FYI: Italian Reviews

Before I move on to Paris, I wrote up reviews on my accommodations and tours while in Italy. I want to be able to keep this for future use plus to share with anyone lucky enough to be able to visit this country.

ACCOMMODATIONS:

Rome – Residenza Madri Pie – via Alcide De Gasperi, 4 Rome 00165
Monastery turned hotel

This monastery was run just like a hotel. There was a front desk at which more often than not a man or two was at, dressed in suit and tie, and handling check ins, check outs, taking payments, and answering all kinds of questions.

There is a “lift” (elevator) at this monastery which was awesome because I was on the third floor. By the way, their bottom floor is 0 (zero), not the 1^st floor.

It was clean and cleaning service happened every day in my room. Bed made, fresh towels, general cleaning.

Internet service was good.

Make sure to ask how to contact the front desk from your room. The room information was posted inside a large cabinet that I never opened so I didn’t have a clue. That information was not shared with me at the front desk.

Breakfast was simple – croissants, pastry, toast, cereal, cheese (of course) and some sort of sliced meat, juice. The setting for breakfast was very nice.

I saw one of the sisters every once and awhile, but not very often.

Rooms are very simple – small twin bed, large cabinets for clothes, plenty of counter space, and a flat screen TV. Never used the TV. The bathroom met my needs.

Check out was earlier than a regular U.S. hotel, but they do have a luggage storage place if you don’t leave town until later in the day.

My view was over the courtyard, with a nice view of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

I would stay here again.

Florence – Casa per Ferie Regina Del Santo Rosario – via G. Giusti, 35 Florence 50121
Monastery turned hotel . . . well, turned accommodations

Got there in the evening. Right on the street. Had to be “buzzed in.”

Front desk was attended by a nun, but one was not always there. You wonder if you are in the right place.

No elevator. Walked up two flights of stairs. Hallway was dark until I found a timed switch to turn on a light so I could find my room and find the keyhole to unlock.

Breakfast was served daily and it was very simple. They did have yogurt, which was a nice addition.

I was given a key to my room plus a key to the two front doors in case I came back late. And if I was going to come back late, I was to put my name on a sticky note and post on the wall near the door. When I returned I was to take the sticky note off so that the sisters would know that I made it back safely. I thought that was nice.

Internet connection was awful. I had the hardest time travel blogging in this place. And the sister forgot to give me the user name and password so I had to ask for it. I absolutely did not know how to readh the “front desk” so I called the main number on my cell phone.

The room was about the same – small twin bed, bathroom set up the same, window overlooking the street which can be quite busy during the day and quite chatty at night. Oh, and people smoking. A soccer field is just a few yards away and there was a soccer game every evening with lots of whistle-blowing. No problem. Made me smile.

Room service limited. The bed was made each day I was gone but that’s it. No new towels.

Check out was 9:30 am – too early. Again, they had luggage storage so you didn’t have to lug your luggage all over town before catching a later train.

It was okay but I probably wouldn’t stay there again.

Venice – Domus Ciliota – Calle delle Muneghe, San Marco, 2976, 30124 Venezia

When I searched for monastery stays in Venice I could not find any availability. But this particular place came up and it should a picture of the courtyard which looked lovely, so I booked it. It’s a gem of a find. I believe it was once a monastery because the bed is the same tiny little twin bed as the other stays, and the bathroom has the exact same shower stall set up. But this one has completely turned hotel and a lovely one at that.

The only drawback that I found, and I found it immediately, is getting to the hotel. It took me quite a long time, with my luggage in tow, to find it. What a pain! It is close to St. Mark’s Square, which is a plus as most of the tours begin at the Square.

I was met by a wonderful woman who was so kind and helped me locate a ferry that would be much easier to get on when I depart, that did not require crossing several bridges.

Breakfast was simple but wonderful. Same foods as the others but also an assortment of teas, a larger assortment of cereal, and hard boiled eggs (there’s the protein!). Service was good at the breakfast.

Room service was great. They brought new towels if you threw your used towels on the floor to be replaced. Room was very clean. Same shower stall but this one had a removable shower head which was great.

My windows – big windows – opened up over a canal.

Internet connection here was the best. I was given a password and had to enter it each day, but that was a very small price to pay for a good connection.

Check out time was 11:00 – perfect. I went straight from the hotel to the train station by catching a ferry nearby that took me to the train station stop.


I would definitely stay here again.  Oh, and the courtyard was very pretty. Didn’t go out there because of the rain, but I could see it from my table at breakfast.

TOURS:
A valuable lesson I learned on this trip when it comes to tours – CALL AND CONFIRM TIME AND MEETING PLACE. Even if your travel agent or yourself have done a good job booking the tour, it is out of their control once it’s been booked. My very first tour said “Meeting Place – Vatican Houses Place,” so the night before I went looking for it. I found what I thought was right, according to Google maps and the Rome map I had. The next morning I went there and no one was there. Thank goodness I thought to go early. I had to call the tour agency twice to get a correct answer. Totally different meeting place. I also learned that it doesn’t matter if you get there early or not as the tour guides and assistants don’t arrive until just before they need to be there. I was a little panicky for the first couple of tours, but then I started learn how the whole thing works. And believe me, it works different from one tour to the next, and from what city to the next. Be prepared to be flexible and to be prepared!

ROME –

Skip the Line Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica – 4 hours
This was my very first tour on my trip so I had no expectations. The tour guide was Daniel and he was great! Very knowledgeable and very personable. And it was great to “skip the lines” into the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica. You can do all of these things on your own but the drawback is waiting in long lines and no one to tell you what you are looking at or the history of what you are looking at, or the things you just might forget to look at! I would highly recommend this tour.

Imperial Rome and Colosseo
There was time in between the Skip the Lines tour and this tour, but they both did happen on the same day, and a lot of people take them on the same day. I will tell you that it makes for a long day, but it’s doable. And you don’t want to miss this tour either because you’ll miss a lot of the history and you do get to go into the Colosseum at a special entrance if you are with a group. The tour guide for this one was an older gentleman, a little serious, but knew his stuff. He is a retired teacher so he led his group like a teacher, and don’t even think about talking while he is talking. We saw ancient Rome first and ended at the Colosseum. I was getting bored because he talked A LOT, and my feet hurt and I was tired. I kind of tuned out figuring I could get the information I wanted online and his personality wasn’t keeping me engaged. Recommend the tour but hope for a more engaging tour guide.

We did not get to go inside the Victor Emmanuelle II Monument, so on another day I took the elevator up to the top for some spectacular views of Rome. I did have to wait in a line, and it was really hot which made the wait almost unbearable, but it was worth it for the views.

In Rome I also had a Hop On Hop Off Bus voucher for my free day, but I accidently left it in my room when I left for the day. But I managed by using Metro, taxis, and walking. The metro is a nice way to get around if you take the time to figure out the attractions you want to see and use a good map to locate the metro stops. Not all metro “stops” are listed on most maps, but metro “stations” are. Schedule your day’s itinerary according where the metro can take you so you’re not going all over the place.


Taking the taxi is good also as it will drop you off right in front of the attraction you want to see. In Rome you send a text to a particular number, and in the body of the text you write “Roma,” and the street and number of the hotel or shop you are at, and the reputable taxi company will send back a text telling you which taxi will be arriving and when. Then you know you are not being scammed. It works really well.

Some things I saw on my own in Rome that were worth seeing, such as San Angelo, Trevi Fountain (extremely crowded), outside the Pantheon (line to get in was ridiculous), and the Spanish Steps (not worth it unless you want to do some very costly shopping, then you’re in the right area). I would highly recommend a side trip to San Giovanni of Laterano (easy to get to by metro) to see the church and the Holy Stairs.

FLORENCE –

Lucca and Pisa Full Day Excursion
If you want to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a tour is the best way to do it. You get lots of information from your tour guide. You can take tours just to Pisa, or you can do a whole day and do Pisa and Lucca. I got a whole lot more out of the Pisa experience than just the tower or I might have thought it was a waste. I guess I’ve seen the leaning tower so often in pictures it didn’t feel like a “wow” moment. But I did like learning about the Camposanto and wished I’d made time to visit the Museum of Sinopies. By the way, there is a charge to go into everything except the cathedral, so be prepared. I actually didn’t know there would be so much to see, so I either didn’t do my homework or I’d forgotten.

Visiting Lucca is not a must but I was kind of excited to go there because I knew that Puccini was born in Lucca and I wanted to see his house, which I did. Lucca is a quiet little town with a beautiful walkway atop it’s city walls. I wish we would have had time to rent bikes and ride around, but it was not to be. It was pretty hot that day anyway.

If you want to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and possibly climb the stairs to the top (for a price) then take a tour. It’s worth it if you do more than just see the tower.

Full Day Sightseeing of Florence – Combo Saver
The combo saver meant seeing 4 hours of cool stuff in the morning and 4 hours of cool stuff in the afternoon. You do not have to do the combo saver, but if you do, be prepared for a long day of art history. You will visit the Galleria dell’ Accademia, the Uffizi Gallery, the Duomo Cathedral and the outside of the Baptistery, Piazzale Michelangelo (so worth it for the views of Florence), and Piazza Vecchio (not a big deal) and Ponte Vecchio. Michelangelo’s David is in the Accademia. There are a ton of things to see in the Uffizi and you will get bored if you don’t like art and art history. You do get to skip the lines going into both of these popular galleries if you are with a tour. Seeing the Duomo and learning the history is worth it. So basically, if you want to go into the Accademia and the Uffizi, go on a tour. It’s worth it to skip the lines and have a knowledgeable person telling you what you are gaping at!

All of the other things I saw in Florence, I saw on my own and usually took a taxi to get there. In Florence you call the number of the reputable cab company and tell them where you are and they will tell you when a cab can be there and I always asked what taxi number. Almost all the time I had to call twice because for some reason after a recording spoke a lot of stuff in Italian I would get disconnected. Only once did it take longer than 10 minutes for a cab and that was the driver’s error. I had to call again and they sent another one. I saw the Church of Santa Croce (Michelangelo and Galileo tombs), Church of San Miniato (beautiful views, chanting monks at 6:30 p.m.), Medici Chapels and Santa Maria Novella. All of those places are worth seeing and might be found on another tour, but I was okay seeing them on my own – no lines.

VENICE –
Half Day to Murano, Burano, and Torcello
People usually take a tour to Murano to see the glass factory, but if you’ve seen glass blown before it’s no different. On this particular tour we got off the boat, went directly into a workshop, saw the glass being blown with a little explanation (in at least 3 languages) and then we could go shopping in the workshop’s store. They said that everything was half price, but who knows if the prices were increased before discounting. Then we got back on the boat. I have no idea what the island of Murano is like. That’s all we did. You can buy Murano glass all over the place in Venice. You just have to make sure to get the real thing. Price is your first indicator – Murano glass is expensive. Second indicator – true Murano glass is stamped with the factory name. My assumption was that Murano glass would be stamped Murano, but there are several different factories on the island of Murano. In fact, all the Venice glass factories are on Murano and not in Venice because of fire hazards. There might be a tour just of Murano and you might get to see more of the island . . . I don’t know.

Burano was far more interesting to me although their “touristy” industry was not. This island is famed for its handmade lace. I was excited to see the lace actually being made, and most of the shops right off the boat do have somebody in them making lace. Again, be careful. A lot of items in the shop are not handmade, or only part handmade. You have to ask unless you know lace very well.  But what I liked about Burano the most was the color of the fishermen’s houses. Bright colors of blue, pink, purple, red. That truly makes this island unique. Cute little town. I wish we would have had time to stop at one of the cute café’s and have a croissant and gelato.

Torcello was not worth it at all, in my opinion. We had an hour on this island and I don’t know why except that it takes a few minutes walking to get to the old church for which this island is famous. BUT, you have to pay to get inside the church, and you can’t take any photos once you are inside. That seems like a raw deal. We did have a little time (more than enough) to stop and get a treat before getting back on the boat.
Our tour guide, who was about as interesting as a slug, had such a heavy accent I couldn’t understand a thing she was saying when she was speaking in English (and not Italian, French or Spanish). So the boat ride was just that, a boat ride. I met a couple of American tourists – women traveling on their own – on this tour so we spent a lot of time just chatting.

I would say this tour really isn’t worth it unless you want a day out of the touristy city. The houses on Burano were my favorite. I bought some Murano glass on the island, but most purchases were made back in Venice.

Best of Venice Tour This tour has a lot of walking, but you are forewarned. We had a lovely guide, a woman who is quite passionate about her city. We were able to “skip the line” and walk right into St. Mark’s Basilica, and walk up some very steep steps to the little museum where we had a better view of the mosaics all over the place. Our guide gave us a lot of historical information which I enjoyed. She took us on some back streets and shared the history of Venice, the wars, the drinking water situation back then and now. It was a semi-private tour which meant a smaller group, and I managed to buddy up with a husband/wife team from Indiana. This tour is mostly about history of Venice and all that makes it unique. We did not get to go inside the Doge’s Palace on this tour but I did go on my own to see it as well as walk through the Bridge of Sighs and see the prison. That was a cool adventure. There might be a tour of the Doge’s Palace . . . I don’t know. This tour that I went on did include a ride through the Grand Canal, but it was raining and we were inside a taxi so we really couldn’t see much. And there was no scheduled bathroom break, which meant for those of us in need had to find a bar/café/restaurant where we had to buy something in order to use the bathroom. That was a stressful five minutes.

The best thing I did for seeing the palaces, museums, bell towers, and the beautiful Grand Canal was to get on a ferry going the wrong direction! I got on at San Samuele (closest to my hotel) but going south instead of north. BUT, it was a beautiful day to be on the water! So I got to go south to the turn-around point at the San Marco stop, and then turn around and go all the way back up the Grand Canal to the train station at the total opposite end of the canal. And the whole thing was FREE. So, if you don’t want to go on a tour of Venice and learn about history and art but you want to see the Grand Canal, go to St. Mark’s square, pick up the free ferry and ride it all the way up to the train station. You don’t get any explanation of the buildings (which you get on the tour) but you do get to see some side canals, gondolas, and beautiful old palazzi.

The other things I did I did on my own, such as: Venice Opera House (I really liked it), the Doge’s Palace (totally worth it!!) and going up St. Mark’s Bell Tower for beautiful 360 degree views of Venice (totally worth it – elevator!)