Venice Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Shared Adventures

Strangest. Souvenir. Ever.

September 20, 2017 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

Andrea definitely wins the prize for the most unusual “souvenir” from her Italian honeymoon!! And I absolutely love all the details she remembered to report back to me. My clients truly are the best 🙂

Hi Ann,

Eric and I got back last night and had a GREAT time in Italy! We really appreciate all of your help planning and throughout the actual trip. Wanted to share a few highlights with you to let you know how everything went 🙂

Our United flight to Rome was really smooth and comfortable. We paid extra to get the premium economy seats to get the extra leg space and some other perks. We got a row with just two seats in it. So Eric got his window and I had my aisle 🙂 It was a pretty comfortable flight. When we landed we found our driver easily and got settled in the hotel. The hotel (Giulio Cesare) was very nice and comfortable. The first day we just walked around and explored Rome. We found Piazza del Popolo and enjoyed the space and shops. We had dinner at Su e Giu Cucina Romana, which ended up being one of the best Italian meals we had on the trip.

Our Vatican and Colosseum tours were great! The hotel was also close to a lot. If not walking distance, we figured out how to use the metro and used it quite a bit the rest of the time in Rome.

For our next stop, we took a taxi to the Rome train station. When we arrived at the Rome train station we were those confused American tourists, but figured it out. There was a “helpful” stranger or two, but just ignored them. Our train ride to Naples was smooth and comfortable. Our driver in Naples picked us up and we found him easily. There was a car accident near Sorrento, so our car ride to the hotel was about 2 and a half hours. We didn’t mind since we weren’t in a rush anywhere and just enjoyed the view, but to be cautious we bumped up our pick up time when leaving Sorrento just to be sure.

The Sorrento hotel (Grand Hotel Cesare Augusto) was nice, nothing fancy but did the trick! We were a 5 to 10 min walk from shops and the water. The first night we had dinner at Star Pub to get a break from Italian food (the burger there was REALLY good!). For our full day in Sorrento we took the ferry to Capri. The ferry was a little pricey, maybe 80 Euros in total for the both of us, and it was kind of hectic too, since it was so crowded with tourists and the ferry filled up fast. Nonetheless we made it to Capri, and planned on walking around and spending a few hours there. Well, when we got to the island we kind of wished we had planned ahead and booked a day tour because it’s a little confusing to book something once you’re on the island. But we just pulled up Google and read that Villa San Michele/Anacapri

/Scala Fenicia had the best views on the island. Google Maps told us it was a 25 minute walk. No problem. Well, we walked about a 10^th of a mile and then there were steps… lots of steps. We realized that Google Maps doesn’t clearly indicate altitude lol. The entire rest of our walk was steep cobblestone steps! Unknowingly, we walked up the famous Phoenician Steps. After our exhausting stair climbing journey we made it to the top of Anacapri, where we unexpectedly found plenty of cafés, shops, and tourists on a walking main street. The people walking around did not appear to have just climbed a thousand steps, so we were baffled on how all of these people got here and why no one was acknowledging that we just climbed these steps! Lol. We later found a plethora of taxis at the end of the main street and realized that this beautiful place was reachable by car lol. While there we enjoyed the view, did some shopping, and refueled with some pizza. The idea of facing the steps again, even though easier to go down, was daunting. So we paid 25 Euros for a cab ride back to the port to catch the ferry back to Sorrento. It was overall a pretty great day at Capri and one of the highlights of our trip.

That night we ate dinner by reservation at Ritorante Fuoro. This was probably our other best Italian dinner in Italy!

The next morning, we headed back to the Naples train station by the driver. The driver was great! We just caught our train in time since we’ve been unlucky with Sorrento traffic and of course it was a rainy morning causing traffic. Our train ride was comfortable, smooth, and pretty easy since we were now experienced Italian train riders 🙂

When we arrived in Florence it was easy to take a taxi to our hotel (River Hotel). We checked in… well then you know the rest from there about check in. lol. After some back and forth with the hotel, the third room was a charm, and we were quite comfortable the rest of the trip, but highly recommend only the renovated modern rooms that you booked for us. The second room they put us in was an unrenovated room (what they call to be “classic”) and was really out of shape and bathroom was beyond outdated. None of the rooms have controllable air so were still advised to use the breaker panel to turn off the air if we got cold. But there’s not too much you can do if you’re hot since there’s no way to lower the temperature.

We did quite a bit of walking in Florence. The hotel was tucked away in a more quiet area, and about 1.5 to 2.0 km from the central restaurants and shops we visited. Bus and taxi didn’t seem very viable since the streets are flooded with tourists, so walking was our mode of transportation (which was our rationale on why we could get extra gelato, lol). The Dan Brown Inferno Walking Tour was really good. Our tour guide was great and we had a small group of only five people. I never saw the movie, but I definitely want to now. The tour only spent about 10% of the time on the movie, the rest was history and was very interesting.

After the tour we had the day to explore – well, we ended up exploring a dentist office. I had an old filling that ended up falling out of my tooth (lovely, I know) and had an urgent dental matter. This was quite an anxious search for a dentist because foreign country dentistry is a world of unknown. We found an English speaking dentist (who had high Google reviews – because what else do I go by for an emergency!) and he ended up being fantastic. The office is Studio Odontoiatrico Firenze Guasti e Massai if you ever need to give a client a dental recommendation, lol. The dentist office was a general dentistry and the doctor spoke well enough English to get me through. The receptionist also spoke decent English. Comfortingly, everything about my dentist visit was comparable to a trip to an American dentist, minus the fluent English speaking. 440 euros later I had a new filling and it’s actually really good! My Florence souvenir was a new filling I’ll cherish forever.

The next day we had nothing officially planned and decided we wanted to see the leaning tower of Pisa. We didn’t book a tour, and just took the train as you recommended. It was only 16 Euros round trip per person and we got to see the tower in person and get photos.

The next morning we took a 15 euro taxi ride to the Florence train station to head to Venice. The train ride was easy and comfortable. Once we got out of the train station and ready to head to the hotel we assessed our options. The water bus was about 14 Euros total, while a private water taxi was asking for 70 euros. So the water bus it was. The ferry system from the train station to the island is a bit confusing, but your instructions and map were clear. We didn’t end up taking the water bus number 2 to San Zaccaria, by our own fault. We took bus number 5.1 which also had a stop to San Zaccaria, so it worked out.

The Venice hotel, Hotel Bisanzio, was great. This was our favorite hotel for location, staff, room, etc. from our trip. (Our next favorite hotel was Rome). For our first day in Venice we decided that we needed a break from hotel breakfast (all the hotels’ breakfasts were pretty similar), but there really weren’t many place in Venice for breakfast or brunch. We found a cute café called the Florian. It’s pretty fancy and pricey, but you get what you paid for. They have a cover charge of 6 Euros per person which they call their “music charge”. There’s a live music group with piano, violin, singing, etc. while you eat. Kind of reminded me of high tea in London. There’s lots of little sandwiches, specialty coffees, hot chocolates, teas, etc. while you relax and enjoy the music. After Florian we headed to our tour and gondola ride. There was rain in the forecast so they had us do the gondola ride before the walking tour. It was pretty awesome! The tour afterwards was just about an hour and was nice to hear some history and other information about the city.

For our final meal in Italy, we spent it at the Hard Rock Café of Venice lol. We needed a change from gnocchi and lasagna. Our last night we debated between the Alilaguna Ferry and private water taxi to get back to the airport the next morning. The ferry was cheap (17 Euros per person), while the private water taxi was 120 euros. The ferry would take 1.5 hrs because of all the stops, while the private water taxi takes only 25 minutes. We knew we had a long day ahead of us with flights and a connection, so we splurged and did the private water taxi. They picked us up at the water way right behind our hotel and took us directly to the airport. In my opinion, it was well worth the money… Eric needed a little convincing but I think he’s glad we did it. We had a long day of flying and got to our house by 10:30 pm EST Saturday and went straight to bed.

We had an absolutely fantastic honeymoon! Everything went SO smoothly. We even said multiple times – thank god Ann planned this all out because there is no way we would have figured out any of this! We are both so happy with our trip and will forever remember it for our lifetime!

THANK YOU!

Andrea & Eric

Easy, Breezy Italy

January 27, 2017 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

Loved, loved, loved receiving this feedback from Jaime and Matt! Not just because they had such a fabulous time in Italy, but because it was the little touches (great guides, fabulous and reliable drivers, pre-arranged train tickets, and helpful concierges) that made such an impression on them. Anyone can plan a trip to Italy, but a true travel professional knows how to make it all seamless so that you can just relax and enjoy the ride 🙂

Hi Ann!

We can’t thank you enough for your amazing planning expertise. Our trip was wonderful and your itinerary made it so easy. I could have seen us making some mistakes with language barriers and perhaps booking trains and maybe making an error so we both agreed it felt so nice to have a professional take care of all the arrangements so we could just relax and enjoy!! Not to mention the hotels were amazing and in great locations.

I’ll start with Aer Lingus… really nice flight, the red eye on the way there was a bit difficult. I was a zombie pretty much the first day but we did push through as you recommended and I was fine the next day. On the way back, Aer Lingus was a bit hard to find in the airport in Venice but we also arrived 3 hours early so we had to wait for them to set up their check in. That could be a bit confusing for people if they arrive early like we did… also Aer Lingus seemed to share check in space with Jet Blue. The flight back was much better as we got back around 8 pm from Boston and it was really 2 am for us so we were able to go right to sleep and then wake up this morning being fully rested and ready to go to work. It was helpful that we cleared security in Dublin and when we made it back to Boston we were already done. It was nice you gave us a heads-up because that could potentially be a bit confusing it seemed like we had to go through twice.

Our driver who met us at the airport in Rome was wonderful and awaited us with a sign with our names. Made it super easy and nice to have someone waiting. He even bought us a cappuccino since our driver was running a few minutes behind schedule but our driver was amazing! So helpful, informative and spoke great English… I would definitely use Rome Cabs again!

River Palace was awesome! The people at the desk were so helpful and informative. They gave us a complimentary bottle of wine. The hotel was in a great location. We felt very safe and were able to walk to sites. The concierge provided a map and circled places of interest, called cabs, and were just generally friendly and helpful. It really felt like a little home for the few days we were there. I loved all the detail you provided on the itinerary about local city tax and credit card for incidentals… etc… just helped us know what to expect. The concierge also confirmed our tours for us!

We loved our tour guide for our Colosseum tour. His name was Gigi he was so passionate about the information and very funny! The only thing I would say about this tour is again we arrived very early to the meeting place and were a little worried because it wasn’t an office it was just a park, but as soon as it got closer to the time of the tour we saw plenty of people also waiting, i think initially we just weren’t sure we were in the right place.

Our Vatican tour was also really great, we liked that the meeting place was in an office and we actually showed up right on time for this one so we were very lucky it was easy to find!

Next we set off for the Naples train station. We were happy you shared to be vigilant. We didn’t run into any problems but we did witness a man take advantage of some ladies traveling alone. He grabbed their luggage despite their protest and took the bags on the train, then he stood there until they gave him some money and when they gave him one euro he was not happy and let them know it!! Just another heads-up story for people about the train station. He wasn’t in uniform but wore clothes very similar to one and was sort of an imposter, asking to see people’s tickets to try to confuse them into thinking that he was an employee and then grabbed their bags and demanded tips.

Next we met our absolute favorite driver!! His name was Carmine and he was just the sweetest! He was practically giving us a tour on our drive and was super friendly! The only thing was we thought we could pay by credit card and he said it was cash only so we were just happy we had enough…

Posa Posa was a great hotel in Positano. It was more basic and more beachy feeling with a tile floor and just basic furniture, did not have a luxury feel like the Rome hotel but we were happy with the mix. Plus, the balcony was amazing! We literally woke up to a view of the sea, it had a table and chairs out there so we were able to sit and drink wine and relax!! That was our same view for the breakfast each morning as well! The people working at this hotel were also very nice and helpful with anything we needed. It was a great location. A few restaurants in Positano that we greatly recommend are di Vincenzo’s, Constantinos, and a very cool experience where you get taken to a place without a menu and they serve you a 6 course meal for 40 euros made by “mama” called La Tagliata. We hiked the Path of the Gods while we were there and took a boat to Capri which we recommend. Our driver back to Naples was also very nice, (he knows you) Fabrizio.

The trains that you booked were fast and easy. We loved not having to purchase tickets and just having to hand them to the staff!!!

Our Florence hotel was amazing!!! So swanky haha… the breakfast was quite impressive!! They hooked us up with some champs, and aperitivo, when we arrived. I think if we had to do it all over again, we would have done one more night to explore more in Florence and one less night in Venice, just our personal preference.

The only time we “messed up” was we didn’t realize you booked our rental car pick up at 10 am and we didn’t show up until 12-1. It didn’t end up being an issue. We picked up the car and put it in a lot so we could spend a few more hours exploring Florence before driving out into the countryside.

The next part of the trip was probably our favorite!!! We absolutely loved Radda in Chianti! The view from our room in our hotel looked like a back drop or a painting!!! We absolutely loved this hotel and Linda our favorite receptionist. She sent us to 3 wineries, one a small family run and two others, one was a castle, and one an old monastery. We did not expect so much history on our wine tasting tour but it was so interesting!! The mom and pop winery gave us a free tour and tasting and of course we bought some amazing wine! But it was pretty cool to have a private tour and see how the wine is made, and a private tasting as well!!!! We also drove to check out San Gimignano and Siena — very cool to explore. Returning the car was very easy and the car came with a gps which made navigation a breeze.

Our least favorite part of our trip was Venice. It’s very cool to see because it’s unique, but we just loved the other places so much more. The hotel there was just ok compared to the others as well as the concierge and location. We had been so spoiled though to be honest… we got off the train and found the water bus without a problem… it was only 7 euro each for a one way, and only took about 45 minutes, plus the boat ride was pretty cool. We did the same on the way back to the airport, all the people at the waterbus ticket stations spoke English and were able to explain exactly what to do to catch the waterbus back to the airport. It was only 15 euro each and took about 1 hour and 30 minutes as opposed to 30 minutes with a private taxi. We were happy to save a few bucks here and it worked out with our flight times so we didn’t mind that it took a bit longer. We didn’t really feel like we even needed too much time in Venice as we were kind of spent on seeing churches and sites and just wanted to chill at this point.

The only other thing we wished was that we gave ourselves a bit more spending money in our overall budget because we did end up spending twice as much as we thought we would. We never skipped wine at dinner and always had more than one course haha… plus we shopped a bit to bring back wine and leather 😬

Overall we felt like our itinerary was a great mix of adventure, relaxation, sight seeing, and learning/ touring. Italy is our new favorite place and we absolutely want to return!!! The people were great, food amazing, views incredible, wine delicious, and just overall history and culture so interesting and impressive.

Thank you so much for your time and attention to detail with planning this trip. We kept mentioning how incredible it was that after only meeting once, we felt like you completely got our vision and nailed it!! We loved that you yourself have used some of the vendors on your own trips! We will definitely be calling you as soon as we save up for our next trip and send our friends your way!!

With gratitude,

Jaime and Matt

Fabulous Food and Ferraris

December 16, 2016 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

Cynthia and Alicia (mother and daughter) reached out to me about a family “escape” to Italy. They had a very specific window of opportunity, and a pretty good idea of the things that the two couples wanted to see and experience, but they wanted my help putting it all together seamlessly. Together, the three of us crafted an amazing exploration of northern Italy, with some history, some culture, some gorgeous scenery, lots of fabulous food and wine, and even a quick test-drive in a Ferrari 🙂 Can’t wait to help them with their next adventure!

Hi Ann,

Here is my synopsis of our trip! It really was truly amazing.

I really liked Aer Lingus as an airline. I thought they were efficient, clean and had all the amenities I want when traveling overseas. The only challenge we faced was having the layover in Dublin in the middle of the night for us. None of us were able to get much sleep at any point during the flights or in the Dublin airport, so we were totally exhausted our first day in Milan. But we pushed through and didn’t nap! On the way back, going through U.S. Customs in Dublin was a dream!

As I said, we were exhausted our first day! We arrived at the hotel and one of the rooms was ready, so we stored all of our luggage in that room, changed and headed out towards Piazza Duomo to start exploring and grab lunch. The Best Western Galles was my least favorite hotel, but I think that’s only because of the particular room Jay & I stayed in. It was on the ground floor, (very tiny, which we expected because it’s Europe, but this felt extra small!) and the bathroom and shower were very tiny too! My parents’ room was much better, on the fifth floor, was larger and had much more counter space in the bathroom. I have a feeling that the ground floor rooms were designed differently, but maybe it’s possible to request a room on the upper floors next time. Everything else about the hotel was great – the staff very helpful and breakfast was great – everything you could possibly want (just a little crowded on Sunday, but the week was quieter!)

Our first day, we had lunch in a restaurant in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele (pricey, but pretty and we were exhausted and starving lol). After lunch we strolled around there, went into some stores and then went to the Duomo Museum which was really cool. After the museum, we decided to head back to the hotel so mom and dad could check into their room. We changed for dinner and went to a place called Ristorante d’Oro (recommended by the hotel and only a five minute walk from there). We didn’t have a bad meal the entire trip, but this was one of the best! They had papa pomodoro (bready tomato soup) which is one of our favorites, and we had previously in Rome and Florence.

The next day, we went to Sforza Castle and toured the museum there and saw Michelangelo’s Pieta. We then strolled down Via Dante and had lunch outside along the way. We then met up with our group for the walking tour. This walking tour was great! Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable, especially when it came to the Last Supper – she told us so many things you would never know by just looking at it. The tour was the perfect length for us, and we were able to see the important highlights of Milan. We then had an aperitivo and later dinner. The aperitivo trend was one of my favorite things about this trip!

The next day was my favorite part of the whole trip – Lake Como. We took a 10:20 train to Varenna (the train was about an hour). Once we arrived in Varenna, we hopped on the ferry to Bellagio, with the plan to come back to Varenna later on. I have decided that Lake Como is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The scenery is incredible. I could not stop taking photos! In Bellagio, we climbed the cobblestone steps and shopped along the way, visited a church and then did a 3 wine tasting with lunch at a place called Aperitivo Et Al – this was fabulous. Our waiter explained each wine we were drinking in great detail (and very good English) and the lunch was great! We then hopped back on the ferry and went back to Varenna. Varenna was beautiful too – we strolled along the passarella (pedestrian bridge right along the water), went into a few shops, took a ton of photos, climbed more cobblestone steps lol and then settled into a place right on the water for an aperitivo. We then went to dinner at Ristorante La Vista. This place was incredible. It sits up high and has beautiful views of the lake. We sat outside and watched the sun set. After a nice long scenic dinner, we headed back to the train at 9:37. I think Jay and I have our sights set on retirement in Bellagio haha! It was simply magical.

The next day we got up, had the hotel call us a taxi, and took our train to Bologna. We found the trains this entire trip to be extremely easy to use and on time. We got off our train, and walked right to the Starhotels Excelsior. This was by far my favorite hotel. It was the most modern and very spacious (we did end up upgrading to deluxe rooms for another 20 Euros per night because those rooms were ready, but we were anxious to drop our suitcases and change our clothes). The breakfast here was equally great. We then set out for the day to explore. I have to say, I LOVED Bologna! Such a cute, quaint and old city. We strolled down Via dell’Indipendenza. It was a little late for lunch, so at first we had trouble finding a place that was open until we happened upon this place that looked like a deli. The owner was there and welcomed us in even though he was about to close. At first we had trouble with this menu – it was centered around this food called “Tigella”. ??? The owner swooped in to help. We soon learned the Tigella is local to Bologna, and is this type of bread (kind of like an English Muffin) that comes in all kinds of flavors (wheat, white, truffle, etc.) The owner ended up giving us a tasting of everything. He brought us three baskets of Tigella bread, then three plates of meats and cheeses to make sandwiches with the Tigella. It was INCREDIBLE – I am attaching a photo of it. This was the best lunch we had the entire trip! After lunch, Jay and I climbed one of the towers of Bologna (mom and dad opted out of this one lol) 498 steep steps to the top, but so worth it. The views of the city were incredible! After our descent, we did a little shopping, then went back to the hotel to change for dinner. We had dinner at this really cool place that we had found during the day (I forget the name of it though!)

The next day was the Food & Ferrari Tour. What an incredible day! I cannot say enough good things about this tour. I am so glad the guys wanted to drive Ferraris because it allowed us to experience this amazing tour. First of all, our tour guide, Olga, was hands down the best tour guide I have ever had on any trip I have ever been on. She was so nice, accommodating to everyone on our tour, so knowledgeable, and most importantly so enthusiastic about everything we were doing – you would never know that she does this almost every day! We went to a Parmesan factory where we got really lucky because the inspector was there, so we got to see how they inspect the cheese. We then went to the prosciutto factory, where again, we got really lucky because the inspector was there too! At each of these places, Olga took us through the entire factory step by step, then we did tastings of each with endless amounts of Lambrusco (Olga just kept magically pulling bottles out lol!) We then went to the balsamic vinegar factory which was SO COOL – I had no idea how they make it, and we are now all balsamic vinegar snobs. We had another incredible tour from the owner (and his 5-year old daughter too – so cute!) and then another tasting there – balsamic vinegar on cheese, balsamic vinegar on gelato….on everything. It was awesome! Then on to the Ferrari museum! The car that Jay had reserved to drive was not available, so he ended up selecting another one, the California Turbo (that came with a passenger – yay for me!) Dad also selected a passenger car. While waiting for the test drive, we toured the museum and Olga, being amazing again, took us through the museum and gave us a tour. The test drive was….scary…exhilarating…thought we might die…but ultimately we lived to tell the tale lol! Jay drove with the instructor in the front seat and me in the back seat. They take you through the town of Modena…on the very narrow roads…with other cars on the road…and at certain points let you go as fast as you can (the instructor was pushing Jay’s leg down on the gas HAHA!) Jay absolutely loved it. I had fun too, but was kind of glad when it was over and we were still alive haha. We then were to head to lunch with the rest of the group. Because we were the only ones to do test drives, the rest of the group had already gone to the restaurant so Olga sent the bus driver back to pick us up (again, so accommodating). We met up with the rest of the group, had an amazing 7 course lunch and lots of wine (which I needed after that test drive LOL). After lunch, we went up to the kitchen were two women were preparing stuffed tortellini by hand for that night’s dinner. They let us in the kitchen to observe and we actually got to try to make some tortellini with them! After that, we headed back to Bologna and were dropped back at our hotel at around 6:00. We went to our rooms, then went to dinner close by on recommendation from the hotel.

The next day we got up, explored the park near the hotel and took a walk through an antiques market. Then hopped on the train to Venice! Venice was so beautiful, again I could not stop taking photos! We grabbed a porter and a water taxi and arrived at the hotel. Duodo Palace was so beautiful and has so much character! The location of this hotel was definitely convenient – we never had trouble finding our way back to it and never had to walk too far to any sights. Our rooms were ready, so we checked in and dropped our bags – oh, and about those keys – real keys with a huge tassel that they keep for you at the desk – so cool! The rooms were again small, but the bathrooms were a lot more spacious than the one in Milan. The breakfast here was also very good, and a bonus – they had mimosas here! After checking in, we headed out for lunch to a place on recommendation from the very helpful hotel staff. I wish I could remember the name of it, but dad and I had the best gnocchi we’ve ever had! We then strolled around, went to St. Mark’s Square the Rialto Bridge, and eventually had dinner again on recommendation from the hotel.

The next day, we had our walking tour of Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica. Finding our tour guide was a little hectic, but then we figured it out. This group had about 5 tours in 5 difference languages starting at the same time, so it was crowded but we eventually figured it out. Our tour guide was very good and very knowledgeable. This tour was a larger group of people than our previous ones, and everywhere we went there were already a lot of people, so it just felt a little more crowded, but that was Venice in general. Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs were both incredible. St. Mark’s Basilica was also quite amazing to see, but we all agreed that the tour through there lasted a little too long. After the tour, we grabbed lunch outside near our hotel/La Fenice Opera House and then visited La Fenice – so beautiful! We then headed towards the Rialto and did Gondola rides. This was so much fun – they took us along the Grand Canal and through some side canals. We then did some shopping in the Rialto area. That night, we decided to have dinner by the water near the Rialto (these restaurants might be tourist traps, but hey – “when in Venice” right? and the food was of course superb!).

Our final day in Venice, we went to the Academia Gallery and Peggy Gugenheim Museum (we got a little lost getting to them, but who doesn’t get lost in Venice lol). This was also the only day that we had a little rain on the entire trip! The Academia Gallery (mostly Renaissance art) was amazing, impressive, and so worth it! The Gugenheim (modern art) was not so impressive. It was extremely crowded and tiny (it was Peggy’s former house), but I also think I am biased because I do not like modern art lol. However, there were three paintings that I wanted to see, so once we saw those we headed out. We then had lunch at an adorable restaurant next to the Academia Bridge – amazing paninis! After lunch, we decided to head to Murano. We took the Vaporetto – so cool! We went to the glass museum on Murano which was amazing and then did a little shopping. We then headed back on the vaporetto and got off a St. Mark’s Square. We had an aperitivo at Harry’s American Bar, which is where the Bellini was invented and which Hemingway frequented in the 1940s. We then headed back to the hotel, and got a recommendation from a restaurant. However, when we got to the restaurant, they didn’t have any openings until very late. We happened upon another place called Roso Rosso, who had a table for us available a half hour later. We put our name in, and settled in a nearby bar for another drink (this was the theme of the trip – wine at every opportunity!) Roso Rosso was one of my favorite restaurants – I had THE BEST lasagna I have ever had.

The next day we were picked up by our private water taxi – we were expected them to arrive right outside of the hotel, but instead they were parked in a different canal, so the attendant walked us (about 5 mins) to the taxi. We had to drag our suitcases, but the attendant helped us with them over the one bridge we had to cross, and it really wasn’t too bad. We were dropped at our car, arrived at the airport and on our way home. 🙁

Finally, I have attached a few photos for you. All in all, this was such an incredible trip. It was exactly what we wanted – we were able to see all of the highlights, stay extremely informed and have a ton of fun all while doing a few small tours but mostly exploring on our own. The food, wine, scenery and sights were all amazing. We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather. It was sunny and in the mid-60s every day, except for our last day in Venice. The Italian people were also all so friendly and helpful. We of course were always overly cautious but honestly came away with the feeling that the Italian people are really very genuine and want to help you. The breakfasts at all three hotels were great, but most importantly the hotels were all clean, comfortable, staff very helpful, and in perfect locations for what we wanted to see. It was so convenient to have our trains and private transfers booked ahead of time as well. I cannot thank you enough for planning this wonderful “escape” for us, Ann! Jay and I have our sights set on another European adventure sometime next year, so don’t be surprised to be hearing from us again soon lol! Thank you again for everything you did for us, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Alicia

An Epic “Escape”

September 10, 2015 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

Christina and Chris were celebrating their second wedding anniversary, and contemplating the reality of starting a family at some point in the future, and wanted to go cram in as much of Europe as possible before “settling down”. Because Chris is a teacher, their summers are flexible, so Christina blocked a few weeks out of work and they sat down with me to plan an epic adventure. In the span of three weeks, they did a pretty good job of exploring Belgium, Italy and Greece. While you might not want to replicate their breakneck pace, you could take their tips and suggestions (below) and make any one of these three countries into a very nice vacation on its own:

Our European Escape

Although our trip was just over a three-week span according to the calendar, it feels like my husband and I were away for months! Now looking back at the photos and reminiscing about the adventures from the beginning of our trip, the moments already feel like a lifetime ago. I am so grateful for this feeling and for your expert planning for our travels abroad!!

Belgium

Mons, Belgium was the first destination on our whirlwind tour. My dad has been living there for just over a year now, and we joined my step-mom, brother, and Loofa (my dad and step-mom’s bichon frise) for five fun-filled days. We sampled beers in every town and city, reveled in the chocolate, and devoured the waffles. We began our time together in the city center of Mons, and then branched out to Tournai, Waterloo, Brussels, Ostend, Bruges, and Ghent in the following days. Each place reflected its roots – French speaking Wallonia or the Dutch speaking Flemish countryside. A Flemish city always seemed to be organized and clean!

Some highlights include Notre-Dame de Tournai, the cathedral in the center of the city, and Tournai’s large open city square with rows of fountains, the museum and Lion’s Mound overlooking the countryside at Waterloo, the Grand Place in Brussels, the expansive beach at Ostend, the architecture and beauty of Bruges, and Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child. This sculpture is remarkable for a number of reasons, one of which is that it was the only sculpture to leave Italy during Michelangelo’s lifetime. (I can’t believe how fortunate we are to have seen both Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child in Bruges and the Pietà in Rome on the same European trip!). We took a hilarious and wonderful horse-drawn carriage tour of Bruges while in the city, as well!

I was least familiar with the places to see in this country, relying mostly on my dad for our itinerary. I did, however, consult your Destination Guide email that introduced us to Belgium via the web. This was a great resource! Because of this email, my family specifically decided to take our last full day together to travel to Ghent, Belgium. The city was described as a “less-touristy” Bruges, and we were excited to explore it as a family. It did not disappoint! The city offered a castle, boat tours along the city’s canals, and a beautiful skyline of medieval architecture. There is a wealth of history in Ghent, and we only just tasted a sample!

Belgium is beautiful. I may have underestimated it because of its size, but it has so much to offer! I am very grateful for the time we were able to spend together exploring this lovely country with my family.

Italy

After a farewell breakfast with my family, Chris and I were off to our first stop in Italy – Venice! Ann, your instructions and maps for transportation from the airport to our hotel were clear and incredibly helpful – thank you! We spent the evening wandering the streets, eating dinner, and people watching in Piazza San Marco. The next day we traveled by water taxi around the canals and took one to the island of Murano. In addition to watching some very skilled glass blowing demonstrations, we ate our best gelato here! We grabbed a late afternoon snack of wine, cheese, and charcuterie at this local well-rated hole-in-the-wall type place that was amazing (Hostaria Vecio Biavarol)! After this we wondered the streets some more, ate a delicious dinner, and took our long-anticipated gondola ride. A perfect introduction to Italy and the days to come!

Our second stop was Cinque Terre. We stayed in La Spezia, which was a great choice – especially with our luggage (thank you Ann!). We took the train to Manarola for dinner on the first night (the local trains are very easy to navigate here!). We ate a delicious meal and then explored the town, hiking to see the views at sunset. We took the ferry the following morning to get from town to town. We didn’t hike as much as we would have liked, but we hit the beaches at Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, and Riomaggiore instead! We spent our final evening hours walking the streets of La Spezia, which is a very lively town in the evening!

We took a train to Florence the next day. Our hotel was very close to the train station and perfectly located for exploring the city. Again, you gave us a wonderful recommendation to try the Central Market in Florence. This was our first stop – and it was huge! We grabbed a quick, delicious lunch from the upstairs floor that was filled with a number of great Italian restaurants. We met our Accademia tour guide in the afternoon, Brenda from ArtViva. Having now seen the David twice, I can attest to the value in touring the Accademia with a guide. Brenda gave many more insights about the sculpture than I knew on my own, and hearing her talk about the details with the David in front of us was incredible. After the tour, we ended up buying tickets to an opera for that night, held in a small church. We were skeptical of our purchase when we first saw the venue (it was so small!), but the talent was impressive!

The next day we actually decided to book a day tour in Tuscany with Walkabout Florence – we couldn’t resist! Even though we were disappointed to cut our time in Florence, we ended up being very happy with the tour purchase. The tour took us to Siena (Florence’s “rival” city from years past), an organic farm and vineyard in the Chianti region for a Tuscan lunch and wine tasting, San Gimignano, and a final stop in Pisa! The whole experience was wonderful, from learning about the horse races in Siena to the delicious meal at the vineyard to the spiraling, sea-legs-like climb of the Leaning Tower.

The following morning we took a high-speed train from Florence to Naples where Fabrizio picked us up for a stress-free transfer to Sorrento. Along the way, we had scheduled a tour of Pompeii. Our tour guide Barbara introduced us to the ancient city.    It is terrible to think of the fate of these people, but I am very thankful we were able to see this historical site in person. Fabrizio was kind enough to wait for us at a coffee shop (and keep our luggage safe!) while we toured with Barbara. He finished our transfer with the drop off at our hotel in Sorrento. Chris and I were excited about this hotel because of its rooftop pool!

Since we only had a little over a day to see the Amalfi coast, we split our time between a bus ride to  Positano on our first evening and a boat tour around the island of Capri the next day. Positano was gorgeous! We hiked up and down the town, dug our toes into the black sand, and grabbed a Spritz from a cliffside restaurant before taking the bus back to our hotel. Capri was also stunning – offering grottos of orange, green, and blue that you can tour with a group or by renting your own private boat. We decided to go with the group tour for the cost savings, and toured the entire island of Capri, including a stop in the famous Blue Grotto. After our island tour, we took the ferry back to Sorrento with enough time to hit our hotel’s rooftop pool and explore the town famous for its limoncello.

The next day we took a morning transfer and train to arrive in Rome by noon. After checking into our beautiful hotel, we explored our surroundings – including a stop at the Spanish steps! Our first night in Rome was our two-year anniversary, so we ate dinner at a restaurant picked out by my husband. He did a great job researching! We had wonderful service and a mouthwatering meal at Matermatuta (we highly recommend this spot!).

We woke up bright and early the following morning for our CityWonders’ Vatican skip-the-line tour. Having visited the Vatican before (but without a guide!), I was looking forward to the insights we would learn as part of the tour group. We were not disappointed! Not only were we able to “skip-the-line” and listen to our knowledgeable tour guide, we were able to enter the museum before it even opened! The early start time of the tour was totally worth it – and it included a skip-the-line tour of St. Peter’s Basilica, too. Chris and I even climbed the dome afterward! After this we actually went back to our hotel to nap – which helped us enjoy the evening of sightseeing around the city.

Our final day in Rome we did a tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum with CityWonders. This tour was very informative and also let’s you skip-the-line! After the tour we tried to hop on a tour bus of the city, but I wouldn’t recommend this bus to others. The line for the hop-on, hop-off bus tours was long and the ride itself was not as informative or enjoyable as we would have liked. After we “hopped off,” we wandered the streets of Rome to sightsee and grabbed a later lunch before heading back to our hotel for our transfer to the airport. We were off to catch our evening flight to Greece!

Greece

Our private driver was waiting for us (even with our delayed flight!) and drove us to our city center Athens accommodations. Everything went smoothly, allowing us to get a good night’s rest before our 8:30am walking tour of Athens the next morning.

The tour group was the two of us and four Australian friends. We were happy to have them along since our tour guide was not the chattiest! It was relaxing to walk to the major sites in Athens, including the Parliament building with its symbolically dressed guards, the first modern day Olympic stadium, the Temple of Zeus, and the Acropolis. Once at the Acropolis, we were on our own to explore. We spent time on the mount itself – a massive example of Grecian achievement – and followed the tour with a visit to the New Acropolis Museum. This museum was incredibly well done! If you visit Athens, this museum is a must-see! For the remainder of the day, Chris and I grabbed a late lunch and then toured the city streets that night.

Early the next day we flew to Santorini! Thank you so much for booking us a gorgeous, newly renovated resort in Fira! The location was a small hike to the main streets of Fira town, but completely worth it for the peacefulness of the accommodations. We loved it! We enjoyed the pool and amenities at the resort first, and then walked into the town of Fira to explore and have dinner. After a day of on-and-off rain (so rare for the island!) the sky surprised us with a gorgeous sunset while we ate dinner on the cliffside of Fira. A relaxing, beautiful first day in Santorini!

On our second day, we woke early to catch a cable car down to the pier. I would highly recommend taking a cable car in the early morning! We had no line and barely had to wait before our car zipped us down the cliffside to the pier. We strolled along until we found what we were looking for – donkeys! We heard about taking donkeys up the cliffs of Fira, and we couldn’t resist!   The weathered Greek men practically tossed us onto our donkeys (or rather, mules, we realized), and off they trotted! No instructions or warnings of how to ride them, we barreled up the donkey path – almost running into pedestrians and other donkey/mule riders along the way. The experience was hilarious and definitely one of our favorites from the trip!

After we dismounted at the top of the cliff, Chris and I took a public bus to Akrotiri to see the famous Red Beach. It was beautiful to see the contrasting red rocks with the deep blue water. That evening, we took a public bus again, but this time to the other side of the island – to Oia. Not only did the town offer gorgeous views, it hosts the majority of the iconic Greek Isle “postcard” landmarks. Only eating our dinner paused my picture taking! It truly is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

The following morning we packed up for our final transfer before heading home! We took the SeaJet ferry from Santorini to Mykonos. Everything went smoothly with our transportation, and we were in awe when we arrived at the Myconian Imperial Hotel! The service treated us like royalty, toured us around the amazing facilities, and left us to enjoy complimentary refreshments in our beautiful hotel room.

All of our meals at the resort were delicious – from the free buffet-style breakfast, to the lunches at the poolside restaurant, to the main dinner restaurant with the gorgeous views, to the amazing sushi restaurant that took reservations until midnight. Definitely worth every penny! We made use of the free shuttle to the main town one evening, caught the sunset with the famous Myconian windmills, and ate a traditional Greek meal at the quaintest restaurant, To Maereio. We highly recommend this small, hidden eatery! It was interesting finding the place though because the streets of Mykonos were designed to confuse pirates – and it definitely is easy to get lost!

On our final day, we had reserved a horseback riding excursion through the hotel. Our guide, Angelika, was wonderful and so patient with us as we learned the ropes (literally!) of horseback riding. We had a wonderful experience – the only downer was that the pictures made it seem like we would be riding along the beach the whole time (and even in the ocean!). We actually rode on a trail to and from the beach, with a small amount of time on the beach itself. Granted, I guess the horses really like to roll around in the sand when it’s hot!! So Chris got some action when he had to quickly jump off his horse to not be a part of the backscratching party, hahaha! Thankfully he was fine – and it now makes for one of our most hilarious stories from the trip!

Before heading home, we basked in as much Grecian sun and Aegean ocean water as we could! We spent a total of three days at our resort on Mykonos, and it was the perfect way to relax, refresh, and reflect on our trip before returning home. We’re so happy we booked this trip with you, Ann! We would’ve never booked such a beautiful place for ourselves at the end of our trip, but it was the perfect way to top off our amazing adventures in Europe.

All in all, this trip was EXACTLY what we were hoping for and looking forward to – it was the trip of a lifetime! Thank you so much for making it possible!

Strangest. Souvenir. Ever.

Easy, Breezy Italy

Fabulous Food and Ferraris

An Epic “Escape”

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