Trip report: Randumb thoughts...
It was hotter in Italy than I had hoped or expected. Trying to not look too touristy, I packed no shorts. Apparently few others thought that way...
We walked, walked, then walked some more, but our hotels were close to the touristy stuff. We also had a two-day hop on, hop off in Rome, which we used to visit the Colosseum area, then the Vatican, though we walked back to the hotel from the Vatican.
We “hired” a local guide to skip the line for the Colosseum and Forum. Don’t remember what we paid... Giovanni was an older guy; we weren’t sure he would survive the tour, but with a couple of smoke breaks, he made it. Kept referring to his wife as “bigga mama”... [emoji12]
In all, we saw the Vatican museum, the Galileo museum, the Louvre, and the Orsay. Glad to have seen them, once, but will likely never bother again. Favorite was the Orsay, but we were churched, monumented, and museumed out by the time we were through...
The bus tour through Tuscany was our favorite activity. Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, with a winery stop for lunch.
Can highly recommend Hotel Baglioni in Florence. The other hotels were good, just not great.
The tour to Murano et al (from Venice) was nothing to write home about. Enjoyed wandering around, and used the vaporettos but skipped the gondolas...
Food was good to almost great, though we only ventured off the beaten tourist path a couple of times. Wine was plentiful, though not necessarily inexpensive...
Train travel in Italy, at least on the “fast” line, was easy and quick, and a good way to see the countryside.
Though they weren’t cheap, the transfers to/from the airports were worth it, especially for first time lost travelers. We taxied to the train terminal in Rome, but the Baglioni was a short walk from the station in Florence. In Venice, I had inquired with the same transfer company on getting to/from the hotel, but the cost was €250. Google maps indicated a short walk across a couple of bridges, for which I was not paying €250. Luckily, we hired a porter at the station, who carted our luggage to the hotel for €20 plus tip.
One last splurge included upgrading to “Comfort +” on the flight home. More legroom, and a seat that reclined slightly more, was worth $250!
All in, we spent probably $9000-9500. The itinerary was a bit ambitious, but we saw and/or visited the highlights, and still found time to wander around aimlessly, i.e. “lost”...