Trip Report: Rome and Florence

Wow, sounds like you certainly had some adventures. Bad flights make good stories, though.

Please let us know more about your trip; we love details!

Crowds

Florence felt a bit more crowded to me than Rome. The worst crowds we saw were on the Ponte Vecchio and around the Duomo. Siena was a welcome relief from the Florence crowds. There was hardly anyone in Pompeii, but of course the Circumvesuviana train from Naples was still standing room only each way. Ostia seemed to have about 50 people total in it, including one large tour group.

Accommodations

We stayed in AirBnBs until the last 2 nights of the trip. It is just easier and more cost effective for 5 to be in one space than getting multiple hotel rooms. The place where we stayed in Rome was on Via del Pellegrino, which was a good location. The apartment was as advertised, but I now regret going for a place with only one bathroom. It was just too much aggravation trying to coordinate everyone's needs, especially with water heaters that are not really equipped for hard core use.

The place we stayed in Florence was amazing. I would highly recommend it. I am not sure about the rules on posting links, but you can search for "two medieval towers florence" and find it. The building is striking, so much so that we had to dodge tourists taking pictures outside the front door everyday as we came and went. Not only was the apartment spacious, with 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths, it also had a washer and dryer.

By the time I learned of the snafu with my flights, this place was booked for our extra night in Florence. I had to book two hotel rooms instead. We ended up staying at the C Diplomat. It is fine (probably best for business travelers), and it served its purpose - convenient to the station and clean. But it was a step down from staying in the tower. The last night back in Rome we stayed at the Hilton Airport. I used points for the rooms, but everything else was overpriced. The convenience of walking into the terminal in the morning is hard to top, though.

Day 1

We arrived in Rome on a Monday morning and were able to check into our AirBnB early at noon. The apartment was near the Piazza Navona, and the early check in allowed us to explore a little around the neighborhood. Most of the family wanted to rest, so I wandered a bit further on my own to get my bearings.

Day 2

I had trouble getting my Colosseum and Vatican tickets for the days I wanted, so we ended up having to do both on the same day. We had a guided Colosseum/forum tour from Show Me Italy in the morning, and then used the Rick Steves audio guide for the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel during the afternoon. We had to Uber from the Colosseum to Vatican City since it would have taken an hour to walk it. Uber worked well in Rome, but it was pricey given that we needed a van each time to get 5 in the vehicle. The Vatican felt packed compared to other sites we visited. The Colosseum and the Forum felt manageable as far as the crowds. Because of my scheduling snafu, we grabbed a quick lunch at one of the places right across from the museum entrance. I was not expecting much, but the takeaway sandwiches were pretty good.

Day 3

Since Day 2 got so jammed, we had a light day on Day 3. We started at the Pantheon without a ticket (I could never get the site to work from the US). The no ticket line was shorter than the reservation line when we arrived, but neither side had to wait very long at all. My daughters are more interested in spaces than in sculptures or artwork, so this was a highlight for them. My son was fascinated by the aperture and why it rarely rains inside the building. After this, we headed up to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps so that we could do some shopping. Late that afternoon we went to see the San Clemente Basilica. I was fascinated by the way the churches were built on top of each other rather than by obliterating the earlier structures. Seeing the Mithraeum was a highlight. Everyone enjoyed the pace of this day.

Day 4

Thursday we made a day trip to Pompeii. I was nervous about how this would go. My family does not love marathon itineraries, and I saw the reports about rail strikes during this week right before we left. Fortunately, the strikes did not affect any of the trains I needed.

Another concern was how late to make our returns, since our guided tour was not until 2pm. Should we try to see a bit of Naples or try to get back as quickly as possible? How much time to account for getting the Circumvesuviana? I ended up buying return tickets from Naples for 20:30. Our high speed train to Naples was at 9:25. We got to Naples around 11 and took the first regional train to Pompeii. The crowd sprinted to that train like there was a Black Friday sale on board, so we ended up having to stand. Luckily, the weather was nice so the train did not get too hot. We arrived at Pompeii and grabbed a bite to eat. I was not expecting much from the food places by the station, but even then half of them were closed. I assume it is because it was the low season for the park. We had a mediocre lunch from one of the only 2 options and met our guide outside the entrance. The park felt empty to me. The guide kept commenting about what a luxury it was to be able to just walk up to the plaster casts or into the House of the Vettii without waiting and take as long as we wanted to observe. Our guide Angelo was great. After the 2 hour tour, the family was ready to head back rather than to continue to explore on our own. We had to wait maybe 25 minutes for the next train and by 16:30 or so we were heading back to Naples. We arrived a little after 17:00, so we had a little over 3 hours before our train to Rome. We decided to try to see the Sansevero Chapel in that window. Uber did not work nearly as well in Naples, but after hunting around we found a van to take us. The traffic lived down to its reputation. I will never forget seeing a mother with her baby in a childseat on an e-bike peddling serenely down the road as cars and scooters just weave in an around her like kids turned loose in bumper cars. We made it in one piece, but the chapel was sold out for the day. So instead we wandered down the Via dei Tribunali and had some pizza. We ended up having to walk back to the station since we could not find a cab and Uber was not working. But it was only about a 25 minute walk and we made it with 20 minutes or so to spare. We got back to Rome around 10pm and took a van from the Termini station back to the apartment to crash. Everyone loved Pompeii but were also pretty beat after a full day of travel and walking.

Day 5

This was a travel day, as we were moving from Rome to Florence. We caught a train at 9:30 or so and arrived a little after 11. We were able to again check in to our apartment early, albeit this time for a 20e fee. This allowed us to drop off our backs and start exploring the city. I loved the neighborhood around the Ponte Vecchio, even if the crowds on the bridge itself were among the worst we saw anywhere in Italy. I loved the food, especially the sandwiches at Amici di Ponte Vecchio. And after the graffiti of Naples and, to a lesser extent, Rome, Florence was a breath of fresh air. Other than on the bridge itself, the crowds were manageable. One of the scammers in the Duomo piazza threw a bracelet towards me that I caught out of instinct. That started a tedious process of trying to get him to take it back and leave me alone. I ended up giving him some change to go away. That was the only unpleasant encounter I can recall having. We then went to the Bargello. I loved it, but the kids were more interested in the shopping that occurred after we were done with the museum.

Day 6

We went to the Uffizi to start the day. It was obviously spectacular. There is always a tension in my family about how much I get to linger and wander before they want to move along. My kids were more impressed with the Medici Chapel. I have to say I was not prepared for how beautiful it is. I prefer Sainte Chappelle, but I would say it is up there in the same ballpark for me. It is hard in photos to capture the scale of a place like that. This is one that definitely exceeded my expectations. We went to the Orsinmichaele and the museum. The view from the museum was a highlight for me. There was some more shopping, and we retired to the apartment with my credit card in need of a break.

Day 7

My wife really wanted to do a wine tour in the countryside. But we did not want to drag our kids along for something they would not enjoy. Even the two that are old enough to drink (in Italy at least) are not wine drinkers. So we decided to put our 20 year old in charge of her siblings and go on a tour by ourselves. My daughter was nervous about it, even though she has lots of friends who studied abroad in Florence alone. I got them tickets to the Pitti Palace (it was right around the corner and I knew the fashion museum would interest my oldest at least) and made sure they had a sense of places to grab lunch in the neighborhood before we set off to meet our tour group at Piazzale Montelungo. We bought the tour on Viator and I was worried it would be cheesy. I was concerned that any winery that would let you take a tour bus in was not a place you wanted to spend your time or money. But we both really enjoyed it. The other members of our group were great (including a couple who live about 3 hours away from us in SC). The tour guide Jason (he made a lot of fun of his very Italian name) was hilarious. The wineries (Emma and Montecchio) were nice. Montecchio especially was great. The guide started playing the Gladiator theme as we went up the driveway, and it really did look like Maximus's estate in Spain. The food and wine were all very good, and it was well worth it.

The kids survive their time alone, and we spent most of the rest of the day just relaxing.

Day 8

This was our "extra" day from not going to Copenhagen. I elected to spend it based in Florence rather than in Rome or trying to add another stop to our trip. So we moved out of the tower and into the C Diplomat. They let us drop our bags off first thing in the morning, and we caught a train to Siena. Not having to validate our regional tickets was nice. It also came in handy at the end of the day that we could change the return time at pretty much any time.

A couple we met earlier on our trip told us they did not much care for Siena. So I was worried I had picked a dud for our day trip. But I loved it. I loved everything about the Duomo, from the facade, to the floor, the library, to the fish carved into the font. Our first time through the museum we missed the panorama. I knew about the Gate of Heaven climb, but I had not read about the panorama. When we reached that part of the museum, we saw a few people sitting in the waiting area but were not sure what they were waiting for. We started wandering around looking at the vestments on display, and the attendant shooed us away. We ended up moving on. Luckily, the attendant at the crypt mentioned it and said we had to go back and see it. I am glad we did. The view was amazing. Everyone but my son loved it. He sat near the top of the stairs clinging to the railing.

I had trouble finding dinner reservations in Siena since that was a last minute addition to our trip. So I was ambivalent about whether we would just find a place in Siena or head back to Florence and eat there. I was able to move my ticket back to an earlier time since it was a regional ticket. We ended up finding a place in Florence and having a nice final meal there.

Day 9

We took the morning train back to Rome. I was torn between taking the da vinci train to the airport versus just biting the bullet for a car to take us. I ended up reserving a car through Cab Roma and it could not have been more convenient. We basically walked out of the terminal and directly into the shuttle. Once we got to the Hilton at around 13:00 and checked our bags, the hotel called a shuttle to take us to Ostia Antica. I asked the concierge if there was anywhere to eat at the park and she said yes. It turns out there is not anything in or connected to the park. My wife did not want to venture into the area next to the park to look for something, so we just powered through a couple of hours at the park. Other than one tour group that was annoyingly right in front of us everywhere we turned, Ostia was all but empty. It is not Pompeii, but it still has a lot worth seeing. For one thing, the museum is right there.*** There also was another Mithraeum to see, along with some great mosaics.

I had asked the concierge to arrange a driver to get us after 2 hours at Ostia. From talking to the driver on the way to Ostia, it was clear she had not talked to him about this. Luckily Uber worked well in the park (and was cheaper than the price the hotel quoted me when I called them about getting another car) and we got back to the hotel for a late (and expensive) lunch. We also ate dinner at the hotel since we were all tired. It was one of the more expensive and mediocre dinners we had in Italy. The rooms were spacious and the A/C worked. The hotel was also very quiet. Other than the lobby, there was not a lot of activity. I got the impression that the hotel was at a pretty low occupancy.

*** The museum was oppressively warm. It was maybe 62 degrees outside, yet they had the heat blasting. It seemed many of the museums were noticeably warm. Does this have some conservation benefit? There was a guard in one of the rooms wearing a winter coat. I would have gotten heat stroke if I had worn that in there. We had to power through the rooms because we could barely stand the heat. I wish I had a little more time to see everything.

Thanks for sharing. I also just returned from these two cities and agree that Rome didn't feel as crowded as some parts of Florence.

Nice report, even the not-so-fun stuff. Sounds like you did a pretty good pivot on your transportation plans, well done. And a good reminder to check flights regularly even if you have nothing from the airline. I did just that last week and got the dreaded "your itinerary has changed and you've been rebooked" message - for a 5 minute schedule change!

Sounds like a great trip, with not too many hiccups.

I agree that Florence is very crowded. We were there in November 2021--not peak season, and travel hadn't fully recovered from closures, and we still found Florence almost unbearably crowded, especially the Uffizi.

Thanks for taking the time to write this up and prompt me to immediately look at the status of my upcoming SAS flights to Nice! They actually had changed our connections a few months ago (somehow we ended up with better flight schedules!) also without notification, but things look as expected. Seems like you rallied and enjoyed yourselves. Well done!

redheadlibrarian, I am glad that SAS made your trip work better. I was panicked at the time, but now I am just puzzled that their system did not pick up that we had two flights rather than one and that their change had us defying the laws of physics.

Initially, they tried to put us on the first leg a day earlier than we originally scheduled, which I’d love to do in the summer, but as a teacher, I can’t do during spring break. After speaking with someone (which didn’t take exceptional effort), we got it sorted out for a departure earlier in the same day as originally booked and a connection city change.

Thanks for the trip report! Hope you had a great time and developed many memories with the kids. Sounds like you learned a lot for the next trip!

-A fellow SC resident currently riding a train to Bletchley Park just outside London

Food
Our favorite meals in Rome were at Hostaria Costanza and Elle Effe. The latter was not on my itinerary. I had planned on eating closer to the Vatican on Day 2, but by the time we left St. Peters we had a couple of hours before our reservation and no one wanted to wait. So I cancelled the reservation and we hunted for something closer to our apartment once we got back. They serve Sicilian cuisine (and made sure we knew that as they were handing out the menus) and it was delicious. Hostaria Costanza was tucked away in an alley near Campo di Fiori and was also very good. This was probably my favorite tiramisu that we had on the trip.

I do not recall having a bad meal in Florence. The one that stands out was at Frescobaldi. The wine was excellent, but the food was very good as well. I mentioned Amici earlier for lunch but will put it in here again. I would have eaten there every day for lunch if my family would have allowed it. I tried to eat at Osteria Sostanza while we were here, and I had an email exchange with the restaurant where they acknowledged the reservation. But when I showed up they did not have my name on the list. I guess that is a lesson to call to confirm a few weeks out. We ended up eating at the first place we passed that had room and it was still a very good meal.

Shopping

My wife and daughters have been planning on getting new Golden Goose shoes while we were on the trip. They figured out on our last big trip to France a few years ago that the shoes are both cheaper in Europe and essentially on sale when you factor in the VAT refund. We agreed to make the shoes their birthday gifts for that year, and they wanted to do the same for this trip. I just checked, and the pair one of my daughters bought cost about $100 more on the US website over what we paid in Rome. When you factor in the VAT refund, it shaved another substantial amount off the price. It is more than I would ever pay for a pair of sneakers, but this was how they wanted to use their birthday money on the trip.

I am glad we went by the Global Blue lounge near the Spanish Steps to start the refund process rather than waiting until we got to the airport. The GB staff noticed that Golden Goose had gotten one of the numbers wrong when filling in the passport number. We were able to go back to get this fixed before we left. I would have been very unhappy if we got to the airport and then were stuck without being able to get the refund. We were careful to check the forms going forward whenever we made a purchase that was subject to the refund. The GB and Planet kiosks at the airport could be better marked. They are tucked back near the customs office and the open area was so crowded we finally had to ask someone where to find them. The GB kiosks worked like a charm, and the attendant was very helpful. He warned us that Planet's kiosks did not work as well, and sure enough it took about 4 or 5 tries before the attendant was able to get our refund to process through the terminal.

My daughters were more reasonable in their other purchases during the trip, as they stuck to places like Zara and Mango for deals. I found some clothes for myself at Kolby near Piazza Navona. Suitcase space was the limiting factor for me, because I thought their clothes were well made, fit well, and were fairly priced.

In Florence I wanted to get a few small leather items (a belt, a wallet, and a journal for my wife) and spent some time trying to find places that were worth spending money in. I liked Infinity Leather for some of the items I wanted. I ended up buying the journal at Manufactus in Siena.

END OF REPORT

Thanks again for this great report. As I said, we love details!