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2025 Italy

Day 0

  • BOS > ZCH > FCO
  • Hotel Anahi
  • Checked in/showered
  • Dinner near the Pantheon
    • Osteria da Fortunata - Pantheon 🍽️
    • Woman making pasta in the window
    • Got the Amatriciana, red sauce/“bacon”/cheese/ long noodles
    • Stacey got the Carbonara
  • Walked around the Pantheon, person playing the cello
  • Back for sleep

Day 1

  • Breakfast as a place around the corner from the hotel called Papo e Lula Pizzeria 🥐, the international breakfast was very good and filling, toast, pancake, yogurt, ham & cheese omelette
  • Early booking at the Colosseum (9 AM)
  • Non-guided tour but we listened to Rick Steve’s Audio Tour, Stacey’s phone kept stoping the audios with every photo she took
  • Then we walked over to the Forum/Palatino area
  • Started with the Palantino as it was uphill and the forum was below, figured the walking would be easier on the way down
  • Very interesting ruins of the old palaces and structures
  • At the top there was amazing views of the rest of the forum and the city beyond
  • Back down the hill and into the Forum
  • Saw the major things, Vestile Virgins (Rick liked saying that), the site of Cesear’s death/burning
  • Then it was under the road to the other side for more ruins not part of the tour (that area closes at 3:15 PM)
  • There was an exit there by Altar of the Fatherland (big building with two chariots on it)
  • That building/piazza was under a lot of construction
  • Walked back to the hotel for a shower and nap
  • For dinner we found a place on the walk to Drink Kong, Armonia Bar & Cucina 🍽️
  • Food was good, the Carbonara was better pepered than the Pantheon Place but had very wide and short pasta, like donut penne
  • The waiter was very dramatic and was pretty funny
  • Stacey like the soundtrack at the place and we also got chocolate and regular cannoli filled dessert croissants, Stacey thought the regular was better
  • Then it was drink time, we got drink reservations at Drink Kong 🍸
  • Very interesting drinks, had one with Tonka bean, clear coke (DK 2.0), Stacey’s were good too (she had a fig/vermouth drink then a lowball “vegetal” gin drink that was pink?, and then the “hush”). There were also a couple that was having a honeymoon who bought shots for the bar and at the end they sent us off with shots with the bartenders
  • After drinks we got a Taxi using Freenow to get back. Make a ~40 min walk into about a 15 minute taxi ride

Day 2

  • Again breakfast at Papo e Lula Pizzeria 🥐, I got fruit and a savory croissant. They comped us the drinks as they came out late
  • Early booking at the Vatican Museums
  • Tour was for 9:00 AM in English
  • Met a nice man from New Zealand as we waited, traded travel stories of NZ and the US
  • The tour was informative but I think ultimately I would have like it to be self-guided. She was all over the place, the earpiece kept going in and out and trying to maneuver as a group was annoying
  • Just so many artifacts and famous paintings to look at, a bit overwhelming
  • Ended in the Sistine Chapel. Glad we were here off season as it actually wasn’t too crowed and we even managed a seat along the edge to rest and take it in
  • After that we decided that we would have lunch and then make a choice to go to the Basilica or head back for a nap.
  • The first place we looked at for food had 1.8 ⭐️ stars for a review. Glad we looked because reading them later was quite funny
  • We instead went to Ristorante dei Mesei 🍽️
  • I had the Gricia Pasta dish, they served it in a pan. It was very good and they kept bringing us additional items (free sausages and a shot of house made lemon drink), overall it was a great choice. I think they did this because we were the first couple of people to sit down and that drove more business for them as it filled in quickly. They also gave us clementines as a parting gift
  • From there we went back to the hotel for a nap
  • Woke up and walked back over to St Peter’s Square/Basilica
  • Stacey needed short legging so we found a store that sold them and she put them on in H&M as the other store didn’t have open fitting rooms
  • Walked along the river (Tiber), past the Citadel
  • Decided to try to go to the Basilica first to get to the roof, but it closed at 5 PM, so we just took in the basilica and square
  • They had a mass there in the square earlier (Wednesdays they have an Audience with the Pope)
  • Inside there was also a mass going on
  • Lots of people there for the Holy Door Pilgrimage (only open every 25 years), we skipped that, but it was a interesting site with groups carrying crosses down the square into the basilica and to the door
  • After we relaxed on the steps by the river and took in the sites (and dogs)
  • Walked across a bridge full of statues towards dinner
  • Stopped at a small bar to have some drinks before dinner, they had heaters and blankets which was nice
  • Then it was our Michelin date night
    • Went to Idylio by Apreda 🍽️
    • It was a 5 course meal, but really had 9-10 courses
    • Everything was really good, stand-outs were
      • The cuddlefish tartare with albino roe. The texture was not what I was expecting
      • The codfish we had with a pistachio sauce
      • The bread with nori baked into the top
      • The Szechuan pasta and scorpion fish
      • The white sweet wine I had at the end was very good as well
  • From there we walked back to our hotel

Day 3

  • Early train our of Rome to Florence 🚄, we arrived around 10 AM. When the train arrived in Rome, the car numbers we incorrectly on the in-station screens so we had to go from one side of the train to the other
  • Grabbed a sandwich for the train ride which was only about an hour and a half
  • Walked from the station to our hotel, lots of cobblestone roads that a wheeled bag slowed us down on
  • Across a bridge with views of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge
  • Got to the hotel (The Spirit of Florence 🛏️)
  • Left our bags at the hotel and headed to the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze
  • On the way we stopped for lunch at Corte dei Pazzi 🍽️. I had the Pappa al Pomodoro, which is a Florentine staple. Bread and tomato soup. Stacey had this and loved it
  • Saw the Michelangelo sculpture David. Much larger than I thought, dominated the hall it was in. Other Michelangelo works where there, but seemed like they were unfinished, showing a rough piece of marble and sections of a figure in detail in them
  • After when to Piazza della Signoria with the Palazzo Vecchio tower and lots of Statues including one of Neptune and so recreations of other famous sculptures. This includes one of Medusa’s beheading which was quite cool.
  • We then explored the town and did some leather shopping
  • Next we walked across the river and up to Piazzale Michelangelo, and we were treated to a nice sunset view of Florence as it set over the hills to the west
  • We had dinner by the hotel at Gustapanino 🍽️. Stacey had spaghetti and meatballs and I had a steak with green peppercorn sauce on it.
  • Then we went to bed as early as possible

Day 4

  • Woke up early, packed our bags and left them with reception
  • Headed over to Galleria degli Uffizi. They had, Botticellis (Birth of Venus), some Michelangelo, Raphael, and a Rembrandt. There was a nice rooftop cafe that happened to have a view of a rainbow was we walked outside.
  • After that we made a pit stop a the hotel and then headed back out to the Boboli Gardens
  • This is a massive garden in the Santo Spirito area across the river and is a part of the Medici family estate
  • The walk around offered amazing views of the surrounding area, both Florence and south into the hills/valleys
  • Can across a few fountains, one of which is a long fountain built into a wall on the edge of the gardens
  • Had a quick lunch at ARTE DEL GUSTO 🍽️. We split a Bisteca alla Florentina Steak and a Pappardelle and Boar Ragu. The boar ragu was very good
  • Then it was of to the hotel to grab bags and hoof it to the train station for the Sixt rental car
  • Because we had booked it for 9 AM originally and never go an email, they called us a no-show and I needed to rebook
  • Got an automatic Audi A3 (charged us more for it), but we got a car
  • Then we headed out of the town
  • It was complicated getting to the car (through a mall under the station) and even more complicated getting out of the city
  • We found out way over to SR222 (hopefully not through a traffic restricted zone) and we were off into the hills of Tuscany
  • Very dramatic views was we wound our way over the hills and through valleys. Driving was hilarious as the speed limit kept changing and some sections had a 90 kmph limit, which it seemed the Italian drivers behind intended to do every bit of and more
  • When we arrive at Borgo Argiano 🛏️ they asked if we wanted to join for a wine tasting at 5 PM, they weren’t able to fit us in Saturday (they had an event) and the only other time was 5 PM on Monday, but we would be out of town), so it was a nice surprise.
  • We joined another couple for the tasting and after the first wine we started trading travel stories
  • Kelsey and Pedro were their names (?) and they were from Puerto Rico and had basically had the same itinerary as us (Rome > Florence > Here > Venice), just a day ahead or behind
  • We ended up chatting for 4 hours and when the conversation turned to work we agreed to end it for the night.

Day 5

  • Today was out lazy day
  • Slept in until 9 AM
  • Made breakfast and coffee as I got to play barista and make flat whites for Stacey and me
  • Tried to do a few walks and laundry at the same time
  • There were several gates that where closed and tied shut, so at first we were discouraged but after several false starts and a conversation with the staff we tried to do the “River Walk” only to be cut short due to shotgun blasts from hunters in the area
  • It was hard to tell if they were on our side of the river or not be we didn’t want to take chances and decided to head back ASAP.
  • The walk was still nice and the hills provide a touch of a workout.
  • Having earned our lunch we drove into town to eat at Pizzeria Osteria Bella Napoli 🍽️. We were a little disappointed that they didn’t offer pizza for lunch, but the truffle and sausage pasta was good as were the grilled lamb.
  • Then we stopped at Noi 3 🛒 for some intregiants to make Amatriciana (pasta, evoo, tomato, cheese, bacon, pepper, white wine) and get some desserts
  • Then it was a nap, finish laundry and them make dinner and drink wine for the rest of the night 🍷🍝
  • Made my take on Amatriciana, Pancetta (should be guanciale), Parmesan (should be pecorino), white wine (as a deglaze), evoo, pepper, tomatoes, spaghetti
  • Came out really good, had enough for leftovers for lunch
  • To end the night we watch Harry Potter 6: The Half-Blood Prince

Day 6

  • Had a yogurt and granola (provided by the hotel) and then some pastries from the breakfast they put out each morning
  • We then went to Chianti Bike Life 🚴 and met them there yo get our e-bikes
  • The provided helmets, locks, some tools, and he even put into my phone the directions to each stop along their ~30 KM bike tour
  • The tour was from Pianella (bike shop) to Leccio secolare (which is a scenic spot near a “Centuries-old holm oak”) to Brolio Vista Vigneti (Greate view from near a castle, option to go in and tour it) to Agribar Brolio 🥐☕️ to Castello di Cacchiano (scenic spot) to Azienda Agricola Vallepicciola (vineyard, where we were going later) to a spot on SC 13 (another scenic overlook) and then back into Pianella.
  • We were very glad we had the e-bike as it was about 19.25 miles with 2.5K of elevation change. It took us about 3h 14m total (with 2h 10m of moving time)
  • Back at the hotel it was time to shower and then walk (~30 mins) to the wine tasting
  • At Vallepicciola we had 6 wine tastings and a charcuterie board that had some cured meats (including a wild boar sausage), goat cheeses, a quiche (which was breaded on top too), a frittata, a mini-puff pastry with a soft cheese in it, and two open-face sandwiches. All of it was really good and basically filled us up for dinner
  • On the way out, we needed to wait for a car to leave as the sensor for the gate couldn’t be triggered by the weight of us, so we needed to awkwardly stand their until another party left (thankfully they were there)
  • Back at the hotel, we watched Harry Potter 7: Deathly Hallows Part I and I made mushroom tortellini, parmesan cheese sauce, pancetta, and broccoli. This also was really good, but the charcuterie board had filled us up
  • Finished watching the Pats game and then to bed

Day 7

  • Checked out as late as possible as we didn’t really have a plan for the day besides getting on a train in Florence at 5:20 PM
  • We decided to checkout Volterra so we started driving there (avoiding highways and tolls)
  • When we arrived it was pouring rain (as well as times during the drive there) but after waiting a moment in the car it seemed to let up and we were able to explore the town without getting wet
  • We went to the main square and popped into shops (Stacey ended up buying a new cutting board)
  • Went to a small pizza place, probably their equivalent of Pizza Hut, but it hit the spot
  • Walked through a park and around the village, it was very scenic as it had 360 degree views of the entire area and the town itself was revealing cute streets and squares with every turn
  • We also got a nice view of the Ancient Roman Amphitheater that was there, the actual park was closed, but there is a road that is perched high above where you can see it all
  • After that we decided to head straight to Florence to catch the train, but since we had some time, we could take the scenic route
  • Then on to the train and up to Venice
  • Arrived in the station and walked to the hotel, about 18 minutes
  • Rushed over to get dinner before places closed and then back to the hotel for bed

Day 8

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Walk around Venice
    • San Marco, boat ride down the grand canal and around the outer island
  • Lunch in south island
  • Back to the hotel for a rest
  • Dinner out
  • Three Tenors Opera/Concert

Day 9

  • Relaxing morning
  • Took an airport boat and enjoyed the lounge
  • Flight home