[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s Active World Journeys’ travel blog: “First Timers’ Italy Trip.”
Somebody pinch me, I can’t believe I finally got a chance to visit Italy. It’s been about a week since we got back home to Los Angeles from our trip as I’m writing this and I’m still waking up thinking that I’m still there in Italy and excited about what we’ll explore next. I gotta say, Italy seems to have a timed-release mesmerizing effect on me – with a sumptuous after-taste. It has lingered and settled in me in a really good way.
Being a fan of travel guru Rick Steves, I pieced together a two-week “first-timers” Italy trip for a small group of us from L.A. using Rick’s Italy guidebook. (Believe it or not, there were some people I knew well into their mid-70s that had never been there and it was on their bucket list too!) So, I booked Rick’s recommended tour guides and drivers in each area of Italy where we would be, and we stayed in charming boutique types of hotels in ideal locations that were suggested in his guidebook. Everything went great, and here’s my re-cap of our trip.
We started in Venice. Corine from www.2guides4venice.com met up with us on our first day and took us on a walking tour of St. Mark’s Basilica, The Doge’s Palace, The Bridge of Sighs and The Prison. We instantly fell in love with Venice. Corine also helped us book a gondola ride through all the charming and quiet canals of Venice for later that evening during golden hour – it was so peaceful and relaxing. For our next day in Venice, Corine arranged for a private water taxi to pick us up to take us to the nearby island of Murano where for centuries Venetians have been producing that famous Venetian glass. We went to a workshop on how they make chandeliers, cups, bowls, jewelry, etc., and then visited an elaborate showroom with the final products, it was a dazzling feast for the eyes.
During our stay in Venice, we stayed at the Hotel Al Leon. It was right near St. Mark’s Square and it was a very quaint and charming hotel in a 500-year-old historic building.
After three nights and two days in Venice, we took the high-speed express train called Frecciarossa (worth the small cost of an upgrade to business class) to Florence. Francesco from www.walksinsideflorence.it met us for a walking tour of Florence, including seeing Michelangelo’s David statue inside the Accademia Museum (wow!), Florence Cathedral/Domo, Tower of Giotto, and Piazza della Signoria. Florence truly is a magnificent city and just knowing you are in the “cradle of the Renaissance” is inspiring and empowering.
Paola from www.florencetour.com picked us up the next day from our Florence hotel (where coincidentally one of Rick’s tour groups was staying) and took us to Pisa and Lucca on a full-day trip. I don’t think the Tower of Pisa needs any explanation; it was fun to ham it up with the silly photo-ops. But the Pisa cathedral is well worth visiting as well. It’s one of the great architectural masterpieces of Tuscany with influences of Islamic, Byzantine, and Lombardian styles.
Lucca was very quaint and charming; it’s encircled by a perfectly intact Renaissance wall that you can actually walk or ride a bike on. Below, the town of Lucca was one of my favorite places on our Italy tour to just ramble around and get lost. (Local shop owners are always helpful and willing to point you back on track.)
On our last day in Florence, Roberto from www.toursbyroberto.com picked us up at our Florence hotel (or as he said “rescued us from Florence”) to take us to his beloved Siena for a walking tour. It’s a beautiful “hill town” with a population that hasn’t changed much for centuries – about 50,000. The city has always been very independent minded, and they were trailblazers on issues like healthcare and social welfare systems for the citizens during its heyday. After our walking tour, Roberto drove us out to his Tuscan wine and olive farm called Madonna Bella for lunch (his son is the chef), wine tasting, and engaging conversation before dropping us back off at our Florence hotel. It was a very lovely day.
During our stay in Florence, we stayed at Hotel Silla. The hotel recently upgraded and refurbished all the rooms and they were fairly spacious for European standards.
After three nights and three days in Florence/Tuscany we took the high-speed Frecciarossa to Rome. Our seven days there would coincide with the “Holy Week” from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. While we were mainly secular tourists, we still wanted to be there to experience the energy of Rome during the most important event in the Catholic calendar.
Local tour guide Alessandra Mazzoccoli (www.romewithalessandra.com) showed us all the timeless beauty that the “eternal city” holds with walking tours of the Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill, The Pantheon, Vatican City (where we got very close to the Pope!), and the Jewish Ghetto; all over the course of a few days. I was glad we took our time seeing, exploring, and understanding the endless sights and stories in Rome with Alessandra. (Some other iconic sights like the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and Mouth of Truth we did on our own, but very early in the morning to avoid the crowds.)
After all the essential Rome sights, we did a day trip from Rome to Pompeii and Sorrento using www.mondoguide.it, which Rick recommends in the guidebook. Pompeii was spectacular, not really because of the ash mummies of the ancient, preserved bodies from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but the old city ruins are much bigger than expected and contain some really well-preserved brothel neighborhoods along with original erotic frescoes of explicit imagery (if you’re under 18 years old you’ll need a parent or guardian to approve you seeing these).
Nearby Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast were simply gorgeous; as the sun was setting over the seaside and cliffs, it was then that I thought about “sending for my things” and living out the rest of my life there. (This may have been a limoncello-induced daydream though.)
On our last day in Rome, we used Alessandra’s suggestion of Raffaele (www.mycabinrome.com ) to take us just outside the city to discover the Appian Way, an ancient and important Roman Road where we visited the Catacombs of St. Callixtus (early Christians were buried there) and rambled around some remnants of Villas of influential and wealthy Romans who once lived along the road. On the way back he took us to an incredible lookout/view over the entire city called Janiculum Hill. There is a fountain up there that rivals the Trevi Fountain with way less crowds.
While in Rome we stayed at Hotel Oceana. It truly felt like our home-away-from-home. Centrally located just a 15-minute walk from Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, it has an authentic family atmosphere. They promote on their website a Rick Steves proclamation that their coffee is “world-famous,” and I’d totally agree, and I’m a real coffee snob! There really was no better way to start each day in Rome than sipping on a cappuccino lovingly made by one of their friendly and attentive breakfast room staff members.
Italy was a dream come true for us first-timers and I personally can’t wait to go back some day to travel a little deeper and off the beaten path there. Travel is a privilege, and we should never take it for granted, and I’m always so delighted to be able to share my travel experiences on this blog in hopes that it will inspire others to take that trip overseas they’ve wanted to do and experience the wonders of our world while making new friends and learning about the rich history and the world heritage that we all share.
In closing, as Rick always says at the end of his travel TV shows; KEEP ON TRAVELIN’
Cheers,
Jack Witt, MS, CPT
Fitness and Health Coach
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