Italy

Hello ITALY! 

This blog post continues from my last post on Greece. We left Santorini to start on our journey through Italy. We flew on Aegean Airlines from Santorini to Athens & then Athens to Rome. All in all it was a good travel day!

We left Greece on May 12th & left Italy on May 19th, 2017.

One week breakdown - 2 nights in Rome, 2 nights in Sorrento (Almafi Coast), 1 night in Florence, 1 night in Venice & 1 last night in Florence (Tuscany).

WHEN IN ROME

Day 1 - We get to Rome & check into our hotel, which was literally like an apartment… It was a little different to say the least. But the location was great, right by the Trevi fountain! The top floor was the bedroom which was beautiful & it had an outdoor terrace with fresh flowers.

The name of the hotel was called, Trevi Rome Suite. On their site you can see the exact room we had, it’s the 2 level apartment one. We booked it though hotels.com. I would recommend this area as it’s a great central location to stay.

After we were settled we walked on over to see the Trevi Fountain. It was flooded with people of course, but still amazing to see. Make a wish!

We decided to walk around the city. We ended up at the Pantheon, where we got right in. The Pantheon is the best preserved Ancient Roman monument & the word Pantheon is a Greek adjective meaning “honor all gods”, which in fact was a built as a temple to all gods.

We walked through it pretty quickly because we thought we would be back again the next day on our tour, but it didn’t end up happening due to time. It was pretty incredible to see inside.

We had dinner outside the Pantheon at one of the cafes, which definitely was a touristy thing to do, but we didn’t care. We were in the heart of Rome eating pasta & drinking wine. Does life get any better? 

After that we continued to explore the city. We ended up stopping for some gelato. Cheers to having our first gelato in Italy! We walked over to the Il Vittoriano & went up to the top to get some beautiful views of the city. Headed back to the hotel & called it a night.

Day 2 - The next day we booked a Colosseum / Vatican tour through Walks of Italy. It was the “Rome in a day” tour. It ended up being a couple hundred Euros for the two of us, but we did get a discount by mentioning Rick Steves! I had a code in one of the books I had – I highly recommend his books for any Europe trip! I bought the Greece guidebook & the Best of Europe book for this trip.

The day started out by meeting outside the Colosseum. We walked over there from our hotel, which took us about 15 minutes. Next thing you know we are walking into the one & only Colosseum! This is always the first thing I think about when I think about Italy. There is so much history there!

After the Colosseum, we walked through the streets of Rome passing many different famous areas & landmarks. I loved walking around Piazza Navona!

We head over to a meeting location where we will get on a bus that takes us to Vatican City. Before we go, we break for lunch & eat at Trapizzino, which was where the tour guide recommended to go that served pizza in a cone. It’s one of Rome’s most loved street food.

We ate there with another couple on the tour, they were on their honeymoon. They had already been in Italy for a week & they had gone to where we were going next which was Florence & Venice, so it was nice to talk to them about where to go & things to do!

Then we are at the Vatican Museum. There are no words… It was unreal to be there! My Papa is a die hard Catholic & I was raised Christian & Catholic, even though I never fully committed to the religion. I wish I could have taken him there with me.

Then we get to the Sistine Chapel. No pictures are allowed, which we followed & respected the rules, I mean it’s the Sistine Chapel! It felt too sacred to disrespect it. It was crazy to see the one picture that I remember growing up seeing, The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo.

After that we walked into St Peter’s Basilica. It is the prettiest church on the Earth, as you can imagine. It was never ending. So much to take in, you almost do not know where to look or begin. My favorite part was the center towards the back where Mass is held. 

We walked through the square & then the by Castel Sant’Angelo. We continued along the riverwalk & then headed toward the Spanish Steps. We ended up walking like 27,000 steps or something that day.

We took in all of the sites that day pretty quickly, but I wouldn’t change a thing. It truly was “Rome in a day”.

SORRENTO

Day 3 - We woke up early the next morning in Rome & took an Uber from our hotel to the train station. From there we hopped on our first Italian train from Rome to Naples. It was a little confusing the first time we did it. We didn’t really know what to do or where to go, but by the end of our trip we were professionals! Haha

It was around a 2-hour train ride. Once we were there, we had booked a private transfer take us from Naples to Sorrento. This can be booked through the train website as well. You could also hop on another train there, but they say that the public transportation in Naples can be sketchy & is the worst for pickpocketing. The transfer ended up only being around 50 Euros. It took about an hour & a half to get to Sorrento, but it was a beautiful drive. I would never want to drive in Italy. The streets are so narrow & the drivers are crazy. Plus, there are mopeds weaving in & out of traffic.  

Our driver dropped us off right in the square, resulting in a short walk down a little alley before we come to our hotel, which was perfect. It was called, Hotel Palazzo Guardati.

I loved our hotel there. It had a beautiful rooftop terrace with a pool & bar up which overlooked the ocean.

We walk over to the Inn Bufalito for some lunch, it was a recommendation from a flight attendant friend. We both had delicious fresh made Panini style sandwiches made of buffalo meats & cheeses. Very good! 

We walked around the square a little bit & headed to the train station so we could see where we would get on the bus the next day to go to Almafi Coast. We ended up buying our tickets in advance there, so the next day we just had to show up & be good to go. 

This is a great cheap way to visit the Almafi Coast! I loved staying in Sorrento as our “base”. I would have never thought to stay there, but I am so happy we did. It is such a cute town! Also, it is a great place to stay for visiting Capri.

After we get our tickets we head back to the hotel for a bit to hang out on the rooftop. I mean look at these views!!!

Hidden Gem 💎

The same flight attendant who told me about staying in Sorrento & going to Inn Bufalito recommended the Bagni Delfini restaurant. We decided to try it out for dinner. It was a beautiful walk down to the beach through the streets of Sorrento. It took about 15 minutes or so.

Best meal of the trip hands down!!! The restaurant itself sits right on the water at the corner of the beach with beautiful views of Mount Vesuvius. We sat inside at a table in the middle since we didn’t have reservations, but we couldn’t have asked for a better view or meal service. We started off with a bottle of white wine & they brought us out some bruschetta. I ordered the smoked salmon vodka pasta & Sam got the seafood risotto. Ended the meal with some limoncello. Salute!

Seriously this was a meal that I didn’t want to end. We seriously considered going back the next night… I wish we would have.  

ALMAFI COAST 

Day 4 - Woke up the next morning excited to see the one & only Almafi Coast. Driving along the Almafi Coast is one of the most beautiful roads in the world. Not going to lie it was one of the scariest rides of my life, but it was one of the most amazing. Taking the bus was way cheaper than taking a private shuttle or ferry. You get the amazing views of the cliffs & winding roads to Almafi & Positano. Highly recommend!!!

We went to Almafi first. We walked around a little bit, stopped by The Cathedral of St Andrew & then got some gelato. It was a short time there, but it was enough for us. If we would have had more time though I would have wanted to hang out at the beach & go into the Cathedral.

Get back on the bus & head to Positano!!! It was like a scene straight out of Under the Tuscan Sun. We got dropped off at the top of the hill which was another perk of being dropped off by the bus, the views! We walked down soaking up the views looking out over the ocean.

The streets are filled with vendors & cafes. We walked to the beach & had lunch at “Blu Bar” overlooking the water. One thing to note about the beach is it’s not a typical black sand beach, it is actually rocky & hurts to walk on barefoot! The area is gorgeous of course, but the beach itself is not my favorite.

I knew I wanted to get a special souvenir from Italy & I had read about these handmade leather sandals, so I decided to get a pair made! They are super cute! The place was called, Safari Positano.

We took the ferry back to Sorrento this time for a change of scenery. It was a pretty boat ride & different perspective which was nice after a long day of driving. We walked back to the hotel from the dock & decided to grab some Napoli style pizza at a place walking distance from our hotel. Picked up a bottle of wine to take to the hotel & called it a night!

FLORENCE  

Day 5 - We took another private transfer from our hotel in Sorrento back to Naples train station. From there we took the train from Naples to Florence. When we arrived in Florence we actually had a little bit of a fiasco & ended up changing hotels, free of charge. We finally checked into our new hotel in Florence, which ended up being an even better location than the other hotel. It had an amazing rooftop that literally looks over the famous dome that you see in all of the pictures. I can’t remember the name of it, but it was about 10 minutes walking distance from the train & close to the Florence Cathedral.

We head into town & walk over to the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio.

We head up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo, to get the best view point of the city! It was a little bit of a hike up some steps, but it was well worth it when you got to the top! This is a great spot to just hang out & watch the sunset! A lot of people take their own wine up there.

We walked back down & grabbed some dinner. This is where I discovered the famous Aperol Spritz. It stuck with me for the rest of our trip in Italy. The only thing I regret is not discovering it sooner! It is a cocktail with Aperol liquor, prosecco, a splash of soda water (as the waiter called it, water with gas haha) garnished with an orange slice & olives. It’s so refreshing & people are literally drinking them everywhere. 

After that we got a bottle of wine & hungout on the fabulous hotel rooftop.

VENICE

Day 6 - The next morning we woke up & got on a train to Venice. 

I have wanted to go there for so long. Happy 28th birthday to me!!! Once we got there we immediately got in line for a water taxi to take us to our hotel.

Our hotel was in a good central location across from the Hard Rock Hotel & close to St. Mark’s Square. It was called, Hotel Cavalletto & Doge Orseolo. We checked in & immediately starting roaming the city.

We went to St. Marks Square & went to the top of the Campanile for the some of the best views of the city. We were able to buy tickets there & get in right away. They do sell tickets online in advance during busy season. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go into the Basilica, but the Campanile is definitely worth going up to see the views!

Later we walked down by the Rialto Bridge & went on a gondola ride! We just paid for it on the spot, it cost around 100 Euros for about a 45 minute ride. When in Venice!

After the gondola ride we had dinner at one of the restaurants by the water. Sam ended up getting the famous squid ink pasta! I tried a bite, it was actually really good!

TUSCANY

Day 7 - We ferried back over to the train station the next morning & got back on the train to Florence. This time the hotel was close to the train station, which is what we wanted since we were flying out the next day. It was by the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, in a courtyard area that was pretty to walk around. We stopped at an Irish Pub called The Fiddler’s Elbow & sat outside for a bit until we had to leave for our tour.

We booked a tour of the Chianti region from Florence that day. The tour was a Chianti half day wine tour.

We rode a bus into the Italian countryside with stops at two different wineries. The first one was so beautiful. It was the Poggio Amorelli winery! It was up on top of a cliff so you could see for miles. Tried some different wines, salami & cheeses. We ended up ordering some bottles of wine to get shipped back to the United States. 

This was my first time to a real winery & I must say it didn’t disappoint. We learned all about the Chianti wine regions & what to look for when you go to the store... The Rooster!! Chianti Classico. 

Then we ended up driving a little further & stopped at another winery called, Fattoria Lornano. It was very beautiful as well. We went down where they kept all the barrels & learned some of the history.

Our 2 week vacation had come to an end. But I was so happy & blown away at how much we had got to see in those 2 weeks. It is our first trip overseas together & our first big trip with me being a flight attendant. It definitely set the bar high for future trips.

Day 8 - The next morning we took a train from Florence to Rome directly to the airport. We left from Rome to JFK on Delta. This was also our first time getting first class together overseas! Perfect way to end this amazing vacation!

I hope you enjoyed the post! Italy is one place I could go over & over & never get tired of!

Life is short, book the flight! Ciao!

xoxo, Tarah