devarae
100+ Posts
Hello SlowEurope folks!
Thank you for all the tremendously helpful information shared on this site-- I used the old SlowTrav site as a resource for several previous trips and am grateful that the community lives on to some degree here.
My husband, mom and I will be heading off to Italy soon, and I am diving back in to more planning. I've already finalized the basics (flights, lodging, transportation) but thought I would share my current itinerary here in case anyone had any suggestions or advice, and because I am starting to get excited and want to share! I realize it's not particularly SLOW, especially the three nights in Rome, but we are planning to do our best to appreciate everything and not cram too much into each day.
As backstory: We previously spent five nights each in Florence and Venice in October of 2009. My husband visited Rome when he was much younger. We prefer street food, sandwiches and shopping at local markets to fine dining, and several of us have mostly vegetarian diets. We also don't drink. We do like history (especially antiquities), beautiful scenery, parks, cool atmosphere, and off-the-beaten path locations.
We'll be flying out of Boston on Sunday evening, October 1, connecting in Amsterdam and then arriving in Venice on October 2.
I have booked an AirBnB apartment on Rio Romite in Dorsoduro for four nights: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13754654
We stayed on the same canal, in a different apartment, last time we were in Venice and loved the area. During that visit we saw the Doge's Palace (including the Secret Itineraries tour), St Mark's, and Burano, along with a lot of smaller sites. I don't feel a compelling desire to return to any of them, except possibly St Mark's if it is actually less crowded first thing in the morning!
Some of the places we have not been that I am considering trying to see are: Ca'Rezzonico, the Guggenheim museum, and spending more time in Cannaregio, Santa Croce and Castello. We also have not been to Giuddeca or climbed up to any of the towers with views. Last visit my favorite thing was just wandering the streets and bridges, buying groceries, and walking along the Zattere, so I plan to do plenty of that again! I also have a list of gelaterias and pastry shops to search for...
On Friday, October 6 we will check out and head to Santa Lucia station for our 11:25 train (the fast one, but 2nd class seats) to Rome, arriving 3:10 at Roma Termini. I am hoping it is okay for us to bring bagged lunches with us to eat on the train!
I have booked an Airbnb apartment on Vicolo del Bologna in Trastevere for three nights: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5945384
I've never been to Rome and am honestly not entirely certain I'll enjoy it, though I know many love it. I didn't really enjoy Florence-- too busy, too much traffic, not enough green space-- and am worried Rome isn't for me, which is part of the reason we really only have two full days there. But I figure if I DO love it, we'll return for a longer stay and give it full attention.
My current plan is to spend Friday night settling in, go for a walk around the neighborhood, maybe across to the Pantheon. The only other "must-do" thing on our list is a visit to the Coliseum & Forum. From what I am reading, it sounds like the pass is valid for two days but you can't re-enter individual sites? If so, we might do Coliseum on Saturday, Forum/Hill on Sunday. Or maybe try to do it all Saturday, then save Sunday for wandering around one of the gardens or museums. I am still considering trying to get us spots on a semi-private tour, but am waffling over the options!
I have a long list of foodie spots (markets and pizza places and gelato and pastry shops), and am especially keen to try cacio e pepe! I'd also love to spend an evening on some rooftop terrace with a beverage-- but I don't actually drink alcohol (none of my family do). I do enjoy mocktails but have no idea if one can find such things in Italy.
On Monday, October 9, we check out and head to Roma Termini for another fast train, second class, this time to Naples. We leave Rome at 10:12 and arrive Naples 11:20. We have hired a private car service to pick us up and take us to our final destination in Positano. But I've arranged for the driver to stop at Pompeii along the way, where we will have three hours to explore. I would love to spend more time there, and to visit Herculaneum, but that will have to wait for another dedicated trip.
I didn't hire any sort of guide for Pompeii and am hoping to rely on pre-trip research, printed materials, and maybe the Rick Steves app or similar. I enjoy research and think I can manage this myself, but we'll see!
In Positano, we will be staying our final four nights at another Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1439403
From everything I can tell, it's up near the top of the town, but according to reviews there are several markets nearby. I know it will be a long climb up and down to the sea but hopefully we can avail ourselves of the local bus for some of that!
The one thing I most want to do while staying on the coast is to visit Ravello, ideally via ferry to Amalfi and then bus. Other than that we will probably mostly just relax! I might try to do one of the hikes others have posted about from Montepertuso (using the local bus) and we might try to take the ferry to Capri if the weather is nice.
We'll get another hired car (already arranged) to pick us up early on Friday October 13, and take us to Naples airport where we get our flight home to Boston (connecting in Amsterdam).
That's it! I welcome any advice or suggestions, keeping in mind that the itinerary itself is fixed.
I'm hoping to post updates from the road in the Trip Reports forum, and add more detailed notes after I return. I just got my first smartphone and am hoping to find enough wifi to upload a few photos as I go!
Thank you for all the tremendously helpful information shared on this site-- I used the old SlowTrav site as a resource for several previous trips and am grateful that the community lives on to some degree here.
My husband, mom and I will be heading off to Italy soon, and I am diving back in to more planning. I've already finalized the basics (flights, lodging, transportation) but thought I would share my current itinerary here in case anyone had any suggestions or advice, and because I am starting to get excited and want to share! I realize it's not particularly SLOW, especially the three nights in Rome, but we are planning to do our best to appreciate everything and not cram too much into each day.
As backstory: We previously spent five nights each in Florence and Venice in October of 2009. My husband visited Rome when he was much younger. We prefer street food, sandwiches and shopping at local markets to fine dining, and several of us have mostly vegetarian diets. We also don't drink. We do like history (especially antiquities), beautiful scenery, parks, cool atmosphere, and off-the-beaten path locations.
We'll be flying out of Boston on Sunday evening, October 1, connecting in Amsterdam and then arriving in Venice on October 2.
I have booked an AirBnB apartment on Rio Romite in Dorsoduro for four nights: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13754654
We stayed on the same canal, in a different apartment, last time we were in Venice and loved the area. During that visit we saw the Doge's Palace (including the Secret Itineraries tour), St Mark's, and Burano, along with a lot of smaller sites. I don't feel a compelling desire to return to any of them, except possibly St Mark's if it is actually less crowded first thing in the morning!
Some of the places we have not been that I am considering trying to see are: Ca'Rezzonico, the Guggenheim museum, and spending more time in Cannaregio, Santa Croce and Castello. We also have not been to Giuddeca or climbed up to any of the towers with views. Last visit my favorite thing was just wandering the streets and bridges, buying groceries, and walking along the Zattere, so I plan to do plenty of that again! I also have a list of gelaterias and pastry shops to search for...
On Friday, October 6 we will check out and head to Santa Lucia station for our 11:25 train (the fast one, but 2nd class seats) to Rome, arriving 3:10 at Roma Termini. I am hoping it is okay for us to bring bagged lunches with us to eat on the train!
I have booked an Airbnb apartment on Vicolo del Bologna in Trastevere for three nights: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5945384
I've never been to Rome and am honestly not entirely certain I'll enjoy it, though I know many love it. I didn't really enjoy Florence-- too busy, too much traffic, not enough green space-- and am worried Rome isn't for me, which is part of the reason we really only have two full days there. But I figure if I DO love it, we'll return for a longer stay and give it full attention.
My current plan is to spend Friday night settling in, go for a walk around the neighborhood, maybe across to the Pantheon. The only other "must-do" thing on our list is a visit to the Coliseum & Forum. From what I am reading, it sounds like the pass is valid for two days but you can't re-enter individual sites? If so, we might do Coliseum on Saturday, Forum/Hill on Sunday. Or maybe try to do it all Saturday, then save Sunday for wandering around one of the gardens or museums. I am still considering trying to get us spots on a semi-private tour, but am waffling over the options!
I have a long list of foodie spots (markets and pizza places and gelato and pastry shops), and am especially keen to try cacio e pepe! I'd also love to spend an evening on some rooftop terrace with a beverage-- but I don't actually drink alcohol (none of my family do). I do enjoy mocktails but have no idea if one can find such things in Italy.
On Monday, October 9, we check out and head to Roma Termini for another fast train, second class, this time to Naples. We leave Rome at 10:12 and arrive Naples 11:20. We have hired a private car service to pick us up and take us to our final destination in Positano. But I've arranged for the driver to stop at Pompeii along the way, where we will have three hours to explore. I would love to spend more time there, and to visit Herculaneum, but that will have to wait for another dedicated trip.
I didn't hire any sort of guide for Pompeii and am hoping to rely on pre-trip research, printed materials, and maybe the Rick Steves app or similar. I enjoy research and think I can manage this myself, but we'll see!
In Positano, we will be staying our final four nights at another Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1439403
From everything I can tell, it's up near the top of the town, but according to reviews there are several markets nearby. I know it will be a long climb up and down to the sea but hopefully we can avail ourselves of the local bus for some of that!
The one thing I most want to do while staying on the coast is to visit Ravello, ideally via ferry to Amalfi and then bus. Other than that we will probably mostly just relax! I might try to do one of the hikes others have posted about from Montepertuso (using the local bus) and we might try to take the ferry to Capri if the weather is nice.
We'll get another hired car (already arranged) to pick us up early on Friday October 13, and take us to Naples airport where we get our flight home to Boston (connecting in Amsterdam).
That's it! I welcome any advice or suggestions, keeping in mind that the itinerary itself is fixed.
I'm hoping to post updates from the road in the Trip Reports forum, and add more detailed notes after I return. I just got my first smartphone and am hoping to find enough wifi to upload a few photos as I go!
