EP2: Italy (Origin Story)
This trip to Italy was fantastic and it completely changed our perspective on travel! We will explain how we became “Experiential Travelers” and share some stories of how being in the right place at the right time shifted what we look for in a vacation and the methods by which we plan our trips.
Tips Mentioned:
-Use Google Flights to search for Multi-City routes where you fly into one city and out of another. This could save you money, but may be more convenient, particularly if you are moving throughout a country.
-Don’t forget to validate your tickets before getting on the trains, and consider taking smaller, easier to handle luggage! (Rolling luggage on cobblestones, not good)!
Areas of Interest:
Cinque Terre- 5 towns on the NW coast in a region called Liguria and connected by hiking trails and a train running behind the towns. All 5 are protected under the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. No cars are only allowed in except for supplies/deliveries to restaurants, etc. We stayed in the town of Vernazza.
-We stayed at an Airbnb called De Martina Camere Rooms. It was tiny, but with a huge balcony, and required many many flights of stairs!
-Trattoria da Piva Vernazza, this is where we were treated to a spontaneous guitar and singing concert by local artist, Piva.
-Gelateria II Porticciolo for authentic and delicious gelato- try the pistacchio!
-Hike/Monterosso al Mare, this is the biggest town of the 5 and has the best beach, and nightlife. We would probably opt to stay here next time even though it is the furthest town to the North. Corniglia, just to the South of Vernazza is quaint, but very small and quiet.
-DRAGUT the reinactment of the attack by Turkish Pirate Dragut in 1545 typically happens in late July and is a sight to behold!
Lucca- a larger town famous for the ramparts that surround the old town that you may walk/bike around. We rented our car from here and came back days later to explore it more fully. It has a Roman Amphitheatre, a lovely tower with expansive views and charming cobblestone streets lined with shops and restaurants. This town is a must-see for many people.
San Gennaro- Castello Bed and Breakfast, this is where we stayed for our ancestral explorations around the town of Collodi. Tell Dario we sent you!
Collodi/Pinocchio Park- Collodi is the birthplace of Carlo Lorenzini, who wrote Pinocchio under the pen name of Carlo Collodi. There is an attraction/amusement park that celebrates him and the story and you can go into Pinocchio Park and even get a dual ticket for the Park and the Garzoni Gardens together.
-Garzoni Gardens were established in 1652. It is over 30 acres of beautiful organized gardens and wild overgrown areas full of bamboo and labyrinths, hidden benches, interesting sculptures, amazing topiaries, grottoes, goat and bird enclosures, fountains, etc. It takes hours to explore and is really fantastic and fantastical! You may also tour the adjacent Villa, but we were hot, tired, and hungry and ran out of steam.
-Miss Villa Garzoni is the event that we stumbled upon, but they also host events like vintage car rallies, see the Pinocchio Park website for events and tickets.
Siena- is a medieval city in Tuscany known for it’s very famous twice a year, (7/2 and 8/16) in-town horse races called the Palio.
-Piaza del Campo is the city’s heart and center, a fan shaped plaza that used to be a Roman Forum. The tower dominates the skyline and the sky is an insane cerulean blue every night! The restaurants around this plaza are expensive, but the atmosphere is hard to deny.
-Castello delle Quatro Torra (The Castle of Four Towers) is where we stayed. A few miles outside of Siena, this 13th century castle boast a bi-level turret room with 360 degree views of the countryside and the city of Siena in the distance. Absolutely stunning! We will never think of a hotel as “just somewhere to lay our head” again!
Rome- we attended the opera La Boheme in the Baths of Caracalla (AD 216) and it was a jaw-dropping evening! You can book tickets through the Rome Opera Tickets website. You can also do a general Google search for Rome Events and put in your travel dates to see what comes up.
BONUS INFORMATION NOT MENTIONED IN PODCAST:
Tuscany Tips-
Car Rental: if you are renting a car, watch out for those crazy Italian drivers. Stopsigns, stoplights, all optional to them! Driving is relatively easy however and very convenint. Make sure you do your research on where to park and most towns you can not drive into the old, city center. Follow the speed limits as there are LOTS of cameras and you they will send tickets to your house. Also, the roads are very twisty and windy, if you get sick easily, you might want to take your Dramamine in the morning.
Visiting the medieval towns- go very early to walk the town before the hordes/buses arrive OR go late in the afternoon after they have left.
Volterra- a town famous for its Alabaster and Etruscan ruins like the 40 BC Roman Theatre that the excavated out of garbage dump in 1950!
Monterrigioni- a very very small, yet charming walled castle town, easily covered in a couple hours (or less). My favorite earrings that I have ever bought on a trip were from here, (silver and gold hammered metal linked loops).
Montalcino- Home of the Brunello wine!!! Delicious and excellent wine with tons of wine shops. If you would like to visit one of the many surrounding wineries, make sure to make an appointment. It is less common to “drop in” like we do in California. In addition, if you visit, it is expected that you will purchase something.
Montepulciano- a gorgeous hillside town that looks over the Val di Chiana and Val d’ Orcia, it is famous for its Vino Nobile red wine. It has a lovely piazza, interesting medieval archictecture, great views and food.
Civita di Bagnoregio- this is a town that we saw on the AMAZING RACE and said, “We have to go there”. So we did! It is a spectacular, (and eroding away by the day) 2500 year old ancient Etruscan town which is situated on a rocky promentory and connected to land by a narrow walkway. The history of this tiny, but achingly picturesque town is truly fascinating and it may not exist someday. Go see it while you can!
Rome- We stayed at the Hotel Campo De Fiori because it had a huge rooftop terrace with 360 degree views of Rome including St. Peters and the Campo De Fiori plaza. Most of the time when we were up there, we had it all to ourselves! We enjoyed buying a bottle of wine and watching the sun set over the city, hearing the noises of Roman life..
National Roman Museum - Palazzo Massimo- Some of the indoor museums are overshadowed by the outdoor attractions like the Roman Forum. The National Museum was really exceptional and you can see busts of Alexander the Great and Socrates, (imagine standing in front of Socrates, you can have a conversation with him, albeit one-way) and a bronze sculpture of a gladiator that moved an archeologist to tears when it was first uncovered. I was blown away by a fresco that was painstakingly put back together an put on display in a room created explicitly for it in the exact dimensions of the former villa where it lived.
Pantheon/Colosseum- Get up at 5-6 AM to visit these sites without throngs of people. Your photos in the early morning will be magical and worth it, then take a nap in the hot part of the day.
Colosseum Tip- Go early, get to the front of the line, if you buy the Roma Pass, there is a separate line, so make sure you know what you are doing. People don’t queue up nicely in Italy like they do in the US. It’s more of a free for all. When you get into the Colosseum, go straight up as fast as you can and you may be able to get a photo of the arena without anyone in it.