I was in Florence for a destination wedding which had events for three nights in a row, plus a couple daytime activities. I have been to Florence in the past so wasn’t focused on the ‘biggies’ (David, Ufizzi Gallery, Duomo etc) and instead tried to do things that were new to me. So this may not be the best ‘first timers’ Florence guide, but hopefully, have some ideas for those who have been previously and are looking for a few new ideas. 



Thursday:

Arrive pm

Taxi into city center and get settled into B&B


Great location between Main Street that leads to Ponte Vecchio (3 min walk) and Signoria square 

Small single room with breakfast at x cafe on the banquets where the waiters greeted me by name each morning or if I walked by during the day


Hotel:  B&B La Signoria Di Firenze

Via Calimaruzza 1 Florence 50123 Italy


Wandered across the Arno for dinner. First tried to go to Gustapizza but the line was too long so ate at  a cafe down the block on San Marco Square. Great place to people watch on a warm evening! After dinner wandered and heard opera being sung outside the Uffizi before heading to sleep.


Friday:

Morning: 

Breakfast: As part of the B&B my breakfast each morning was at a wonderful cafe on the Piazze dell Signoria, a half block from the B&B. What a wonderful way to begin each day! The waiters were so kind and had open arms and big smiles saying “Welcome Christine!” every time I walked in. 


Bike Tour: I booked a  9-11 bike ride through the city via Airbnb experiences with ‘Florence Untold by Bike with Roberto’ which was terrific. We stopped along the route to learn stories and lesser-known facts and it was great!  He also does night tours and my friends did the tour from 10-midnight one night and loved as well.


Wandered to a number of stores I wanted to check out and to the outdoor leather market (the sellers were not as aggressive as in earlier years so much more relaxing !).


Afternoon: 

Lunch at pizza place Cafe Italiano bike tour guy said was best in city which was very good and had good AC which was important as it was hot!


Gucci museum – fun history of the brand, with clothing and and an amazing array of purses on display, as well as a store in the ground level.


Evening: 

Walked to St Regis hotel for a welcome cocktail party. Beautiful hotel! Wonderful place to get a drink, right on the Arno.


Group dinner at Trattoria 4 Leoni restaurant on other side of river which was terrific! Amazing food and ambiance.


Saturday:

Breakfast on the square 


Private group Tour from 10-1 of three awesome sites in Florence:

– Medici Chapel/Crypt

– the Baptistry

– the Museo del Duomo

All were amazing!



Lunch at La Bussola for great salads and pizza followed by gelato at Gelateria Santa Trinita which is just over the Arno next to the Ponte Santa Trinita bridge.  So so good (and you can eat on the bridge afterwards which is especially night in a warm night). 


Gold shopping on Ponte Vecchio neighborhood 


Rehearsal Dinner at the Giardini Corssini villa that was rented for the event, located just down the street from Santa Maria Novella pharmacy (which is so beautiful and definitely worth a visit!).. Amazing grounds with cocktails outside and fresh baked pizza dinner served long table style in the lemon house (like an orangerie but for lemons), followed by fresh gelato. Beautiful evening filled with toasts and lots of love!! 



Sunday

Morning:

Full morning walking tour by friends who used to live in Florence. Walk included Piazzale Michelangelo (an amazing view over the city),  San Minato al Monte church (also amazing views), Villa Bardini, Belvedere Fort and the Boboli Gardens. 


A few stopped at Santini jewelers (just over the Ponte Vechio enroute to the Pitti Palace)which parents of the bride have visited for ages where I later got a pair of earrings – so kind and fair prices. It looks like watch store but just let them know what you are interested in and they bring cases out from the back. The owner Ivan couldn’t be nicer and has great prices.


Grabbed lunch (jeweler recommended Le volpi e l’uva around the corner where I wish I’d gone as it looked amazing and I heard again later from someone else that it’s also one of the finest wine bars in Florence as well as having great food.  It looked great with quaint atmosphere located on a little square near the Ponte Vecchio! Next time!


Wedding time! We were at St Regis by 3:30 to catch the bus up to Fiesole above Florence where the wedding was at the Villa di Maiano. The beautiful ceremony was under a big oak tree overlooking Florence, with cocktails outside on the terrace, dinner outside overlooking the city,  fireworks over the city as cake was served and then dancing to a band inside aftwards. Wow, what a night. 


Monday


Morning:


Lunch at Urban Garden courtyard restaurant which isn’t on google maps for some reason but entrance is across from the Sephora on Via dei Calzaiuoli. Nice, quiet courtyard restaurant which is great for an outdoor lunch.


Wandered to San Croce area, and then my friends got sandwich at the super popular little sidewalk place  I ‘Gironi de Ghiotti. It was a 30-40 minute wait but super thin crispy bread makes it worth the wait – not a regular sandwich! 


More wandering and then Wwent up to have a water at a cafe that’s on the top floor of the Biblioteca dells Oblate library, a few blocks from the Duomo where you have a great view of the dome. A student hangout – you have to wander through the library to reach the very casual cafe. 


Checked out and moved to hotel near airport (Hotel Franchi) which was clean and fine for 4:30am departure to airport the next morning, as they arranged for the 3 minute drive. Must say that the lasagne I had there for dinner (I had very low expectations) and it was maybe the best thing I ate in Italy- melted in the mouth! Who knew! 


Tuesday

Off in the am! 



Summary of Restaurants and Activities that either I went to/did, were recommended to me, or that I had done on past trips to Florence! 


Restaurants:

Gustapizza 

I ‘Gironi de Ghiotti for popular, wonderful sandwiches 

Lunch at Urban Garden courtyard restaurant

Lunch or glass of wine at Le volpi e l’uva  (just over Ponte Vecchio)

Lunch at La Bussola

Dinner at Trattoria 4 Leoni 

Dinner at Sostanza (closed when I was there 😣)

Gelateria Santa Trinita which is just over the Arno next to the Ponte Santa Trinita bridge



Activities:

Medici Chapel/Crypt

the Baptistry

the Museo del Duomo

Uffizi

Pitti palace 

David

Walk that includes: Piazzale Michelangelo (an amazing view over the city),  San Minato al Monte church (also amazing views), Villa Bardini, Belvedere Fort and the Boboli Gardens. 

Museo Del Bargello 

 ‘Florence Untold by Bike with Roberto’  bike tour

San Croce church/area

San Lorenzo market

Biblioteca dells Oblate library

San Marco area wander in evening



After a week of hiking in Switzerland, my friend Joanne and I decided to head to Italy. Our ultimate destination was Venice since I had never been and it was high on my bucket list. So we trained/bused from Zermatt to Milan (many trains are under construction, or what they call “interrupted”, but the train/bus combo was NOT bad) where we began our adventure.


Joanne is VERY familiar with Milan and Venice so she planned and I was just along for the ride – it was amazing!


Milan:

Jo has been to Milan many times and considers it the most efficient Italian city, combining some of the best Italian art, architecture, food, and shopping within a small footprint – minimal steps, taxis, or public transportation necessary!


Hotel:

Hotel Manin: We chose this hotel because it was equidistant between the train station (where we arrived and where we were renting a car the next day) and the historical center of Milan. It was clean, reasonably priced, and had A/C!

Another hotel Jo likes is the Grand Hotel et de Milan, which is directly in the heart of the shopping quadrant. It is very old world and gorgeous with a price point to match.


Shopping:

Milan has some of the best shopping in Europe, all within 4 city blocks. It’s an especially great place to shop given there is no sales tax (as in the US) and if you spend more than 70 Euros, you can claim the 12% VAT back when you leave the EU. There are some great deals, especially in July when it is the end of the season and there are many saldis (sales).

We hit the high-end basics: Prada, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, La Double J, Loewe,and Herno (yes, puffers were purchased) and wandered through the historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. We liked the department store Rinascente, right next to the Duomo, because it has AC as well as a great rooftop terrace with terrific views of the Duomo and the city.

We also shopped at Arket – a cheap chic arm of H&M that doesn’t ship to the US – and we both found some great pieces. 10 Corso Como is another great store – a bit removed from the core of the city but worth a trip. It was opened in 1990 by Carla Sozzani, former fashion editor and publisher, and sister of Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italy, and the space combines fashion, art, and has a great cafe..


Sights:

We visited the Duomo di Milano, the Teatro alla Scala (Opera House), the aforementioned Galleria, and wandered around the city. Other sights to see include Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper (tickets needed), the Castello Sforzesco, and the Fondazione Prada, a campus around 20 minutes outside of the city dedicated to modern art and culture. It has a great cafe designed by Wes Anderson and hosts fabulous art and film exhibits. A must-see if you love art and design!


Food:

We had a delicious lunch at La Locanda Gatto Rosso, on a square a few blocks from the main shopping drag. Delicious piadinas and salads and fun people watching! Other fun choices are:


We had dinner at Bice, also in the shopping zone on Via Borgospesso. A Milan classic since 1926, it serves classic Northern Italian food. The ravioli was superb!


Lake District

After a two-hour classic Italian Rent-a-Car experience with Hertz (make sure you rent a car from a location that actually has the cars on site…the train station office does not!) we hit the road and headed to Lake Iseo, a small lake between Lake Como and Lake Garda. It was awesome because it’s small and doesn’t attract the crowds of the other lakes. With the helpful recommendation of a barista, we settled in for lunch at Ristorante Pizzeria Vela, on the East side of the lake, up the hill, with a great view and great pizza! Beautiful!


Our pizzeria waitress led us to our next stop – the town of Salo, on the west side of Lake Garda. Not too touristy, the town is full of cobblestone streets and has a beautiful lungolago (lakefront promenade) which made this a great stop. Of course there was also shopping and one of the shop owners told us about the best gelato in town in front of the Duomo. Yes it was!


Hotel:

With Verona as our target for the next day, we stayed nearby in the most incredible hotel, Villa Giona. 15 minutes from Verona in Valpolicella, the 16th century villa with amazing grounds and vineyards was less than $200/night for two, including breakfast. It has a great pool, and incredible, huge gardens. We ate dinner on site and it was delicious and so beautiful. A magical stay. HIGHLY recommend!


Verona:

We spent a half-day in Verona:


Shopping:

Verona has a surprisingly strong shopping game along its main drag, Via Mazzini. We had luck in Cos and enjoyed eyeballing luxury goods at Folli Follie Donna and Pavin.


Lunch:

Our saleswoman at Pavin suggested Buoono for casual piadinas (wrapped sandwiches) and it was sososo good!

Vicenza:


Our next stop was Vicenza, about an half hour east of Verona and home of the architect Palladio. We were lucky enough to be guided through town by a friend of Chrissie’s who has lived there for 30 years! We went by the Palladio museum, visited the Palladian designed Olympic Theater (the first permanent indoor theater!), strolled around the Piazza dei Signori, and enjoyed the Palladian Basilica. Thank you Cynthia for the great tour!


Bassano del Grappa:

We stayed about an hour outside of Vicenza in Bassano del Grappa at Villa Lovi. Under $100 a night including breakfast, it was a nice, quiet, clean spot outside town with easy parking! We went into Bassano for dinner and it was a charming town with a beautiful covered bridge. We ate at Leonceni, a pizza restaurant, near the center of town and it was yummy. Other restaurants recommended to us were Ottone, Daniele, and Cardellino.


Asolo & Treviso:

The next day we drove from Bassano to Venice, via Asolo and Treviso. Asolo is a gorgeous tiny medieval town at the foothills of the Dolomites. It is worth a stop! It has a branch of a store Jo likes in Venice called Pot-Pourri – puffers were purchased! It also has a Cipriani hotel – totally charming. We then drove toward Treviso, stopping at a few of the many outdoor clothing manufacturer outlets along the way: Salewa/Dynafit, Millet, The North Face, etc. This seems to be a hub of outdoor gear manufacturers and many of them have outlets. We stopped in Treviso for lunch and ate gelato in front of the Duomo. Treviso is bigger than Asolo yet still charming with its canals and narrow arcaded and cobbled streets.


And on to Venice!

Having driven through hundreds of roundabouts (we opted to stay off main highways as much as possible to enjoy the countryside), we dropped the car at the Mestre train station (we were thrilled Hertz found it because there was NO signage or any direction – a stranger told us to leave it in a parking garage and drop the keys in a box!!) and took the train into Venice. From S. Lucia train station, we took the vaporetto (water boat) to the Accademia stop. Our base for the next three nights was the Hotel Pensione Accademia, a 17th century Villa with two gardens, a very nice staff, a good location, great breakfast, and good A/C… which was appreciated ‘cause it was HOT!

Here is a quick summary of what we did in Venice:


Shopping:

The main Venice shopping drag near S. Marco has all the big guns. Our fav was Herno – they have good sales this time of year. TIP! Be SURE to ask them what they have in the back on sale…most sale items were not on display! Puffers were purchased at great discounts!

T Fondaco Dei Tedeschi/DFS:

A villa on the canal, recently renovated by Rem Koolhaas and opened as the first Duty Free Shop in Europe in 2016, this space is a must see. The interiors are gorgeous! And the rooftop terrace is one of the best viewing spots in Venice. And they have a La Double J boutique (also ask for sale items to be brought out from the back!).


Pot-Pourri:

Jo has been visiting this shop for decades and it is chock-a-block full of great Italian clothing brands. It is owned and operated by a very stylish yet grumpy mother and her two daughters! It is very entertaining and worth a visit for the attitude! No sales here ..ever!

Carlo Moretti: Beautiful, contemporary glassware, plates, and lighting. We especially like the champagne classes!

Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella: The famous Florentine pharmacy with roots back to 1221 has a store in Venice near the Accademia bridge. Their soaps make great gifts.

Chiarastella Cattana. Near S. Maria Novella above, this store features timeless home textiles and pieces combining traditional Italian craftsmanship with modern inspiration. It carried beautiful linens and clothing – I especially liked the scalloped linen placemats and cotton slacks.

Food:

Trattoria da Arturo: Seen on the show ‘Somebody Feed Phil’, we enjoyed this small restaurant and its famous Venetian double pork chop which is double breaded and finished off in wine vinegar. It’s hard to find a restaurant in Venice without fish but we did it! A Hollywood producer flies the owners out for a week every winter to cook for his famous celebrity friends…ask to see the photos!

Rosticceria Gislon: No frills lunch spot popular with locals with food displayed on the countertop that is warmed up and served for counter eating. The roast chicken and veggies definitely hit the spot and it has lots of other Venetian specialties, aka fish.

Le Cafe: On Campo Santo Stefano with simple pizza, salads, pasta and good Venetian Spritz cocktails.

Al Nono Risorto: Recommended to us by the shop girls at DFS, we liked this garden restaurant by the Rialto. Pizza, salads, salmon – and tons of locals. Great outdoor atmosphere!

Also recommended by women at DFS:


Gelato:

Find the longest line and get in it!


Sights:

Peggy Guggenheim Collection: Fab modern art (most of it collected by Peggy herself) featured in the villa owned and lived in by the eccentric Peggy. It’s a delightful outing – sit in the garden for a coffee and take your time looking at Peggy’s grave as well as those of her beloved dogs, who are buried beside her. There is also a patio on the Grand Canal side and this is a great sit spot to watch the world float by.

Scuolo Grande di San Rocco: Over 60 paintings, mostly Tintoretto, are preserved in their original setting in a building that has hardly undergone any alteration since its construction. Head upstairs to the Salon Maggiore, grab a mirror to more easily view the ceiling, and enjoy.

Palazzo Ducale: We hired a guide (Ernesto) to take us through this home to many Doge’s. We highly recommend Ernesto as he quickly and efficiently moved us through this large historic building. Again, many gorgeous paintings by Tintoretto and Veronese and the famous Bridge of Sighs and prison. Guide: Ernesto Bonamano – enrico.bonamano@gmail.com.

La Biennale: Held in Venice, every two years, this international art exhibition showcases a wide array of contemporary visual arts, including painting, sculpture, installation, film, and performance art. This year’s theme was “Foreigners Everywhere” and we enjoyed going to the National pavilions in the Giardini as well as the Central Pavilion.

And we walked, and walked, and walked the many charming canals and side “streets” of Venice!

 

My husband went on this trip recently with 14 friends, including Joanne who did the write-up below. I was at home recovering from an injury :(. Joanne includes everything from the itinerary to the transportation and packing list to hotels/shopping/restaurants in Cortina and Venice. Enjoy!


Hiking in the Dolomites:

 

How to Get There:

Our home base for the backpacking trip was Cortina, about a 2 hour gorgeous drive from the Venice airport. From the airport, I hopped on the Cortina Express bus, a large coach type situation with comfy seats and wi-fi. You can also book a car and driver. Either should be pre-booked (see below). The bus is about $25 each way. A car/driver is about $350.


Cortina:

Cortina is small so walking everywhere is easy. The Cortina vibe is a cross between Gorsuch (the high end alpine clothing/lifestyle catalog) and Patagonia. The streets are full of hikers and bikers in sporty attire, stocking up on provisions at La Cooperativa, a 7 floor hub of activity in the center of town. The outdoor cafes are full of stylish Italians sipping cappuccinos. And, the shopping is most satisfying! With a strong dollar, no sales tax, a 12% refund on goods over 155 euros, and lackluster shopping in Seattle, I had work to do! The pedestrian walking street is chock-a-block full of an inspiring combo of sporting good stores and hi-end luxury goods, from Patagonia to Gucci. I think every cool European sporting goods manufacturer has an outpost in Cortina. I’ve listed my favorite shops below.


Hut-to-Hut Hiking:

For our hiking trip we opted for “hut to hut” (mountain huts are called rifugios) backpacking (we did a portion of the Alta Via 1 but there are many trails to consider) and we booked it through Macs Adventures. It was a self-guided (no guide) trip and we carried our essentials from location to location (about 15 pounds with water). Macs secured our reservations for the rifugios during the hike as well as the Cortina hotels for the nights before and after the hike. They also recommended the structure for the trip. An excellent app with downloadable maps (the trails are super well marked – think of a hiking superhighway with trail numbers and signage) and other helpful information made it easy to navigate. My backpacking packing list is below.


There are many ways to hike in the Dolomites without having to carry a pack or spend the night in a rifugio. You can book a nice hotel in a cute mountain town like Cortina, use it as basecamp, and spend your days doing day hikes in the area. There are options to take gondolas and chair lifts up a hill, have lunch at a rifugio, and hike or get a lift down. Or, you can backpack and hike from rifugio to rifugio. We did a combo, doing day hikes from Cortina prior to starting the hut-to-hut portion of the trip. Full itinerary is below.

Backpacking in the Dolomites is very civilized! Camping is prohibited, unless it’s an emergency. All on-mountain overnight stays are in rifugios, most of which are privately owned and operated, many by families, and passed down from generation to generation. Yes, they were all super clean with wi-fi, full bars, and abundant menu options. Yes, they all had clean bathrooms, hot showers and wait for it – blow dryers! Yes, private rooms are available in some of the rifugios but we slept in bunk rooms. With ear plugs and Ambien we slept as you’d expect when you share a room with 8-12 other adults!! Our rifugios were all half-board – they included dinner, bed, and breakfast. And yes, the food was fabulous!


The hiking was very straightforward with jaw dropping scenery and plenty of steep ups and downs. The network of rifugios made things easy and tasty as there was always a delicious pit-stop along the way! We began our days with a buffet breakfast and lots of cappuccinos. We hit the trail around 8 and stopped a few hours later at a rifugio for snacks, usually hot apple strudel (with or without whipped cream or ice cream) and cappuccinos.


Around lunchtime, we’d stop at another rifugio for lunch (often steaming plates of pasta), and a few hours after that we’d settled into our rifugio for the night. We had plenty of time to rest in the afternoon, shower, play cards, meet people from all over the world, and just hang out before a hearty mountain dinner was served, along with cocktails, beer and wine. This is not a bad way to backpack!


See full itinerary and packing list below.


Venice:

After the hike, I braced myself to brave Venice in July. I was prepared for high temps, humidity, and summer vacation crowds. I found crowds where you’d expect them (St. Marks Square, the main drag to the Rialto) but I mostly stayed away from those places. And the crazy summer worldwide summer weather included Italy, but to my benefit, as the temp in Venice never went above 80. Lucky me!! I’ve been to Venice many times and I spent hours and hours strolling the calles, crossing bridges, visiting museums, shopping, and eating. I spent a half day in the neighboring countryside visiting some architecture (Carlo Scarpa’s Tomba Brion and Palladio’s Villa Emo) and a few small towns (Asolo, Treviso) with my cute driver, Aldo. My notes for Venice are also below. I would attach a pack list for the Venice portion but I took only 2 dresses (the Quince linen dress and this Indyeva shirt dress) and Birkenstocks!


Trip Itinerary:


Day 1: Transit

Flew to Venice, took the Cortina Express bus to Cortina. Rented trekking poles at Snow Service, across the street from the bus station. Checked into Hotel Pontechiesa – a 3 star bare bones nice hotel a little out of town on a river. Walked to town and hit the Corso Italia (pedestrian street) and had gelato at Lovat. Shopped at La Cooperativa – 7 floors of EVERYTHING including hardware, notions, clothing, camping gear, shoes, housewares, groceries, etc… and wandered to Moncler, Golden Goose, Gucci, Piambo, La Sportiva, and the Mountain Shop. Dinner: Janbo – great piadinas!


Day 2: Day hike

Public bus to Tre Cime (three chimneys) – a UNESCO site – to hike. On Tuesdays in the parking lot next to the bus station is a fabulous market with food, hiking clothes, cashmere sweaters, shoes and more. It opens around 8 and closes just after lunch. Super fun! Tre Cime gets very crowded so it’s best to take a public bus because buses get entry priority, whereas cars have to queue for the limited spaces. We did a great hike around the three chimneys (around 8 miles and 1500’ of up) and returned to town on the bus. It was a great way to get over jet lag and acclimate to the altitude. Once back in Cortina I got gelato at Alvera and walked around. A huge thunderstorm blew through town so I did what I had to do – shopped at Marinotti, a beautiful store that carries a lot of brands that are hard to find in the US like Aspesi and Velvet Mountain (really cute cord pants and skirts). I also took cover in Piambo which is owned by OVS and I liked its array of cheap chic clothing. We had drinks at Hotel Cortina and a large group dinner at Ristorante Il Cirmolo. We all tried the traditional Cortina dish of casunziei: ravioli filled with beets. Surprisingly yummy!


Day 3: Day hike

Moved to Hotel de la Poste – an old world hotel on the main Corso. Very nice and a perfect location! We did a day hike from town (4,000’) up to Rigugio Mietres (5643’) for apple strudel and hiked back down the hill in a thunder and lightning storm, around 9 miles and 1600’ of elevation gain. More gelato at Embassy and more shopping at the many sporting goods stores, looking to add an additional layer to my hiking wardrobe because of the cooler weather and rain: La Cooperativa, La Sportiva, Patagonia, CMP, Dynafit, Millet, K Way, Due e Due, Norrona, and North Face just to name a few. There was another afternoon thunderstorm. Dinner at Croda Cafe.


Day 4: Backpacking starts!  

We took taxis to our start point at Lago di Braeis (5000’), about a 45 minute drive. We hiked up up to Rifugio Biella (7,679) for lunch and then on to Rifugio Sennes (7000’) for the night. 7 miles, 3200’ of up, 1000’ of down.


Day 5: Hike

Rifugio Sennes to Rifugio Pederu for coffee and cake and on to Rifugio Lavarella (6,700’) for the night. 7 miles and 1800’ of up, 2000’ of down. Rigugio Lavarella is conveniently Europe’s highest microbrewery. They even had beer ice cream!


Day 6: Hike

Left Rifugio Laverella with sack lunches and hiked to Rifugio Lagazoui (9,028’). This was an epic day with a lot of up and some vertiguous down. 10 miles, up 3800, down 1350. Passed lots of WWI trenches and tunnels. Rifugio Lagazoui is at the top of a chair lift. Some of our group with sore limbs took a detour to avoid the steep up and down and up to get there. From Rifugio Lavarella, they walked to a small town, picked up a bus that took them to the base of the chair lift, and met us at the rifugio!


Day 7: Hike

Rifugio Lagazuoi to Rifugio Dibona (6,709’) for coffee and apple strudel. Walked on to Rifugio Scoiattoli (7,398’) for lunch – very crowded because it is at the top of the 5 torri lift. Short but steep hike from there to Rifugio Averau (7933’) where we were staying the night. We dumped our packs and did a side hike up to Rifugio Nuvolao (8500’) for a drink. 12 miles, 3000’ up.


Day 8: Hike

Instead of heading 6000’ downhill (ouch) back to Cortina we decided to leave our packs at the Rifugio and do a loop around Nuvola based on intel from a man from SLC who said it was the best hike ever. It was about 7 miles with 1500’ of elevation gain and it was beautiful. After the hike (and a snack) we picked up our packs and started downhill toward Cortina via the 5 Torri chair lift, Cortina Skyline gondola, and finally a taxi cab! We checked into the Hotel Ambra and after hot showers, pizza at Ampezzo and gelato at Da Po, we hit the town for some last minute shopping. Scarpa shoes and CMP jackets were trending for our group, along with Cortina t-shirts and hats. We had our final dinner at Hotel Cortina.


Days 9-12: Venice

I took the bus back to the Venice airport and began a three day stay in Venice. See notes below on activities/restaurants/shopping.


Cortina info:

 

Transit:

Cortina Express: bus Venice airport to Cortina: https://www.cortinaexpress.it/en/

Car Service: Pantarei Chauffeur Service. info@pantareichauffeurservice.it 

Car Service *39 3356396083 info@taxiame.com

Car Service: +39 349 6638454 andreadebon72@gmail.com


Hotels:

Hotel Pontechiesa: 3 star, a short walk out of town. http://hotelpontechiesa.it.

Hotel de la Poste: 4 star, old-world, center of town. https://www.delaposte.it/en/index

Hotel Ambra: 4 star, more modern, near center of town. https://www.hotelambracortina.it/en/


Gelato:

To find the best gelato, look for the longest line and get in it.

Da Po – conveniently located across the street from the bus station and next door to the trekking pole rental shop! This place is known as the best and had the longest lines to prove it.

Embassy – on the main pedestrian walkway, next to La Cooperativa

Lovat – off the Corso ½ block

Alvera – at west end of Corso


Shopping:


Everyday Clothing/Shoes:

Gucci

Moncler

Louis Vuitton

Golden Goose

Marinotti

Piambo

Franz Kraler

Piambo

La Cooperativa


Sportswear:

CMP

La Sportiva

The Mountain Shop (Dynafit)

Colmar

Due e Due

Rock and Ice Mountain Store – Scarpa distributors

La Cooperativa

KWay

Sotto Sopra – great housewares and cashmere socks and slippers!

 


Venice Info:

 

Hotel

Hotel Flora & Novecento: Owned by the same family, near one another, and I’ve stayed at both through the years. I prefer the Novecento – it is smaller, only 11 rooms. It is under construction now so I stayed at the Hotel Flora and really liked it. Both are centrally located between St. Mark’s Square and the Accademia bridge.


Transit:

I took a water taxi to and from the airport to town. It is pricey but it’s quick and quite a way to arrive and depart! I just walked to the dock from the airport and hopped on. It is about 140 euros each way (ouch). You can book through a taxi company beforehand but I found that to be more expensive.

For my driving trip to the Veneto, I met a driver at Piazzale Roma (across the canal from the train station) and booked it through Belt Connect. T + 39 041 926303. info@beltlimo.it


Shopping:



Museums:



Food:

Venice is known for its seafood and I’m not a huge seafood fan so I’ve always struggled a little bit here. Some favorites:



For lunch, I love Rosticceria Gislon tucked away near the Rialto bridge. Some shop girls at Al Duca d’Aosta told us about it 20 years ago and I went everyday for lunch on this trip. It is a no frills spot popular with locals with food displayed on the countertop that is warmed up and served to you. The roast chicken and veggies definitely hit the spot!


Backpacking Packing List:

 

Equipment: 



Clothing for hiking:



Other packed clothing:



Foot Repair/First Aid:



Toiletries


Meds/Vitamins:



Electronics/Misc:




 

 

 

                                  

Chrissie Kremer

chrissie_kremer@sbcglobal.net

650-218-3731

Co-Founder FabList.co

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www.jamboguides.com

Ahhh, Tuscany in the fall! I am just back from a wonderful week with girlfriends in Italy. We stayed in a beautiful villa/bed & breakfast called Podere Salicotto near the town of Buonconvento, which is south of Siena and Florence. As most of us had been to Florence and the general area before we took it slow, explored new places we hadn’t been to before, and took our time over meals and time together.


Podere Salicotto has 7 bedroom(s), a beautiful pool and views of both the sunrise and sunset given it’s (its) hilltop location. A delicious breakfast is served outside each morning (weather permitting) or inside by the fireplace, and then you are on your own for lunch and dinner. Below are the highlights of the trip.


Day 0 Wed:

Arrived Florence in the early evening. Taxi to Hotel Davanzati which has an amazingly great location (couple blocks from the Ponte Vecchio) in the heart of Florence at a reasonable price, that includes breakfast. Dinner a couple blocks away and wandered to the Ponte Veccio and the other side of the river a bit after dinner.


Day 1 Thurs:

– Wandered Florence until 1pm. Visited the Opera del Duomo Museum, the Duomo, the San Lorenzo market, the Santa Maria Novella perfume store (beautiful – located in an old chapel) and the Ferragamo museum (note that they rotate exhibits and they don’t always feature their products…), followed by lunch.

-Picked up rental cars near the airport (Alamo and Sixth) and then drove to 1.5 hours to Buonconvento Tuscany.

– After settling into our beautiful lodgings we drove to the Abby Abazzia Monte Olivetto Maggiore to hear the monks sing – amazing.

– Then had a wonderful dinner at (Locanda Paradiso) – a quaint, local spot with a menu on the chalkboard and just a few tables. It is in the little town of (Chiasure). Apparently, an American woman is buying up the town and turning it into an artists retreat


Day 2 Fri:

– Amazing breakfast that stretched out a couple of hours outside under the pergola, followed by some walks and pool time as we got over jet lag.(Buonconvento) town visit.

– Drove to visit the Bosco Della Ragnaia Garden (underwhelming) followed by dinner at La Locanda de Costello in the beautiful town of San Giovanni d’asso. Very nice dinner and friendly chef (Massimo) and staff. Amazing fish and white truffle options. Get there in time for sunset!


Day 3 Sat:

– We had an amazing guide named Jerry for the day who picked us all up and took us to Siena. He had arranged for us to visit one of the Palio Contrada headquarters (Siena has different ‘Contradas’ that compete in the Palio races each year, and we visited with the Giraffe Contrada). It gave us an amazing history and understanding of the passion surrounding the Palio. Our tour included viewing all of the beautifully painted banners that the Giraffe Contrada has won over the years – an amazing opportunity.

– Lunch on the main square and then a visit to the so so so beautiful Siena Cathedral – may be my favorite church anywhere. Drove home.

– Dinner across the street and down the road from our villa at another villa/restaurant (not a standout in terms of ambiance or food).


Day 4 Sun:

– Another great tour day with Jerry – this time to Florence. Most of us had been there before so we said we didn’t want to do the Ufizzi etc this time. Our day included, amongst other things, the outside of the Duomo (much better with a tour guides info about it!), the San Lorenzo market for leather bag shopping, lunch at Signorvino (on the Arno, looks like a wine store but also has a lovely restaurant on the water), and then took our time at the Santa Croce church which has amazing soaring ceilings and so much history (many famous italians buried there). Then off to the lookout over Florence at Piazzale Michelangelo and home.

– Dinner in Buonconvento at (Ristorante) Roma, sitting outside on the beautiful main walking stree inside the city walls.


Day 5 Mon:

– Spent the day in the beautiful walled city of Montepulciano. Wandered, shopped, grabbed a bite – a beautiful city to do all of those things in!

– Stopped to view the ‘Chapel on the hill’, (Vitaleta) Chapel – a small chapel perched on top of a hill in Val d’Orcia. Can view it from the road or visit it all the way in person.

– Visited the town Montalcino which has a fort and a beautiful small town to wander and shop in.

– Dinner at home


Day 6 Tues:

– After another long breakfast, a day of rest poolside, of walks nearby etc.

– Town visit in Buonconvento. Aperol spritz in town at local bar.

– Pizza at home


Day 7 Wed:

– Back to monastery to hear the monks chant and to have a further look around.

– Drove for an afternoon tour (need to book ahead) at the beautiful La Foce gardens. Wonderful gardens and hourlong tour, with a fascinating history during World War II especially. They also have a lookout from there on the cyprus trees that wind up the hillside drive that is a popular photo op – so good view of that from here as well.

– Dinner at (Boccon Divino) just outside Montalcino. Very upscale, with a beautiful view (small portions that were a bit underwhelming though…).


Day 7 Thurs:

Off to Florence airport and home!


Note: The week after we were there other friends has an amazing tour of Assisi with a terrific guide through GuruGuides (free tour, you just tip the guide). They highly recommend both the place and the guide service. Their guide who they LOVED was Alex Gabriel .

Day 1:

Arrive Rome airport (we came in from a week in Switzerland so no jetlag)Transport to 47 Hotel in Rome. Really nice hotel with a great location. Walked to dinner at Antica Pesa where we ate on the back patio for a special birthday dinner that we had booked ahead of time. Incredible meal – one of the best ever.Hotel: 47hotel r


Day 2

Wandered through Rome in the morning – other families we were traveling with took a Vatican tour with Context Travel who we had used during a prior trip to Rome and who are great. Picked up rental car at EuropeCar in Rome city center and drove the few hours to le Ripe villa in San Castiagno dei Bagni.Our villa Le Ripe is about half hour walk from the village, and a fairly long drive from any other larger town. It was booked through Home Base Abroad. It is a beautifully furnished home with three bedrooms in the main house and three others in the guest house. Rolling lawns down to the pool and views to die for. We could have a local woman come in and make up breakfasts and dinners and the food was simply incredible. Such good food each and every day in such a beautiful location!


Day 3 Relax. Swim. Read. Repeat. Dinner in town at Daniela restaurant.


Day 4 Day trip to Siena, which was about a 1.5 hour drive. Visited the main square, wandered the back allies, ate gelato (of course).


Day 5 Hang at villa . Pasta making class. Dinner at villa.


Day 6 Florence Trip. The other two families had a tour of the city via Context Travel. We had been to Florence before so we didn’t join the tour, but instead went to our favorite gelato store, visited churches, shopped a bit and soaked up the beauty of Florence. We all had a great dinner in the middle of a courtyard, watching Florence evening life unfold around us. After dinner drove back to the Villa.


Day 7 Villa time. Trip to amazing hot sulfur baths. Final dinner at VillaDay 8 Drove to Rome and flew home.

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