A month in Italy: two food lovers on a honeymoon adventure need your help!!!

Not Venice?

As far as the 'food lovers' part of your title . . . We are planning a trip to Italy also and you may want to check out . . .

eatingitalyfoodtours.com in Rome . . . they seem to have great food tours in Rome/off the beaten path neighborhoods, check out their website . . . they have a neat description of the tour & TripAdvisor has great reviews

walkaboutflorence.com in Florence . . . food tours and day tours out of Florence with TripAdvisor reviews too.

I've also seen reviews on this forum about both of the above which is how we initially decided to book with both of these companies.

If you like souvenir plates as well, then see the long list of restaurants that participate in the Buon Ricordo offer. You have to order the specialty of the house (at an inflated price) to get that souvenir, but I've always had good meals using this strategy.

The weather could be iffy on the first part of your trip for Lake Como to be the ideal choice. Plus, missing Venice has already been mentioned. Let me also add that Emilia-Romagna would be a not-to-miss foodie destination: Parma, Modena, Bologna, etc.

http://www.academiabarilla.com/the-italian-food-academy/emilia-romagna/default.aspx

Hello! Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions and replies! We do definitely want to add either Parma, Bologna or somewhere else in the Emelia-Romagna region to the trip, probably between Lake Como and Florence. Does anybody have any suggestions for a good central location to spend a few nights? We would love somewhere with good access to public transportation, but preferably not in a crowded city area. Thanks!!

Jealous that you'll be able to spend 4 weeks in Italy! I just posted a similar "itinerary advice needed" post as we too are going in mid-May. I'm sure others will have more to say, but one thing I'm planning on doing (and mentioned in this forum as well) is the Italian Days food tour (http://www.italiandays.it/) from Bologna which includes factory tours to Parmesan Reggiano, prosciutto and balsamic vinegar factories. It is very well reviewed on TA as well. If you have the time, you could probably also seek out similar factories to explore yourselves, but we have very limited time :( As fellow food lovers, we are also planning on doing a cooking class - probably in Florence/Tuscany because of how our schedule works out. Safe travels!

Think doing Bologna after Lake Como makes sense.

4 Bellagio

4 Bologna...do a day trip to Ravenna from here.

3 Florence...http://www.hotellascaletta.it/ ask for a garden room

4 Tuscany...wineries and Siena. we like this http://www.collelungo.com/EN/collelungo.html
very centrally located for what you want to see.

3 Rome

5 Naples/Amalfi Coast

5 Paris ... what a wonderful way to end a trip!

Definitely recommend Bellagio! And if you haven't booked your accommodations yet, check out Borgo Le Terazze. Very reasonable prices for luxury accomodations. Also, you could take the ferry to Varenna and go to the cooking demonstration at Il Camineto. We stayed at Borgo Le Terrazze for five nights in June and could have easily stayed another week.

In Ravello on the Amalfo Coast be sure to check out Mamma Agata's cooking class. It's a splurge, but so worth it. We did this in September and there were three other couples also on their honeymoon. My husband was hesitant when I made the reservation, but it ended up being his favorite part of the trip. Just make sure to book far in advance. They book up really fast.

Sounds like a wonderful trip! We loved Bellagio (it is a very relaxing destination). We enjoyed kayaking there (not sure if they offer it in May?). Take advantage of the ferries to the other towns-Varenna is a lovely place to explore.

We stayed in Bologna last summer, and loved it there. It is very convenient to Modena, Parma, etc. via train. We stayed at the Hotel Porto San Mamolo, and absolutely loved it. It is still in the historic part of the city, but on the outskirts. It is a short walk to the city center. We also did the Italian Food Days tour-which was the highlight of our trip. Alessandro was amazing, and the food experience was second to none. We would do it again in a heartbeat.

In Paris, we also did a food tour that was as good as the Italian Days tour. The Paris Kitchen, with Wendy Lyn, was AMAZING. It was just my husband and I, and it transformed the rest of our food time in Paris. I would highly recommend early on in your stay in Paris.

Enjoy your trip!

lgs,

To begin with, congratulations!

A few thoughts and questions.....

"Fly into Milan (arrive around noon) take the train to Como then Bus/Boat to Bellagio"

I'm curious on why you're taking the train to Como and then Bus/Boat to Bellagio? One of the easiest routes to Bellagio is to take the train from Milano Centrale to Varenna, walk down the hill and then take the short Ferry ride across to Bellagio (about 20 minutes). That's also a convenient method for getting back to Milan and on to Florence for the next part of your trip. If you use that route, I'd suggest buying your tickets for both journeys when you land in Milan, since ticket purchase in Varenna is a bit "erratic". However, if necessary you can buy tickets at the helpful Tivano Tours office which is just below the Varenna station (and on the way to the Ferry dock).

"Make reservations to see the Uffizi"

For this and other sightseeing, you might find it very helpful to pick up a copy of the Italy 2015 guidebook, as it has a LOT of good information on sightseeing, hotels and how to easily book reservations for places like the Uffizi.

"Any recommendations about less touristy places to stay"

I don't know if it's considered "less touristy", but you might have a look at THIS B&B in Florence.

"Rent car after 3 days and drive to Chianti region"

Note that EACH driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These can easily be obtained at any AAA office for a small fee. You'll also have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas, as hefty fines will result if you pass throught these. DO NOT drive into the city of Florence, as the city is just about saturated with automatic ZTL cameras. Packing along a GPS or at least a good Map would also be prudent.

There are also some potentially expensive "caveats" when using trains or other public transit in Italy. If you need details on that, post another note.

"Train/Bus to Ravenna"

Could you clarify this? That's not a good use of time, as the trip from Rome to Ravenna is going to require considerable transportation time. It would be better to visit Ravenna while in Bologna, Florence or other locations in that part of the country.

"Drive to different wineries"

As someone else mentioned, that's probably not a good idea if you're going to be sampling wines, as the rules are very strict for that sort of thing in Italy.

Lots of good advice here... I think you mean "Ravello" after Rome, not Ravenna. Ravenna is near Venezia and Ravello on the Amalfi Coast.

It is really an amazing project!
I am a food lover, too! Last year an Italian guy who lives in Boston and now has a Tour Operator organizing food trips (www.foodstoriestravel.com) helped me in organizing my Tuscan holiday: I really could discover small and authentic producers where everything is authentic! I could never have found them by myself! We really had an amazing food and wine experience!

Molly from Finnland