I Heart Florence

We had very few expectations of Florence. To be honest, my only reason for including Florence to the itinerary was to visit Santa Maria Novella. I kind of collect perfumes from places that I visit, so it was a must for me to visit SMN. But we were all very pleasantly surprised by this wonderful city!

But first, I want to say something about travelling between Rome and Florence by train. Actually I just want to talk about travelling via trains. First, buying your tickets online will save you a lot of money. Make sure that you show up on time otherwise you will have to buy a new ticket (they will not offer you a refund). I definitely recommend TrenItalia. I was able to experiece their customer service (I had to reverse my initial purchase because I got the wrong dates) and they were very pleasant and helpful. Second, the trains are very reliable and on time. When they say the train is leaving at 12:30, you best believe it and be at your seat before the said time. Third, train stations are not like airports where you need to be at the station 1-2 hours prior to departure. There is neither security check nor baggage drop, so you can actually cut it pretty close. Getting to the station about 15 minutes before departure is more than enough time. Just make sure you are at the platform 5 minutes before the train is scheduled to leave. Lastly, we've been told to pack light (minimize rolling luggage, just have carry ons) as we were going to be travelling via trains/boats. We ended up having 1 rolling luggage and 5 small pieces of very heavy carry ons (not counting purses!). This gave me serious back and shoulder problems. If I were to do this trip again, I would totally cram all our clothes into three fairly large rollers and give my scoliosis a break. There are special designated places on the trains and water buses for luggage anyway, so it wouldn't be a hassle at all.

Anyway, back to Florence! It's a small city, and very walkable. We only rode a cab to and from the train station, that's it. We stayed at this wonderful B&B right by the center of the city, just a block from Cattedrale Santa Maria del Fiore, the main cathedral of Florence. It was lovely to hear the bells tolling at different times of the day. For some reason, the kids and I enjoyed the food in Florence more. It seemed there were more meat options? Or did I just keep ordering pasta in Rome?

As for shopping: Santa Maria Novella is one of the oldest pharmacies in the world, and it's been around since the 1600s. I think their perfume line was borne from the different herbs/brews that the Florentine monks used to prepare for salves/medicine. A visit to their store did not disappoint. It was one of the most beautiful stores I have ever visited. I was like a kid let loose at a candy store. I tried so many scents but eventually settled for Cinquanta, an uncommon choice for me since it was quite floral, but it worked well on my skin.

If you are looking for luxury goods, Florence also has outlet malls for brands like Prada, Gucci .. but we did not go there!!! As I did not have a lot of expectations for Florence, I sadly booked the least number of days here, spending only two days so we did not have enough time to do some serious shopping! There were some vintage stores that had second hand purses, but I didn't like the selection. Oh well, IRS. LOLLL (Seriously, have you filed your taxes yet? They hurt. SO. MUCH.)

For your man or the speed freak in your life, book him/her a Ferrari test drive thorugh testdrivefirenze.com. 20 min will set you back about 100 euros, and an in car video is an extra 20 euros. He loved it.

Florence does not sleep early (unlike Venice, but that's another post). You will find many people still on the street late at night, drinking at public squares or bars. I felt very safe walking around at night, and police were visible.

I would love to go back, and spend more time in Florence and the Tuscan countryside. Perhaps next time!

Ciao!

St. Peter's Square and the Vatican Museum

A visit to the Vatican seems to be a "must" for most Filipinos (I think it's because of our "mostly" Catholic upbringing). But not being religious + seeing "Spotlight" on the plane en route to Italy, I began to doubt my intentions for visiting the Vatican. Did I actually want to say a prayer while in St. Peter's Basilica? (Fat chance. Even if I did, the line was super long as we came mid-afternoon.) Did I want see the Pope? (Not really, either. I think he's cool and all but I didn't want to spend several hours trying to get tickets then a half day hearing mass.) At best, I wanted to check out the Vatican museum, and I by check out I meant "skim" the galleries and go straight to the Sistine chapel. Again, that did not happen as the museum is huge and packed with tourists. Hallways and hallways and walls upon walls stacked with art from different periods and styles. And going straight to the Sistine chapel will not do justice to the vast collection of art that has been accumulated by the Popes since the 16th century. But if you are visiting with kids, don't say I didn't warn you: It was too overwhelming for our two younger kids (and even me!) that at some point, they were jokingly "daring" each other to jump out of the window to escape lol. My eldest, on the other hand, who's kind of a geek loved the museum and is planning to go back for a full day tour when she is older.

If you are an art/history buff, you will enjoy going through the different galleries. To fully appreciate St. Peter's Basilica + Vatican museum, carve out 4 to 6 hours for these two in your Rome itinerary. Entrance to the Basilica is free, but you do have to queue for security check. The entrance to the museum is on the other side of the basilica, and it's a good 20-minute walk, 30 if strolling leisurely. If you want the best prices on tickets, go to their official website (museivaticani.va). Cheapest tickets are 16 euros each. They offer audio and guided tours as well. Book online months in advance to avoid the queue, and go early in the morning or take the night tour to avoid the crowds. Oh, and entrance is free on most Sunday mornings.

As for the Sistine chapel ... It is beautiful, and bedecked with Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli but ... it is at the very end of the museum. Which took us about three hours to traverse. Then when you get to the chapel (which is small, by the way), it is packed almost shoulder-to-shoulder with tourists. And the priests! Not sure if they were, but there were about 10 of them in the chapel, dressed in black priest-like garb and constantly shushing the crowd, "Silenzio! Taking pictures is not allowed!" You can't really blame them though. The Sistine chapel is a holy place, and not an art gallery.

Verdict: B-. Only because this was not my thing. Otherwise, ye holy pilgrims should visit.

Funny story: After the tour, I asked the fam what they thought of the museum. Best response came from the hubby. He was disappointed because he was expecting the Vatican museum to show the different popes through the ages! As in, enumerated in order throughout the centuries. And what they wore. LOLLLLLL. He did not expect to go to one of the largest museums in the world!

Side note: I'm probably the last person who's watched Spotlight, but in case you haven't, watch it. It is worth your time and it did deserve that Oscar.

Ciao!

Out and About in the Eternal City

Tourist mode - on! After aborting our trip to the Colosseum/Palatine Hill and bringing the younger kiddies back to the hotel to sleep off their stomach bug, Noelle and I headed out to see some of the popular landmarks that we were interested in: Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, window shopping at Via dei Condotti (I almost caved at Celine), Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori, and Bocca della Verita. I've included the map of our walking tour. It was an easy, meandering walk through small streets. We took some unexpected detours, found amazing panini, a pigeon cannibalizing a fellow pigeon (grossest moment, everrrrr), and Gepetto's store. Didn't see Pinocchio, though. 

The next day, the kiddies had recovered (yayyy!!!) so we all visited the Caphuchin crypt (macabre!), Trevi, Spanish Steps (again), and had lunch at Hostaria Romana. We viisted the Vatican later in the afternoon but I will post those pictures separately.

There was so much more we were not able to see. Two days in Rome is not enough. Stay at least three full days. All the walking may be a little taxing to young children, so allow for lots of pit stops. Plan your pee breaks, too! I did not see any public restrooms, so we made sure to do #1 only when we were at a restaurant or museum.

I heard that dining out in Rome was going to be expensive, but I really didn't think so. If you're looking to save on meals, there are a lot of corner delis that sell panini and pastries. Grab some and eat on the go (hit two birds at the same time!). Sit down meals were not that expensive either (at least, in my opinoin). Also, get a hotel or apartment with a ktichen so that you can prepare breakfast and save on at least one meal. 

Arrivederci!

Rome: Colosseum and Palatine Hill

At last, our long-awaited 2016 spring break vacation!  

This trip was very memorable for our family. A lot of people have told me that Europe is not for kids, and I refused to believe it. I thought, my kids are exposed to different cultures and locales, I'm sure they will appreciate Italy. Glad I didn't put money on that. While I think they enjoyed the trip, I don't think they appreciated the Roman/Italian architecture, art, culture, and cuisine enough. I got comments from the younger kiddies like:

"I thought I was going to get the best pizza and pasta here in Italy!"

"When will we get out of this museum???"

"Too many people smoke in public here."

It did not help that I tried to do as Romans do (we were in Rome after all, right?). All the blogs and articles I've read say that all the locals drink from the water fountains (also known as "nasoni") that can be found all over Rome. So I figured, if the Romans do it, so shall we! Biggest. Mistake. Ever. An hour after I let the two younger kids drink from the water fountain, they start throwing up all over the place. At the Colosseum, at Palatine Hill, all the way back to the hotel. We had to cut our trip of Palatine Hill short, and go back to the hotel to let them rest throughout the first day (that's why you won't see many pictures of them in this post as they were recovering at the hotel throughout that first day), hoping that they would recover soon enough. Thankfully, it seemed like a 24-hour thing, and they were back on their feet the next day. The moral of the story: Stick to the bottled water. Our gut flora is not accustomed to the local water so do not risk it.

Some tips and observations:

• The public transportation system in Rome is dependable and inexpensive, just 1.50 euro for each person/trip. Bus tickets can be purchased at Tabachi (tobacco) shops located on almost every corner.
• If your hotel is actually centrally-located, most sights are within walkable distance. We stayed in the Tiburtina area, which is close to the University of Sapienza, but not so close to the tourist spots. The upside was that there were plenty of inexpensive dining and hotel options. 
• Taxis are also quite inexpensive, and may be a better option if travelling as a group. You can flag them at taxi queues or bus stops. We did not know this at first, and tried flailing our arms in the middle of the street to flag one down. Someone then told us to go to the bus stop. smile emotico
• To get the cheapest tickets to the colosseum, go to their official website. Colosseum tickets cover Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum as well. I'm not fond of tours (and neither are the kids) but I've heard good things about the underground colosseum tour. Unfortunately, none were available at the time we were there. Private tour operators also offer this.
• Italian drivers are c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ really good drivers. smile emotico

More Italy posts to come!