For our 10-year wedding anniversary, we wanted something special, and thankfully we have friends who are more than happy to tag along for another Italy adventure.
Transportation & Logistics
United Airlines - Open Jaw booking through Chase Sapphire Reserve. We upgraded our seats on the overseas legs to Economy Plus for the extra leg room.
Orlando - Newark - Malpensa (Milan)
Venice - Newark - Orlando
From Milan airport to Torino:
We didn’t purchase the SADEM bus tickets beforehand. We landed at 8:10AM and caught the 9:05 bus from Terminal 1. To buy your tickets at the airport Terminal 1 (€22 pp), go to the airport bus ticket counter inside next to Door 8 after leaving baggage. Then walk outside and down to the bus pick-up (to the left). Our bus picked up on the dot from Stop 4. There is a screen when you exit to the bus area that lists the parking spot numbers for each bus. The bus ride is 2 hours on a no-frills bus, but clean.
Train travel:
We bought train tickets from Torino Porta Susa station to Florence and then from Florence to Venice S. Lucia station. We did not buy these ahead of time since we didn’t really know our schedules, but the price was definitely higher when booking last minute. We used Italo Train for both legs.
For Venice:
We purchased the 3-day vaporetto passes at €40 pp. The vaporettos circuit the entire main island of Venice and also go out to Murano and Burano.
To get to the airport on our last morning in Venice, we bought Alilaguna tickets ahead of time (€15pp) at a ticket counter at one of the vaporetto stops..
Turin (Torino)
Lodging
VRBO #6557747ha: Our VRBO (Costa Nuestra) was on Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, spectacular location! It’s about a 15 minute walk to the Porta Susa train station and is located on a cobblestone street with a lot of shopping, cafes, a farmacia, and easy to navigate.
Unfortunately the showers were both awkward. Ours was hard to get into...literally had to slide sideways between doors. Definitely not made for anyone on the bigger side. I am seriously not kidding! I had to squeeze through! Our friends’ shower was a bathtub with shower head...VERY low ceiling so standing up for anyone over 5’7” is impossible. But we had hot water enough for 4 people. Also takes 78 individual stairs to get to our floor.
The apartment is very well-appointed and comfortable although there is a LOT of city noise since it’s off a square with a restaurant directly below the balcony. If the windows are closed, it’s better. There is a smart TV and plenty of sitting space to gather. For being in an old building in a city, the apartment feels very large and spread out. Federica was a great host who replied quickly to messages. Besides the shower and the climb at the end of a long day of walking, I would recommend this as a home base for anyone traveling to Torino.
Food
Boka was our first lunch stop. Very good pasta dishes, simple menu, all locals.
Lobelix is a restaurant right below our apartment balcony. Great first appetitivo experience. €12 for first drink and unlimited appetizer buffet that changes frequently. Drinks were fantastic!!! We enjoyed it so much that we went back a second night. Very busy with all locals.
Antica Salumeria made for a nice little lunch stop right on our pedestrian street, Via Garibaldi. Wonderful pesto pasta and charcuterie and cheese selections! The tables are situated right on the little street so the people watching is quite interesting.
Da Peppino Pizzeria is down the street and down an alley from the apartment. Our individual pizzas were huge and between €6 - €9 each. Very good prices. Again, all locals. Our friend ordered a pizza that had a crust stuffed with cheese - excellent!
Exploration
We walked about 13 miles on the first day just exploring. We discovered the Piazza Della Republica flea market and a liquor store, Damarco, with great wine selection at great prices. The Church of San Lorenzo at Piazza Castello was amazing! The shops at Via Roma have very high end shops including Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Chanel.
Torino is a great place to just to walk around and explore at a relaxed pace. Because the city doesn’t see the huge influx of tourists as does Rome or Venice, English is not spoken fluently by many shopkeepers or servers, so just be prepared for that.
Alba
We took a day trip to Alba by train from Porta Susa (€11,50 round trip per person, 1 hour 20 minutes). The walk from the small train station to the square where we met up with our tour guide and learned how to use Segways took 5 minutes. After our lessons, off we went to meet our Trifalao (truffle hunter) and his working dog. The views along the way were absolutely spectacular. Very cool and unique experience with Albaway Tours.
After our Segway tour, we walked around trying to find lunch. We ended up at Vincafe, with a very nice server and amazing food and wine. We ate al fresco, because of course, on their little pedestrian street and just had a wonderful time. Shaved truffles over fresh pasta - yes, please!
Florence (Firenze)
Lodging
AirBnB Downtown Firenze #16878794 This apartment is in a slightly more residential area of Florence but still within reasonable distance for walking to Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, and all around Florence. It was quiet at night, and there was a lot of space for two couple to move around and not feel at all cramped. There are two bathrooms with showers, which is a plus for four people.
As with our previous apartment, we were warned that the apartment was up on the third floor (4th floor in the US), so it was quite a climb to get home each evening. The apartment itself was quite well-appointed with plenty of plates, glasses, and silverware. Each bedroom had its own air conditioner.
What we were surprised by, and with no warning from our host, is that the power went out at least once a day, sometimes in the middle of the night for apparently no reason. The breaker box was by the front door, which was somewhat convenient, but knowing that the power would be an issue would have been good to know ahead of time.
Food (does wine count?)
We visited Obsequium twice during our stay in Florence. It’s a cute wine bar and store, great for a quick top to get out of the rain or to kill a little time. If you are staying on the main side of Florence, you will cross over the Arno via the Ponte Vecchio bridge and make a right down a side street.
Exploration
Tuscan Wine Tours with Angie - We booked the Chianti and Super Tuscan wine tour. What a lovely day! We visited 3 wineries and had lunch at the second. Markus, our guide for the day started his career as a winemaker in Germany before moving to Tuscany where he is now a consultant for several different wineries. What a wealth of knowledge!
Florence is a good place for walking - just be careful of the cars. There is a lot of traffic congestion, and just a lot of people in general. If you want a quieter stroll over the Arno, avoid the Ponte Vecchio and choose another bridge. The Ponte Vecchio is lined with only jewelry shops - maybe 30-40 of them - and SO crowded!
Venice (Venezia)
Lodging
AirBnB Beautiful, Comfortable with a Unique Laguna View #2789898 - We chose this apartment based on price, size, and seemingly good location - quiet and residential.
Pros: Next to a vaporetto stop with great views of the water. Very quiet. Powerful air conditioning units. Responsive host. Never ran out of hot water for showers. Once Google Maps is downloaded for offline use, you can navigate to San Marco with a 15 or so minute walk.
Cons: Nothing to see or do because of the location. You need to walk further into Venice to get to restaurants, pubs, and shops. The apartment was sparse - no rugs, very few wall-hangings - which created a lot of echo. Thankfully we brought our own wine bottle opener as we couldn’t find one in the apartment. There were also no wine glasses.
Overall, the stay wasn’t bad. If were to go back to Venice, we would definitely try to stay in the Dorsoduro neighborhood like we did a couple years ago.
Food
Snack Bar Da Piero was one of those experiences that made us wish we had consulted Trip Advisor before even stepping foot in the door. As as soon as we got back to our apartment after our appalling experience, a Trip Advisor review was submitted. Introducing a guest post from our travelling companion, Dr. G-Q:
After going through the multiple side streets and wandering Venice in a “get lost” mentality, we stumbled upon this restaurant. At first, we were intrigued by the ambience and variety of food options in the glass display at the counter. Once seated, we were abruptly told house wine was not an option and only bottle service but that was ok- hey, it’s worth asking. However, the response was a retort quickly given and in rude gesture. We proceeded by choosing our food- which did look good. Keep in mind, the prices in the glass display were handwritten and not clearly displayed but we looked and everything ranged from 8.50€—10€. After finishing our meal with our group (4 people), we went to the counter to pay our bill. We kindly told the gentleman behind the counter that we wanted to split our bill by couple- which we had already indicated previously when we ordered. He again was clearly upset by this and informed us that we had to pay by cash because his credit card machine had not been working for 2 days. Keep In mind- 2 glasses of wine and 2 cicchetti’s came out to be a whopping $48! Whoa....Are you serious? I was taken back by the bill after seeing the prices in the glass display and knowing the price of the wine from the menu! Clearly, we were taken for and this was unacceptable! At this point, our frustration and disdain was rising as if baking with too much yeast and the bread rising beyond expectation. With no signs posted, he attempted 3 times to swipe my credit card and waving the machine in the air as if we teleported back to the 80s to signal for better reception. I almost offered tin foil to expedite the process but decided to remain calm and assess the situation as to what going to happen next. As the charades seemed to conclude and the machine decided to corporate, he successfully charges my card and we parted ways after what seemed to be a nasty divorce. Our friends were up next to experience the exact same charades and rudeness. After several swipes of the card- the gentleman behind the bar made a snarky comment stating that since their bill was only 28€ that he let him use credit card since it is typically required to use cash for anything lower. Again - no signage stating the such. After spending every summer touring Italy for many years- owners are typically very honest and transparent if such rules exist- clearly this trap is up to no good. Do yourself a favor and skip this place. Venice is full of beautiful and delicious options. So go explore, get lost by taking a wrong turn and enjoy the adventure of a place who will treat their customers with respect. Arrivederci.
On our last day in Venice, we ate at Dolfin Pizzeria Ristorante, found by our travelling companions the day before. When we first arrived, the dining room was a bit empty. There was a group of 4 Italians having lunch. When we were getting ready to order, a group of workers came in to have their lunch - always a good sign! The pizza and house wine were really good. This is a cute restaurant in the Santa Croce neighborhood. Definitely recommend!
Exploration
We walked all over Venice and explored Murano and Burano. Because our apartment’s location was in a completely residential area, there really was nothing near us to do or see or eat. We spent most of our days away from home.
I definitely recommend that if you visit Venice, you spend a day strolling through the Dorsoduro neighborhood. It is quiet and has a lot of less-touristy eateries and little squares. We had a great lunch here on our last day.
One evening, we bought a bottle of wine from a small market. The shopkeeper opened it for us and gave us 4 plastic cups. We headed to Piazza San Marco and sat outside, listening to the dueling orchestras. Such a relaxing evening - and very cheap!
Extras
Transportation & Logistics
United Airlines - Open Jaw booking through Chase Sapphire Reserve. We upgraded our seats on the overseas legs to Economy Plus for the extra leg room.
Orlando - Newark - Malpensa (Milan)
Venice - Newark - Orlando
From Milan airport to Torino:
We didn’t purchase the SADEM bus tickets beforehand. We landed at 8:10AM and caught the 9:05 bus from Terminal 1. To buy your tickets at the airport Terminal 1 (€22 pp), go to the airport bus ticket counter inside next to Door 8 after leaving baggage. Then walk outside and down to the bus pick-up (to the left). Our bus picked up on the dot from Stop 4. There is a screen when you exit to the bus area that lists the parking spot numbers for each bus. The bus ride is 2 hours on a no-frills bus, but clean.
Train travel:
We bought train tickets from Torino Porta Susa station to Florence and then from Florence to Venice S. Lucia station. We did not buy these ahead of time since we didn’t really know our schedules, but the price was definitely higher when booking last minute. We used Italo Train for both legs.
For Venice:
We purchased the 3-day vaporetto passes at €40 pp. The vaporettos circuit the entire main island of Venice and also go out to Murano and Burano.
To get to the airport on our last morning in Venice, we bought Alilaguna tickets ahead of time (€15pp) at a ticket counter at one of the vaporetto stops..
Turin (Torino)
Lodging
VRBO #6557747ha: Our VRBO (Costa Nuestra) was on Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, spectacular location! It’s about a 15 minute walk to the Porta Susa train station and is located on a cobblestone street with a lot of shopping, cafes, a farmacia, and easy to navigate.
Unfortunately the showers were both awkward. Ours was hard to get into...literally had to slide sideways between doors. Definitely not made for anyone on the bigger side. I am seriously not kidding! I had to squeeze through! Our friends’ shower was a bathtub with shower head...VERY low ceiling so standing up for anyone over 5’7” is impossible. But we had hot water enough for 4 people. Also takes 78 individual stairs to get to our floor.
The apartment is very well-appointed and comfortable although there is a LOT of city noise since it’s off a square with a restaurant directly below the balcony. If the windows are closed, it’s better. There is a smart TV and plenty of sitting space to gather. For being in an old building in a city, the apartment feels very large and spread out. Federica was a great host who replied quickly to messages. Besides the shower and the climb at the end of a long day of walking, I would recommend this as a home base for anyone traveling to Torino.
 |
| View from our apartment balcony - Piazza Savoia at night |
Boka was our first lunch stop. Very good pasta dishes, simple menu, all locals.
Lobelix is a restaurant right below our apartment balcony. Great first appetitivo experience. €12 for first drink and unlimited appetizer buffet that changes frequently. Drinks were fantastic!!! We enjoyed it so much that we went back a second night. Very busy with all locals.
Antica Salumeria made for a nice little lunch stop right on our pedestrian street, Via Garibaldi. Wonderful pesto pasta and charcuterie and cheese selections! The tables are situated right on the little street so the people watching is quite interesting.
Da Peppino Pizzeria is down the street and down an alley from the apartment. Our individual pizzas were huge and between €6 - €9 each. Very good prices. Again, all locals. Our friend ordered a pizza that had a crust stuffed with cheese - excellent!
Exploration
We walked about 13 miles on the first day just exploring. We discovered the Piazza Della Republica flea market and a liquor store, Damarco, with great wine selection at great prices. The Church of San Lorenzo at Piazza Castello was amazing! The shops at Via Roma have very high end shops including Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Chanel.
Torino is a great place to just to walk around and explore at a relaxed pace. Because the city doesn’t see the huge influx of tourists as does Rome or Venice, English is not spoken fluently by many shopkeepers or servers, so just be prepared for that.
Alba
We took a day trip to Alba by train from Porta Susa (€11,50 round trip per person, 1 hour 20 minutes). The walk from the small train station to the square where we met up with our tour guide and learned how to use Segways took 5 minutes. After our lessons, off we went to meet our Trifalao (truffle hunter) and his working dog. The views along the way were absolutely spectacular. Very cool and unique experience with Albaway Tours.
 |
| Photo op stop on our Segway Tour in Alba |
 |
| Lunch at Vincafe in Alba - look at the shaved truffles! And the veggie side - oh my! |
Lodging
AirBnB Downtown Firenze #16878794 This apartment is in a slightly more residential area of Florence but still within reasonable distance for walking to Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, and all around Florence. It was quiet at night, and there was a lot of space for two couple to move around and not feel at all cramped. There are two bathrooms with showers, which is a plus for four people.
As with our previous apartment, we were warned that the apartment was up on the third floor (4th floor in the US), so it was quite a climb to get home each evening. The apartment itself was quite well-appointed with plenty of plates, glasses, and silverware. Each bedroom had its own air conditioner.
What we were surprised by, and with no warning from our host, is that the power went out at least once a day, sometimes in the middle of the night for apparently no reason. The breaker box was by the front door, which was somewhat convenient, but knowing that the power would be an issue would have been good to know ahead of time.
Food (does wine count?)
We visited Obsequium twice during our stay in Florence. It’s a cute wine bar and store, great for a quick top to get out of the rain or to kill a little time. If you are staying on the main side of Florence, you will cross over the Arno via the Ponte Vecchio bridge and make a right down a side street.
Exploration
Tuscan Wine Tours with Angie - We booked the Chianti and Super Tuscan wine tour. What a lovely day! We visited 3 wineries and had lunch at the second. Markus, our guide for the day started his career as a winemaker in Germany before moving to Tuscany where he is now a consultant for several different wineries. What a wealth of knowledge!
Florence is a good place for walking - just be careful of the cars. There is a lot of traffic congestion, and just a lot of people in general. If you want a quieter stroll over the Arno, avoid the Ponte Vecchio and choose another bridge. The Ponte Vecchio is lined with only jewelry shops - maybe 30-40 of them - and SO crowded!
 |
| Ponte Vecchio |
Florence is a great city for leather, but if you want quality, stay away from the street markets. Find some reputable shops - there are MANY options. Things to look for - shoes, jackets, handbags, belts, gloves, wallets, etc. If you are looking for beautiful art, please visit our friend, Lilith Hayrapet in front of the Duomo. She is so sweet and talented! She does all of the work herself, unlike some of the vendors you see set up on the streets who make it LOOK as if they painted it all themselves. If the artist is actually painting in front of you so you can see, chances are they are legit.
Venice (Venezia)
Lodging
AirBnB Beautiful, Comfortable with a Unique Laguna View #2789898 - We chose this apartment based on price, size, and seemingly good location - quiet and residential.
Pros: Next to a vaporetto stop with great views of the water. Very quiet. Powerful air conditioning units. Responsive host. Never ran out of hot water for showers. Once Google Maps is downloaded for offline use, you can navigate to San Marco with a 15 or so minute walk.
Cons: Nothing to see or do because of the location. You need to walk further into Venice to get to restaurants, pubs, and shops. The apartment was sparse - no rugs, very few wall-hangings - which created a lot of echo. Thankfully we brought our own wine bottle opener as we couldn’t find one in the apartment. There were also no wine glasses.
Overall, the stay wasn’t bad. If were to go back to Venice, we would definitely try to stay in the Dorsoduro neighborhood like we did a couple years ago.
Food
Snack Bar Da Piero was one of those experiences that made us wish we had consulted Trip Advisor before even stepping foot in the door. As as soon as we got back to our apartment after our appalling experience, a Trip Advisor review was submitted. Introducing a guest post from our travelling companion, Dr. G-Q:
After going through the multiple side streets and wandering Venice in a “get lost” mentality, we stumbled upon this restaurant. At first, we were intrigued by the ambience and variety of food options in the glass display at the counter. Once seated, we were abruptly told house wine was not an option and only bottle service but that was ok- hey, it’s worth asking. However, the response was a retort quickly given and in rude gesture. We proceeded by choosing our food- which did look good. Keep in mind, the prices in the glass display were handwritten and not clearly displayed but we looked and everything ranged from 8.50€—10€. After finishing our meal with our group (4 people), we went to the counter to pay our bill. We kindly told the gentleman behind the counter that we wanted to split our bill by couple- which we had already indicated previously when we ordered. He again was clearly upset by this and informed us that we had to pay by cash because his credit card machine had not been working for 2 days. Keep In mind- 2 glasses of wine and 2 cicchetti’s came out to be a whopping $48! Whoa....Are you serious? I was taken back by the bill after seeing the prices in the glass display and knowing the price of the wine from the menu! Clearly, we were taken for and this was unacceptable! At this point, our frustration and disdain was rising as if baking with too much yeast and the bread rising beyond expectation. With no signs posted, he attempted 3 times to swipe my credit card and waving the machine in the air as if we teleported back to the 80s to signal for better reception. I almost offered tin foil to expedite the process but decided to remain calm and assess the situation as to what going to happen next. As the charades seemed to conclude and the machine decided to corporate, he successfully charges my card and we parted ways after what seemed to be a nasty divorce. Our friends were up next to experience the exact same charades and rudeness. After several swipes of the card- the gentleman behind the bar made a snarky comment stating that since their bill was only 28€ that he let him use credit card since it is typically required to use cash for anything lower. Again - no signage stating the such. After spending every summer touring Italy for many years- owners are typically very honest and transparent if such rules exist- clearly this trap is up to no good. Do yourself a favor and skip this place. Venice is full of beautiful and delicious options. So go explore, get lost by taking a wrong turn and enjoy the adventure of a place who will treat their customers with respect. Arrivederci.
On our last day in Venice, we ate at Dolfin Pizzeria Ristorante, found by our travelling companions the day before. When we first arrived, the dining room was a bit empty. There was a group of 4 Italians having lunch. When we were getting ready to order, a group of workers came in to have their lunch - always a good sign! The pizza and house wine were really good. This is a cute restaurant in the Santa Croce neighborhood. Definitely recommend!
Exploration
We walked all over Venice and explored Murano and Burano. Because our apartment’s location was in a completely residential area, there really was nothing near us to do or see or eat. We spent most of our days away from home.
I definitely recommend that if you visit Venice, you spend a day strolling through the Dorsoduro neighborhood. It is quiet and has a lot of less-touristy eateries and little squares. We had a great lunch here on our last day.
One evening, we bought a bottle of wine from a small market. The shopkeeper opened it for us and gave us 4 plastic cups. We headed to Piazza San Marco and sat outside, listening to the dueling orchestras. Such a relaxing evening - and very cheap!
 |
| Super fancy with the plastic cups! |
We bought tickets to see Doge's Palace and the San Marco Museums. Very cool and worth a visit. We just had the basic tickets without the behind-the-scenes or extended tours at Doge's.
Extras
- Bring 2-3 pair of very comfortable walking shoes that can be used for both day and night. Buy orthotic insoles ahead of time if needed. I swear by the Abeo brand from The Walking Company, but keep in mind that they are an investment (about $80).
This is why shoes matter in Italy. Yes, I got down to street view. - Each of us carried a crossbody bag for our clothing layers, water bottles, phones, Advil/Tums, etc. I used this one again from eBags - holds SO much- and the hubs used this one from Amazon.
- If you know your travel plans ahead of time, book your major train tickets between big cities in advance.
- For each city you are visiting, download these two things that you can use offline: Google Translate in the language you need and a map for each city you will visit.
- Learn a couple key phrases before you go if you don’t have time to learn the language. Numbers, Please, Thank You, Hello, Good Bye, Where is?, How much?, and basic nouns like Bus, Restroom, Bottle of Wine (oops, that might just be us!), etc.
- Typically, it’s cheaper to eat lunch out and grab food from a supermarket for dinner.
- In Italy, you can almost never go wrong with asking for their house wine - ross, bianco, or by varietal name. In many restaurants, “vini della casa” by the carafe or litre is between €10-14.
- If renting an apartment, look at location and use the following filters: wifi, linens/towels included, and washing machine. If you stay somewhere with a washing machine, you can cut down on your packet by more than half depending on the length of your trip. Which leads me to the next tip…
- Try to do carry-on only when flying to your destination. We each carried on small luggage and personal bags. We checked an empty carry-on size luggage and a Vera Bradley Grand Traveler stuffed inside for our souvenirs and gifts. Venice is NOT a fun city to be lugging around a bunch of luggage, so keep that in mind.
Comments
Post a Comment