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[smosey wales]

Even better. Good weather and lighter crowds.

And more time to read The Enchantress of Florence (presuming you've completed Diarmade MacCullogh's The Reformation).

Speaking of which, I came across a general history book called something like European History 101--it wasn't designed to be a textbook despite the title but a general survey and it was really useful to knock off the cobwebs before my last trip. I'm sure many similar survey books would serve as well.

Of course the traveler's bible, Tony Wheeler's Lonely Planet series, does a good job as well.

PM me your address and I'll send it to you if interested.

[mccjeff]

Ok boys and girls here we are 2 weeks away from a 3 week trip to Italy. This is how the schedule has shaped up.

Fly into Leonardo da Vinci Rome (FCO)
6 days Rome
2 days Amalfi
2 days Naples
5 days Greve in Chianti
3 days in Florence
2 days in Venice
Fly out of Marco Polo, Venice (VCE)

I'll add some pictures over the next few days of the places we are staying.

[mccjeff]

Previously seen on this forum...

Here is our place in Rome. It's located on Piazza del Monte di Pieta. It's right around the corner from Roscioli (renowned deli/restaurant/cafe/pasticceria/wine/salumeria/wine bar) and Open Baladin (over 100 Italian bottled beers and 40 on tap)

View from our rooftop terrace. The dome is Chiesa di San Carlo ai Catinari.



The front door.


The entry palazzo.


Going to hit all the regular tourist hot spots like Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill, Pantheon, Vatican, Borghese Gallery and a boat load of churches and cathedrals.

We aren't going to Pompeii but we are going to Ostia Antica. It's the ancient port of Rome. Then the coast up and moved and the town faded away. As well preserved as Pompeii, More shade, less crowds , more compact and a half day adventure 30 min from Rome instead of an all day trip switching trains to get to Pompeii. What it doesn't have is the sexy "...and then they all died..." part of the story.



I'm also taking Pam to the Porta Portese Flea Market on her birthday. That girl loves flea markets. They seem to just spring up in front of her wherever she goes. Most days we have a single thing planned and then the remainder is wander around and see shit time.


Food wise I'm looking forward to a couple deceptively simple classic Roman dishes. Cacio e pepe (pasta with cheese and pepper) and Carbonara (pasta with eggs, pancetta and cheese). I make both of them but I want to see what they are supposed to taste like. I know my versions are probably best described as heavy handed. Plus there are a couple of other Roman specialties like Carciofo alla giudia (fried artichokes) at Nonna Betta or Il Giardino Romano in the old Jewish Quarter and Filetti di Baccala (deep fried battered salt cod) at Dar Filettaro. After that it is all whatever strikes our fancy.

I'm not too concerned, actually not at all, with finding good wine. But what about beer? Turns out there are a few options. Open Baladin, Johnny's Off License, Beer Time but the one that has me intrigued is Brasserie 4:20. What could go wrong.

[smosey wales]

Beer tends to be pale yellow. You may have to search. You can also have the real Budweiser.

For dining, I'd add three things: truffles, truffles and truffles. And lots of good veg options along that route for Pam. And you don't have to do both the primi and secondi at every meal--then again, why not? We also ate a lot of rabbit.

Great idea for the flea market. We planned a trip around a two day antique market in one town. And there is a great market (I think I told you) around the corner from your Rome hotel on Saturdays--great place to get the dried herbs for cooking at home. The markets are a good time.

I found that I didn't need any of the recommendations from home for wine bars (oeneteca) or wineries. The former are everywhere and you will never get through the flavor chart. For wineries, we just pulled in to whatever we saw along the road. Some better than others, of course, and some not very welcoming, so you want that balance between the working farm that isn't interested and the bus tour stops.

I'm jealous!

[mccjeff]

Apr 5, 2017 12:40:02 GMT -5 smosey wales said:

Beer tends to be pale yellow. You may have to search. You can also have the real Budweiser.

For dining, I'd add three things: truffles, truffles and truffles. And lots of good veg options along that route for Pam. And you don't have to do both the primi and secondi at every meal--then again, why not? We also ate a lot of rabbit.

Great idea for the flea market. We planned a trip around a two day antique market in one town. And there is a great market (I think I told you) around the corner from your Rome hotel on Saturdays--great place to get the dried herbs for cooking at home. The markets are a good time.

I found that I didn't need any of the recommendations from home for wine bars (oeneteca) or wineries. The former are everywhere and you will never get through the flavor chart. For wineries, we just pulled in to whatever we saw along the road. Some better than others, of course, and some not very welcoming, so you want that balance between the working farm that isn't interested and the bus tour stops.

I'm jealous!

Beer in Italy has come a LONG way since your last trip. The Italian craft beer scene is vibrant and growing. I have some great beer destinations planned for later in the trip. The north of the country, especially around Milan, is now a hotbed of craft beer. Not so much in the south.

Truffles are on the menu but I am going to wait until I get to Tuscany. And you are right, although there are few "vegetarian" restaurants (more now than in the past I'm told) but everywhere has veg friendly options whether they intend to or not. Most of what we think of as Italian food started off as peasant food and what is the one thing peasants can't afford on a daily basis? Meat. I've also been told out in the country it is better to say you don't eat meat because it doesn't agree with your stomach. Being a vegetarian as a conscious choice causes much confusion in the older generation.

I always try and work thrift store and flea markets into the itinerary. I know what my girl likes.

I have very very few wine bars picked out and none in Rome. Later in the trip there are one or two for various reasons. For the most part we will be totally on foot or bus/train. The only time we will have a car is the five days in Chianti in Greve.  But yeah, I get your point on that balance.

[smosey wales]

A couple of wineries in your five days in Chianti is plenty; unless you have a professional interest, they aren't that different and you can taste more in any town. You can often just do a tasting in a friendly local restaurant if it's not too busy, and of cours ein any wine shop. (If you go to Montepulchiano, look into Adamo's.)

[kuriti]

We stayed just up the road from there in a VRBO. Great location. Something we saw this last time that is on a tier 2 list from the things you mentioned is the Capuchin crypt at Convento di Frati Cappuccini. It is a crypt with several rooms decorated with monk bones. Pretty freaky. It is a little pricey compared for the little time it takes, but really cool.



Since you over pay for the crypt, just down the street from there is a free sight, Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa at the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria. 



Can't wait for you.

[banjer]

Apr 5, 2017 13:39:55 GMT -5 smosey wales said:

A couple of wineries in your five days in Chianti is plenty; unless you have a professional interest, they aren't that different and you can taste more in any town. You can often just do a tasting in a friendly local restaurant if it's not too busy, and of cours ein any wine shop. (If you go to Montepulchiano, look into Adamo's.)

Just keep your daughters, wives and sisters out of Adamo's reach.

It's worth going to Montalcino to drink the brunello in the fortrezza. Or maybe that's just me, dig wine.

[mccjeff]

smosey wales we aren't going to have to go very far in Chianti to find wine. We are staying at a winery. More on that later.


kuriti We are going to stop at the Convento dei Frati Cappuccini on the way to the Borghese. But I didn't know about Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa at the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria.


banjer I don't think we are going to make it to Montalcino. But who knows. I will definitely be drinking some Brunello. I have been trying a lot of different Italians the last month just to acclimate. Right now I have a glass of 2015 San Lorenzo Pecorino. Really tasty white made from the nearly extinct Pecorino grape from Marche and Abruzzo.

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2017 20:18:45 GMT -5 mccjeff said:

 Really tasty white made from the nearly extinct Pecorino grape from Marche and Abruzzo.

I thought those were the grapes used to make Wild Irish Rose. Hmph. Just shows how much I know about sports.

[mccjeff]

Apr 5, 2017 21:15:26 GMT -5 criticalbill said:

Apr 5, 2017 20:18:45 GMT -5 mccjeff said:

 Really tasty white made from the nearly extinct Pecorino grape from Marche and Abruzzo.

I thought those were the grapes used to make Wild Irish Rose. Hmph. Just shows how much I know about sports.

What do I know. I was just reading what it said on the bottle.

[moon]

Apr 5, 2017 11:04:03 GMT -5 mccjeff said:

Ok boys and girls here we are 2 weeks away from a 3 week trip to Italy. This is how the schedule has shaped up.

Fly into Leonardo da Vinci Rome (FCO)
6 days Rome
2 days Amalfi
2 days Naples
5 days Greve in Chianti
3 days in Florence
2 days in Venice
Fly out of Marco Polo, Venice (VCE)

I'll add some pictures over the next few days of the places we are staying.

How wonderful for you! I cannot wait to get the same opportunity some day. Unfortunately I only get a ridiculous two weeks off a year.

Visit the Pizzeria Da Michele while in Naples. It's a bucket list item for me. 

[smosey wales]

you can pick up brunellos and other top-shelf varietals at the corner grocery stores, along with the artisan bread, cheese and meats. It seems so decadent to have one at a picnic in plastic glasses but at $10 why not?

I shipped a case home. The shipping comes to about $10 a bottle, but when you add that to the cost per bottle (or each bottle; I did a mixed case) it's still cheaper than at home. Price a few before you go.

PS take a cork screw in your checked luggage, or buy the first one you see when you land if you carry on. You would not believe how hard it is to find one for sale! I even tried unsuccessfully to buy one from a restaurant or wine bar!

[kuriti]

Apr 5, 2017 20:18:45 GMT -5 mccjeff said:

smosey wales we aren't going to have to go very far in Chianti to find wine. We are staying at a winery. More on that later.


kuriti We are going to stop at the Convento dei Frati Cappuccini on the way to the Borghese. But I didn't know about Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa at the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria.


banjer I don't think we are going to make it to Montalcino. But who knows. I will definitely be drinking some Brunello. I have been trying a lot of different Italians the last month just to acclimate. Right now I have a glass of 2015 San Lorenzo Pecorino. Really tasty white made from the nearly extinct Pecorino grape from Marche and Abruzzo.

I got really frustrated with taxi's this last time when the first one we used drove us all the way around the Vatican to turn a 2 mile drive into 8 miles. There is a metro stop down by the Cappucini Convent, I recommend using it and the bus system. Like you said, you can walk to Borghese from there. We used the later to get to the Colosseum which dropped us at the entrance. You can by tickets in any tobacco shop. Cheap and easy, like me. 

Historically I am a Lonely Planet guy, but the VRBO we stayed in had Rick Steve's guidebook for Rome and it was really handy with good walking tours. We made it through the rest of Italy with a 8 year old Lonely Planet.

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2017 6:19:20 GMT -5 mccjeff said:

Apr 5, 2017 21:15:26 GMT -5 criticalbill said:

I thought those were the grapes used to make Wild Irish Rose. Hmph. Just shows how much I know about sports.

What do I know. I was just reading what it said on the bottle.

Was it a bottle of Wild Irish Rose?

[mccjeff]

Apr 6, 2017 11:31:45 GMT -5 criticalbill said:

Apr 6, 2017 6:19:20 GMT -5 mccjeff said:

What do I know. I was just reading what it said on the bottle.

Was it a bottle of Wild Irish Rose?

Not this time.

[mccjeff]

After Pam goes and hangs out with the pope and a million other people we catch a train and head to the Amalfi Coast. This is the only place she doesn't know anything about. Villa Scarpariello Relais is right on the Mediterranean down the "hill" from Ravello. I know that nothing ever measures up to the pictures and that goes double for hotel rooms. I also know pictures can never really capture a place either. So I am taking all of this with a healthy grain of salt and a wide open attitude.

If we were approaching by motor launch... Which we aren't but I have hired a driver to take us from Naples Central Station to here because I've checked out the roads and I don't want to die.


The front door to reception is across a drawbridge!


The room is called Glicine or Wisteria.


This time it is all about the balconies.


If they serve me food here I may not leave for 2 days.


And I intend to get in the Mediterranean


Food wise I am looking for an anchovy appetizer and squid ink pasta with seafood and lemon of some sort.

The drink that the Amalfi Coast is famous for? Limencello of course!

[Bird700level]

Sounds like a shitty time and the places look disgusting. Now stop bugging me so I can get back to my wonderful job.

[mccjeff]

Actually we are going to Detroit. I'mm just trying to lipstick on that pig.

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2017 12:15:11 GMT -5 mccjeff said:

Apr 6, 2017 11:31:45 GMT -5 criticalbill said:

Was it a bottle of Wild Irish Rose?

Not this time.

[kuriti]

That's gorgeous. We were there in the off season and the roads were terrifying with only a few buses. I can't imagine the summer.

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2017 14:32:46 GMT -5 mccjeff said:

Actually we are going to Detroit. I'mm just trying to lipstick on that pig.

Thought those were pics of Detroit. Isn't it the lead that gives the water that blue color?

[smosey wales]

Your "get into the Mediterranean" photo makes me wonder if you are also going to get into cliff diving?

Or perhaps with a running start you can skip like a flat stone off the pool and into the sea?

[mccjeff]

There is a swim platform that I couldn't seem to find a good picture of. It looks quite inviting. Bare minimum I am getting my feet in the Med. It will also count as the Tyrrhenian Sea for those keeping score.

[smosey wales]

and the Adriatic in Venice

Antique Market in Florence
The third weekend of every month the Piazza Vittorio Veneto (Le Cascine park) hosts an antiques fair. Here you can find everything from books to furniture, jewellery to objects.
Where: Fortezza da Basso gardens, Florence.

if you go to montepulciano, we got good wine and cheese we shipped or brought home from Fattoria Pulcino; its store inside the town is called Cantina pulcino.  I mention it because while there are dozens of similar shops we know this one to be reliable.  The shop is ancient and cheese kept in an underground crypt; it's rolled in ashes to keep it. Very cool. BTW Vin Nobile from Monte is the equivalent of Brunello.  And anywhere, the Rosso (table wine grade) is outstanding.

for driving, invest in a good quality real paper map--not the tourist maps. And anyway, finding your way around inside the cities and small towns is hell.