Who would go to Italy in summer?

We knew better. But we did it anyway. We went to Italy the end of June.

It is hot in Italy in the summer. And it's crowded with tourists. Hotel prices are at all-time highs. Who would want to go to Italy in the summer, we've asked ourselves time and time again over the years.

Tourists in Florence Italy - early morning

And then two weeks ago we took off to see first-hand if Italy was as hot and crowded as we believed it to be in the summer!

Actually, Italy wasn't our first destination of choice. We'd booked a trip to Jordan's Wadi Rum. It was to be my 'birthday trip' (a bit early) and a celebration of our late June anniversary. Luxury camping in the desert - what a trip, it would be! 

But then we came to our senses: staying in a tent in the desert the end of June probably wasn't going to be the wisest nor most pleasant of travel experiences. We started having visions of headlines about an elderly (aka 'crazy old coots') American couple dying of heat strokes. Then we cancelled the trip.

Italian vineyard as seen from a train

The Scout went to work and mapped out a more reasonable week-long getaway than the Jordanian desert: 

We'd fly from Kalamata to Bergamo, in northern Italy. Then take a bus to Milan, catch a train to Florence, spend a few days there, then another train to the southern port city of Bari. From it, we'd sail a Greek ferry back to Patras, a port city in the north of the Peloponnese and then take a bus to Kalamata where we'd left our car at the airport. Leave Monday, returning the following Monday.

Sometimes it works. . .

Row one Ryan Air - leg room aplenty!

It is a snap flying out of Kalamata's small, well-worn airport, located just over an hour's drive away from our home in the rural Mani. With reservations at the parking lot next to the airport (and a daily rate of three euros), the trip began without a hitch.

Loading the bus to Milan at Bergano - tourists aplenty!

Ryan Air, one of Europe's low-cost airlines, got us to Bergamo for a ridiculously low 125 euros a ticket (which included an additional fee for an upgraded seat with extra leg room and a checked bag). Bergamo's airport was modern and easy to navigate. Collecting our bags and buying bus tickets to Milan - all a snap. The bus stopped at the Milan train station, what could be easier?

Those best laid plans. . .

Italian high speed trains - usually on time

We'd had an unfortunate experience with buying Italian train tickets in advance on an earlier trip there this year. Our flight had been delayed, we missed the window for changing tickets, and didn't make the train either. We ended up paying a high price for a taxi to get us to our intended destination. This time we wouldn't risk a late plane. . .we planned to book the train tickets while on that bus heading to the train station. There are many trains a day, plenty of choices. . .or so we thought.

The Scout watches the estimated time of arrival screen 

It was a good plan until all the fast trains showed, 'sold out'. . .for all seats all but the 400-euro Executive Class. Yes, Italy was apparently full of tourists just like we had suspected, and they'd filled the trains.  We finally booked a cheaper 'bucket run' option that had us stopping in Bologna, and changing trains at the first Florence station to board a different train that would take us the remaining five minutes to the city's main station. 

Italian countryside from our train

But our train out of Milan was delayed by a few minutes. . .just enough minutes to require us to grab our bags and run through that first Florence station, up a flight of stairs and fling ourselves unceremoniously into the second train with about a minute to spare before the doors shut. Panting and sweaty, but we were aboard the train that would take us the last five minutes of the multi-hour journey.   

You want to go where?

Streets are narrow in Oltrarno 

Finally, far later than we originally had planned, we loaded ourselves and bags into one of taxicabs at the main train station, breathing a sigh of relief at finally being in Florence.  I handed the cab driver the slip of paper with the hotel name and address. 

"I don't know this place," he snapped, adding, "And I don't know this street."

Luckily our Greek phone works throughout the European Union so I placed a call to the hotel. He got us there after chatting with the hotel, but I couldn't help feeling that he was as tired of tourists as we were of traveling!

Fabulous but Frantic Florence

Oltrarno late at night was free of tourists

Florence may well be our favorite city in Italy. We had again chosen to stay in the city's Oltrarno, a place busy by day but delightfully not busy at night. 

The centuries-old mural in our room

We ultimately arrived at the hotel, the San Pier Novello in Oltrarno, a small B and B hotel tucked away on an upper floor of a historic building in Florence's Left Bank. The location was a good one, we were footsteps from the entry of the magnificent Boboli Gardens. 

Lots of space for tourists at Boboli Gardens 

The gardens -visited early in the day to avoid the heat -- were the only tourist site we tackled during our stay. It is so large you seldom saw others. However, the lines at museums and other sites were as long as we had suspected they might be. 

'Molto buono', the finger-to-the-cheek gesture

We celebrated our anniversary at our favorite Oltrarno restaurant, Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco (the white boar) but only because we were willing to arrive at 6:30 - they couldn't otherwise guarantee a table. The waiter (pictured above) suggested a Super Tuscan wine that he described through his gesture as being, 'molto buono' (very good!). It was!

All Aboard for Bari

There is no direct train connecting Florence to Bari. Our trip required a change of trains in Rome.  We had a 15-minute connection time, which is quite manageable because the trains seem to always run on time. Well, always, up until this trip. 

Delays appear in the upper right hand corner of the screen

We'd missed our connection in Rome before we left the Florence train station - our train was 18 minutes late departing. We'd not gone far before they announced the train's arrival would be 45 minutes late. We'd never make the connection. But luckily, it was not our fault, so we stood in a ticket line for nearly an hour in Rome and got ourselves another train leaving two hours later. 

Trenitalia still has a ticket office staffed with real humans 

But then. . .you know what's coming, don't you? That later train got delayed and we arrived in Bari an hour and 15 minutes later than the already later arrival had us getting there. It was dusk, moving into dark by the time we arrived.

One of Bari's commercial buildings at night

And then there were no taxis to be had at the train station. (We learned later you must call for them). We had no idea where the place was that we had rented. It was a highly rated place, Four Rooms, but with no on-site staff other than a maid we bumped into one morning. You let yourself in the building, to the accommodation and finally your room. They communicated by SMS. There was no one to call. 

Finally, we managed to have a taxi driver stop long enough to tell us, 'I could take you. But it is so close you can walk it.'  We did and it was only a matter of a few blocks away. I am not so sure that had I been traveling as a single I would have taken that option in a totally new place that time of night.

Old town Bari was enchanting

We had only one full day in Bari, but we had a good overview of its new pedestrian-friendly commercial area, its old town and its port and seaside. We have vowed to go back to that delightful city. 

Ferry from Bari arrives Patras, Greece 7 a.m.

Next time, however, it won't be in summer. And we won't travel by train if it is anywhere near summer.

 We will travel by ferry to and from Greece, which was one of the high point experiences of this trip.  The ferry left Bari at 1 p.m. and arrived the next morning in Patras, Greece, a port city in the Peloponnese about four hours from Kalamata.  Within an hour and a half of disembarking the ferry, we were on a bus back to Kalamata - that trip, also a great ending to our whirlwind adventure.

Patras to Kalamata - a great ending

Lessons learned. . .we now at least know who doesn't want to go to Italy again in the summer:  us! 

 That is it for this time. We hope your travels are going well.  Having any similar 'best-laid-plans' stories for us? Leave a comment or send us an email if you do!  Until next time, thanks for the time you spent here today!  Wishes for continued safe travels ~

That Roman Holiday

 Okay so we didn't zip through Rome on a Vespa as did Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the iconic romance movie, Roman Holiday, set in this Italian city, in 1953. We are a tad too old for that.

Roman Holiday movie 1953

But we did zip through the town, seeing as much as possible during our day and a half here. You can cover a lot of territory on foot when the weather cooperates, and the tourist numbers are low. 

No crowds at the Spanish Steps

Our Roman Holiday was part of a week-long trip to Italy we took in November. One of the side benefits, we've learned, to expat living in Europe is the ease of travel to other countries. No longer must we pack for multiple weeks to make the cost of the trip worthwhile as we did when we were coming from the far western side of the United States. 

We made the 3.5-hour drive from our home in the Peloponnese to the airport and then traveled between Athens and Rome in less than two hours. Our trip was prompted by a two-for-one seat sale offered by Greece's national carrier, Aegean Airlines.

Train travel is such a treat in Italy

And traveling off-season as November is here, we could travel without a set itinerary. Frankly, we weren't sure how much time, if any, we would spend in Rome when our flight from Athens arrived on a Saturday evening.  We were catching two trains as soon as we collected our checked luggage; one to take us from the airport into Roma Termini (the main train station) and there, catching another to Florence where we were booked for five nights. 

Admittedly unstructured travel isn't for everyone. I have friends who create Excel spread sheets and plan their trips down to the nano-second. That isn't our style of travel though - at least during the low-seasons as this is in Europe. The likelihood of getting accommodations on short notice is good and we like the flexibility to change plans if something more interesting comes along.

Train to Rome via the Italian countryside

We'd considered some charming Italian villages but when you live in a charming Greek village, I have to admit, the call of the big city won out. 

Another travel trait of ours is to find a hotel with as much history as possible, and we'd succeeded in Florence so hoped for the same in Rome. The Scout went to work while in Florence, tapped into our accumulated hotel loyalty points (Marriott Bonvoy) and used points to pay for a hotel stay in Rome that we would never have paid the price for otherwise. Using points, our cash outlay was for the cost of the nightly city tax. As our travels have reminded us of time and time again, those airline and hotel loyalty programs do pay off.

The Grand Hotel Flora

The Grand Hotel Flora

When the cab pulled into the semi-circular drive and the doorman greeted us at the stately old Grand Hotel Flora, located across the street from the Borghese Gardens, I knew The Scout had hit on another winner.

Our hotel and the city walls from Harry's Bar

This place literally oozed history. Construction on the building had begun in 1905 when the Borghese family had commissioned a vacation villa.  Economic woes prompted a change of plans, the structure was sold, and the new owner decided it would be a hotel.  Designed by a Vatican City architect, the hotel opened as the Pension Flora in 1907 on Rome's famed Via Vittorio Veneto.

The stairwell from the seventh floor

The site on which it was built is said to have been - back in Roman times - an area of 'Dolce Vita' (sweet life) with Caesar among the villa owners in the neighborhood.

Roman walls and Borghese gardens from our room

By the 1930's it was a modern day 'dolce vita' destination attracting the rich and famous. 

Stolpersteine, or 'stumbling stones' commemoration

Sadly, like many of Europe's grand hotels, the hotel's dark period was when it was occupied by the Gestapo during World War II.  

Here, I must add a side story illustrating that it is impossible to travel in Europe and not be reminded of World War II's impact, as happened during our short stay in Rome:

We were walking to the Spanish Steps from the hotel when we noticed two small, four-inch by four-inch markers, embedded in the sidewalk in front of a building just a few blocks away. The names are of a mother and daughter who'd been living in the apartment, were arrested, deported, and died in Auschwitz.

I posted the photo above on FB during our stay in Rome and thanks to a number of friends who commented on it, learned they are called Stolpersteine, or 'stumbling blocks' a commemoration effort begun in 1992 for victims of the Holocaust. I will be keeping an eye out for similar markers as we travel around European cities in the future. 

[Note: For those wanting more history, I Googled the names of the women and found their story and the Stopersteine information is from Wikipedia.]

The Scout at Harry's Bar Roma

It was Frederico Fellini's 1960 satirical comedy film, La Dolce Vita, that is credited with bringing back the sweet life to the hotel as well as the Via Veneto on which it sits. And sweet life it is with major eateries, bars and other hotels within a few minutes of where we stayed. One such bar, featured in the film, was Harry's Bar - just across the street from the hotel. As they say, 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do' -- so we did! We sipped a glass of wine at the famous place both nights we were in town. 

It, too, has an interesting history as it was opened in 1918 by an American woman who called it the Golden Gate for her city by the bay back home, San Francisco.

Stone, or umbrella pines, of Rome in Borghese gardens

We loved being near the Borghese Gardens a place one could stroll for hours.  However, we were unable to visit the Borghese Gallery as tickets were booked out for a couple of days.  That was no problem though as were strolled its outside sculpture garden! 

Borghese Gallery - next time!

We are now back at our Stone House on the Hill enjoying a relatively mild winter so far in this slice of the Peloponnese.  We are getting ready for another quick getaway, and I will end this post with a teaser on where we are heading. Want to take a guess by looking at the photo below?

The next getaway destination is. . .

So how do you like to travel? Everything planned in advance or just setting off for an adventure. Tell us in the comments below or shoot us an email!  Wherever your travels take you we hope you stay safe and well and are back here with us soon! As always, thanks much for the time you spend with us ~

That Time at the Palazzo

It was dark with only a few hours left of our Saturday night when the taxi crossed Florence's Arno River, then wound its way through a maze of narrow, one-way passageways before stopping in front of a pair of enormous wooden doors.  

'Here is your hotel!' enthusiastically announced our driver in Italian-accented English.  

Arriving at our hotel - Florence, Italy

He was unloading our suitcases, placing them on the cobble-stoned street while The Scout concentrated on counting out the correct fare in this dimly lit area. I was left to wonder where the hotel entry was as it seemed to be behind those imposing and very locked, doors. A small brass sign to the side of them though confirmed the driver's pronouncement: 

Palazzo Guicciardini, Residenze d' Epoca.  

The street was eerily quiet and devoid of people but for our trio. "But how do we get in?' I asked myself out loud, as there appeared to be no one or nothing that would open those doors.  The unflappable driver reached around me and pushed a small button in the corner of the sign. From somewhere within we heard a buzz and the big wooden doors swung open as did an equally enormous iron gate just inside them. The taxi was already down the street as we stepped through the imposing entryway.  

And we went through those doors. . .

It almost felt like an opening scene for Alfred Hitchcock or the Twilight Zone. (Both, mid-century US television suspense thrillers.) In reality, it was the opening scene of our five-night's stay in this stately old mansion, located in an area known as Oltrarno, Florence's Left Bank.

Life in Palazzo Guicciardini

The Junior Suite - that's me in the far corner

 

With the doors and gate automatically closing behind us, we walked the uneven, ancient stones of the palazzo's entry; a long, wide hall so large that could once have accommodated carriages. Another small brass sign directed us to a stairway (three flights) that eventually got us to a small but brightly lit reception area. We were expected and quickly shown to our room. 

We had booked a junior suite, one of three rooms that opened onto the breakfast room. The photo above doesn't exaggerate the room's size and I can only imagine the size of the non-junior suite! We think the main floor of our Greek home would have fit into this spacious sitting room, bedroom combination. Other guest rooms of varying sizes were accessed from the reception area and hallway. 

The ceiling in our room

All the rooms, as well as the common areas, were decorated with ceiling frescos and period art. It felt somewhat like what staying in a museum might be like. The ceilings were the kind you could stay in bed and look at for long periods of time, pondering the skills, time and cost it took to create them. 

The breakfast room ceiling

Classical music played in the background while we dined on rather unimaginative continental breakfasts, but the ambiance prompted one to sit up a bit straighter at the table, use a saucer with the cup and hold the pinkie out when sipping.  It seemed rather incongruous to have the half dozen guests gather each morning clad in some form of blue jean outfits and be focused on their mobile devices.

Living in History

Our street at night

The Residenze d'Epoca, we later learned, is a designation given to outstanding castles and historical residences with at least 100 years of history.  We happened upon several other palazzos in the neighborhood during our ramblings that are also being used for tourist accommodations and that also carry star-ratings of  Residenze d'Epoca. We may need to explore more of these delightful places on future visits.

Which way to go - as every street was interesting

With a history dating back to the 1500's the palazzo we were staying in has changed hands through marriages and deaths and inheritances several times.  Sometime during the centuries, the Guicciardini family came to be associated with the stately home, located just a block back from the Arno. And one of the family's claims to fame (aside from a castle and winery these days in the Tuscan countryside) was a fellow whose story might be just as interesting as the building's. 

Ancient torres (towers) are delightful finds

Francesco Guicciardini (1488-1540) was an Italian historian and statesman, a major political writer of the Italian Renaissance whose masterpiece is entitled, 'The History of Italy'. He was a friend and critic of Niccolo Machiavelli who for a time lived at his family's villa just down the street a block or two.

The Italian Getaway

Italy's fast trains whisk passengers from city to city

Our recent trip to Italy for a week-long getaway was prompted by a November two-for-one seat sale offered by Greece's national airline, Aegean.  It was for real - we both flew for the price of one.  Flying time between Athens and Rome is about an hour and a half.  The cheap flight, coupled with the reasonable cost of traveling by train once in Italy and not needing to rent a car to get between cities, sealed the deal.

Such short flight times, and reasonable airfares make getaways to other countries far less expensive and far less tiring than our previous travels from the US Pacific Northwest. Easier access to European, Middle Eastern and African destinations was part of our reasoning for embarking on our expat journey. This fall, with renewed residence permits finally in hand and Covid lockdowns filed away as history (we hope); we plan to take advantage of our 'launch pad' in the Greek Peloponnese. 

Wall-to-wall tourists at the Uffizi - Florence

We also chose to return to Italy because its temperatures this time of year wouldn't be as cold as those countries' further north. We weren't expecting them to be the downright balmy shirt-sleeve weather that greeted us though. Being as late in the year as it was, we also expected far fewer fellow tourists than the numbers we encountered in museums, galleries, and restaurants.  Even more surprising was the large number of Americans who were visiting. We met several from the southern east coast states and Colorado. But pleasant surprises like these are what make travel so interesting.

The Left Bank (pcitured on the left) won our hearts

Our trip concluded with two nights in Rome, however, we could have easily spent the entire week in Florence. With so many palaces, museums and churches beckoning, and so many food and wine temptations. . .we barely touched the surface of this magical city. We covered a lot of ground while there and I'll have more tales of Italian dolce vita the next time around.   

We thank you for the time you spent with us and welcome to our new subscribers.  We do get notified when you sign up to receive TravelnWrite by email.  It is nice to have you with us!! 

And to you all, wishes for safe travels to you and yours ~

Next stop: Florence. . .

“Visiting Florence was like attending a surprise party every day.”

                        -- Jennifer Coburn, We’ll Always Have Paris

I’d like to tell you that we hopped off that train from Rome that we were on when I last wrote and walked straight to our hotel in Florence, our first stop on our week-long Tuscan getaway.

But I can’t. Because sometimes even seasoned travelers like us can get themselves turned around. Or  in other words, lost.

Sina Vill Medici Florence Italy

The Scout, had searched and selected the hotel, in part, because of it being easy walking distance from the train station. The other reason was that the Sina Villa Medici was housed in a magnificent once-upon-a-time family home in Florence; it one of those hotels that virtually ooze history as you walk their hallways.

Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy

It IS an easy walking distance if you don’t arrive after dark and take a wrong turn exiting the station as we did. Our rather long, circuitous route added a good 20 minutes to our walk but it also took us through some interesting areas like Santa Maria Novella and its expansive piazza, pictured above.

So with suitcases rattling on the uneven cobblestones we took turns asking for directions at two other hotels along our way. We finally arrived at our hotel with a much needed paper map in hand (given to us by a kind hotel desk clerk of whom we'd asked directions). I should note our cell phones don't work in Italy making Google Maps useless.

Bags in room, glasses of Italian wine in the lobby bar and it was time for the vacation to begin:

First stop:  David

Michelangelo's David at the Accademia, Florence, Italy

We visited Florence once – long ago – and didn’t waste precious sight-seeing time standing in the blocks-long line of people waiting to see David, Michelangelo’s marble creation carved between 1501 and 1504. By the time we made this trip we’d smartened up: from home we'd made reservations and purchased on-line tickets. We simply walked up to the door at the appointed time and entered. In fact, we arrived two hours early to pick up the tickets with a plan to return at the appointed time and instead they allowed us in early.

Another piece that caught our eyes - Accademia, Florence, Itay

It was as amazing as everyone over the centuries has said it would be.  But then we found much of the artwork to be amazing and always ponder why one particular item like David or Mona Lisa get all the press while other amazing pieces don’t.

Aimless Ambles

Street art near our hotel - Florence, Italy

With the one thing on our ‘to do’ list done, we ambled aimlessly through this city sometimes called the ‘Athens of the Middle Ages’, home to Dante Alighieri and the birthplace of gelato. 

Florence street scene

We walked past the city’s popular tourist destinations, the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio among them, but found just everyday street scenes to be more interesting than those tourist attractions which had already drawn thousands of visitors and were overrun with tour groups.

Street art Florence, Italy

Florence, while immensely interesting, isn’t what we’d call charming. We find its streets and architecture rather severe – and that isn’t a bad thing. It lacks the romance of Venice and the allure of Rome.  Serving as the capital of Tuscany, its metropolitan population back in 2013 was nearly 400,000 inhabitants. While rather stark, its many rather drab and mundane streets lead to piazzas, palazzos, and basilicas; many of which can take your breath away. Or as Jennifer Coburn says in the opening quote, a surprise party every day.

The Way to a Tourist’s Heart is via the Stomach

Cheese stuffed ravioli with zucchini blossom sauce, left,  and wild boar ragu on the right.

So much food and so little time, we told ourselves time and time again as we walked past tempting establishments offering some of the 120 varieties of pasta that exist in this world. We found them to be reasonably priced at less than 10 euros a serving. (Of course pasta here is meant to be just one part of the culinary feast, usually eaten between the starters and the main meat or fish course. Dessert follows - oink!). We had plenty with the pasta alone.

Free tidbits with purchase of a drink - an Italian tradition

What we’d forgotten about Italy was that bars often set out a mini-buffet of appetizers in the early evening that are served for free with the price of a drink (in our case an Aperol Spritz for 5 euro and a glass of wine for 4 euro).  This spread pictured included bruschettas, small sandwiches, pasta salad and pizza.

A Trip to the Market

Mercato Centrale, Florence, Italy

No trip for us is complete without a trip to a municipal market; those sprawling marketplaces that sell a bit of everything from food and drink to clothing and household items.  Florence’s Mercato Centrale has gotten a bit on the upscale side since our last visit with far more wine bars and restaurants than farmers and fish mongers hawking their food items. It still can send you to sensor overload within minutes of entering it.

Cooking school Mercato Centrale, Florence

What we hadn’t expected to find was a large, modern cooking school right in the midst of the market. Although when you think about it, it is a perfect fit.  And this school isn’t to train professional chefs, it is run by them to teach people like us how to cook Italian foods!  You can choose to take a class or watch a demonstration and then dine with the chef.  To learn more about this place check it out on their website, http://www.cucinaldm.com

Artwork above doorways was as interesting as in galleries, Florence, Italy

Had we  more time in Florence, I just might have signed up for a class but it will have to wait until ‘next time’ as we were heading to Cortona the next day. Made famous by Frances Mayes in her “Under The Tuscan Sun”  two decades ago, it is continuing to draw visitors like us to it. We hoped it wouldn't be over-run by book or movie fans. And we were hoping to see some of that 'Tuscan Sun' as it had been rather rainy in Florence. . .

But that's a tale for next week!  Thanks for being with us on this stop on our week-long Italian getaway.  As always your time and interest is most appreciated.  Safe and happy travels to you and yours~

Linking this week with:

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