Milan, Stresa, Padova, Venice, Tuscany, Naples, Rome PT 1

Posted by tom on 06/19/23 10:53 PM

Trip Report PT 1

Flew LAX to Montreal to Milan on Air Canada to take advantage of the premium economy seats. Our departure details were changed endlessly and I’d probably not choose Air Canada or any connecting flight between LAX and Europe in the future. Flying direct into a major European city and then train it from there seems to be a much better option. The less airplanes the better these days.

Arrived Milan and took the train from MXP to Milan Central. Stayed at the fantastic Gran Duca Di York which is on a quiet side street just a short walk from the Duomo, the Milan castle and two different metro stops. We had reserved tickets and went to the top of the Milan Duomo which was something my wife had wanted to do for a long time. It’s really incredible and the effort to get up among the spires is really worth it. Inside was equally impressive but ultimately we had to go back to the hotel for a little rest before dinner. We managed to get out and grab a bite of dinner at a place inside the main shopping mall -not bad but had to be patient with our first waiter who was upset that we didn’t have a reservation. We had hoped to see the last supper but waited too long on the day the ticket block was released (like you really have to start trying at midnight on the day they open reservations and this only happens once every three months). Instead we took a walk to the Starbucks roastery which was super cool to see, and then on to the Milan castle which was awesome. We left Milan and went to Stresa by train where we stayed at an awesome place with great lake views called La Luna Del Porta. It was an easy 1.5km walk downhill from the station but there are taxis if you want them. The day we arrived the famed bike race the Giro d’Italia was passing through town so we watched the cyclists and their teams pass right below our balcony in the drizzle. AMAZING. The next morning we went over to Isola Bella. The palace, town, and especially the gardens and grottos there were incredible and a real highlight of our whole trip. We got super lucky as the next day the island was going to be shut for three days because Lous Vuitton was having a private event! Stresa was great and we would go back there again to explore the lake Maggiore area more.

We left Stresa after two nights and headed to Padova with a day stop in Verona. We left our bags at the luggage check in Verona and took a cab into town. Verona was beautiful! We walked a lot but really enjoyed this stop with the colosseum, several amazing bridges, towers and squares as well as really great architecture. It would be worth a night or two if you had it to explore further in Verona. We ended up the day in Padova and stayed at a property right on one of the main squares that features a daily market that has been open consistently for 800 years. Padova was fascinating and the tour of the university was a real stunner of history and humanity. The city itself has an amazing, grungy(but also so beautiful) realism that felt so genuine and we really fell into a rhythm quickly here. The evenings out in the square with the locals drinking and eating were some of our favorite of the trip. This is where I spent my 55th birthday and our 30th anniversary and it couldn’t have been more special.

We spent two days in Venice at the Hotel Dona Palace and splurged on a canal view room and arrival by water taxi at the hotel's boat dock. It was a great way to travel and we enjoyed the tour of the canals on what turned out to be one of the best weather days of the whole trip. They had been having non stop rain for weeks and this was the first real break in the weather. It was so beautiful! The main attractions were super crowded and we were so glad for our book ahead front of the line small group tours because the lines looked hours long every place we went.

Posted by tom OP

06/19/23 10:54 PM

30 posts

PT 2
Had some nice fritti in paper cones and then payed WAAAY too much for a spritz on St Marks but it was totally worth it to be there having a spritz with the view and the orchestra playing. Because of a train strike that we heard about while traveling to Venice, we had to leave super early on one of the ‘guaranteed trains’ that are promised on mass transit strike days. We used Italo for most of our high speed travel and they were awesome and the people at the station were all super helpful when we had questions or needed changes. The app works great on both Italo and Trenitalia.

We left Venice and arrived in Florence where we dropped our luggage at a locker place outside the train station. We then went to Europcar and got our van ready for the trip to Tuscany. Vans are hard to come by so we had to come back before 5pm to get the keys because it wasn’t ready early. We spent the day in Florence and went to the Academa and saw David again with pre paid tickets. The city was super packed but we had an awesome day walking from highlight to highlight. We didn’t enter the duomo as our group didn’t want to spend the time in line, but we walked all around and marveled at the beauty of the outside(which I like better than the inside anyhow). We grabbed our van and our bags and headed to the town of Greve in Chanti where we spent three nights at an amazing agroturismo. One day we drove to Siena and saw the duomo as well as had spritz in the main plaza where they hold the horse race. We were told that local wine tastings are no longer a ‘stop by and have some’ affair and you need reservations ahead of time these days. The town of Greve has an awesome Saturday market so we spent one morning shopping and getting roasted chicken, cheese and fruits from the vendors which we took back to the BnB and ate overlooking the valley while drinking house chianti. The next day we took a cooking class at the property and then passed out from too much food and wine. It was a really nice way to take a break in the middle of a long trip. There were TONS of mosquitos and our group got chewed up bad so beware after the rains and then heat come the bugs!!

We went back to Florence to drop our car and took the train to Naples. Holy cow I was not ready for Naples. It’s hot and dirty and crowded and loud and crazy and after the calm of Tuscany it was super culture shock. Almost being run down by scooters on what looks like a pedestrian street was crazy and the lines to get a L’Antica pizza were insane. HOWEVER once you find the pace and embrace the crazy (a lot like New Orleans) it’s like no place on earth and I thought a lot of fun! The metro was pretty abandoned and easy to use with some beautiful stations but they are WAY UNDERGROUND with lots of lifts and stairs to navigate. Some of our group were a bit overwhelmed so the decision was made to take a day trip to Sorrento and see some costal beauty. The local train takes forever and can be packed until Pompeii where most people get off. Coming home took even longer as the tracks were crowded and we had to wait a long time at each station to be able to leave. Sorrento was AMAZING and I’d come back here for more time in a heartbeat. We had a nice lunch in the main plaza and then walked down to the beach club and marina below the cliffs. The shopping up top was like sanitized Naples and it felt crowded and crazy but still fresh and fun and clean and safe. Afternoon drinks at a patio by the marina was amazing and we took the shuttle back to the train station to head back to Naples. In Naples we had fried pizza and Neapolitan margarita pizza from several different places and it was all delicious and cheap. I didn’t wait for L’Antica de Michelle because we had a party of 6 but to order takeaway or a table for two was about a 45 minute wait once you figured out how the system and ‘line’ worked.