First time to Italy

I can't answer all your questions but I can address a couple of them, based on my trip back in June:

(4) Day trips from Florence: there are many more options than you'll have time for! Lucca, Pisa, Pistoia, and Siena are all easy to reach on public transportation, and that's just off the top of my head; there are many other places you can reach via public transportation. You could also rent a car and explore smaller villages in Tuscany. The choice depends on your interests and preferences.

(5) Based on what I saw, eating gluten free in Italy shouldn't be too hard. For example, several restaurants mentioned offering gluten free pasta.

We are going to San Giovanni Incarico after seeing Osta Antica. Any
suggestions on places to eat in San Giovanni?

Just curious? San Giovanni Incarico is not exactly close to Ostia Antica and is almost halfway to Naples. I'm wondering why you're going and how you intend to get there from Ostia and back to Rome?

Some restaurants are completely gluten-free, most others can accommodate gluten-free requests, even for pasta and pizza, but some would like a day's notice do they can prepare.

In Roma, one of my favorites is La Voglia di Pizza, between Campo de' Fiori and via Arenula.

As for towns near Firenze, you might enjoy a few that can be reached by bus or train (Siena, Arezzo), if you decide not to rent a car. Fiesole is.a local bus ride from Firenze.

Kathy

We have reserved a car service to bring us to San Giovanni. We know that it is about 62 miles from Rome.

Melissa and Zoe

Thank you so much for the suggestions. We are hoping to make a list of all the restaurants and try them!

Hilton connects to terminals 1,2,3 via an overhead walkway/moving pedestrian walk. Takes maybe 10-15 mins depending on terminal, how busy, how much luggage.

Hi Mpimentel0905

Towns to Visit: Chianti, Monteriggioni, Siena, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Pisa, Lucca...(some are easier to reach by car)
It is easy to rent a car - but be aware of ZTL (Zona Trafficio Limitatio) in Florence - for more info see https://www.visitflorence.com/tourist-info/driving-in-florence-ztl-zone.html

Trains to Pisa and Siena are easy but i am not sure about the rest as i drove rather than trained.

LSD

Is it easy to rent a car?

Please be aware of the dreaded ZTL. Check if your hotel is inside the ZTL and plan accordingly.

If you google "gluten free Italy" you will get tons of info. The phrase you want in ordering at restaurants is "Senza glutine", no need to buy or make a card.

We are thinking of maybe renting a car, or taking the trains, from Florence to surrounding towns. Any suggestions on towns we should visit? Is it easy to rent a car? Are the trains fairly easy?

I suggest another alternative. Look into taking a winery tour from Florence. They can drive you to the winery. According to which winery you choose, you'll get to see some of the Tuscan countryside. I suggest a food and wine tasting, which will take care of the big meal of the day. This way you could get to taste some great wines and not have to have a designated driver.

On another day, you could take the train or bus to a nearby town. Sometimes the bus can be faster, with more timetable options. Look into visiting either Lucca or Siena. Volterra would be a little harder logistically, but it would be a great town to visit as well, although either Lucca or Siena would offer more.

On the day before we fly home we are staying at the Rome Hilton at the Rome airport. Has anyone stayed here and is it as easy as they say to "walk" into the terminal?

I think this is a great choice. That's what we did. You can either walk or take the free shuttle offered by the Hilton. If you are flying out of Terminal 5, the shuttle is much better, since if you walk you'll end up taking the airport shuttle to Terminal 5 anyway.

You are going to have a great time! Prepare to fall in love!

Lesley

Thank you so much for this valuable information! We looked at the map of the terminal and it looked fairly easy. We felt it was better to stay here because we have a 6:30am flight home.

lsd1980s

Thank you for the list of towns. We did have some on our list but not all. Also thank you for that valuable link.

Hi DougMac

My husband had Volterra on his list. We also have scheduled a full day Chianti Wine tour to two vineyards. All the information you gave is very helpful. We can;t wait to enjoy and fall in love with the country!

Hi Zoe

Thank you for that phrase. My daughter's are going to begin practicing!

No problem Mpimentel0905!

As DougMac said - you are going to fall in love (DougMac was extremely helpful in my own planning of my trip)

Not sure which vineyard you are visiting...but Castello Di Verazzano was something else...:)

I am trying desperately to vicariously re-live my trip by coming back and "giving advice" on RickSteves blog... lol..So Thank You!!

LSD

As DougMac said - you are going to fall in love (DougMac was extremely helpful in my own planning of my trip)

Not sure which vineyard you are visiting...but Castello Di Verazzano was something else...:)

I am trying desperately to vicariously re-live my trip by coming back and "giving advice" on RickSteves blog... lol..So Thank You!!

I'm so glad to hear my suggestions were useful to you! I've found the more I travel, the more I want to travel! I also found myself torn between returning to favorite places from prior visits or exploring new places on my bucket list.

We just got back from London and Paris. It was a business trip for my wife. I'm very excited for her. She will be taking some of her students back to London next May. She and the students will be inducted into the Florence Nightingale Society in a ceremony held at Westminster Abbey. It will be held May 12, Florence Nightingale's birthday!