Trip Report for Heart of Italy June 25th, 2023.
This is our family’s first trip to Europe and Italy. We choose Heart of Italy in 9 days because we’d like to experience both big city vibe (Rome and Florence) and small town charm (Volterra, Cinque Terre). The trip was wonderful. We had a blast of time. Big applause for our tour guide Marianna, who did an excellent job organizing the whole trip.
A few things to note. The orientation meeting at the first day is the best time to tell guide if you have any diet concerns like allergy or vegetarian. If you don’t plan to visit museums or other events like train tickets to Cinque Terre towns, it’s best to tell the guide in advance so they can save the money.
In general, in late June the weather is really hot. The sun can be burning in the afternoon. Sun screen is a must. Lots of fluid is also needed to keep hydrated. Some churches require visitors to cover knee and shoulder so be prepared. Sometimes we go out in the morning, come back to hotel to cool off in the afternoon, then go out again in the evening and night to enjoy the chilled temperature. It’s very comfortable after sunset. Restaurants open around 7PM for dinner. It’s very common for supper to last until 10PM.
Food is delicious no matter where you go, either tour arranged meals or your own explorations. We have tried wide range of restaurants from hole in the wall panini place to the fancy Florence steak house. All of them are very satisfying. Ask your guide what ingrediencies are in season, and what dishes are famous for each city. It makes a huge difference. We found the meal expense is cheaper than Seattle without the 10% tax and 15-18% tips. Wines are all great even for the least expensive table wines. For cocktail and hard liquor, sprit aperol and limoncello are local favorites you must try.
Water in the restaurant is not free. There are many water fountains in the cities your can fill your water bottle easily. In hot tourist sites like Vatican or Colosseum, there could be a huge line for water fountain.
Restroom. Public restroom can be hard to find on the street. The easiest way is to locate closest MacDonalds or coffee shop, buy something and ask to use the restroom.
When Rick Steve suggest expected walking distance of 2-8 miles per day, he was not kidding. During the trip my average daily steps is 15,000 and the highest is 23,000. Definitely wear comfortable walking shoes.
Theft. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any thefts issues. We followed Rick Steve’s suggestion on money belt and always pay attention to the surroundings. We also make sure to keep eyes on our luggage when taking trains. A few scams tried to approach us with ‘free’ staff or ask us where we’re from but backed off when I firmly said ‘No’ to them.
Local products worth the trouble to bring back to the states (and allowed by custom). Truffle products, local extra virgin olive oil, limoncello candy, limoncello, Chianti wine, leather products from Florence. For liquid products like olive oil and wine, we wrapped them carefully using extra cloth into a check in suitcase.