Italy trip 2014 in retrospect

We've been home now for over a month.  I just finished writing the daily blogs, which made me feel like I was still there long after the trip was over.  I didn't focus on the "business" aspects of the trip too much in the daily posts.  So, from this vantage point, a month later, how did things really work out?

• Trip planning - Started about a year before we left.  This was mostly because we were hoping to book our airline tickets with Frequent Flier Miles, and most of us did that.  I always think we need to jump on FFM tickets as soon as they're available, otherwise they'll be gone, but this trip proved me wrong. Additional tickets were released for months after the initial release.  Of course, you'd have to be checking online every blasted day to catch them before someone else did!  This part of trip planning makes me nervous, so I usually lock into tickets asap.  
• Car rental - We worked with a travel agency, Elizabeth Holmes Travel, in Seattle, and they advised us that we didn't need to rent the cars until about 6 months prior to our trip.  We'd get the best prices then, since 6 months ahead is still early.  We'd have to pay for our cars immediately, but the charges were fully refundable right up until our rental date.  Our agent at Elizabeth Holmes secured the cars through Auto Europe, who actually contracted with Europcar.  We had some issues with some of the extra charges, and didn't know how much those extra charges would be until we checked our credit card balances when we got home.  It seemed kind of funny that we weren't given an invoice when we turned the cars in.  One of the issues was that we weren't able to fill the gas tanks up near the return point, and the charges for that wouldn't be calculated until the amount of fuel was known.  (Not returning the cars with a full tank is a bad idea, even in the U.S., and we paid a premium for that.)  The costliest issue was returning the cars late, which in one case wasn't accurate (we rented cars two different times over the course of our trip.)  The error was costing us $300 extra for two cars.  Our agent at Elizabeth Holmes got the charges reversed, and it was really nice to have the travel agency work that out for us.
• Full insurance on the cars was a godsend.  It's expensive, but when we had a minor fender-bender along the way, we didn't have to worry about a thing.  There was some paperwork to fill out, and a 50 euro processing fee to pay the car rental company, but it was very little compared to the liability we might have had. 
• House rental - we went through an agency in California - RentVillas.com.  We booked a house nearly a year before the trip, and were immediately required to pay 30% of the cost to secure our booking, knowing that their policy was that we'd lose the money ($1300) if we had to cancel or change our booking.  We were assured that this was the way most house rentals in Italy work.  Well, we did have to change our booking, more than 90 days in advance, and we did lose our down payment, even though we booked another property through the same agency. I'm not sure I'd do this again.  I don't think VRBO or HomeAway, for instance, have a similar policy.  We loved the house we stayed in, but there seem to be thousands of rentals in Tuscany, and many, many companies dealing with them.  Extra charges on this house were for heat, final cleaning, and some local tax.  Those charges seem to be standard for any house rental.  In spite of, and including, the lost down payment, and the extra charges at the end, the total cost per couple was only $147 per night.  It was one of the best values of the whole trip for accommodations.       
• Our hotel accommodations were all great.  Between TripAdvisor and Expedia, we found the places, and read reviews, so we knew a lot about them before we got there.  I reviewed all of the hotels on TripAdvisor too, since I always appreciate the reviews written by other travelers.       
• Hotel Dorica in the Termini neighborhood of Rome - $177 per night - good value, great staff, not what I'd consider a "quaint" part of Rome though.   Booked through booking.com.
• Locanda il Maestrale B&B in Monterosso, in the Cinque Terre - $180 or $211 per night (depending on room) - expensive compared to accommodations in Vernazza on previous trips, but a great place, friendly and helpful owners, wonderful location, great terrace.  Booked directly through the B&B.
• Hotel Olivedo in Varenna, on Lake Como - $225 per night - a bit over our budget, great location, wonderful view of Lake Como.  Booked through booking.com.
• Hotel al Codega in Venice - $268 per night on weeknights, $304 per night on Friday or Saturday nights - this was a splurge, for sure, but a great little hotel, wonderful and quiet location, great staff, excellent breakfast.  Booked directly through the hotel website.
• B&B Villa Beatrice 10 minutes outside of Verona- $138 per night - great value, peaceful setting, friendly and helpful owner, good location.  Booked directly through the B&B.
• Best Western Premier Hotel Cappello D'Oro in Bergamo - the only chain hotel we stayed in on the whole trip - $151 per night - breakfast not included, nice rooms, expensive parking, helpful staff.   Booked through booking.com.
• Restaurants - lots of them were great, and we found them in our Rick Steves guidebooks, or by the personal recommendations of our hotels, B&Bs, or tour guides.  Some were just mediocre, but in Venice, for instance, we really wanted to eat dinners near our hotel neighborhood.  We may have occasionally traded excellence for location or convenience, but we never had a bad meal.
• Budget - I like to plot out the expenses for a trip prior to going.  In this case, we had some of the big expenses prior to departure - rental house, car rental and tickets to the places we'd be going with our guide in Rome.  None of our hotels required payment until very close to our stay, only asking for a credit card to secure our reservations.  Sharing the expense of a house and the cars brought the costs down, but actually, doing some of our own cooking at the rental house was a great cost-saver.  Here's how I figured it for the 12 days we were all together:
• All costs are in U.S. dollars, per day, per couple
• $200 for lodging
• $100 for food
• $75 for all transportation, on the ground (trains, boats, taxis, rental car, gas, tolls, metro)
• $25 for our guided tours and entry fees
• Total $400 per day, per couple
• We were easily able to stay within this budget, even with some splurges on meals.  We took turns paying with credit cards at most restaurants, and then kept track of who paid each time. We split the bill at the end of the trip, having done a pretty good job of balancing the charges as we went along.  The smaller hotels preferred payment in cash, or sometimes allowed the use of credit cards, but gave us a discount for paying cash.  We found ATMs everywhere when we needed to get cash.

I think we'd all agree that our trip was a good balance of energetic sightseeing and relaxation.  Some in our group were interested in hiking the hardest part of the Cinque Terre trails, and some weren't!  I think we'd all agree, also, that we met friendly and helpful people wherever we went.   If you ask any of us what our favorite part of the trip was, we'd say - all of it!

I hope this information has been helpful.  And truly, I hope this blog makes you feel like you could do a trip like this on your own!  Happy travels.

Arrivederci bella Italia

We're leaving Italy today, but our flights aren't leaving Marco Polo airport in Venice until 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.  We had our last great breakfast at the hotel, and realized we'd like to have little tiramisus at home every morning too!

We headed out through the narrow streets with our luggage.  Our route to the Grand Canal didn't include any small bridges or stairs, which was great.  We caught the water bus to Marco Polo airport, and it was a pleasant hour-long ride.  The weather was great, so we were sorry we were leaving. Boats along the canal were delivering food and dry goods to businesses throughout the city.  It was fun to watch them, and so much quieter than if there had been trucks driving all through town.

Delivery boat on the Grand Canal

Dad, can I borrow the boat keys?

The water bus was full by the last city stop, and some of the later arrivals had to stand for the near hour-long ride.  They didn't seem to mind on a nice day.

Piloting the airport shuttle

We arrived at the airport and grabbed carts to carry our luggage the block or so to the terminal.  Marco Polo isn't a very big airport, and we were through security in short order.  Passport Control was set up in an odd location.  Once through it, you didn't have access to the shops or restaurants in the terminal, and past Passport Control there was hardly anything to eat or buy. The signs warned us that there was no going back once we went through!  I couldn't believe our British Airways lounge would be prior to the screening point, so we foolishly went through.  We were stuck on the wrong side of the airport!  Rick and I implored a ticket agent we happened to see walking through the waiting area, and she explained to the Passport Control officer that we had gone through not realizing we couldn't get to the lounge from the other side (in spite of the signs telling us so.)  They allowed us to sneak back through.  Stupid tourists!

The lounge here was small, but at least there were comfortable seats and free food and beverages.  Our flight left on time, and we were in London before we knew it.  Once there, we had to race through the airport to get to our connecting flight on time, partly because we had to go through security again at Heathrow.  No time to enjoy the great British lounges there.  The next flight was smooth all the way to Seattle, and in the blink of an eye we were back home.  No more great Italian food, inexpensive wine,  beautiful cathedrals or cute hill towns.  No more friendly Italian people.  Well wait, maybe we can find some friendly Italians, even in Seattle, even on Camano Island.  I'll start looking right away.

I'll do one more post to wrap things up, but now I really feel like the trip is over!  Thanks for following along!

Monday in Venice, Murano and Burano

After another great breakfast at our hotel, we headed out to see the Campanile - a huge bell tower on Piazza San Marco.  The lines to get in have been really long whenever we've been in the area, so we wanted to get there early.

The Campanile is the tall red-brick building

Dark skies over Venice and the Campanile

On the way over we saw lots of people loading onto gondolas for a ride.  We were glad we'd had our gondola ride a few days ago when the weather was good.  These folks were either with a cruise ship or some other kind of big tour, and they really had no option but to take a ride in bad weather.

Gondolas rides, even in the rain!

It was cloudy and sprinkling on the way over to the Campanile - only 5 minutes from our hotel.  The Piazza San Marco looked very different in bad weather.  No one was sitting at the cafe tables, and the souvenir carts were having a hard time keeping the T-shirts and postcards dry.  I saw a waiter in a white dinner jacket squeegee off the tables out in the rain at one of the cafes.

There was no line at the Campanile, and we got right in.  We waited only a few minutes for the elevator to the top. The observation deck was open to the elements, and when we got there the wind was blowing, and it was cold.  The view from the top was great though, in spite of the cloudy skies.  As we walked around taking pictures, it started raining.  Not a fun place to be in the rain and wind.

San Giorgio Maggiore across the lagoon from St. Mark's

The rooftops of St. Mark's from the top of the Campanile

A view of the city from the top of the Campanile

When we got down from the tower, we did a little souvenir shopping along the piazza.  We've seen so many gift shops in Venice, selling much the same thing - glass, leather goods, lace - that we wonder how everyone makes a living.  We talked to an older woman, a local, outside of a Tabacci (tobacco) shop along the piazza, and she told us the prices on Murano glass at that shop were very good.  It's amazing that even the tobacco shops sell fine glasswork.  I understand that the locals have a little harder time finding the basic necessities of life, among all of the gift shops.  There seem to be lots of clothing stores too, both  high-end designer shops, and just regular stores and boutiques.

Our hope was to see the islands of Murano and Burano today, but the weather was rainy.  Laurie said, let's just go and see what happens!  We walked over to the waterfront to catch the ferry.

Colorful umbrellas going over a bridge 

The weather improved some, and it turned out to be a nice day for the ferry ride over and a walk on the islands. The island of Murano is famous for glass-blowing factories.  We saw plenty of signs on factories along the water approaching the island.  The island was scenic and very touristy.  It was still raining periodically.

Rick, Emmett and Kathy on a bridge on Murano

A canal on Murano

We had a nice lunch on Murano, and along with lunch Laurie and I had bellinis - a drink made with prosecco and apricot nectar.  The bellini was invented in Venice, and we were advised by another tourist to be sure and have one while we were there.  We're adding it to our list of favorite things in Italy!

Rick's seafood salad at lunch.  He said it was great!

We wandered through some of the shops, and the church.

The glass holy water font at the church on Murano

Then we were on to Burano, the island famous for lacemaking.  We saw lace shops along the canals, but the real attractions of this island are the colorful houses and shops.  They are an artist's delight!

Our first view of the colorful houses in Burano

The streets of Burano

We stopped for a spritz at a bar with wi-fi because I absolutely had to reserve seats for Rick and I for our homebound flight tomorrow.  British Airways won't honor seat requests more than 24 hours ahead of departure unless you pay a hefty fee.  Ridiculous.  The waitress at the bar very kindly typed the 14-digit password into my Ipad so we could use the wi-fi, and take care of this chore.  Just what every traveler wants to worry about on a trip!

Back to Venice proper on the ferry, where we enjoyed our last evening in the city with a nice dinner in our neighborhood.  We had tiramisu for dessert, and the last glasses of grappa Rick and Emmett would enjoy in Italy.

The streets were quiet on our way back to the hotel, far from the lights and crowds of the Grand Canal.

Easter Sunday in Venice

Breakfast at the hotel was great.  Even scrambled eggs, but who has room for eggs when there are so many other tasty choices!

Part of the breakfast buffet at Hotel al Codega.  Little cups of tiramisu were a big hit with us!

It was Easter Sunday (Pasqua), and Emmett, Laurie and I planned to go to 9:00 Mass at St. Mark's Cathedral.  The Piazza San Marco was almost deserted when we walked through at 8:45.  The church was closed to visitors all morning while Masses were scheduled, but anyone attending the service could go in.  We had front row seats, in one of the most beautiful churches in the world, on one of the most holy of days.  It was very moving to be there.  We all knew the parts of the Mass, of course, all having been lifelong Catholics,  so whether it was in Latin or Italian, we could at least recognize the different parts of the service.  I wish we could have understood the homily, because I'm sure it was a good one, on this special day.

Scaffolding covers some of St. Mark's

Detail over one of the doors at St. Mark's

Only one person got up and wandered around during Mass, and was chastised by one of the other priests assisting with Mass for doing so.

When we walked back through the square after Mass it was getting more crowded.  The weather was nice, and it was a holiday.  Most of the stores seemed to be open.

We saw stacks of these around Piazza San Marco and wondered what they could be...stages for an Easter festival?...dance floors to cover up the cobblestones?  Silly tourists, they're the raised sidewalks used to get around the city when it's flooded!  We saw them all through the city, but luckily we didn't have to use them.

We picked up Rick at the hotel, and headed out to find lunch.  Not a problem in a city where there are, what seemed like, 10,000 restaurants.  Oh no, maybe it's 10,000 mask, leather goods and glass shops and only 1,000 restaurants.  At any rate, we didn't have to go far to find food.  We ate near Piazza San Marco, and had a good lunch.  Laurie and I had spritzes, but when we asked the waiter if they shouldn't be more sparkling, he took them back to the bar and made us each another one himself, shaking his head about the bartender's inexperience.

It seems like we bought most of our trip souvenirs in Venice, since our days of hopping trains with our luggage were over.

 Animal masks in a Venice shop

More of the masks in the shop

There were cruise ships in the harbor, and lots of people had signed up for gondola rides.  They were crowded onto the gondolas like sardines, but were having a great time, nonetheless.  After all, they're in VENICE!  On a GONDOLA!  On a CANAL!  In VENICE!

Tour groups on the gondolas

  Gondola parking.  Each boat has custom decorations and is different from all the others.

We asked our gondolier how many gondolas there were in Venice, and he told us there were over 400!  It seemed like they did a good job of spreading out so that you never saw more than a handful at a time.  A great marketing ploy, I'd say.  

Just a few gondolas making their way through the back alleys of the city

Emmett got some info from the clerk at the hotel desk about where we would catch a water shuttle to the airport.  We needed to go over to the Grand Canal to scope it out.

Happy hour was in our room, and then we headed out to dinner.  We ate at another neighborhood place, and had a good meal.

We walked down to the Grand Canal to see if we could find the dock for the airport shuttle, and stayed to enjoy the lights of the city.

Laurie and Emmett on the Rialto Bridge

The Grand Canal

Goodnight from Venice!

From Verona to Venice

We had another great breakfast again today, along with Simone's signature tasty and healthy smoothie.   We're leaving Verona this morning, and I feel like there was so much more to see.  Hopefully, we'll be back.

Simone gave us directions to get out of the hills and find the main road to Venice, our next destination.  It wasn't a long drive to Venice, but we missed the correct exit and went some miles out of our way before we could turn around.   We were dropping the car off right outside of the city of Venice, and the traffic got pretty congested the closer we got to the rental office.  It was located near the train station. From that point on, it's just boats.  No more cars, buses or trains, so almost everyone is coming into the city at that same point, unless they're coming from the airport, which is in a different direction.

We saw the Europcar office, but couldn't figure out how to get to it without going into an area we weren't allowed to enter.   A policewoman was directing traffic.  We explained that we needed to get to the rental office, and she nicely allowed us to go through.  We were directed to park the car on the 10th floor of the adjacent parking garage.  This was Holy Saturday, and a few other people were in town too.  Parking was crazy, but finally we found a spot and got the car checked in.

There was a water bus (vaporetto) stop very near the rental office, and we hopped the boat.  It took us down the Grand Canal to our stop, the Rialto.  And there, straight ahead of us, was the famous Rialto Bridge.

This was actually taken from a gondola, but you can see the bridge as well as three of the vaporetti

Catherina and Marco preceded us to Venice, and stayed at the Hotel al Codega while they were in town.  We were staying at the same place, and got to the hotel by means of what Catherina calls "girl directions".  When using this means of giving directions, no street names or numbers are ever used.  Directions are based on landmarks that we can identify with, like, for instance, turn right at that cute nail place.  Or, turn left at the place I got that horrible perm.  Or, turn at that place with the good shrimp salad.  Or, in a strange city, we'd use names of stores, rather than the streets where they're located.

So we followed Catherina's directions to the hotel by turning right at Goldenpoint Leggings, left at Guess, keeping left at H&M and turning right at Giorgio Armani.  No problem.  We used those landmarks every time we left our hotel for the next three days!  What street were we on?  Who knows!

We got checked into our hotel, the Hotel al Codega, which was a very nice, small hotel.  The rooms are nicely decorated, with all the modern conveniences, but the building is old, and located in a quaint little square.  It's a peaceful little corner in the busy city.  The staff was very friendly and helpful, and knew what rooms we were in every time we stopped at the desk, from the minute we checked in.

The Hotel al Codega.  It was early in the season, so they were just putting flowers in the window boxes.  The little bumpout isn't the entrance, but a tiny chapel in the courtyard.

A narrow lane in Venezia

We had a good (late) lunch at Ostaria a la Campana, not far from our hotel.  The place was packed with locals, and the pizzas looked great, so that's what we had.  I hate for you to think we ate pizza so often, but it was such good pizza!  Always thin crust, and they always seem to be baked in a wood-burning brick oven.

We walked over to Piazza San Marco after lunch.  The weather was warm and sunny, and the square and the streets on the way over were crowded.  As I mentioned before, it was Holy Saturday, and there were plenty of visitors in town.

Near Piazza San Marco

We went back to the hotel to put our feet up for a few minutes, and decided this would be a good day to take a ride on a gondola.  The cost was 80 euros before 7, and went up to 100 euros after 7, for a 40-minute ride.  A singing gondolier costs a bit more.  It was about 7:30 when we stopped at one of the bridges where some gondolas were gathered.  It must have been a slow time of day, since the gondolier offered to take us out for daytime prices.  He didn't sing to us, but we had a fun ride through part of the grand canal, and along some of the smaller canals.  We really got to see what it would be like if your front door opened right onto the canal.  We passed a few hotels and restaurants where the entrance was on the canal.

Bucket List: A ride on a gondola, in Venice, on the Grand Canal.  Check.

Museum on the Grand Canal

Another gondola on the Grand Canal

We stopped at the Ristorante al Teatro Goldoni for a light supper on our way back to the hotel.  Dinner was good, but nothing amazing, but they did bring us each a little glass of limoncello afterward, on the house.  It's the little things that count.

In Love with Verona

The coffee maker was set up and ready for the early risers in the group.  That would be Rick and Emmett, thrilled when coffee is available early.  Breakfast at the B&B was wonderful.  House made yogurt, cereals, fruit, cornetti, rolls, even a strawberry cake.  Plus, Simone made a fruit concoction in his juicer, with a little ginger, which was great, and very healthy, he said.  He made stove-top Italian coffee for anyone who might like it - and I loved it!

One big advantage to staying in a B&B, at least a good one like Villa Beatrice, is the resources and expertise the hosts provide.  Simone plotted out the exact route for us to drive into Verona, told us where to find free parking, and gave us the card of a really good restaurant in town for lunch.

We headed in about 10, and truly, it was only 10 minutes away.  Free parking was a little tricky at this hour, but with Il Padrino at the wheel, a spot was procured.

Verona is a nice, small city, most famous as the fictional home of Juliet of Romeo and Juliet fame.  We wanted to see her home, of course, but there were a few other places of interest too.

As we got close to the old part of town, we could see remnants of the Roman theater, which was closed for renovation, unfortunately. 

The Roman theater in Verona

We crossed the Adige River over an old Roman bridge.

Colorful houses along the river in Verona                  

Looking across the river to the dome of St. Giorgio's in Verona

The big churches,  the Roman arena and the house of Juliet all charged an admission fee, so we bought a Verona Card at our first stop hoping it would pay for itself during the day.

Our first stop was The Church of Sant'Anastasia.  It's the largest church in Verona.  Near the entrance, there were two holy water fonts balanced on hunchbacked statues.  Hunchbacks were thought to be lucky when these were sculpted in the late 15th century.

Our favorite holy water font in all of Italy

Great side altar at one of the churches in Verona

The vaulted ceiling of the Church of Sant'Anastasia

Ruins of the Roman temple under the Duomo

Which church is this?

OK, so I'm starting to get a little confused about which church is which.  We visited both the Church of Sant'Anastasia and the Duomo of Verona.  Both are beautiful and both are full of art treasures.  As I look at the pictures now, I can't say for sure where some of the photos were taken.  But, let me tell you, they were both great.

Next we visited the home of Juliet.  In addition to the balcony, there was a whole three-story house to tour, a reproduction of what a home would have been like in the time of Romeo and Juliet.

On Juliet's balcony, waiting to be serenaded

Love locks on a gate in the courtyard of Juliet's house

Laurie ensures a lucky love life by rubbing the breast of Juliet

The courtyard was packed with tourists and tour groups.  We got in without trouble, but by the time we were ready to leave it was jammed with people.

We had lunch at Osteria da Ugo, the restaurant our host Simone had recommended.  He told us that authentic local cuisine was often made with donkey or horse meat, and we would probably see both on the menus of the better restaurants in town.  There were lots of other choices on the menu too, but Laurie decided to try the ragu of cavallo (horse) over pasta.  Emmett and I had a taste of it, and it was very good.  Rick couldn't bring himself to try it though, after spending his life around horses.  Emmett and I ordered a pasta dish with shaved truffles that was great, and Rick had pasta dish with duck that was also great.

After lunch we walked over to the Roman amphitheater.  From the outside it was amazing.

The 1st century Roman arena

Inside, because it's still used for concerts and the yearly opera festival, the modern seats and rebuilt bleachers take away from the romance of the original building.

Modern seating at the Roman arena



From the arena we walked to the Piazza Bra nearby, where market booths were selling food and other local products.  We bought some cheese and white asparagus for dinner.

On the way back to the car we walked through a nice shopping area and found the supermercato where we picked up supplies to make dinner at the house. 

We made our way back up into the hills to our B&B, and had a good dinner of pasta, asparagus, bread and wine.  Some strawberry cake for dessert too.  The lights of Verona twinkled in the distance.