Dear Friends,
I just returned this summer from a trip to Italy with my two daughters, Allison and Katie, and my three granddaughters, Emma, Anna and Haley.
Emma just graduated from Ponte Vedra High School and this graduation trip wound up being a cousin’s trip to celebrate Emma’s graduation and Haley’s 16th birthday and Anna, who was rising senior!
We planned this trip nine months in advance, and I highly recommend doing that. You will be able to make the reservations you want, and the cost will be better than waiting until the last moment.
We flew Delta One and the service with the flat beds is comfortable and really helped our transition to a different time zone.
I highly recommend Delta Airlines, who made our travel experience comfortable and hassle free.
Rome
Rome is the “Eternal City,” and with every movie you have seen and every story you have ever read about visiting Rome, you will not be disappointed. I love Rome. There is something special about the people, the history and the beauty of this unique city that has withstood the test of time.
With just two nights and almost three days in Rome we arrived at our hotel very early to check in. The Eitch Borromini was recommended by our Vatican tour guide Dr. Liz Lev, who is an author, art historian, lecturer and guide to the Vatican, its museums and history. My husband Dale and I retained Dr. Lev as our guide when we were in Rome in 2006.
She was recommended by our friend, Francis Rooney, who was appointed as the ambassador to the Holy See in 2005.
I scheduled our tour for June, nine months in advance of our departure.
Day 1: The Colosseum and Palatine Hill
On our first day in Rome, we toured the Colosseum and Palatine Hill even though we knew we would be just a little tired! My daughter Katie and her daughters Anna and Haley were on this trip for just eight days, so we tried to make sure they saw some of the most important highlights in a very short time.
Our hotel was in a perfect location overlooking the Palazzo Navona. Eitch Borromini, the hotel is in a former palace and has a stunning rooftop bar that overlooks the most impressive array of historic monuments, churches and buildings. A reservation is a necessity and we had reservations for both nights we were in Rome.
Day 2: The Vatican and Sistine Chapel
We began our tour at 8 a.m. and by noon we had toured St. Peter’s and the world’s most famous ceiling at the Sistine Chapel. It was here in the chapel that Lev spent the greatest amount of time explaining the art and the artist and the significance of the 10-year artistic journey undertaken by Michelangelo. This was the highlight of our visit to the Vatican, and I strongly recommend you arrange for a private guide.
Day 3: On to Florence and Villa Il Sasso
The trains in Italy are a great way to travel and we chose to take the train from Rome to Florence, where we picked up our van for the next four days.
Florence – Accademia Gallery Tour
Our first stop was a 2 p.m. tour of the Accademia Museum to see The David, a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo. It was created from 1501-1504 and it was the first colossal marble statue made in the early modern period.
We reserved our tickets ahead of time and were able to skip the very long lines of tourists waiting to get inside!
Golf Cart Tour
With just one day in Florence, we decided to take a tour that gave us an overview of Florence and the golf cart tour by Eco Tours fit our needs. We had two carts with a driver as our guide that took us throughout Florence and made a few stops along the way.
One stop was a famous perfumery in Florence called the Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella housed in a 14th century chapel with beautiful frescoes. The origin of the perfumery dates to 1221 when the Dominican friars established their order in Florence. The perfumery was first opened to the public in 1612.
It is known for producing the Water of the Queen for Catherine de Medici, who made this fragrance famous. Giovanni Paolo Feminis produced the Water of the Queen in his hometown of Cologne in 1725 and changed the name of the fragrance to “eau de cologne.”
Villa Il Sasso
The Villa Il Sasso offers an irresistible combination for exploring Florence and parts of Tuscany. Built in the 13th century in the Tuscan countryside, 20 minutes outside Florence, Villa Il Sasso-Dimora d’ Epoca, is an historic building with extensive gardens, outdoor pool, charming rooms and original frescos. The Villa offered the perfect, peaceful setting to return to in the country away from the noise of a crowded city.
Day 4: Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre (Five Lands) is one of the most spectacular places we visited. We reserved a private boat for half the day from Aquamarine Boat Tours and enjoyed a delicious local seafood lunch on the boat at sea. We departed from Monterosso and toured all the five villages seaside, stopped along the way to swim, snorkel and took amazing photos of the natural coastline and the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. A perfect diversion from the hectic city tours!
Day 5: Tuscany, The Mall, Il Borro
Every night we returned home to Villa Il Sasso and ordered dinner from local restaurants and dined in the Villa’s dining room.
The staff at Villa Il Sasso were so helpful and made our stay not only comfortable but they continually went out of their way to be of assistance. I highly recommend this Villa, especially if you are traveling with a large group. The Villa has seven beautifully designed bedrooms, and the breakfast dining room is simply stunning!
The Mall Firenze
Our first stop was to shop at “The Mall,” an exclusive luxury outlet in the heart of Tuscany. Located just 28 minutes from our Villa, it was on the way to our tour of Il Borro and was worth the visit. The designer stores offer some great value from last season.
Il Borro
The Il Borro estate, situated in the heart of Tuscany was purchased by the famed Ferragamo Family in 1993 and magnificently restored to its former glory and converted into a vacation destination that includes wine tours of Il Borros winery, cooking classes at the estates Tuscan restaurant Osteria, horseback riding and tours of Tuscany.
Our reserved wine cellar and art tour included a tour of the winery, a wine tasting of the award-winning Il Borro wines, some local olive oil bruschetta, cheese and meats.
I Selvatici
I Selvatici Winery located in the Chianti Hills was our next destination. Giuseppe Sala, fifth generation winemaker and owner at the family-owned winery, gave us a tour and a private wine tasting of their exceptional wines. Selvatici wines were featured at the Wine Club gathering at the Ponte Vedra inn and Club in Ponte Vedra Beach last winter. Our host shared the wineries’ history and made us feel right at home. Located off the Montevarchi exit, it is not far from the Prada Outlet our last stop that day!
Prada
The Prada Outlet in Tuscany is called Space, and is a large industrial building that includes a café, handbags, clothing and shoes. It is worth stopping in if you are nearby. I saw no proof that “The Devil Wears Prada” was there that day, but I did see a lot of happy tourists making great purchases!
We returned home that night to our last night at our Villa and packed for our trip the next day to Venice.
I had been to Italy many times but never to Venice. Surprisingly, I was not in favor of going there. We would only have one night in Venice as Katie, Anna and Haley had to leave the next day for their last night in Rome before traveling home. I knew it would be a four-hour train ride from Florence, and that’s why I thought it was not a great idea!
I was wrong and they were right. Even if you only have one night and two days in Venice. You must see Venice at least once in your life!
Venice: A must see destination
I can’t describe how beautiful Venice is in person. It is like a famous painting you can only appreciate seeing up close. That is how I felt when we got off our train, boarded our boat to the mainland and entered this exquisite city on Italy’s Northan shore.
We headed to our hotel, The Radisson, a hotel brand we see everywhere in the U.S. It was beautiful. It had its own unique design that fit the Italian aesthetic to a tee, a modern tee!
Our rooms were tasteful, new and the hotel staff were welcoming and checked us in early.
We had arranged for a private boat tour and for the next hour and a half we toured the Grand Canal and open waterways in what can only be described as this beautiful masterpiece of architecture, design and Italian life sitting perilously on water that surrounds it at every turn.
There were gondolas traveling the water amongst the centuries-old buildings and cobblestone alleyways, and people crossing over the bridges, eating outdoors at the stylish cafes and restaurants, surrounded by gorgeous Renaissance palaces and Gothic churches simply taking in this amazing city and lifestyle.
If you do one more thing in your life put his on your bucket list … you must see Venice!
Haley was turning 16 the next day so we celebrated her birthday that evening at a very nice restaurant we sort of stumbled upon and sat in their outdoor dining room in the back of the eatery.
It was a great way to end the first half of our trip and celebrate Haley as they headed back to Rome the next day.
Katie, Anna and Haley were up very early the next day for their train back to Rome. Allison, Emma and I rented a smaller car and headed to our next destination Cortona, Italy, the famed, “Under the Tuscan Sun” village as guest of a friend from Florida in their families’ Italian villa!
Stay tuned for Part Two in The January Issue of Sand Castles.
