EGreene79
226 Invited - 157 Yes, 69 No
Member since 4/06 1085 total posts
Wedding Date:
9/29/2007 3:00 PM
Wed. Location:
Hamlet Willow Creek
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Italian Honeymoon Review
I could not have been happier with our honeymoon. DH and I are not beachy people and can’t handle more than a day or two of relaxation, so Italy was perfect for us. We spent 11 full days there, and had a mix of everything from relaxation to site seeing to some intense physical activity. We planned everything on our own.
We rented a car, and to replicate what we did you probably need a car. We did not find driving to be as bad as people described it. The major highways are the same as US highways (in our opinion), the back roads in Tuscany were not bad at all – just very curvy and people will pass you, but the only area that was a little nerve wracking for us was the Amalfi Coast. You can barely fit two cars passing each other, but we just took it slow and let people pass us when needed. However, we drive a lot in general and have driven in other foreign countries so while we might have thought it was fine, other people may feel differently. The car rental was through Avis and I received a work discount. I thought the price was very reasonable and the car was fine. We only rented it for a week, picking it up after Venice and dropping off in Rome (before our stay there). One thing that was different here from other car rentals was that they gave it a VERY THOROUGH inspection when we returned it. Make sure you go through the inspection with them when you pick it up and drop it off because I’ve heard horror stories.
If you do choose to drive, try to rent a GPS. If you own one at home, buy the Italian Maps chip. That’s what we did and it was a life-saver. I can’t even imagine how many times we would have gotten lost without it. I think we paid $100 over EBay, and we’ll probably sell it for about the same price.
Our flight was through Delta – JFK to Venice, Rome to Newark (AlItalia). The Delta flight wasn’t too great. The tvs and radios weren’t on, so if you couldn’t sleep it was 8 hours without entertainment. The flight home was on AlItalia. They had interactive tvs which was great. I watched 4 movies!
VENICE – 2 Days, 2 Nights
Hotel – Oltre Il Giardino, http://www.oltreilgiardino-venezia.com/
This is a bed and breakfast located in San Polo, only about a 10-15 minute walk to the Rialto to get to San Marco. DH and I like to stay outside of the main touristy areas, so this was perfect for us. The B&B was beautiful, included a decent sized breakfast each morning, and the owner Lorenzo is fantastic. He’s very nice and helpful. His friend, who is just as friendly, works the night shift and spent over an hour with us one night as we hung out in the common area. He gave us a bunch of tips on traveling throughout Italy. The room was very spacious with a living area, bedroom (not closed off from living area) and a very nice sized bathroom with bathtub and shower head. Each room is internet accessible, but there is no common computer for use. I would definitely stay here again.
Activities
We just walked around for two days, and made sure we wandered through each district. We also took the local vaporetto down the entire Grand Canal and followed Rick Steve’s tour in the book (he points out all the major sites along the canal). We walked around some of the major sites, but didn’t actually go in them partially because of the lines and partially because we just didn’t want to put our time into those sites.
Dining
I can’t remember everywhere we ate, but here are a few:
Osteria Da Alberto – The food was fantastic. There was a lot of seafood, which I don’t normally eat, but really enjoyed here. They had a fantastic four-cheese gnocchi. I think it’s a Rick Steve’s recommendation.
Il Burchiello – We just stopped here for lunch and got pizza. It was very good, but more touristy than we would have preferred. There are much better options in all of Venice. Just walk around and explore.
La Rivetta (in San Polo) – There’s another one in San Marco that gets good ratings. This place was great. We sat outside, the food was delicious.
CASTELLINA IN CHIANTI (CHIANTI REGION OF TUSCANY) – 2.5 Days, 3 Nights
Hotel – Collelungo, http://www.collelungo.com/
Collelungo was GORGEOUS. It’s basically a Tuscan villa on a vineyard. We rented an apartment here, so we had our own kitchen BUT there are no tvs or radios in the rooms. This was fine and very romantic … for three nights. They do have a common room in a separate building that has a tv, computer with internet access and an honor bar (you have to write down what you take) – which was great, but while we were there another couple monopolized the tv. I love DH, but we can’t go three days without tv. However, I would recommend it to people – it was such a different experience for us. They have hiking on the grounds, they will give you a tour of the winery and you can even help out with stuff, and they have a small animal farm. We loved it, would possibly stay there again, but with all the other options in Tuscany we would want to try something else next. Here we had a living area, kitchen with dining area, vanity area, nice sized bathroom with bath and shower and a separate closed off bedroom. Collelungo is a little off the beaten path – it’s about a 3+ mile drive outside of town, down a dirt road, but if you have a car it’s no problem. It’s a 30-40 minute hike into town going through the vineyard and surrounding woods, and they have a pool on premise.
Activities
The first day we spent traveling from Venice to Castellina in Chianti. We took smaller highways so we could get a better view, but it took twice as long. It gave DH a chance to practice his Italian driving. When we got there we just went into the local town (beautiful by the way!) and had dinner. The next day we used the National Geographic travel book for Florence and the Tuscany region to do a tour of the Chianti region (it had a mapped out drive). After that we went to Montalcino which is this amazing town. We walked around for a while and got lunch. The last day we attempted to hike into town from the Vineyard until we kept thinking we heard wild boar (they actually have them on the property, but I think sightings are rare) and then came across a bush with thousands of bees (DH is deathly allergic). Eventually we drove into town, walked around for a while and just relaxed back at Collelungo.
Dining
La Torre, Castellina In Chianti – I LOVE THIS PLACE! They had this ravioli in a truffle cream sauce … nothing I could write would give it justice. We ate here twice. One time I got chicken, and it was only 6 Euros! Some of the best food we had in Italy.
Caffe Fiaschetteria, Montalcino – We really went here to taste wine, only to find out they don’t offer wine tastings. However, we did order very expensive wine for fun, just a glass, and it was very good. We just got sandwiches here, but they were very good.
Pizzeria Il Fonaccio, Castellina In Chianti – Best pizza I had in all of Italy. Seriously fantastic. They also had a really sweet salad bar spread, that I’m pretty sure didn’t have any salad or many vegetables for that matter. It was all meat and cheeses!
CONCA DEI MARINI (AMALFI COAST) – 3.5 Days, 4 Nights
Hotel Belvedere, http://www.belvederehotel.it/amalfi-positano-hotel.html
This was a very nice hotel. Our room was HUGE (granted we got a suite), but compared to the hotels in Amalfi and Positano it was a steal. The only issue here is transportation because there isn’t much in the town which we couldn’t even find anyway – I think you had to hike up a huge hill. If you have a car, DEFINITELY look into this place. There were people at the hotel without cars who used the hotel shuttle for 3 Euros, or took the local buses, so it’s doable, but not as easy. The hotel is on a cliff below the road, and I believe all rooms have a balcony over the sea. It was just an amazing view. We had a HUGE bathroom, bigger than my bedroom at my parents’ house, with a separate bathtub and shower. There was a living area, bedroom (not closed off from the living area), and a nice sized balcony. The hotel has a pool and steps down to the sea. There’s no sandy beach, but a cement area with chairs. They also have a computer with internet access.
One tip … request a room away from the restaurant. Our room was directly below the bar area and we could hear chairs moving around in the evening. It got a little annoying, but not enough for us to say anything.
Activities
We did A LOT while on the Amalfi Coast. The first night we just went to Amalfi. The next day we drove to Sorrento which, even though it was pretty touristy, we really liked. The third day we went to Capri and Anacapri. Capri wasn’t really us – it’s a lot of high end shops, overpriced restaurants and people in designer clothing. Anacapri on the other hand was more down to earth. We took a chairlift up a mountain on the island and saw amazing views of Capri, Anacapri and Vesuvius. Overall we had a great time there and would recommend it. We’d probably go back, just not on our next trip to Italy. We didn’t do the Blue Grotto. The fourth day we hit Positano, which we weren’t overly impressed with, but were glad we visited. It is beautiful, but again not really our type of place. We didn’t do full trips to Minori and Ravello, but accidentally ended up in Minori one night and had dinner in Ravello another night.
Dining
La Caravella (Amalfi) – This is a high end restaurant, and the prices reflect that. However, they threw in a few freebies, and the food was incredible. It wasn’t what I think of as authentic Italian food because it was kind of trendy, but man was it delicious. We almost ate here a second time because it was so good, but I thought we might miss out on everything else the Amalfi Coast had to offer.
Cumpa Cosimo (Ravello) – This is more of a trattoria that has gained fame because of some celebrity clientele. It was very good, but not great. I’m glad we checked it out. The prices were semi-reasonable, compared to the night before, but more expensive than your typical trattoria. We wouldn’t have seen Ravello otherwise, and it’s a place worth seeing.
Trattoria Da Meme (Amalfi) – This was a small, very inexpensive restaurant up a side stairway in Amalfi. The food was very good. I got a mixed hours devours that was delicious, and the price couldn’t be beat.
Ristorante Bruno (Positano) – Rick Steve recommended this place, and it was very good. We just got lunch here, but the food was great and you can’t beat the view. You basically get the full view of Positano and the sea. Their fresh pasta was delicious.
Albergo Ristorante (Amalfi) – This was more of a touristy place, but the pizza and prices were decent. We could have done better I’m sure, but they place we wanted to eat in was closed (Da Gemma).
ROME – 2 Days, 2 Nights
Sofitel, http://www.sofitel.com/sofitel/fichehotel/gb/sof/1312/fiche_hotel.shtml
Ok, I was concerned about this hotel because we got a decent rate in a big city and I’ve heard rooms in Rome (and Italy in general) are small. Not here – our room was incredible. We had two balconies, an office area and a HUGE bathroom with an extremely deep bathtub/shower. The décor was beautiful, everyone was really nice and seemed to know us before we arrived. Service was great. The food at the hotel was so-so. You could tell they were catering to their American clientele by the portion sizes and dishes offered. Breakfast was great though. I think it was the only time I saw cereal, and by that time I needed it!
Activities
We really only had a day and a half here, so the first night we did Rick Steve’s night tour of Rome. It was SO worth it. I really think Rome is more beautiful at night. The Pantheon looked like it was still active at night – just incredible, and the Trevi fountain at night – just amazing. Just try to avoid the rose peddlers – they’re so annoying.
The second day we had a private driver for 3 hours as part of our Dream Package at the Sofitel. This was the best thing we could have done. Aside from the major sites, he took us just outside of the city to see modern Rome along with the Olympic Stadium. Just incredible. Then we capped off the day at the Vatican. The museum was good, but St. Peter’s is really what blew me away. Pictures could never do this justice – you have to see it in person. I would suggest going to some of the less visited churches. We went to St. Ignatius – the ceiling is just as impressive, if not more, than the Sistine Chapel.
Dining
The first night we ate at the hotel. As I said above it was eh … there are so many options in Rome we really shouldn’t have wasted a dinner here.
Colline Emiliane – This restaurant is family owned, and again was one of my top meals in Italy. It may not have been 100% authentic … I’m not sure how often they serve pumpkin ravioli in Italy, but the food was incredible. It doesn’t even look like a restaurant from the outside, but it’s well worth a visit.
Message edited 10/23/2007 9:00:46 PM.
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DH & i are hoping to do europe next year 
Glad ur honeymoon was all u hoped it would be! congrats!
