in Como. Our Airbnb was in Cremia, which is on the opposite end of the lake. Once in Como city, the roads started going in and out of tunnels, so I had several issues trying google map our way onto the right street. There were several wrong turns, but we finally made it to the Airbnb.

Logistics

  • Mantua (skipped)
  • Borghetto
  • Verona (skipped)
  • Spiazzi
  • Santuario Madonna della Corona
  • Sirmione (skipped)
  • Bergamo
  • Lake Como

Restaurants

  • Borghetto – Osteria al Volto Bistrot
  • Bergamo – Da Mimmo Bergamo Alta

2024 Italy – Day 6 of 12 – Venice

Monday, June 3, 2024

Our Airbnb was a two-hour drive away from Venice, so our day started early, out the door by 6am. While it is exhausting waking up this early to fit in all the activities on a trip like this, the payout comes when you beat the crowds and experience the break of morning in a new place. This morning, the payout was watching the sunrise as we came down the countryside hill while leaving the Airbnb, just beautiful.

Traffic was not bad and we arrived at San Marco Garage right on time for our reserved parking. Since there are no cars in Venice, there are limited spots to park if a vehicle is your mode of transportation. I highly suggest booking a spot online in advance. I had parked in this garage before and both driving and parking here are very tight. They parked the cars two-deep and there is an attendant on each floor. You leave your keys in the car, just in case they have to maneuver it around for someone else to exit.

There was a little over an hour of extra time before our 10am tour, so we took the opportunity to go get lost in the streets of Venice. In the early morning hours, the crowds are small and you can witness the delivery trucks and other workers preparing the city and restaurants for the day to come.

Venice recently started requiring tourists to pay for a day pass (5 Euro) on busy days, however we were there on a Monday, so no need to register.

Since Rialto Bridge gets busy during the day, we stopped here first before all the shops opened and grabbed a few pictures. We would come back here later during the tour, but knew it would be crowded by that time.

The tour started just outside the Basilica S Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Our guide Andrea spoke about how he used to attend this church when he lived in the city growing up. However, since Venice has become so overpopulated with tourists, majority of the locals had moved away from the city center. He mentioned how over time it had become difficult to find normal local stores, like hardware stores or groceries, since most of the buildings had converted into businesses that catered to the tourist population.

Our first stop was Chiesa Parracchiale di San Pantalon. The church is free to enter and has a marvelous 3D painting on the ceiling. On our way to the next stop, Andrea pointed out the Banksy painting on the side of a building along the canal. We then crossed over a bridge with concrete shoeprints in each corner, marking the scene of where the Venetians had a ritual challenge to see who could throw the other off the bridge into the canal.

On the southern-most section of Venice, you can find Squero di San Trovaso, a business that is dedicated to building and refurbishing the famous gondolas. Just around the corner from there is Gelateria Nico, a great spot to grab gelato and relax on the sunny shoreline. Unfortunately for us, it was starting to rain, so no gelato just yet.

We walked across the main bridge and Ponte dell Accademia and took in the views of the area. Working our way inland, the next stop was Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, a sprial staircase and location of the film Othello. There was a brief stop at Rosa Salva, where we grabbed some espresso and a few light snacks. Andrea spoke about his Venetian Reggae band and shows us a music video, very unique. The tour concluded at Rialto Bridge and we grabbed a quick pizza lunch at Cafe Vergnano before heading to St Marks Square.

We had booked ahead of time our reservation to go up into the tower at St Marks Campanile. There was a small line that we were able to skip and go directly on the elevator. This is by far the best place to view the city of Venice. You can see all of Venice in all four direction from on top of the tower. This really helps you get the layout of the city, because of the small alleyways in multiple directions Venice can feel like a rat maze after a while.

Pro Tip – Check the tide table before your visit. If you’re in St. Marks Square during high tide, you will have a foot or so of water to wade through, and the water is not exactly clean. Lucky for us, high tide wasn’t until 10pm that day, so we were good.

The kids really wanted to experience a gondola ride, so we walked around until we found one without a line. The cost is regulated, so it is the same no matter where you go, and it is a round trip from where you start. Since there are no roads in Venice, everything moves by the waterway, taxis, trash trucks, ambulances, etc.. Danielle and I enjoyed a drink while the rest of the family floated about.

After they returned, we grabbed some gelato and headed toward Liberia Acqua Alta. I had seen this place online and thought it would be a cool spot to see. However, upon arrival I found everyone else that thought the same thing. The bookstore was overcrowded with people shoulder to shoulder and basically a one-way line walking through the bookstore, up the stairs made of books, then right back out of the store. We didn’t even see any of the bookstore cats! Recommendation would be to skip this spot.

We only had two nights at this Airbnb, and our first night was late, so we wanted to get back, relax and enjoy the place. Each time I go to Venice, I find that one full day is about all you need to see the main city area. If you are looking to visit Morano or some of the other islands, that would be my recommendation for more than one day.

Once we got back to the Airbnb, it was already 9pm. We had stopped to grab a few groceries and cooked dinner in that night. I played some basketball with Cohen and walked around the small town of Guiglia before calling it a night and heading to bed.

Logistics

  • 8:30a – Venice Parking Reservation – San Marco Garage
  • 10a – GuruWalk Tour – Andrea
  • Campo dei Frari
  • Chiesa Parracchiale di San Pantalon
  • Squero di San Trovaso
  • Ponte dell Accademia
  • Ponte di Rialto – Rialto Bridge
  • Liberia Acqua Alta bookstore
  • 2p – St Marks Campanile
  • Doge’s Palace – skipped

Restaurants

  • Rosa Salva – Coffee and snacks
  • Cafe Vergnano
  • Padua – Ristorante La Montanella – Closed on Mondays, so we didn’t go this time, but I have been before. Great outside seating with a view and wonderful food.

2024 Italy – Day 5 of 12 – Pisa and Cinque Terre

Sunday, June 2, 2024

We woke up bright and early, packed up and headed out to pick up our cars from the garage at 7:30am when they opened. The streets of Florence are quiet and peaceful in the early mornings, so we had no issue pulling the cars up directly in front of our Airbnb, parking in the main road and loading up the cars.

We had a 1.5 hour drive to Pisa before our reservations at the tower at 9:30am. Once in Pisa, we found a public parking lot on the west side of the tower, just outside of the main wall. The tower area inside the wall was already very crowded at 9am, but it seems most people had parked on the East side, so luckily we avoided that crowded area.

There was a souvenier market just before crossing the wall. It was funny to see everyone lined up in front of the Cathedral lawn trying to get the perfect picture of them “holding up” the leaning tower. Once we reached the tower, the ticket-checkers told us we had to put all of our belongings into a locker before going up the tower. The lockers are free and located in the building just north of the tower, not far away.

Since we bought tickets in advance, we didn’t have to wait at all to go up in the tower once it was our time. The staircase is spiral, wrapping around the outer area of the inside. It was strange walking up as you could definitely feel the lean of the tower as you went around the spiral stone stairway.

Once on top, there was a beautiful view of Pisa (a very small city) and the countryside outside of the city with mountains in the background. As you walk around the first landing area, don’t miss the additional stairs that lead up to the bell tower. The tower is worth visiting, but you only really need 1.5 hours at most, unless you want to travel into Pisa to see the city. On the way back to the parking lot, we stopped into Posto Cafe Pisa to use the restroom and grab some snacks and drinks for the ride.

From Pisa, we traveled 1.5 hours to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is made up of 5 (Cinque) small villages near the sea (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore). Parking is minimal in most of the villages, with the exception of Monterosso, which has a large lot (Fegina Parking) right next to the beach. From any of the villages, the best way to get to the rest of them is by train. You can also walk the hiking trails along the side of the mountain between some of the villages, but a few of the trails are closed due to landslides.

The roads between the main highway and the seaside are very small with alot of switchbacks. On our way into Monterosso, we exited the main highway early and ended up going down some very rural country roads.

Once in the parking lot, we all got dressed in our beach gear and went to the beach immediately West of the parking lot. We stopped for lunch in a cafe right on the beach called Barabba in White. They have a patio in the back on the beach, good drinks with fresh seafood and pasta. I tried the local sliced salty fish, it was very good.

After lunch, we were ready to relax on the beach. Since it was already 2pm, we negotiated a reduced cost for a few beach chairs under the umbrellas. It is Europe, so prepare yourself for a few topless sunbathers. The water was really cold, but it was hot outside, so it actually felt really good after jumping in. There were several kids climbing on the big rock out in the water and diving off. We tried going out there, but the rocks were very sharp and we decided it was not worth risking the vacation time for a potential hospital visit.

The sky started to cloud up around 4pm and we were concerned about getting stuck out in the rain, so we packed up our stuff and loaded it back in the car. We also wanted to try and see some of the villages. I had purchased all day family passes for us on the trains previously. Since we really only had time to travel to one of the villages, I would have been better off getting a single trip at the station instead of buying in advance.

We chose to take the train to Vernazza. It was a short ride, just a few minutes long. Vernazza is small with one main road, lined with small shops and restaurants. We did a little shopping on our way down and ended at the bottom with some gelato from Gelateria Il Porticciolo. There are some seating areas out near the water where we sat and enjoyed our gelato, watching all the activity of the people nearby.

On our way out I looked for a cave entrance I had read about online that lead over to another beach area. However, it had been sealed off, probably due to too many people like us that had read about it online trying to go through.

We hopped on the next train back to Monterosso, grabbed our car and headed toward our next Airbnb near Bologna. It was going to be a 3 hour drive, and we didn’t want to get stuck on the country backroads in the dark. We chose to have another quick dinner during the drive, stopping at one of the Autogrill’s just off the highway. It was 9pm on a Sunday, so our options were limited.

If you’re thinking “eww, truck stop food”, you couldn’t be more wrong. The Italians really take their road-side food seriously. Inside was a very nice restaurant and fully stocked grocery store. We grabbed a few salads and sandwiches to eat at the place once we had checked in.

Logistics

  • 9:30a – Leaning Tower of Pisa
  • Monterosso
  • Monterosso al Mare Beach
  • Vernazza
  • Museo Ferrari Maranello (skipped)
  • Bologna (skipped)

Restaurants

  • Pisa – Posto Cafe Pisa
  • Monterosso – Barabba in White
  • Vernazza – Gelateria Il Porticciolo

2024 Italy – Day 4 of 12 – Florence Day 1 of 1

Saturday, June 1, 2024

Everything is easily walkable in Florence. You can walk from one end to the other in 25 minutes. We started our morning with a visit to the top of the Duomo/Cupola (Brunelleschi Pass – 30 Euro/adult – tickets booked online in advance). The timeslot to climb to the Dome is fixed, but you can visit the main church and baptistery at any time over the following two days.

Our walk to the Duomo was only about 10 minutes, so after our morning pastries and coffee, we were on our way. The area in front of the Duomo would soon be full of tourists, but at 8am things were just starting to open up and it was easy to walk around.

The entrance to climb the dome was on the north side of the building. They usher you through the church, which was not yet open and up the staircase to begin the climb of 463 steps. This climb is no joke, so get your legs ready.

After the initial climb, you pop out onto a walkway that is underneath the dome, high above the church floor. There are designated “sushers” on each end to shh you into silence, since this area is open and any noise would resonate into the church. The paintings on the underneath of the dome are beautiful.

Once on the other side, it was back to climbing even more stairs, but the view from the top was worth it. One of the tallest spots in Florence, you could easily see the entire city. After soaking in the view and walking back down, the square below was already starting to fill up with tourists. It had only taken us an hour in total to climb up and back down, which gave us a little extra time to walk around the square and admire the architecture of the church. With our Brunelleschi Pass, we could also have climbed the Campanile Bell Tower, but our legs were shot, so this was off the agenda. We did visit the Baptistery, which was worthwhile and only took about 10 minutes.

Next up was our free walking tour. Anytime I travel to a new city in Europe, I always try to take a tour and learn something about the history of the city. I find it much more fulfilling to understand the context of the things I see in the city. There are plenty of pay-versions (I like WithLocals) but often you’ll find free versions as well, where the guides work on tips only. This was one of those tours.

We met the guide in San Lorenzo Square. Our group was around 20 people and he walked us through the city while telling the story of the Medici family and their ties to government, wealth and the Roman Church, very interesting. He pointed out things you would never notice by yourself, like the remaining wooden bolsters on most buildings where balconies used to be, the history behind why the “first” floor in Europe is really on the second floor and the importance of corners in old cities.

We worked our way South and East, stopping at all the landmarks along the way, and even popping into a hidden alleyway away from the crowds briefly. The tour lasted 2 hours and was definitely worth the time. We ended the tour near a food truck, where the guide pointed out one of the delicacies of Florence, the Lampredotto. It is a sandwich where the main ingredient is the 4th stomach of a cow. I tried it at one of the stands in Mercato Centrale and would definitely recommend, but it’s very messy so grab alot of napkins.

It was just after noon and our next activity was the Accademia Gallery at 1:45pm, so we grabbed some sandwiches from Carpe Diem (directly beside our Airbnb) and took them back for a quick lunch in our place. The Accademia Gallery had several long lines when we arrived, divided out by entry times and those that did not purchase tickets in advance (recommend purchasing these in advance). We stood in our appropriate line and entered within 15 minutes.

The main attraction here is Michelangelo’s David statue, but they also have other artwork, paintings and violins. The kids thought it was funny how many naked statues were all over Europe.

After the gallery, we walked over to the Mercato Centrale. Plenty of shopping stalls outside selling mostly leather goods and souveniers. Inside is a two-story area full of stalls which are mostly restaurants. We had originally planned to eat lunch here, but the timing didn’t work out, so we just grabbed a couple drinks and I tried the Lampredotto from Bambi.

We hadn’t eaten gelato yet in Florence, so you can guess what we did next. After leaving the Mercato Centrale, we heard alot of commotion coming from the train station. It was hard to tell what was going on, alot of people cheering and busses dropping someone off. Our best guess was the local futbol team.

Once on the other side of the river, we grabbed some Gelato at Gelateria Della Passera and tried to find a shady spot to sit and eat. Our reservation at Boboli Gardens was not until 5:30pm, but they allowed us to enter early without any issue.

Boboli Gardens is basically a park with fountains, statues and plenty of shady spots to sit under the trees. The entry way is a steep uphill climb and at the very top is a nice garden with good views south of the city onto the countryside. There were couples in the park with photographers getting engagement photos taken.

When we left the gardens, we exited on the river side instead of the main front entrance near Palazzo Pitti. We wanted to try and get over to Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset. Once we had that in sight, we saw how much more of an uphill climb it was and the area was already crowded several hours prior to sunset, so we chose to skip this adventure for now.

Instead, we walked back down to the riverside and made our way to Ponte Vecchio, where we grabbed a few drinks and shopped for souvenirs. Our Airbnb had a couple balconies and we wanted to watch the sunset from there, so we had pizza delivered by deliveroo, did some laundry and rested the remainder of the evening.

Logistics

  • 8:15a – Florence Duomo/Baptistery – Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
  • 10a – Free walking tour – GuruWalk: The Best tour in Florence: Renaissance and Medici tales
  • San Lorenzo Square
  • Riccardi Medici Palace – outside only
  • House of Dante – outside only
  • Palazzo Vecchio
  • Uffizi Gallery – outside only
  • 1:45p – Accademia Gallery – Michelangelo’s David
  • 5:30p – Boboli Gardens
  • Piazzale Michalangelo sunset – skipped

Restaurants

  • Mercato Centrale – Bambi – Lampredotto
  • Carpe Diem – Quick sandwich lunch
  • Gelateria Della Passera – Gelato

2024 Italy – Day 3 of 12 – Drive from Rome to Florence

Friday, May 31, 2024

Today we drove from Rome to Florence with many stops along the way, so we started early picking up the rental cars at 7:30am. Driving within the center of Rome is not the easiest, so instead we chose to all head to the train station and pick up the rental cars together. We hailed a couple taxis and they dropped us and our luggage off at the station. It was sprinkling a little rain, but luckily not too much as we tried to figure out where to go.

We checked in, grabbed the cars from the garage and proceeded out of the city toward our first stop, Sacro Bosco, about 1.5 hours from Rome. We arrived around 10am, ahead of schedule and we nearly had the place to ourselves. While getting some coffee here, I did learn the important lesson to order “cafe latte” and not just “latte”, which mean milk.

Sacro Bosco is a strange place. Out in the middle of nowhere, it is a forest filled with strange sculptures that make you wonder how these got here. It was a relaxing visit with no crowds and gave us a chance to wind down after the busyness of Rome. Apparently we were lucky, as we were getting in the cars to leave, two large busses full of loud school children arrived.

After driving through some questionable back roads for an hour, we arrive at Bagnoregio. Attempting to drive toward the closest parking lot to the bridge, we were redirected away from the city center which apparently is for locals only. We circled the nearby parking lots for 30 minutes looking for somewhere to park and eventually parking in a large empty lot just north of the city, meant for campers. The parking pay terminal would only take coins, so we had to risk it as we could only afford to buy 1 hour (we stayed here 4 hours)

Pro Tip – When in Italy (and Europe in general) always have a healthy lot of coins. Sometimes paid parking areas or toll booths will only take coins (no card or bills).

It was a long 45 minute walk from the lot up into Civita, but worth it. There is a small booth near the bridge where you pay a small fee to enter the city. Walking up the bridge to the city is quite the climb and very windy, so hold onto your hat! Once in the city, there are quant alleyways and beautiful architecture.

We worked up an appetite during the long walk and decided to grab lunch at Alma Civita. This turned out to be our favorite restaurant in all of Italy, and the service was fantastic. Our server told us a bit about the city, where currently there are no longer residents, just daily travelers and businesses due to the fact that the city is slowly collapsing into the valley. He told us of the history, when residents of the city used to utilize donkeys to transport farming equipment up from the valley every day, so today they celebrate with an annual donkey race in the city square.

Civita is not large, as you can walk from one end to the other in about ten minutes. On the far end, there is a garden (small donation to enter) and the views from either side of the city are incredible. There is a small church in the city center, a museum (paid entry) and a few tourist shops.

During the long walk back to the car, we were having gelato withdraws, so we made a quick gelato and espresso stop along the way. Luckily once we reached the car, we had not been ticketed, as our pass had expired 3 hours prior.

We were running a bit behind schedule, so we only drove through Orvieto briefly and skipped the Well of St. Patrick. Many of these old cities have narrow streets and limited parking, otherwise we would have stopped briefly and walked around the city square.

On the way to Cortona, we stopped at Castiglione del Lago and parked in the large parking lot near the lake to stretch our legs. It was extremely windy next to the lake. Not a very popular town, so plenty of parking and easy to get around. We thought we could easily reach the city square from the lake side, but after walking around the hill that separated the two for 30 minutes, we decided to turn around and head back. We ended up settling for a quick drive through near the castle and square on our way out.

Cortona was another old city located on top of a tall hill with very small streets to drive and limited parking, so we chose to view from the car as we drove by. We had a dinner reservation in Siena waiting for us.

When we finally reached Siena, it was starting to get dark and the streets in the city center are not easy to navigate. Similar to the other nearby cities, Siena has tiny streets and limited parking. It took us 30 minutes to find parking, and with our two cars we ended up parking very far away from each other. I dropped Scott off near the restaurant so he could hold our reservation, then went to park the car.

Unlike most of the other cities we drove through Siena is not at the very top of a tall hill, but walking through the streets felt like climbing vertical up a mountain. Dinner at Osteria Permalico was amazing and I would definitely recommend. After dinner, instead of walking back to the car parked far outside the city, we all piled into one car. Seven people in a small italian car was very entertaining. A couple children may have ended up in the trunk!

As we were exiting Siena, we drove through the city center. I wish we had more time to walk around and enjoy the city, so next time we will plan a much longer visit to Siena.

It was after 11pm at this point and our host was waiting for us in Florence, so we skipped Monteriggioni and San Gimignano. We had booked parking reservations in Garage delle Terme, just a few minutes walk from our Airbnb, but we did not realize the garage closed at midnight. Florence is not a large city and it seems most of the city was shutting down around this time.

We parked our car on the main street, Via Por Santa Maria, so that we could unload our luggage and greet the host. Afterward, Scott and I took the two cars and tried to find somewhere to park. Along the river on the opposite side, we did finally find a couple parking spots, but knew we had to move the cars into the garage by 7am to avoid being ticketed.

We all got settled in and ended the long day of driving and exploring, ready for our first day in Florence.

Logistics

  • 7:30a – Rental car pickup – Locauto/National/Enterprise
  • Sacro Bosco – Strange sculptures scattered around a forest
  • Civita di Bagnoregio – City on a falling hill
  • Orvieto – Well of St. Patrick – skipped
  • Castigilone del Lago – brief stop to stretch our legs
  • Cortona – Quick drive through the city
  • Siena – Dinner
  • Monteriggioni – Skipped
  • San Gimignano – Skipped
  • Florence

Restaurants

  • Civita di Bagnoregio – Alma Civita – Best meal we had in Italy.
  • Siena – Osteria Permalico – Reservations required.