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Report 1671: Primavera in Italia 09

By Curveball2 from West Virginia, Spring 2009

Trip Description: April 23 2009 through May 5 My wife and I on our fourth trip to Italy, with friends who have never been there.

Destinations: Countries - Italy; Regions/Cities - Cinque Terre, Rome, Tuscany, Umbria

Categories: Hotels/B&Bs; Sightseeing; Independent Travel; 3-4 people

Page 1 of 4: From Home to Rome

I have been self studying Italian on my own on and off for three years and was anxious to see how I would do. The basic schedule was Rome, Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Perugia and back to Rome to leave.

Day 1-2 Home to Atlanta to Rome

Our flight from Atlanta to Rome arrived at 8:15am. Very smooth and painless Delta flight on an Airbus A330. I really like those individual video screens. The passport control line was very slow, but we were out within an hour of landing. We had arranged a car from Rome Shuttle limousine to take us to our hotel. Fifty euro for four passengers and it was easily worth it. We were staying two nights at Hotel Domus Praetoria with the fabulous Menichelli brothers. It is located on Via Milazzo near the Termini station. My wife and I stayed here on a previous visit and loved it. Very clean rooms, excellent help from Massimo and Fabio. Massimo made us a cappuccino to help us get over our lethargy, we stowed our bags, hit a Bancomat, and were off to explore.

Took the Metro to Trevi fountain area, where we took the obligatory pictures and did some window shopping. Trevi was very crowded as usual, with all the normal riff-raff vendors. Wandered away from the crowds to find a small ristorante on a side street, L’Archetto on via dell’Archetto. We arrived just before noon and watched as many Italians arrived on their lunch break. Total €50 for four pizzas, a few side dishes, and water. It was good and just what we needed at that time. Metro back to the hotel to check in and take a short nap.

Decided to take a taxi to the Basilica of St Agostino located near the Pantheon. We received the expected wild and crazy ride from a very dour cab driver. I considered it a plus when I told him in Italian that, "One must be crazy to drive here," and he laughed. It helped bolster my confidence to keep trying my language skills.

The church is home to the tomb of St. Monica, whom my wife wanted to have a private moment with. There is also a gem and mineral shop on via della Scrofa which drew her attention. We tried to make it to the Pantheon by seven because we heard there was a free tour provided by Angel Tours. We were a few minutes late, but saw no sign of the tour anyway. The Pantheon is quite impressive, and we always visit here when in Rome.

Walked to Spanish Steps and caught Metro back to Termini area to eat dinner at AL39 on via Palestra. It is a small, down the stairs kind of place, nothing fancy but decent food and prices. Somehow we managed to spend €87 for four people but we had a lot of food and two bottles of wine. The house wine was not too good but the bottle of Primotivo was.

Stopped in a small bar and got a bottle of Prosecco to drink at the hotel before crashing after a very long but satisfying day.

Day 3

Woke around eight feeling pretty good. We take NO-JET-LAG on the plane and have always felt good after one day in Europe. Some say it is a placebo effect but I don’t care as long as it works for me. Had our pastries and cappuccino with Massimo. Great start to the day. Our friends were still sleeping so we went to Termini to get the Sim card for our phone. I had my Motorola Razor unlocked before leaving the USA so I could buy an Italian sim card for €10, put it in my phone and start using it. The guy at the phone place helped me set it up. Calls within Italy were cheap and to the USA about $1 a minute. We could also text to the USA. The €10 card came with €5 of usage and you can recharge the phone by purchasing Ricarci cards almost anywhere.

Met up with our friends and headed for the Colloseo via Metro. It seemed really crowded and we found out why as it was Culture Week and many museums were free. So we saved €44 but had to fight the crowds. Visited Palatine Hill, walked through Forum quickly (we had been there before and our friends weren’t that interested), and went to the Colosseum. I really like it and felt our friends had to see it. The weather was great so we had a good time walking about and taking pictures.

It was time for lunch so we decided to go back to our hotel area and eat. It almost backfired as it was after 2:30 and very few places were open. The place we found was generic as I never could discern its name. On the outside it said “pizzeria ristorante” but I doubt that was really the name. Food OK, wine pretty good but I don’t remember what kind it was. Cost €52 total.

Fabio at the hotel sent us to Fassi, which he said is the best Gelato in Rome. Location is Via Principe Eugenio 65. It was huge and packed. You order and pay first with only choices being large or small. You can then get a cone or cup at the counter after fighting your way to the head of the line. It was a fun atmosphere and excellent gelato.

Walked back towards Termini stopping at Santa Maria Maggiore. It’s a beautiful church well worth the visit. At Termini we bought our train tickets for the next day from a machine. No problems as the ticket machines have good instructions.

Dinner at Meid in Nepols on via Verese, which had been recommended by our hotelier Massimo. He defined the difference between AL39 where we ate yesterday and Meid in Nepols as AL39 he would take his brother, Nepols he would take his wife. We enjoyed the friendly service and good food, wine and atmosphere, €97 for four.

Another bottle of Prosecco for after dinner consumption at our hotel. The waiter remembered us from the night before and was very friendly.

After our friends retired for the night, my wife and I decided to go see the Colosseum after dark. We had a great time and really enjoyed the different atmosphere from the crowds earlier in the day. Metro back to Termini, a stop in our “Prosecco” bar for a limoncello with our now waiter friend, and then to bed.

Trip Report Pages

From Home to Rome

Rome to Cinque Terre

Volterra and Tuscan Hilltowns

Orvieto, Perugia and return to Rome

Resources

Resources are on the last page of the trip report.

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