We had booked our Air France flights from Vancouver, Canada to Florence but as mentioned in a few columns – we were rerouted to Bologna and had to be bused to Florence. Not the worst thing that could have happened but ironically after our 4 nights in Florence we headed to Bologna. Two couples traveled together. Our second time to Italy – our friends first.
Florence… 4 nights
We stayed at Hotel Torre Guefla. We loved the location, most of the staff, the breakfast but hated the stiff as a board beds in both our rooms. Not sure I can recommend the Hotel just based on the lack of sleep. The beds were that bad.
We did a “I just drive Italy” evening tour of the area. We hit a couple small towns that were nice that we certainly would not have planned on our own. We visited a small, but very nice winery – Casa Emma. Very friendly & professional staff. We visited Sienna in the evening which was pretty magical. We had been there during the day on our first visit but at night it is really beautiful. I would recommend the “I just Drive Italy” tour and felt it was worth the money. It is a private tour so just the four of us.
One day our friends spent one day visiting the museums. Since we had done that last trip we took a FlorenceTown Chianti Bike Trip for the day. It was a good bike trip but our guide was not a biker nor did he like wine so his “tour” skills were somewhat lacking.
Bologna… 2 nights
Took the train from Florence…reserved in advance to make sure we had the right class mostly to have room for our luggage.
We stayed at Hotel Corona D'Oro. Lovely hotel, nice rooms, great staff, great breakfast and happy hours. We were here to visit two families we had met on a previous trip to Turks and Caicos. We had a marvelous time. I highly recommend Bologna. It is a very walkable town with many, many places to see. Don’t let people tell you it’s industrial or not worth it. We loved it. We did visit the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums which were fun and quick stops. We visit Acetum for a balsamic vinegar tour…. Awesome and highly recommended.
We picked up a car on our way out of town – AutoEurope/ EuropCar …. As we had some time commitments which would not allow trains and/or buses. Dropped to car off at VCE.
Lake Como …. 3 nights
We stayed in Bellagio at Hotel Bellagio. Yep there are steps you have to carry your bags up but well worth the “workout” Nice rooms, good breakfast, a nice terrace to meet with friends at the end of the day. Took the Mid-Lake boat/bus. It was a great way to see all the little towns. The tour of Villa del Balbianello which was amazing. We thought it was well worth the 20 Euro entry fee but you can just tour the gardens for ½ that price. The walk in could be intimidating… if so take the boat tour. We did stop on Varenna – not much there but I guess if you don’t want to be around a lot of tourists it’s the place to be. We loved Lake Como but having visited Lake Maggiore on our first trip – I liked the vistas better.
Veneto…. 7 nights. The reason for the trip, like you need a reason to visit Italy, was to celebrate my 60th birthday and to do that we did a 7 night Veneto Bike and Barge trip. We booked through UTracks but our fellows bikers used 3 or 4 other tour companies to get to the Ava Maria owned and operated by Girolibero. We were 26 in total. We began on Giudecca Island in Venice and traveled the canal that follows the Po River. Again we visited towns we would not have even thought of as we biked. It was very nice and I highly recommend it.