The Perfect Italian Itinerary For Overachievers...Part II

The Perfect Italian Itinerary For Overachievers…Part 1.

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The rebirth of learning. The birthplace of the Renaissance. There is just something about Florence that was unlike any other Italian city that we visited. The entire city is a work of art. We were able to tour the city once more with the help of tour guides. Remember, line skipping is essential! A visit to the Accademia Gallery Museum is a must if you want to visit the larger than life David by Michelangelo and the world famous Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, the fourth largest Duomo in the world. While we opted to not visit The Uffizi Gallery, sitting outside the steps watching street performers sing and dance was a welcomed alternative, in addition to a stroll over the Rialto Bridge.

When in Eataly, eat! There are two food joints that are a MUST-VISIT while in Firenze. I know it’s Italy and sushi isn’t something that immediately comes to mind, but after a week of eating pasta, bread, tomatoes, cheese, something different is always nice. There’s this sushi spot called KOME, do yourself a favor. On the other side of the spectrum, the most amazing Italian dish I’ve ever had came from an authentic Italian eatery called, Osteria Pastella. As we were walking to KOME we couldn’t help but stop as we passed the restaurant as there was a lady in the storefront window, making fresh pasta! I repeat, if you’re ever in Firenze, do yourself a favor! While in Florence we also had the opportunity to head out to the Chianti region where we went on a wine tour at a 12th century castle called, Castello del Trebbio. The castle is steeped in history and it was once owned by the Pazzi family who conspired to kill members of the powerful Medici family!

Exhausted just recapping this! Give me a minute……

Ok, I’m back! The last leg of our journey led us to Venice, my least favourite Italian city. To be honest, I fell in love with the city only after watching Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in the movie, ‘The Tourist”, and yes, we did visit Hotel Danieli! I think at this point of the trip, I was seriously exhausted and I did fall in love with Florence. I did enjoy Venice somewhat because we were there the weekend of George Clooney’s wedding. How exciting right? But, Venice is sinking, yes. It is the truth. We had to catch a water taxi everywhere. It’s just a like a bus, just on water. The most fulfilling part of Venice for me was taking a gondola ride. It’s something that I find highly romantic, although a gondola ride with about six people wasn’t very romantic at the time. It was still a beautiful experience, and there is even gondola traffic jams! Other than the gondola rides I also recommend taking a stroll in Piazza San Marco, or simply getting lost in the maze that is Venice! This city like all of those we visited has its own unique history and the city has its own charm.

If you’re still reading this, you must be an overachiever! While many will shy away from an intensive and seemingly expensive European visit like this, dont. Truth be told, we did all of this within a budget of only $2500. The most expensive cost was airfare, but after that it simply was proper planning that allowed us to visit so much ground. If you’re thinking of visiting Italy, I dare you to follow our Italian Itinerary. Give or take a few spots we added in last minute, we followed this about 95% of the way. While it seems rigid, it kept us on track and allowed us to fully experience Italy!

ITALIAN ITINERARY

SEPTEMBER 21st
– 4:00pm JFK airport
– 6:00pm flight JFK – Alitalia airline

SEPTEMBER 22nd
– 10:55am arrive in Naples
– 12:30pm check in at hotel: Stelle Hotel
– 3:00pm Amalfi
–~~villa maria for~~ dinner
-positano
– return to hotel

SEPTEMBER 23rd
– 9:00am Capri
– 10:00am breakfast
– ~~12pm-2pm boat tour of island – motoscafisti capri 17€~~ *bad weather
– 5:00pm mt solaro 3pm – 10€
– 7:00pm return to Naples

SEPTEMBER 24th
– checkout at hotel. Leave bags
– 8:00am breakfast
– 9:00am-11am Pompeii 11€
– 11:20am bus to mt ves 10€
– 12:00pm-2:00pm mt ves 6.50€
– return to hotel. Retrieve bags
– 5:10pm train to ROME -19€ (trenitalia.com)
– 6:30pm check in hotel: Hotel Luciani
– 8:00pm DINNER

SEPTEMBER 25th
– 8:00am breakfast
– TOURS €112
– 9:00am Colisseum
– lunch
– 3:00pm Vatican
– 7:00pm Pantheon
DINNER

SEPTEMBER 26th
– 9:00am breakfast
– ~~10:00am museo e galleria borghese 2 hours 11€~~
– 1:00pm Piazza Navona -lunch
– ~~3:00pm Basilica di San Giovanni in laterano~~
– 5:00pm random
– DINNER

SEPTEMBER 27th
– 7:00am breakfast
– 8:00am train to Florence 29€
– 9:30am check in to hotel: Porta al Prato
– 11:00am last supper
– check in hotel-leave bags
– 2:00pm chianti region wine tour – $60

SEPTEMBER 28th
– Uffizi gallery – 6.50 €
– David (academia) 6.50€
– Duomo
– Ponte Vecchio
– Gucci 7€
– other museums

SEPTEMBER 29th
– checkout hotel
– 9:00am train to Venice
– 10:00am check in to hotel: Hotel Riviera
– 2:00pm Gondola ride
– 3:00pm rialto bridge
– 4:00pm hotel danieli

~~SEPTEMBER 30th~~
~~– 9:00am breakfast~~
~~– 10:00am Milan 19€ possibly or random~~
~~– 2:00pm return to Venice~~
~~– 7:00pm dinner~~

OCTOBER 1st
– 9:00am breakfast/checkout hotel
– 10:00am VCE airport
– 12:20pm flight VCE
– 6:20pm arrival JFK