Mr. and Mrs. Wood Went to Italy

In the summer of 1996, Mr. Wood sat in St. Mark's Square in Venice, eating gelato and dreaming of the day he and I would return together.  We dreamed of going for our 10 year anniversary, but, alas, we had not-enough money and three little boys, and that did not happen.  So, in May 2017, on our 19th wedding anniversary, he took me to an Italian restaurant near our home and presented me with a limerick (Mr. Wood has a secret talent for limericks!!) to tell me that we would be going to Italy the next year to celebrate our 20th anniversary and I would have a whole year to dream and plan for the trip.  Yahoo!!!!

in the car on the way to the airport

The first thing I do when I know a trip is on the horizon is research.  I scour google and pinterest and especially personal blogs about real people taking a similar trip.  I want to nail down the big picture first...What cities are we going to? What areas are best to stay in for our personalities? Do most people stay in hotels or cabins or airbnbs when they go to this place? What is the transportation like?  So, for Italy, we had a decision to make.  We would be gone nine days in total.  We wanted to hit Rome, Florence, and Venice, but we also wanted to visit the amalfi coast and wine country.  Pretty quickly, we determined that the coast and the vineyards would wait for a future trip, and we would focus this trip on Rome, Florence, and Venice.  Now my research started to focus in on these three cities.  In addition to SO MANY free resources online, we also purchased Rick Steves' Italy guidebook which was so very helpful.  We used it so much in planning and also took it with us on our trip.

Our first purchase was our airline tickets.  There are lots of opinions on air travel.  Some folks like to find the best deal each time on websites like orbitz or expedia.  We've had great success with that in the past.  However, the last three years, we decided to commit to a certain airline for the purpose of earning miles.  We chose Delta, simply because we liked the perks of the American Express card that earns Delta miles.  We put nearly everything on the American Express and pay it off each month, and we haven't paid for any of our air travel since. Click here to read a blog post all about that!!  Back to Italy...we chose to fly into Rome, ride the train to Florence and then Venice, and fly home from Venice.  I was not a fan of flying out of Venice...small airport far away from everything else, not a lot of available transportation to the airport in the early morning when we flew out, etc. In hindsight, I would return to Rome and fly back home from there.

On the subject of the train...I highly recommend riding the train between cities.  The countryside is beautiful, and the train is very comfortable.  We purchased train tickets a couple of months in advance because sometimes I stress out about things like trains being full.  As it turned out, that was nothing to stress about, but to each his own.  Click here to check out the Trenitalia website.  It is quite user friendly, much like purchasing an airline or Amtrak ticket in the United States.  Almost everyone we came into contact with (both on the train and everywhere else as well!) spoke English which was so helpful.  We were careful to thank them for speaking in our language and to compliment their English.  I found it so kind of them to be so welcoming.

on the train from Rome to Florence

The same website, Trenitalia, is where we purchased tickets for the train from the airport in Rome to the area of the city where our airbnb was located.  We chose airbnb because I was familiar with the website and communicating with hosts.  I wanted to have a real live person to communicate with regarding our stay and arrival in each city.  In both Rome and Venice, we appreciated that our host met us at the location and talked us through favorite restaurants, areas of the city to visit that me may have otherwise missed, and their own contact information should we need anything.  This gave me peace of mind.  Having said that, I also want to stay in a hotel the next time we visit Europe because I think that would be such a unique experience that we missed out on by staying in airbnbs.  Roberta was our airbnb host in Rome, and she gave us specific instructions for getting from the airport to her place.  We were in communication before the trip, as well as immediately after we landed.  She instructed us to take the train to the Cavour station and then walk from there.  

Cavour Station

Roberta's place was PERFECT.  We could not have landed in a better place for our first few days in Italy. It was on a quiet street, and, as we realized soon, fairly far from most of the places we wanted to see. However, in Rome, this wasn't a big deal, as the city is so big that you can't possibly stay anywhere that is close to everything.  We quickly learned (and by "we", I actually mean "Mr. Wood quickly learned" because he was a rockstar at this!) how to navigate the public transportation and the walking feature of Google maps (this will be your BEST friend!!).  This particular apartment of Roberta's is not currently listed on airbnb, but she does have two others, and I highly recommend her as a host.  She immediately made us caffe in the most adorable little machine, and I knew I was in love.

caffe on Roberta's balcony

We hit the ground running, not ones to give in to the jet lag or lack of sleep.  We had made a list ahead of time of our "must-sees" in each city, and then grouped them by area, especially in Rome since it is so big.  In each city, there are several options for tourism.  Of course, you can choose to purchase no passes and simply pay for each thing you'd like to do.  However, typically the passes are a good option.  At the time we went, we chose the Roma Pass. You can see what is included as well as purchase the pass on their website, although we waited until we got there to purchase it...there were places all over the city to do so.   It is quite possible that something better existed at that time and certainly now; however, it worked well for us.  The thing we really liked about it was that having it meant we could ride public transportation in Rome for free.  In our experience, you did not need to show a ticket or pass to get on and ride, but you needed to have it if asked for it.  So, theoretically, you could ride for free the whole time even without the Roma Pass, but I wasn't at all interested in getting in trouble while in a foreign country. We were in Rome for 3 days, but we chose to only purchase the 48 hour Roma Pass because we knew our third day would mostly be taken up visiting the Vatican and we had paid for that through a tour company.

Piazza Navona

Our first stop was Piazza Navona.  I was giddy with excitement as we walked up to it.  The weather was perfect, people were everywhere, and a street performer was doing his best Michael Jackson.  We ate outside at 4Fiumi, right on Piazza Navona.  It was fantastic. Just as it was getting dark, Mr. Wood wove us through some small streets and alleys (and even almost RIGHT through a police barricade!!) and I swore we were lost.  The next thing I knew, we came out from between two ancient buildings and there was The Pantheon.  It came out of nowhere! SO old and special and beautiful.  This was where we listened to our first FREE Rick Steves audio tour (CHECK THEM OUT...they are FREE!!!) which was fantastic.  We continued to use these at nearly every place we visited. After The Pantheon, we found Trevi Fountain.  It was nearly impossible to get a good photo there, so we just settled for a so-so photo.  Ha.  Our last stop that evening was The Spanish Steps, where we had to tell a sweet man that "no, Mr. Wood does not want a photo of me with a rose" because people will try to get you to do such things and then tell you after the fact that you owe them money...don't fall for it. :)   We headed back to Roberta's place for a good night's sleep, and it certainly did not take us long to nod off.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon

The Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

The Spanish Steps

The big visits for Day 2 in Rome were The Colosseum and The Roman Forum.  We opted not to purchase guided tours for these, and chose instead to use the free audio tours from Rick Steves.  Side note:  take your own earbuds because sharing those things and walking around can be difficult, or so I've heard. ;) And also, if any of these places is especially interesting to you and you want the guided tour, by all means go for it!  We wished a little bit that we would have done this at The Colosseum because you can go more places if you pay for the tour.  The Colosseum is magnificent.  Pictures just canNOT do it justice. To be in the place where great crowds were roaring so very long ago is mind boggling to me.  I really wanted to just stand and stare for a crazy amount of time, and I'm not usually a "lingerer" (more on that when we get to Florence!!).  

The Colosseum

view of the street from inside The Colosseum

view of The Arch of Constantine from inside The Colosseum

When we finally pulled ourselves out of The Colosseum, we headed to The Roman Forum which was very close by.  I very much recommend taking Mr. Wood with you on these trips because he will remind you of the things you learned about long ago in Humanities in college.  Of course, maybe you remember all of the things, but I personally require reminders, and I'm ever so grateful for Mr. Wood for this reason, along with many others.  The Roman Forum is fascinating...SO fascinating.  You should ask Mr. Wood all about it. ;)

Via Sacra to the Roman Forum

Corinthian columns...I DID pay attention in Humanities!!

original green doors...Temple to Romulus

Temple of Castor and Pollux

The Curia

at the top of Palatine Hill...I was ready for food and wine at this point.

view of the city from Palatine Hill

Before we headed back to rest a bit before dinner, we ran (Mr. Wood ran and I sort of skip/galloped behind him) to the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria.  It was about to close and this statue was one Mr. Wood really really wanted to see.  It's the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini...we studied it in college, but, more importantly, Mr. Wood had read a book by Saint Teresa, of course.  It meant a lot to Mr. Wood that we ran/skipped/galloped to make it there.  When someone in the family really wants to do something, I'm a fan of trying our best to make it happen.

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini

Later in the evening, we ate at La Carbonara, a suggestion we received from a couple of different friends. It's in the Piazza Campo de Fiori, another really fun plaza to visit.  Truth be told, I'm not a pasta girl (I know...so weird...), so I was a little apprehensive about eating out in Italy, but there was no reason to worry...everything was SO good, even the pasta, although there was plenty to choose from without it.  My personal favorite was the pizza...I'm basically a 12 year old when it comes to food.  Mr. Wood, on the other hand, was in hog heaven, as he could eat pasta quite often (or at least WAY more often than I choose to make it!).  

Day 3 in Rome was dedicated to visiting The Vatican.  This was something we were really excited about, and, to be honest, something that seemed a bit overwhelming to do on our own, so we chose to purchase a guided tour.  When I bought it a few months before our trip, I honestly thought I was buying a group tour package, where we would join up with other tourists and follow a lady with an umbrella or large sign up in the air.  However, when we arrived at the Vatican and located our tour guide, we found Tommaso, our personal guide for the day.  He was truly Mr. Wood's spirit animal, knowing all of the things.  It could NOT have been more perfect. To this day, I don't know how we landed this amazing personal tour, and right here's the website I got it from.   The company is called Tours of the Vatican, and I fully and completely recommend it!!!

Tommaso and Mr. Wood

This is where you can see the Pope...if you come on a day when he is making an appearance.

The Pieta...after studying this in Humanities, seeing it was surreal.

St. Peter

the dome

The Basilica

We were there right after Palm Sunday and this was the cleanup afterwards.

the door that gets opened in the Year of Jubilee

Corridor to The Sistine Chapel
(no photos allowed inside the chapel)

steps coming out of Catacombs

After a long day, we were tempted to head back to Roberta's place and skip The Catacombs, but I'm really glad we didn't.  It was a long drive (still by public transportation though!), kind of like heading out into the country, but it was worth it.

saying goodbye to our neighborhood in Rome

The next morning, it was time to take the train to Florence.  We were excited to get to Florence, but sad to be leaving Rome, feeling like we hadn't conquered even half of the city.  That just makes us eager to return, I suppose!  As I mentioned before, we rode the train to Florence which could not have gone more smoothly.  It was a quick walk to the cafe where our host had left the key to our airbnb.  We did not meet the host, but he was readily available by phone for any of our questions which was great.  We LOVED this home.  It was comfortable and clean and felt very "Italian" if that makes sense.  It was a bit off the beaten path, but, in Florence, nothing is far away so that wasn't a problem.  Everything is in walking distance, so no transportation was even necessary.  When we go back (because we totally will!) I'd love to stay closer to the Palazzo Vecchio.

While I described our airbnb as "off the beaten path",
this was the view when we walked out the door and looked to
 the right...further evidence that everything is close by in Florence.

In Florence, we purchased the Firenze card and, because we really wanted to (and did!) make it to all of the places, it was really economical for us.  If you are thinking of only going to a couple of places, it may be better to just pay for those individually.  Aside from admission into everything, we were also able to bypass the regular line almost everywhere because we had this card.  This made it 100% worth it for us!

The Bargello

We started out at The Bargello.  Once again, seeing those things we had memorized for Humanities tests in college had us all giddy.  As I mentioned before, I am NOT a lingerer at places like this.  I LOVE to go, don't get me wrong, but one look at each thing and I'm ready.  Mr. Wood, on the other hand, is a lingerer. So, I take funny pictures and buy things while I wait for him.  It works out.  

Donatello's David

the steps at The Bargello

used to be a sort of "death row" but eventually became a chapel

the competition pieces for the baptistery...Ghiberti won

This was right after I asked Mr. Wood if he knew that one of the Ninja Turtles made this David.

We did not climb to the top of Brunelleschi's dome, although we will when we go again.  Simply put, we didn't have time to do everything and just opted to cut that.  It is magnificent to look at, and we did eat outside right beside the Duomo one evening which was fantastic.

Brunelleschi's dome

the baptistery doors, designed by Ghiberti, who won the contest

Again, Florence is so much more accessible than Rome (not better or worse, just a fact), so it didn't take as much planning for areas of the city to stick to.  We also loved that we could easily return to places we really liked.  We found ourselves drawn in the evenings to the area of the Palazzo Vecchio, and, like I mentioned before, I think we will stay right around there the next time we go.

That evening, we went to the Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge in Florence, and visited some shops.  Mr. Wood started buying leather journals and then never stopped until we got on the plane to come home. :) Before heading back to put up our feet for the first time all day, we had heart-shaped pizza at Gustapizza. I had read that it is the best pizza in the city, and I don't doubt it.  It was so so good.

picture of us standing on the Ponte Vecchio

Gustapizza heart-shaped pizza...HIGHLY recommend!!

Oh wait, how could I forget the Gelatto! 

Gelatto is EVERYWHERE, and it's good everywhere.  People have their favorite places in each city, but we honestly loved it every time we had it, which was a lot...like, so much I'm not going to tell you how much. hahahahah.

The next day, our first adventure was heading to The Accademia to see The David.  There are other things there, of course, but The David is the biggest...in more ways than one. ;)  This was where we really appreciated the Firenze card, as we skipped the VERY long line because we had it.  It's like having a fastpass at Disney World...the other people look at you funny when you go past them, but you don't even care. ha.  There is no way to describe turning the corner and looking down this corridor and seeing The David.  I joke about things being "big", but it is seriously taller than you imagine it will be and it's just amazing to see.  Along the way are some of Michelangelo's unfinished pieces which are also very fascinating.

Michelangelo's David

One of the things we really like to do before visiting a place is to read, both fiction and non-fiction, that is about or takes place in our destination.  I read some historical fiction involving the Medicis.  Mr. Wood read a book about a monk named Savonarola who was burned alive in Florence.  Even fictional television shows about the area can be fun to watch before going, simply to give a framework for the area.  Since Mr. Wood had read about Savonarola, we tried to visit as many places as we could that contained history about him.  And the Medicis' influence is everywhere in Florence, so I enjoyed seeing some things I had read about in the fiction books I had read.

the spot where Savonarola was burned alive

Savonarola's desk

Basilica of San Lorenzo, where Savonarola preached

inside of Basilica of San Lorenzo

For lunch, we visited the Central Market in Florence.  I'll let you guess which of these three photos we actually had for our lunch. SO much to see in the market, and I also had some caffe...standing up at the counter, because that's how they do it in Italy (learned this from Tommaso, our tour guide at The Vatican).

Mr. Wood, checking out the Rick Steves guidebook which we used SO much

The Medici Chapel...kind of dark and sinister, like the Medicis

For dinner that night, we ate at Mr. Wood's new friend's favorite restaurant.  This is a hot tip for you that we ALWAYS enjoy...make a friend with someone who works in your hotel or the cafe you get your coffee from.  In our case, it was a Gelatto shop owner who let Mr. Wood use his restroom (very unusual) and they were instant friends.  We asked him where HE likes to eat, and he led us to a great little place off the beaten path.  Sadly, I can't find the name of it, so I suppose you will need to make your own friend and find a little place. 

Day 3 in Florence began at the Uffizi Gallery.  There are SO many wonderful things to see there.  I haven't been mentioning it every time, but we really did use the free audio guides from Rick Steves nearly everywhere, and this was especially true at The Uffizi.

The Birth of Venus by Boticelli

Spring by Boticelli

by Michelangelo...when the buyer tried to talk him down on the price, he doubled it...makes me laugh

Caravaggio...dark background and spotlight on the subjects

view of the street from inside the Uffizi

After spending the morning at The Uffizi, we had a light lunch outside right across from The Palazzo Vecchio at Ristorante Orcagna (I can't find a website or facebook for this restaurant, so I'm linking the tripadvisor listing).  We easily adapted to the slow pace of dining and sitting and talking in Italy.  No one was in a hurry to get us out of their restaurant, and we loved that.

Our last afternoon in Florence was spent at the Basilica of Santa Croce.  Ornate beauty is everywhere, and certainly in the basilicas.  I could have taken photos all day long in there.

Basilica of Santa Croce

inside the Basilica of Santa Croce

Machiavelli's tomb inside the Basilica

Dante's tomb inside the Basilica

Michelangelo's tomb inside the Basilica

ginormous doors at the Basilica of Santa Croce

stained glass in the Basilica of Santa Croce

On our last evening in Florence, we ate outside, right beside the Duomo.  The sky was gorgeous after a light rain in the afternoon.  We enjoyed a great meal with a beautiful view, while dreaming of coming back to this city again.

      

The next morning, we caught the train to Venice, our final destination.  Our airbnb was our very favorite of the three we stayed in.  It could not have been more perfect.  Our hosts, Giorgia and Michele, left us Bellini because they knew we were on an anniversary trip...SO thoughtful.  Michele met us at the train station and walked us to their place and then spent about 30 minutes with us, telling us his favorite things to do and places to eat.  The place was amazing and had a great view of the canal.  We loved everything about it!!!

view of the canal from our window

Bellini from our hosts to celebrate our anniversary

Our hosts also left jam and strawberries which made for fantastic breakfasts.

This was outside our door...love it!

Our airbnb was right by the Scalzi bridge.

In Venice, we relaxed a bit.  There was still plenty to see, but we didn't feel the need to be quite so scheduled since many of the things we wanted to see did not involve tours or a long visit.  Some of our must-sees were: the Rialto Bridge, Doge's Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, St. Mark's Square and Basilica, taking a boat to Murano, and riding a gondola.  It rained for much of our time in Venice, but the city doesn't stop in the rain, even though walking or riding a boat is the way of getting around.  Large platforms (similar to platforms on a stage for a choir) were placed all around the city as walkways because the water quickly got deep.  Because of the rain, we were not able to sit in St. Mark's Square and eat Gelato as a throwback to Mr. Wood's time there in 1996.  Again, another reason to come back.

The Bridge of Sighs...called that because it was said that prisoners would sigh as they took
one final look at the city of Venice before heading to their cells

Doge's Palace

The Rialto Bridge...what a beauty!

Mr. Wood's new friends...their grandmother owned this shop on the Rialto bridge...she makes the
leather journals upstairs...Mr. Wood bought a LOT of journals on our trip.  We loved meeting these guys.

the view from the Rialto Bridge

one of our favorite meals...outside with a beautiful view of the Rialto...We had to keep our feet up
on the table legs because of the standing water from the rain.

St. Mark's Basilica

St. Mark's Basilica

Bell Tower at St. Mark's Square

We took a boat to Murano to see the famous Murano glass. It was definitely worth the trip.  Every store front had beautiful creations, and, while Murano felt similar to Venice, there was a bit different vibe which we were glad we got to experience.  I bought a keychain and a little trinket dish made of Murano glass.  I love to buy souvenirs that will be part of my everyday life when we go home.  So, a coffee mug is more than a tchotchke to me...it's an opportunity to re-live and remember a wonderful experience in six months or 3 years from now when I'm drinking my morning coffee.

on the boat to Murano

I almost bought this outfit for myself ;)

When I see a boat like this I just have to take a photo.

One of my favorite things on the trip was getting to go to Easter Mass at St. Mark's Basilica.  There is something about being with believers across the world from home and also recognizing that believers across centuries have worshiped in that very spot that reminds me of God's goodness to his people.

arriving at St. Mark's Basilica before Easter mass

Easter Mass at St. Mark's Basilica

leaving mass

Easter dinner was pizza at Antico Forno, a stand-up pizza bar we came across.  It was my
favorite pizza of the whole trip and I wished we could bring some home for the boys.  

Our final excursion while in Italy was the gondola ride.  This was the thing I had been most excited about for the trip.  There are gondola stands all over the city, and there is no need to purchase the ride anywhere else, such as at your hotel (there will be extra fees).  I suggest deciding beforehand if you want to start the ride near the Rialto or St. Mark's Square as this will be a busy ride near a lot of other gondolas.  Another option is to catch a gondola on a smaller, less busy canal.  It just depends on what kind of ride you think you will prefer.  Gondola rides are expensive.  I almost talked myself out of it, but Mr. Wood was adamant because I had been looking forward to it so much and he knew I would be sad later if we didn't do it.  All of that is to say...you may just want to decide ahead of time that you will be spending that large amount of money if it's important to you and then not look back.

Meanwhile, back at
home, this is what two
of our boys were up to...

We left early the next morning to begin the journey home.  As I mentioned before, I wouldn't suggest needing to get out of Venice in the early morning.  In our experience, the best transportation out of Venice is the train, and it doesn't run all night long.  We purchased a taxi ride in advance, but our ride did not arrive.  Another man in a van (that sounds scary...he wasn't scary, he just wasn't a driver for the ride we had already purchased, so he would have charged us) tried to get us to let him take us to the airport, but I pulled out my Italian dictionary and explained to him that we had already purchased the ride from another company.  Amazingly, our guy eventually showed up, but it was touch and go for awhile. Side note:  this was the ONLY time on the whole trip that I used the Italian dictionary which is crazy to me!  Our flight home went great, and we were glad to return to our three boys who had their own adventures while we were gone (see photo).  Travel is life-giving for us, and I hope I've inspired you to plan a trip to Italy of your own.  Please reach out with any questions!!